Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
VGLT vs VUSB: Differences, Returns & Fees
VGLT's duration was 13.5 years on May 31, 2026 and VUSB's 1.0 on Jun 30, 2026; VGLT charges 0.03% to VUSB's 0.10%.
askIQ about this page
askIQ about VGLT and VUSB
Net assets on Sep 30, 2026: $10.4bn for Vanguard Long-Term Treasury ETF and $9.9bn for Vanguard Ultra-Short Bond ETF.
Pair scorecard
VGLT costs 0.07 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 10.2 points; VGLT is 1.1 times larger.
| Measure | VGLT | VUSB |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | −6.7% | +3.5% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 38.8%, high on Aug 4, 2020 | |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | Bloomberg U.S. Long Treasury Index | No index, actively managed |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.03% | 0.10% |
| Net assets, as of Sep 30, 2026 | $10.4bn | $9.9bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 0% | |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated May 31, 2026 and Jun 30, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Apr 16, 2021 to Oct 23, 2026 · 288 weekly returnsEach against its own benchmark: VGLT against SCHQ, Oct 18, 2019 to Oct 23, 2026; VUSB against AGG, Apr 16, 2021 to Oct 23, 2026.
VUSB returned more: +20.0% to −25.5%. VUSB swung less: 0.8% to 13.3%. VUSB fell less at its worst: −1.7% to −40.6%.
Full scorecard
19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | VGLT | VUSB | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | −25.5% | +20.0% | VUSB | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | −5.2% | +3.3% | VUSB | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | −38.5% | −1.0% | VUSB | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 13.3% | 0.8% | VUSB | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 10.0% | 0.6% | VUSB | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −40.6% | −1.7% | VUSB | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Upside capture | 99.5% | 17.4% | Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose. | |
| Downside capture | 99.8% | −1.3% | Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better. | |
| Beta | 1.00 | 0.10 | Not an edge | How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves. |
| R squared | 1.00 | 0.45 | Not an edge | Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | −0.60 | −0.33 | VUSB | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | −0.80 | −0.45 | VUSB | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Treynor | −0.058 | −0.027 | Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta. | |
| Calmar | −0.13 | 1.96 | VUSB | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
| Against the benchmark | ||||
| Benchmark | SCHQ | AGG | The ETF each fund is measured against. | |
| Alpha | 0.0% a year | +0.1% a year | Not significant | Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts. |
| Alpha t-stat | −0.24 | 0.27 | Not an edge | How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance. |
| Alpha range | −0.4% to +0.3% | −0.4% to +0.6% | Includes zero | The 95% range for the yearly alpha. |
| Information ratio | −0.04 | 0.63 | Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error. | |
| Tracking error | 0.5% | 5.1% | Not an edge | How far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 288 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, VGLT and VUSB hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated May 31, 2026 and Jun 30, 2026.
half
0% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
VGLT and VUSB on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
VGLT and VUSB do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. VGLT follows Bloomberg U.S. Long Treasury Index and VUSB follows No index, actively managed.
- Holdings in common. 0% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated May 31, 2026 and Jun 30, 2026).
- One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 VGLT returned −6.7% and VUSB +3.5% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 10.2 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
The two-page PDF for this pair is coming. Save the comparison to follow its changes. Free. It needs an email sign-in, once.
VGLT
VGLT tracks an index of Long-term Treasury. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned −6.7% with distributions reinvested, against −6.7% for its benchmark, the Bloomberg U.S. Long Treasury Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.03% a year. It sat 38.8% below its high of Aug 4, 2020 on Oct 28, 2026.
VUSB
VUSB is actively managed and tracks no index. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +3.5% with distributions reinvested, against −1.4% for its benchmark, the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.10% a year.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, VGLT or VUSB?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, VGLT returned −6.7% and VUSB +3.5%.
- Which is cheaper, VGLT or VUSB?
- VGLT is cheaper, by 0.07 percentage points a year. That is about $7 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.
Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown
ETFIQ, VGLT against VUSB, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/vglt-vs-vusb
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). VGLT against VUSB. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/vglt-vs-vusb
[VGLT against VUSB (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/vglt-vs-vusb)
Free to use with attribution for data ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.