Which returned more over the last year, SLV or VUG?

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, SLV returned +14.9% and VUG +6.6%.

Which is cheaper, SLV or VUG?

VUG is cheaper, by 0.47 percentage points a year. That is about $47 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's own filings.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

SLV vs VUG: Differences, Returns & Fees

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SLV is a commodity fund and VUG an equity index fund, and over the year to Oct 28, 2026, SLV returned +14.9% against +6.6%.

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Net assets: $26.9bn on Oct 28, 2026 for iShares Silver Trust, and $232.9bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard Morningstar Growth ETF.

SLV on its own →VUG on its own →

At a glance

+14.9%

SLV total return, 1 year

+6.6%

VUG total return, 1 year

0.50%

SLV expense ratio

0.03%

VUG expense ratio

Pair scorecard

VUG costs 0.47 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 8.3 points; VUG is 7.8 times larger.

SLV vs VUG: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	SLV	VUG
Return
Measure	SLV	VUG
Total return, 1 year	+14.9%	+6.6%
Drawdown
Measure	SLV	VUG
Below its high	53.5%, high on Jan 28, 2026	4.1%, high on Oct 6, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	SLV	VUG
What it tracks	Silver	Morningstar US Large Cap Growth Index
Cost and size
Measure	SLV	VUG
Expense ratio	0.50%	0.03%
Net assets, as of Sep 30, 2026	$30.0bn	$232.9bn
Holdings
Measure	SLV	VUG
Holdings in common	not published
In the S&P 500, by weight		97%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund		63.1%

Method

Side by side

SLV iShares Silver Trust VUG Vanguard Morningstar Growth ETF

Where it sits Commodity ETF Stock ETF

Issuer iShares Vanguard

What it is Holds silver Tracks an index of US growth

Total return, 1 year +14.9% +6.6%

Its benchmark over the same days +15.0% (SIVR) not measured

Gap to its benchmark −0.1 pts vs SIVR not measured

Expense ratio 0.50% 0.03%

Holdings not counted 137

Net assets, SLV as of Oct 28, 2026 and VUG as of Sep 30, 2026 $26.9bn $232.9bn

SLV and VUG on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

Alert

About each fund

SLV

Its expense ratio is 0.50% a year, for the three months to Jun 30, 2026, as its 10-Q states.

SLV holds silver. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +14.9% with distributions reinvested, against +15.0% for its benchmark, the price of silver. It sat 53.5% below its high of Jan 28, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

VUG

VUG tracks an index of US growth. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +6.6% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.03% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer as of Sep 30, 2026, 97% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 137 positions, with the top ten at 63.1%. It sat 4.1% below its high of Oct 6, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, SLV or VUG?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, SLV returned +14.9% and VUG +6.6%.
Which is cheaper, SLV or VUG?: VUG is cheaper, by 0.47 percentage points a year. That is about $47 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's own filings.

Other comparisons

IWF vs SLV QQQ vs SLV QQQM vs SLV SLV vs VOOG GLDM vs VUG GLD vs VUG BWET vs VUG IAU vs VUG

Where to next

SLV on its own →VUG on its own →Hold both: look the portfolio through →Rankings →VUG dividend history →VUG holdings →Standards and sources →

Sources and dates

iShares page for SLV ↗

VUG filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

VUG prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

Vanguard page for VUG ↗

Links are sources, not endorsements. A comparison is not a recommendation.

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ETFIQ, SLV against VUG, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/slv-vs-vug

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