Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
URTH vs VXUS: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, URTH returned +13.1% to VXUS's +13.8%; 26% of their weight is in the same names.
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Net assets: $8.9bn on Oct 28, 2026 for iShares MSCI World ETF, and $163.2bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard Total International Stock ETF.
Pair scorecard
VXUS costs 0.19 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 0.7 points; VXUS is 19.9 times larger.
| Measure | URTH | VXUS |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +13.1% | +13.8% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 5.1%, high on Sep 4, 2026 | |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | MSCI World Index | FTSE Global All Cap ex US Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.24% | 0.05% |
| Net assets, as of Sep 30, 2026 | $8.2bn | $163.2bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 26% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 27.2% | 14.6% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Sep 30, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Jan 20, 2012 to Oct 23, 2026 · 770 weekly returnsURTH returned more: +421.6% to +192.1%. URTH and VXUS swung about the same: 15.6% and 15.7%. URTH fell slightly less at its worst: −32.7% to −34.6%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | URTH | VXUS | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +421.6% | +192.1% | URTH | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +11.8% | +7.5% | URTH | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +296.2% | +89.9% | URTH | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 15.6% | 15.7% | Tie | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 10.9% | 11.2% | URTH (slight) | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −32.7% | −34.6% | URTH (slight) | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.68 | 0.43 | URTH | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.97 | 0.60 | URTH | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.36 | 0.22 | URTH | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 770 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, URTH and VXUS hold 26% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Sep 30, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026.
half
26% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
URTH and VXUS on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
URTH and VXUS do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. URTH follows MSCI World Index and VXUS follows FTSE Global All Cap ex US Index.
- Holdings in common. 26% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026 and Sep 30, 2026).
- Number of holdings. URTH holds 1,254 positions and VXUS holds 8913.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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URTH
URTH tracks the MSCI World. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +13.1% with distributions reinvested, against +13.4% for its benchmark, the MSCI All Country World Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.24% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 69% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 1,254 positions, with the top ten at 27.2%.
VXUS
VXUS tracks an index of Total International Stock. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +13.8% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.05% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer as of Sep 30, 2026, 0% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 8,913 positions, with the top ten at 14.6%. It sat 5.1% below its high of Sep 4, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, URTH or VXUS?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, URTH returned +13.1% and VXUS +13.8%.
- Which is cheaper, URTH or VXUS?
- VXUS is cheaper, by 0.19 percentage points a year. That is about $19 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, URTH against VXUS, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/urth-vs-vxus
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). URTH against VXUS. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/urth-vs-vxus
[URTH against VXUS (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/urth-vs-vxus)
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