Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
VNQ vs XLRE: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, VNQ returned +4.8% to XLRE's +4.3%; 63% of their weight is in the same names.
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Net assets: $35.9bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard Real Estate ETF, and $8.0bn on Oct 27, 2026 for State Street Real Estate Select Sector SPDR ETF.
Pair scorecard
XLRE costs 0.05 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 0.5 points; VNQ is 4.7 times larger.
| Measure | VNQ | XLRE |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +4.8% | +4.3% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 8.3%, high on Jul 28, 2026 | 7.7%, high on Jul 28, 2026 |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | MSCI US Investable Market Real Estate 25/50 Index | Real Estate Select Sector Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.13% | 0.08% |
| Net assets, as of Sep 30, 2026 | $35.9bn | $7.7bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 63% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 55.8% | 58.9% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Sep 30, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Oct 16, 2015 to Oct 23, 2026 · 575 weekly returnsXLRE returned more: +102.9% to +79.5%. XLRE swung slightly less: 20.8% to 21.4%. XLRE fell less at its worst: −35.2% to −39.6%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | VNQ | XLRE | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +79.5% | +102.9% | XLRE | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +5.4% | +6.6% | XLRE | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +15.8% | +38.9% | XLRE | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 21.4% | 20.8% | XLRE (slight) | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 14.9% | 14.3% | XLRE (slight) | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −39.6% | −35.2% | XLRE | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.25 | 0.30 | XLRE | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.35 | 0.44 | XLRE | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.14 | 0.19 | XLRE | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 575 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, VNQ and XLRE hold 63% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Sep 30, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026.
half
63% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
VNQ and XLRE on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
VNQ and XLRE are built for the same job. How do they differ in cost, holdings and results?
- What each follows. VNQ follows MSCI US Investable Market Real Estate 25/50 Index and XLRE follows Real Estate Select Sector Index.
- Number of holdings. VNQ holds 141 positions and XLRE holds 31.
- Size. VNQ has $35.9bn in net assets and XLRE $7.7bn (net assets, as of Sep 30, 2026); VNQ is 4.7 times larger.
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.
XLRE
XLRE tracks an index of Real estate. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +4.3% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.08% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 100% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 31 positions, with the top ten at 58.9%. It sat 7.7% below its high of Jul 28, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, VNQ or XLRE?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, VNQ returned +4.8% and XLRE +4.3%.
- Which is cheaper, VNQ or XLRE?
- XLRE is cheaper, by 0.05 percentage points a year. That is about $5 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 XLRE, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/vnq-vs-xlre
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). VNQ against XLRE. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/vnq-vs-xlre
[VNQ against XLRE (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/vnq-vs-xlre)
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