Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
VHT vs XBI: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, VHT returned +25.0% to XBI's +41.2%, and VHT charges 0.09% to XBI's 0.35%.
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Net assets: $19.1bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard Health Care ETF, and $10.3bn on Oct 27, 2026 for State Street SPDR S&P Biotech ETF.
Pair scorecard
VHT costs 0.26 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 16.2 points; VHT is 1.8 times larger.
| Measure | VHT | XBI |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +25.0% | +41.2% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its all-time high | 8.9%, high on Feb 8, 2021 | |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | MSCI US Investable Market Index (IMI)/Health Care 25/50 | Biotech |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.09% | 0.35% |
| Net assets, as of Sep 30, 2026 | $19.1bn | $10.4bn |
| Active share vs the S&P 500 | 98% | |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 16% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 51.8% | 18% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Sep 30, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Feb 17, 2006 to Oct 23, 2026 · 1,079 weekly returnsXBI returned more: +817.9% to +710.8%. VHT swung less: 16.9% to 29.2%. VHT fell less at its worst: −38.1% to −61.5%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | VHT | XBI | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +710.8% | +817.9% | XBI | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +10.6% | +11.3% | XBI (slight) | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +495.0% | +767.9% | XBI | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 16.9% | 29.2% | VHT | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 11.9% | 20.0% | VHT | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −38.1% | −61.5% | VHT | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.58 | 0.45 | VHT | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.82 | 0.66 | VHT | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.28 | 0.18 | VHT | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 1,079 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, VHT and XBI hold 16% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Sep 30, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026.
half
16% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
VHT and XBI on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
VHT and XBI 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 XBI follows Biotech.
- Holdings in common. 16% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Sep 30, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026).
- One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 VHT returned +25.0% and XBI +41.2% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 16.2 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%.
XBI
By weight, 13% of XBI's portfolio is stocks that are also in the S&P 500; its active share against the S&P 500 is 98%. The top ten holdings are 18% of the fund across 165 positions, as published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 the fund returned +41.2% with distributions reinvested. It sits 8.9% below its all-time high of Feb 8, 2021.
Questions people ask
- Are VHT and XBI in the same category?
- VHT is a stock ETF and XBI is a thematic ETF, so they do different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and holdings.
- Which returned more over the last year, VHT or XBI?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, VHT returned +25.0% and XBI +41.2%.
- Which is cheaper, VHT or XBI?
- VHT is cheaper, by 0.26 percentage points a year. That is about $26 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 XBI, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/vht-vs-xbi
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). VHT against XBI. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/vht-vs-xbi
[VHT against XBI (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/vht-vs-xbi)
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