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Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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USO vs VUG: Differences, Returns & Fees

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USO is a commodity futures fund and VUG an equity index fund, and over the year to Oct 28, 2026, USO returned +133.3% against +6.6%.

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Net assets: $1.9bn on Oct 28, 2026 for United States Oil Fund, LP, and $232.9bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard Morningstar Growth ETF.

USO on its own →VUG on its own →
At a glance
+133.3%
USO total return, 1 year
+6.6%
VUG total return, 1 year
0.86%
USO expense ratio
0.03%
VUG expense ratio

Pair scorecard

VUG costs 0.83 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 126.7 points.

USO vs VUG: Differences, Returns & Fees
MeasureUSOVUG
Return
Total return, 1 year+133.3%+6.6%
Drawdown
Below its high82.3%, high on Jul 14, 20084.1%, high on Oct 6, 2026
Benchmark
What it tracksOil futuresMorningstar US Large Cap Growth Index
Cost and size
Expense ratio0.86%0.03%
Net assets, USO as of Oct 28, 2026 and VUG as of Sep 30, 2026$1.9bn$232.9bn
Holdings
Holdings in commonnot published
In the S&P 500, by weight97%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund63.1%

Method

Side by side

USO United States Oil Fund, LP VUG Vanguard Morningstar Growth ETF
Where it sits Commodity ETF Stock ETF
Issuer USCF Vanguard
What it is Holds oil futures Tracks an index of US growth
Total return, 1 year +133.3% +6.6%
Expense ratio 0.86% 0.03%
Holdings not counted 137
Net assets, USO as of Oct 28, 2026 and VUG as of Sep 30, 2026 $1.9bn $232.9bn

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

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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.

VUG

VUG tracks an index of US growth. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +6.6% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.03% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer as of Sep 30, 2026, 97% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 137 positions, with the top ten at 63.1%. It sat 4.1% below its high of Oct 6, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, USO or VUG?
In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, USO returned +133.3% and VUG +6.6%.
Which is cheaper, USO or VUG?
VUG 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.
Other comparisons
QQQ vs USOGARP vs USOUSO vs XOVRIWF vs USOBWET vs VUGGLDM vs VUGGLD vs VUGIAU vs VUG
Where to next
USO on its own →VUG on its own →Hold both: look the portfolio through →Rankings →VUG dividend history →VUG holdings →Standards and sources →
Sources and dates
USCF website ↗
VUG filings on SEC EDGAR ↗
VUG prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗
Vanguard page for VUG ↗

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

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

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

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Free to use with attribution for data ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.