Which returned more over the last year, USO or VNQ?

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, USO returned +133.3% and VNQ +4.8%.

Which is cheaper, USO or VNQ?

VNQ is cheaper, by 0.73 percentage points a year. That is about $73 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

USO vs VNQ: Differences, Returns & Fees

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USO is a commodity futures fund and VNQ an equity index fund, and over the year to Oct 28, 2026, USO returned +133.3% against +4.8%.

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Net assets: $1.9bn on Oct 28, 2026 for United States Oil Fund, LP, and $35.9bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard Real Estate ETF.

USO on its own →VNQ on its own →

At a glance

+133.3%

USO total return, 1 year

+4.8%

VNQ total return, 1 year

0.86%

USO expense ratio

0.13%

VNQ expense ratio

Pair scorecard

VNQ costs 0.73 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 128.5 points.

USO vs VNQ: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	USO	VNQ
Return
Measure	USO	VNQ
Total return, 1 year	+133.3%	+4.8%
Drawdown
Measure	USO	VNQ
Below its high	82.3%, high on Jul 14, 2008	8.3%, high on Jul 28, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	USO	VNQ
What it tracks	Oil futures	MSCI US Investable Market Real Estate 25/50 Index
Cost and size
Measure	USO	VNQ
Expense ratio	0.86%	0.13%
Net assets, USO as of Oct 28, 2026 and VNQ as of Sep 30, 2026	$1.9bn	$35.9bn
Holdings
Measure	USO	VNQ
Holdings in common	not published
In the S&P 500, by weight		63%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund		55.8%

Method

Side by side

USO United States Oil Fund, LP VNQ Vanguard Real Estate ETF

Where it sits Commodity ETF Stock ETF

Issuer USCF Vanguard

What it is Holds oil futures Tracks an index of US real estate

Total return, 1 year +133.3% +4.8%

Expense ratio 0.86% 0.13%

Holdings not counted 141

Net assets, USO as of Oct 28, 2026 and VNQ as of Sep 30, 2026 $1.9bn $35.9bn

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

Alert

About each fund

USO

USO holds oil futures. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +133.3% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.86% a year. It sat 82.3% below its high of Jul 14, 2008 on Oct 28, 2026.

VNQ

VNQ tracks an index of US real estate. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +4.8% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.13% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer as of Sep 30, 2026, 63% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 141 positions, with the top ten at 55.8%. It sat 8.3% below its high of Jul 28, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, USO or VNQ?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, USO returned +133.3% and VNQ +4.8%.
Which is cheaper, USO or VNQ?: VNQ is cheaper, by 0.73 percentage points a year. That is about $73 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

SCHH vs USO USO vs XLRE IYR vs USO USO vs XLI BWET vs VNQ GLDM vs VNQ IAU vs VNQ GLD vs VNQ

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

USCF website ↗

VNQ filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

VNQ prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

Vanguard page for VNQ ↗

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

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

ETFIQ, USO against VNQ, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/uso-vs-vnq

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