Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
VTI vs XAR: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, VTI returned +13.5% to XAR's −10.0%, and VTI charges 0.03% to XAR's 0.35%.
askIQ about this page
askIQ about VTI and XAR
Net assets: $689.2bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard Morningstar Total Stock Market ETF, and $5.0bn on Oct 27, 2026 for State Street SPDR S&P Aerospace & Defense ETF.
Pair scorecard
VTI costs 0.32 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 23.5 points; VTI is far larger, $689.2bn against $5.5bn.
| Measure | VTI | XAR |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +13.5% | −10.0% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its all-time high | 24.1%, high on Aug 14, 2026 | |
| Against its benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | Morningstar US Total Market Index | Defense |
| Against the S&P 500, 1 year | behind by 23.7 pts | |
| Against its benchmark, 1 year | behind by 23.7 pts | |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.03% | 0.35% |
| Net assets, as of Sep 30, 2026 | $689.2bn | $5.5bn |
| Active share vs the S&P 500 | 98% | |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 2% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 34.7% | 32% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Sep 30, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Oct 7, 2011 to Oct 23, 2026 · 785 weekly returnsXAR returned more: +905.6% to +718.5%. VTI swung less: 16.2% to 23.3%. VTI fell less at its worst: −32.9% to −45.1%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | VTI | XAR | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +718.5% | +905.6% | XAR | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +14.9% | +16.5% | XAR (slight) | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +532.5% | +760.2% | XAR | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 16.2% | 23.3% | VTI | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 11.1% | 15.5% | VTI | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −32.9% | −45.1% | VTI | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.84 | 0.70 | VTI | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 1.23 | 1.05 | VTI | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.45 | 0.37 | VTI | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 785 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, VTI and XAR hold 2% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Sep 30, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026.
half
2% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
VTI and XAR on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
VTI and XAR do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. VTI follows Morningstar US Total Market Index and XAR follows Defense.
- Holdings in common. 2% 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 VTI returned +13.5% and XAR −10.0% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 23.5 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
The two-page PDF for this pair is coming. Save the comparison to follow its changes. Free. It needs an email sign-in, once.
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%.
XAR
By weight, 40% of XAR'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 32% of the fund across 50 positions, as published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 the fund returned −10.0% with distributions reinvested against +13.7% for its benchmark, the S&P 500 Index, so a holder was behind by 23.7 pts. It sits 24.1% below its all-time high of Aug 14, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Are VTI and XAR in the same category?
- VTI is a stock ETF and XAR 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, VTI or XAR?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, VTI returned +13.5% and XAR −10.0%.
- Which is cheaper, VTI or XAR?
- VTI is cheaper, by 0.32 percentage points a year. That is about $32 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.
Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown
ETFIQ, VTI against XAR, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/vti-vs-xar
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). VTI against XAR. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/vti-vs-xar
[VTI against XAR (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/vti-vs-xar)
Free to use with attribution for data ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.