Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
DGRO vs SPY: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, DGRO returned +18.8% to SPY's +13.6%; 43% of their weight is in the same names.
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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $44.6bn for iShares Core Dividend Growth ETF and $814.8bn for SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust.
Pair scorecard
DGRO costs 0.01 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 5.2 points; SPY is 18.3 times larger.
| Measure | DGRO | SPY |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +18.8% | +13.6% |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | Morningstar US Dividend Growth Index | S&P 500 Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.08% | 0.09% |
| Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 | $44.6bn | $814.8bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 43% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 27.2% | 38.1% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 27, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Jun 20, 2014 to Oct 23, 2026 · 644 weekly returnsSPY returned more: +375.9% to +321.3%. DGRO swung slightly less: 15.3% to 16.4%. DGRO and SPY fell about the same at their worst: −32.1% and −31.8%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | DGRO | SPY | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +321.3% | +375.9% | SPY | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +12.3% | +13.4% | SPY (slight) | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +216.7% | +287.9% | SPY | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 15.3% | 16.4% | DGRO (slight) | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 10.7% | 11.4% | DGRO (slight) | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −32.1% | −31.8% | Tie | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.70 | 0.73 | SPY (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 1.00 | 1.05 | SPY (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.38 | 0.42 | SPY (slight) | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 644 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, DGRO and SPY hold 43% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.
half
43% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
DGRO and SPY on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
DGRO and SPY do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. DGRO follows Morningstar US Dividend Growth Index and SPY follows S&P 500 Index.
- Holdings in common. 43% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026).
- One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 DGRO returned +18.8% and SPY +13.6% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 5.2 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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DGRO
DGRO tracks an index of Dividend Growth. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +18.8% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.08% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 92% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 393 positions, with the top ten at 27.2%.
SPY
SPY tracks the S&P 500. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +13.6% with distributions reinvested, against +13.7% for its benchmark, the S&P 500 Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.09% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 100% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 504 positions, with the top ten at 38.1%.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, DGRO or SPY?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, DGRO returned +18.8% and SPY +13.6%.
- Which is cheaper, DGRO or SPY?
- DGRO is cheaper, by 0.01 percentage points a year. That is about $1 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
Links are sources, not endorsements. A comparison is not a recommendation.
How this is computed
Overlap adds up the smaller of the two weights for each security both funds hold.
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ETFIQ, DGRO against SPY, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/dgro-vs-spy
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). DGRO against SPY. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/dgro-vs-spy
[DGRO against SPY (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/dgro-vs-spy)
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