Which returned more over the last year, VCSH or VGSH?

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, VCSH returned +1.3% and VGSH +1.7%.

Which is cheaper, VCSH or VGSH?

Neither: VCSH and VGSH both charge 0.03% a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

VCSH vs VGSH: Differences, Returns & Fees

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On May 31, 2026 VCSH's duration was 2.7 years and VGSH's 1.8; both charge 0.03%.

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Net assets on Sep 30, 2026: $43.9bn for Vanguard Short-Term Corporate Bond ETF and $35.1bn for Vanguard Short-Term Treasury ETF.

VCSH on its own →VGSH on its own →

At a glance

+1.3%

VCSH total return, 1 year

+1.7%

VGSH total return, 1 year

0.03%

VCSH expense ratio

0.03%

VGSH expense ratio

Pair scorecard

Both cost 0.03% a year; their one-year returns differ by 0.4 points; VCSH is 1.3 times larger.

Points (pts) are percentage points.

VCSH vs VGSH: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	VCSH	VGSH
Return
Measure	VCSH	VGSH
Total return, 1 year	+1.3%	+1.7%
Benchmark
Measure	VCSH	VGSH
What it tracks	Bloomberg U.S. 1-5 Year Corporate Bond Index	Bloomberg U.S. Treasury 1-3 Year Index
Cost and size
Measure	VCSH	VGSH
Expense ratio	0.03%	0.03%
Net assets, as of Sep 30, 2026	$43.9bn	$35.1bn
Holdings
Measure	VCSH	VGSH
Holdings in common	0%

Holdings in common uses holdings dated May 31, 2026. Method

Risk and return

Dec 4, 2009 to Oct 23, 2026 · 881 weekly returns

VCSH VGSH

Return

Total return edge VCSH +59.9% +26.7%

Annualized edge VCSH +2.8% +1.4%

Price return edge VCSH +2.8% −3.7%

Risk

Volatility edge VGSH 3.5% 1.3%

Max drawdown edge VGSH −11.3% −5.5%

Downside capture 98.3% 96.0%

Beta 0.95 0.98

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge VCSH 0.37 −0.09

Sortino edge VCSH 0.52 −0.14

Treynor −0.003 −0.002

Calmar edge VGSH (slight) 0.25 0.26

Against the benchmark

Alpha 0.0% a year 0.0% a year

Alpha t-stat −0.29 0.22

Information ratio −0.06 0.07

Tracking error 0.5% 0.3%

Each against its own benchmark: VCSH against SCHJ, Oct 18, 2019 to Oct 23, 2026; VGSH against SCHO, Aug 13, 2010 to Oct 23, 2026.

Reading

VCSH returned more: +59.9% to +26.7%. VGSH swung less: 1.3% to 3.5%. VGSH fell less at its worst: −5.5% to −11.3%.

Full scorecard

19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: VCSH vs VGSH: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	VCSH	VGSH	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+59.9%	+26.7%	VCSH	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+2.8%	+1.4%	VCSH	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	+2.8%	−3.7%	VCSH	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	3.5%	1.3%	VGSH	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	2.5%	0.9%	VGSH	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−11.3%	−5.5%	VGSH	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Upside capture	98.3%	97.7%		Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose.
Downside capture	98.3%	96.0%		Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better.
Beta	0.95	0.98	Not an edge	How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves.
R squared	0.99	0.94	Not an edge	Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	0.37	−0.09	VCSH	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	0.52	−0.14	VCSH	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Treynor	−0.003	−0.002		Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta.
Calmar	0.25	0.26	VGSH (slight)	Annualized return divided by the max drawdown.
Against the benchmark
Benchmark	SCHJ	SCHO		The ETF each fund is measured against.
Alpha	0.0% a year	0.0% a year	Not significant	Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts.
Alpha t-stat	−0.29	0.22	Not an edge	How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance.
Alpha range	−0.4% to +0.3%	−0.1% to +0.2%	Includes zero	The 95% range for the yearly alpha.
Information ratio	−0.06	0.07		Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error.
Tracking error	0.5%	0.3%	Not an edge	How far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 881 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

What they share

By the books each fund has filed, VCSH and VGSH hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated May 31, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

0% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first VCSH VGSH

US TREASURY N/B, due Apr 30, 2028 0.02% 0.99%

Only in one fund ↓

Only in VCSH

US TREASURY N/B, due May 31, 2028 0.83%

BANK OF AMER CRP, due Dec 20, 2028 0.23%

ABBVIE INC, due Nov 21, 2029 0.21%

CVS HEALTH CORP, due Mar 25, 2028 0.20%

T-MOBILE USA INC, due Apr 15, 2030 0.19%

BOEING CO, due May 1, 2030 0.19%

WELLS FARGO CO, due Jul 25, 2029 0.18%

JPMORGAN CHASE, due Apr 23, 2032 0.18%

Only in VGSH

US TREASURY N/B, due Jan 31, 2028 2.24%

US TREASURY N/B, due Apr 30, 2029 1.40%

US TREASURY N/B, due Jul 31, 2027 1.35%

US TREASURY N/B, due Feb 28, 2029 1.31%

US TREASURY N/B, due Mar 31, 2029 1.30%

US TREASURY N/B, due Jun 15, 2027 1.29%

US TREASURY N/B, due May 15, 2027 1.26%

US TREASURY N/B, due Aug 15, 2027 1.26%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

VCSH Vanguard Short-Term Corporate Bond ETF VGSH Vanguard Short-Term Treasury ETF

Where it sits Bond ETF Bond ETF

Issuer Vanguard Vanguard

What it is Tracks an index of Short-Term Corporate Bond Tracks an index of Short-Term Treasury

Total return, 1 year +1.3% +1.7%

Its benchmark over the same days +1.3% (SCHJ) +1.8% (SCHO)

Gap to its benchmark 0.0 pts vs SCHJ −0.1 pts vs SCHO

Expense ratio 0.03% 0.03%

Holdings 3064 93

Net assets, as of Sep 30, 2026 $43.9bn $35.1bn

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

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-E93C2192E4

VCSH and VGSH do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?

What each follows. VCSH follows Bloomberg U.S. 1-5 Year Corporate Bond Index and VGSH follows Bloomberg U.S. Treasury 1-3 Year Index.
Holdings in common. 0% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated May 31, 2026).
Number of holdings. VCSH holds 3,064 positions and VGSH holds 93.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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About each fund

VCSH

VCSH tracks an index of Short-Term Corporate Bond. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +1.3% with distributions reinvested, against +1.3% for its benchmark, the Bloomberg U.S. 1-5 Year Corporate Bond Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.03% a year.

VGSH

VGSH tracks an index of Short-Term Treasury. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +1.7% with distributions reinvested, against +1.8% for its benchmark, the Bloomberg U.S. Treasury 1-3 Year Index.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, VCSH or VGSH?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, VCSH returned +1.3% and VGSH +1.7%.
Which is cheaper, VCSH or VGSH?: Neither: VCSH and VGSH both charge 0.03% a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

SHY vs VCSH IEI vs VCSH MBB vs VCSH JAAA vs VCSH BSV vs VGSH IGSB vs VGSH SPSB vs VGSH IEF vs VGSH

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

VCSH and VGSH filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

VCSH and VGSH prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

Vanguard page for VCSH ↗

Vanguard page for VGSH ↗

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.

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

ETFIQ, VCSH against VGSH, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/vcsh-vs-vgsh

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