Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
SHY vs VBIL: Differences, Returns & Fees
SHY's duration was 1.8 years on Aug 31, 2026 and VBIL's 0.1 on Jun 30, 2026; VBIL charges 0.06% to SHY's 0.15%.
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Net assets: $27.4bn on Oct 27, 2026 for iShares 1-3 Year Treasury Bond ETF, and $12.8bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard 0-3 Month Treasury Bill ETF.
Pair scorecard
VBIL costs 0.09 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 2.1 points; SHY is 2.1 times larger.
| Measure | SHY | VBIL |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +1.6% | +3.7% |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | ICE U.S. Treasury 1-3 Year Bond Index | Bloomberg U.S. Treasury Bills 0-3 Months Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.15% | 0.06% |
| Net assets, as of Sep 30, 2026 | $26.3bn | $12.8bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 0% | |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Jun 30, 2026 and Aug 31, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Feb 21, 2025 to Oct 23, 2026 · 87 weekly returnsVBIL returned more: +6.7% to +5.4%. VBIL swung less: 0.1% to 1.3%. VBIL fell less at its worst: 0.0% to −0.8%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | SHY | VBIL | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +5.4% | +6.7% | VBIL | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +3.2% | +3.9% | VBIL | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | −0.9% | +0.8% | VBIL | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 1.3% | 0.1% | VBIL | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 1.0% | 0.1% | VBIL | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −0.8% | 0.0% | VBIL | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | −0.66 | −0.64 | VBIL (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | −0.85 | −0.90 | SHY (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 4.07 | Not measured | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. | |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 87 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, SHY and VBIL hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Jun 30, 2026 and Aug 31, 2026.
half
0% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
SHY and VBIL on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
SHY and VBIL do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. SHY follows ICE U.S. Treasury 1-3 Year Bond Index and VBIL follows Bloomberg U.S. Treasury Bills 0-3 Months Index.
- Holdings in common. 0% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Aug 31, 2026 and Jun 30, 2026).
- One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 SHY returned +1.6% and VBIL +3.7% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 2.1 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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SHY
SHY tracks an index of 1-3 Year Treasury Bond. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +1.6% with distributions reinvested, against +1.7% for its benchmark, the ICE U.S. Treasury 1-3 Year Bond Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.15% a year.
VBIL
VBIL tracks an index of 0-3 Month Treasury Bill. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +3.7% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.06% a year.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, SHY or VBIL?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, SHY returned +1.6% and VBIL +3.7%.
- Which is cheaper, SHY or VBIL?
- VBIL is cheaper, by 0.09 percentage points a year. That is about $9 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.
Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown
ETFIQ, SHY against VBIL, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/shy-vs-vbil
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). SHY against VBIL. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/shy-vs-vbil
[SHY against VBIL (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/shy-vs-vbil)
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