Which returned more over the last year, TLT or VTI?

In the year to Sep 13, 2026, with distributions reinvested, TLT returned −6.4% and VTI returned +17.2%, so VTI returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.

Which is cheaper, TLT or VTI?

TLT charges 0.15% a year and VTI charges 0.03%, so VTI is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Sep 13, 2026. Both funds on the fields they both publish, from the same sources.

ETFIQetfiq.com · independent ETF data

TLT vs VTI: how they differ

TLT and VTI hold 0% of their weight in the same names, and VTI returned more over the year.

iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF and Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund.

What they hold in common

By the books each fund has filed, TLT and VTI hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.

Largest positions each one holds and the other does not
Only in TLT	Only in VTI
TREASURY BOND (2OLD) 4.16%	NVIDIA Corp 6.37%
TREASURY BOND (OLD) 4.05%	Apple Inc 5.88%
TREASURY BOND (OTR) 1.03%	Microsoft Corp 3.84%
TREASURY BOND 0.02%	Amazon.com Inc 3.19%
	Alphabet Inc 2.90%
	Broadcom Inc 2.48%
	Alphabet Inc 2.29%
	Micron Technology Inc 1.80%

Weight overlap is an ETFIQ calculation: for every security both funds hold, the smaller of the two weights, summed. Above 50%, holding both is close to holding one of them twice. Holdings dated Jun 30, 2026 and Sep 10, 2026.

TLT and VTI on the fields both publish, as of Sep 13, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
	TLT iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF	VTI Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund
Where it sits	Core index fund	Core index fund
Issuer	iShares	Vanguard
What it is	20+ year Treasuries	US total market
Total return, 1 year	−6.4%	+17.2%
S&P 500 over the same days	+17.5%	+17.5%
Gap to the S&P 500	−23.9 pts	−0.3 pts
Expense ratio	0.15%	0.03%
Holdings	41	3531

TLT in plain words

TLT is a bond fund tracking the 20+ year Treasuries. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned −6.4% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.15% a year. It sat 42.9% below its high of Aug 4, 2020 on Sep 11, 2026.

VTI in plain words

VTI is an index equity fund tracking the US total market. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +17.2% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.03% a year. By its holdings filed for Jun 30, 2026, 88% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 3531 positions, with the top ten at 32.1%.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, TLT or VTI?: In the year to Sep 13, 2026, with distributions reinvested, TLT returned −6.4% and VTI returned +17.2%, so VTI returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.
Which is cheaper, TLT or VTI?: TLT charges 0.15% a year and VTI charges 0.03%, so VTI is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

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Where these figures came from

ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure. It is not affiliated with any issuer, and a link is not an endorsement.

TLT against VTI, ETFIQ, data as of Sep 13, 2026. Every figure is arithmetic on a named public source; the method is at etfiq.com/methodology. A comparison is not a recommendation.

Cite this page. ETFIQ, TLT against VTI, data as of Sep 13, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/tlt-vs-vti Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.

A comparison is not a recommendation. Standards and sources