Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
VNQ vs VTI: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, VNQ returned +4.8% to VTI's +13.5%; 2% of their weight is in the same names.
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Net assets on Sep 30, 2026: $35.9bn for Vanguard Real Estate ETF and $689.2bn for Vanguard Morningstar Total Stock Market ETF.
Pair scorecard
VTI costs 0.10 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 8.7 points; VTI is 19.2 times larger.
| Measure | VNQ | VTI |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +4.8% | +13.5% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 8.3%, high on Jul 28, 2026 | |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | MSCI US Investable Market Real Estate 25/50 Index | Morningstar US Total Market Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.13% | 0.03% |
| Net assets, as of Sep 30, 2026 | $35.9bn | $689.2bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 2% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 55.8% | 34.7% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Sep 30, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Oct 8, 2004 to Oct 23, 2026 · 1,150 weekly returnsVTI returned more: +919.6% to +364.5%. VTI swung less: 17.8% to 25.0%. VTI fell less at its worst: −54.8% to −72.5%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | VNQ | VTI | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +364.5% | +919.6% | VTI | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +7.2% | +11.1% | VTI | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +80.5% | +587.0% | VTI | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 25.0% | 17.8% | VTI | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 17.3% | 12.6% | VTI | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −72.5% | −54.8% | VTI | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.33 | 0.58 | VTI | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.48 | 0.82 | VTI | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.10 | 0.20 | VTI | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 1,150 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, VNQ and VTI hold 2% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Sep 30, 2026.
half
2% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
VNQ and VTI on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
VNQ and VTI do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. VNQ follows MSCI US Investable Market Real Estate 25/50 Index and VTI follows Morningstar US Total Market Index.
- Holdings in common. 2% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Sep 30, 2026).
- One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 VNQ returned +4.8% and VTI +13.5% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 8.7 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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VNQ
VNQ tracks an index of US real estate. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +4.8% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.13% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer as of Sep 30, 2026, 63% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 141 positions, with the top ten at 55.8%. It sat 8.3% below its high of Jul 28, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.
VTI
VTI tracks an index of US total market. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +13.5% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.03% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer as of Sep 30, 2026, 88% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 3,521 positions, with the top ten at 34.7%.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, VNQ or VTI?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, VNQ returned +4.8% and VTI +13.5%.
- Which is cheaper, VNQ or VTI?
- VTI is cheaper, by 0.10 percentage points a year. That is about $10 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, VNQ against VTI, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/vnq-vs-vti
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). VNQ against VTI. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/vnq-vs-vti
[VNQ against VTI (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/vnq-vs-vti)
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