Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
QQQ vs VTI: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, QQQ returned +15.2% to VTI's +13.5%; 50% of their weight is in the same names.
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Net assets: $483.0bn on Oct 27, 2026 for Invesco QQQ Trust, Series 1, and $689.2bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard Morningstar Total Stock Market ETF.
Pair scorecard
VTI costs 0.15 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 1.7 points.
| Measure | QQQ | VTI |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +15.2% | +13.5% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 4.5%, high on Oct 6, 2026 | |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | Nasdaq-100 Index | Morningstar US Total Market Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.18% | 0.03% |
| Net assets, QQQ as of Oct 27, 2026 and VTI as of Sep 30, 2026 | $483.0bn | $689.2bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 50% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 46.7% | 34.7% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Sep 30, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Jun 8, 2001 to Oct 23, 2026 · 1,324 weekly returnsQQQ returned more: +1,665.0% to +898.9%. VTI swung less: 17.8% to 21.5%. VTI fell slightly less at its worst: −54.8% to −57.0%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | QQQ | VTI | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +1,665.0% | +898.9% | QQQ | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +11.9% | +9.5% | QQQ | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +1,387.6% | +540.9% | QQQ | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 21.5% | 17.8% | VTI | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 14.9% | 12.7% | VTI | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −57.0% | −54.8% | VTI (slight) | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.55 | 0.50 | QQQ (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.79 | 0.70 | QQQ | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.21 | 0.17 | QQQ | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 1,324 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, QQQ and VTI hold 50% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Sep 30, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026.
half
50% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
QQQ and VTI on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
QQQ and VTI do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. QQQ follows Nasdaq-100 Index and VTI follows Morningstar US Total Market Index.
- Holdings in common. 50% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026 and Sep 30, 2026).
- Number of holdings. QQQ holds 103 positions and VTI holds 3521.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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QQQ
QQQ tracks the Nasdaq-100. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +15.2% with distributions reinvested, against +15.2% for its benchmark, the Nasdaq-100 Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.18% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 96% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 103 positions, with the top ten at 46.7%. It sat 4.5% below its high of Oct 6, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.
VTI
VTI tracks an index of US total market. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +13.5% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.03% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer as of Sep 30, 2026, 88% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 3,521 positions, with the top ten at 34.7%.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, QQQ or VTI?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, QQQ returned +15.2% and VTI +13.5%.
- Which is cheaper, QQQ or VTI?
- VTI is cheaper, by 0.15 percentage points a year. That is about $15 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, QQQ against VTI, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/qqq-vs-vti
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). QQQ against VTI. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/qqq-vs-vti
[QQQ against VTI (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/qqq-vs-vti)
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