Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
ITOT vs SPY: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, ITOT returned +13.4% to SPY's +13.6%; 89% of their weight is in the same names.
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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $97.1bn for iShares Core S&P Total U.S. Stock Market ETF and $814.8bn for SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust.
Pair scorecard
ITOT costs 0.06 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 0.2 points; SPY is 8.4 times larger.
| Measure | ITOT | SPY |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +13.4% | +13.6% |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | S&P Total Market Index (TMI) | S&P 500 Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.03% | 0.09% |
| Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 | $97.1bn | $814.8bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 89% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 33.9% | 38.1% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 27, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Jan 30, 2004 to Oct 23, 2026 · 1,186 weekly returnsSPY returned slightly more: +914.7% to +886.3%. ITOT and SPY swung about the same: 17.3% and 17.2%. ITOT and SPY fell about the same at their worst: −54.7% and −54.6%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | ITOT | SPY | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +886.3% | +914.7% | SPY (slight) | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +10.6% | +10.7% | Tie | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +567.2% | +569.7% | Tie | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 17.3% | 17.2% | Tie | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 12.2% | 12.2% | Tie | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −54.7% | −54.6% | Tie | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.56 | 0.57 | Tie | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.80 | 0.81 | Tie | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.19 | 0.20 | Tie | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 1,186 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, ITOT and SPY hold 89% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.
half
89% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
ITOT and SPY on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
ITOT and SPY are built for the same job. How do they differ in cost, holdings and results?
- What each follows. ITOT follows S&P Total Market Index (TMI) and SPY follows S&P 500 Index.
- Number of holdings. ITOT holds 2,443 positions and SPY holds 504.
- Size. ITOT has $97.1bn in net assets and SPY $814.8bn (net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026); SPY is 8.4 times larger.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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ITOT
ITOT tracks the S&P Total U.S. Stock Market. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +13.4% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.03% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 88% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 2,443 positions, with the top ten at 33.9%.
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, ITOT or SPY?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, ITOT returned +13.4% and SPY +13.6%.
- Which is cheaper, ITOT or SPY?
- ITOT is cheaper, by 0.06 percentage points a year. That is about $6 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, ITOT against SPY, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/itot-vs-spy
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). ITOT against SPY. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/itot-vs-spy
[ITOT against SPY (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/itot-vs-spy)
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