Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
VHT vs VXF: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, VHT returned +25.0% to VXF's +10.6%; 13% of their weight is in the same names.
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Net assets on Sep 30, 2026: $19.1bn for Vanguard Health Care ETF and $30.2bn for Vanguard Extended Market ETF.
Pair scorecard
VXF costs 0.04 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 14.4 points; VXF is 1.6 times larger.
| Measure | VHT | VXF |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +25.0% | +10.6% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 6.6%, high on Aug 14, 2026 | |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | MSCI US Investable Market Index (IMI)/Health Care 25/50 | S&P Completion Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.09% | 0.05% |
| Net assets, as of Sep 30, 2026 | $19.1bn | $30.2bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 13% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 51.8% | 11.3% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Sep 30, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Feb 6, 2004 to Oct 23, 2026 · 1,185 weekly returnsVHT returned slightly more: +797.6% to +740.7%. VHT swung less: 16.4% to 21.5%. VHT fell less at its worst: −38.1% to −57.4%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | VHT | VXF | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +797.6% | +740.7% | VHT (slight) | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +10.1% | +9.8% | VHT (slight) | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +552.3% | +527.0% | VHT (slight) | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 16.4% | 21.5% | VHT | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 11.6% | 15.1% | VHT | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −38.1% | −57.4% | VHT | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.56 | 0.46 | VHT | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.79 | 0.65 | VHT | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.27 | 0.17 | VHT | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 1,185 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, VHT and VXF hold 13% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Sep 30, 2026.
half
13% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
VHT and VXF on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
VHT and VXF do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. VHT follows MSCI US Investable Market Index (IMI)/Health Care 25/50 and VXF follows S&P Completion Index.
- Holdings in common. 13% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Sep 30, 2026).
- One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 VHT returned +25.0% and VXF +10.6% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 14.4 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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VHT
VHT tracks an index of Health Care. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +25.0% with distributions reinvested, against +25.4% for its benchmark, the MSCI US Investable Market Index (IMI)/Health Care 25/50. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.09% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer as of Sep 30, 2026, 86% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 414 positions, with the top ten at 51.8%.
VXF
VXF tracks an index of Extended Market. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +10.6% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.05% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer as of Sep 30, 2026, 0% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 3,361 positions, with the top ten at 11.3%. It sat 6.6% below its high of Aug 14, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, VHT or VXF?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, VHT returned +25.0% and VXF +10.6%.
- Which is cheaper, VHT or VXF?
- VXF is cheaper, by 0.04 percentage points a year. That is about $4 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.
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ETFIQ, VHT against VXF, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/vht-vs-vxf
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). VHT against VXF. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/vht-vs-vxf
[VHT against VXF (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/vht-vs-vxf)
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