Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
SPYI vs VTI: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, SPYI returned +13.6% to VTI's +13.5%, and VTI charges 0.03% to SPYI's 0.68%.
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Net assets: $12.7bn on Oct 27, 2026 for NEOS S&P 500 High Income ETF, and $689.2bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard Morningstar Total Stock Market ETF.
Pair scorecard
VTI costs 0.65 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 0.1 points.
| Measure | SPYI | VTI |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +13.6% | +13.5% |
| Price change, 1 year | rose 0.8% | rose 12.2% |
| Latest payout, annualized | 11.4% | |
| Return of capital, issuer estimate | 99% of the Oct 23, 2026 payment | |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | Benchmark: S&P 500, measured through SPY | Morningstar US Total Market Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.68% | 0.03% |
| Net assets, SPYI as of Oct 27, 2026 and VTI as of Sep 30, 2026 | $12.7bn | $689.2bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 88% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 34.7% | |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Sep 30, 2026 and Oct 28, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Sep 9, 2022 to Oct 23, 2026 · 215 weekly returnsVTI returned more: +93.5% to +74.4%. SPYI swung less: 11.8% to 15.1%. SPYI fell less at its worst: −14.8% to −17.4%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | SPYI | VTI | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +74.4% | +93.5% | VTI | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +14.4% | +17.3% | VTI | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +5.4% | +82.4% | VTI | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 11.8% | 15.1% | SPYI | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 8.1% | 10.0% | SPYI | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −14.8% | −17.4% | SPYI | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.81 | 0.83 | VTI (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 1.19 | 1.26 | VTI (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.97 | 1.00 | VTI (slight) | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 215 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, SPYI and VTI hold 88% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Sep 30, 2026 and Oct 28, 2026.
half
88% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
SPYI and VTI on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ. Cash paid: distributions over the window, as a share of the starting price.
SPYI and VTI do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. SPYI is measured against S&P 500 through SPY and VTI follows Morningstar US Total Market Index.
- Cost. SPYI charges 0.68% of assets a year and VTI 0.03%, a gap of 0.65 points.
- Holdings in common (similar). 88% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 28, 2026 and Sep 30, 2026).
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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SPYI
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, SPYI paid 11.9% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 0.8%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +13.6%. S&P 500 (SPY) returned +13.6% over the same days, so a holder was about even. At its price on Oct 28, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 11.4%, paid monthly. NEOS estimates that 99% of the distribution paid Oct 23, 2026 was a return of capital (its 19a-1 notice). That is a tax label, not a measure of erosion.
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
- Are SPYI and VTI in the same category?
- SPYI is an option-income ETF and VTI is a stock ETF, so they do different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and holdings.
- Which returned more over the last year, SPYI or VTI?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, SPYI returned +13.6% and VTI +13.5%.
- Which is cheaper, SPYI or VTI?
- VTI is cheaper, by 0.65 percentage points a year. That is about $65 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, SPYI against VTI, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/spyi-vs-vti
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