Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
SPY vs VTI: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, SPY returned +13.6% to VTI's +13.5%; 88% of their weight is in the same names.
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Net assets: $814.8bn on Oct 27, 2026 for SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust, and $689.2bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard Morningstar Total Stock Market ETF.
Pair scorecard
VTI costs 0.06 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 0.1 points; SPY is 1.2 times larger.
| Measure | SPY | VTI |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +13.6% | +13.5% |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | S&P 500 Index | Morningstar US Total Market Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.09% | 0.03% |
| Net assets, as of Sep 30, 2026 | $809.2bn | $689.2bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 88% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 38.1% | 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 returnsVTI returned slightly more: +898.9% to +845.4%. SPY and VTI swung about the same: 17.5% and 17.8%. SPY and VTI fell about the same at their worst: −54.6% and −54.8%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | SPY | VTI | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +845.4% | +898.9% | VTI (slight) | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +9.2% | +9.5% | VTI (slight) | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +498.4% | +540.9% | VTI (slight) | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 17.5% | 17.8% | Tie | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 12.4% | 12.7% | Tie | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −54.6% | −54.8% | Tie | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.49 | 0.50 | Tie | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.69 | 0.70 | Tie | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.17 | 0.17 | VTI (slight) | 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, SPY and VTI hold 88% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Sep 30, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026.
half
88% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
SPY and VTI on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
SPY and VTI are built for the same job. How do they differ in cost, holdings and results?
- What each follows. SPY follows S&P 500 Index and VTI follows Morningstar US Total Market Index.
- Number of holdings. SPY holds 504 positions and VTI holds 3521.
- Holdings in common (similar). 88% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026 and Sep 30, 2026).
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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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%.
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, SPY or VTI?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, SPY returned +13.6% and VTI +13.5%.
- Which is cheaper, SPY or VTI?
- VTI 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, SPY against VTI, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/spy-vs-vti
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). SPY against VTI. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/spy-vs-vti
[SPY against VTI (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/spy-vs-vti)
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