Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
USO vs VO: Differences, Returns & Fees
USO is a commodity futures fund and VO an equity index fund, and over the year to Oct 28, 2026, USO returned +133.3% against +12.8%.
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Net assets: $1.9bn on Oct 28, 2026 for United States Oil Fund, LP, and $103.4bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard Morningstar Mid-Cap ETF.
Pair scorecard
VO costs 0.83 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 120.5 points.
| Measure | USO | VO |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +133.3% | +12.8% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 82.3%, high on Jul 14, 2008 | 3.1%, high on Aug 14, 2026 |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | Oil futures | Morningstar US Mid Cap Index (formerly CRSP US Mid Cap Index) |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.86% | 0.03% |
| Net assets, USO as of Oct 28, 2026 and VO as of Sep 30, 2026 | $1.9bn | $103.4bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | not published | |
| In the S&P 500, by weight | 91% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 9.7% | |
Risk and return
Apr 21, 2006 to Oct 23, 2026 · 1,070 weekly returnsVO returned more: +519.9% to −70.9%. VO swung less: 20.1% to 37.1%. VO fell less at its worst: −58.4% to −98.0%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | USO | VO | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | −70.9% | +519.9% | VO | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | −5.8% | +9.3% | VO | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | −70.9% | +357.0% | VO | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 37.1% | 20.1% | VO | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 26.9% | 14.3% | VO | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −98.0% | −58.4% | VO | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | −0.02 | 0.46 | VO | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | −0.03 | 0.64 | VO | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | −0.06 | 0.16 | VO | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 1,070 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
Side by side
USO and VO on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
USO and VO do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. USO follows Oil futures and VO follows Morningstar US Mid Cap Index (formerly CRSP US Mid Cap Index).
- One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 USO returned +133.3% and VO +12.8% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 120.5 points.
- Cost. USO charges 0.86% of assets a year and VO 0.03%, a gap of 0.83 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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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.
VO
VO tracks an index of Mid-Cap. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +12.8% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.03% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer as of Sep 30, 2026, 91% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 273 positions, with the top ten at 9.7%. It sat 3.1% below its high of Aug 14, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, USO or VO?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, USO returned +133.3% and VO +12.8%.
- Which is cheaper, USO or VO?
- VO is cheaper, by 0.83 percentage points a year. That is about $83 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
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ETFIQ, USO against VO, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/uso-vs-vo
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). USO against VO. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/uso-vs-vo
[USO against VO (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/uso-vs-vo)
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