Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
VHT vs VXUS: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, VHT returned +25.0% to VXUS's +13.8%; 0% 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 $163.2bn for Vanguard Total International Stock ETF.
Pair scorecard
VXUS costs 0.04 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 11.2 points; VXUS is 8.5 times larger.
| Measure | VHT | VXUS |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +25.0% | +13.8% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 5.1%, high on Sep 4, 2026 | |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | MSCI US Investable Market Index (IMI)/Health Care 25/50 | FTSE Global All Cap ex US Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.09% | 0.05% |
| Net assets, as of Sep 30, 2026 | $19.1bn | $163.2bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 0% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 51.8% | 14.6% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Sep 30, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Feb 4, 2011 to Oct 23, 2026 · 820 weekly returnsVHT returned more: +620.0% to +158.2%. VHT and VXUS swung about the same: 16.3% and 16.5%. VHT fell less at its worst: −25.6% to −34.6%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | VHT | VXUS | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +620.0% | +158.2% | VHT | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +13.3% | +6.2% | VHT | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +475.1% | +62.6% | VHT | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 16.3% | 16.5% | Tie | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 11.2% | 11.8% | VHT (slight) | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −25.6% | −34.6% | VHT | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.75 | 0.35 | VHT | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 1.09 | 0.49 | VHT | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.52 | 0.18 | VHT | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 820 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, VHT and VXUS hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Sep 30, 2026.
half
0% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
VHT and VXUS on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
VHT and VXUS 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 VXUS follows FTSE Global All Cap ex US Index.
- Holdings in common. 0% 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 VXUS +13.8% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 11.2 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%.
VXUS
VXUS tracks an index of Total International Stock. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +13.8% 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 8,913 positions, with the top ten at 14.6%. It sat 5.1% below its high of Sep 4, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, VHT or VXUS?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, VHT returned +25.0% and VXUS +13.8%.
- Which is cheaper, VHT or VXUS?
- VXUS 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 VXUS, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/vht-vs-vxus
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). VHT against VXUS. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/vht-vs-vxus
[VHT against VXUS (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/vht-vs-vxus)
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