Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
VTI vs XYLD: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, VTI returned +13.5% to XYLD's +15.8%, and VTI charges 0.03% to XYLD's 0.60%.
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Net assets: $689.2bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard Morningstar Total Stock Market ETF, and $3.4bn on Oct 12, 2026 for Global X S&P 500 Covered Call ETF.
Pair scorecard
VTI costs 0.57 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 2.3 points.
| Measure | VTI | XYLD |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +13.5% | +15.8% |
| Price change, 1 year | rose 12.2% | rose 4.3% |
| Latest payout, annualized | 9.1% | |
| Return of capital, issuer estimate | 93% of the Sep 24, 2026 payment | |
| Against its benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | Morningstar US Total Market Index | Benchmark: S&P 500, measured through SPY |
| Against its benchmark, same days | ahead by 2.2 pts | |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.03% | 0.60% |
| Net assets, VTI as of Sep 30, 2026 and XYLD as of Oct 12, 2026 | $689.2bn | $3.4bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 87% | |
| In the S&P 500, by weight | 88% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 34.7% | |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and Sep 30, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Jul 5, 2013 to Oct 23, 2026 · 694 weekly returnsVTI returned more: +452.2% to +188.0%. XYLD swung less: 11.9% to 16.4%. VTI and XYLD fell about the same at their worst: −32.9% and −32.6%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | VTI | XYLD | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +452.2% | +188.0% | VTI | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +13.7% | +8.2% | VTI | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +342.6% | +2.2% | VTI | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 16.4% | 11.9% | XYLD | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 11.4% | 9.2% | XYLD | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −32.9% | −32.6% | Tie | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.75 | 0.57 | VTI | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 1.08 | 0.73 | VTI | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.42 | 0.25 | VTI | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 694 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, VTI and XYLD hold 87% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and Sep 30, 2026.
half
87% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
VTI and XYLD on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ. Cash paid: distributions over the window, as a share of the starting price.
VTI and XYLD do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. VTI follows Morningstar US Total Market Index and XYLD is measured against S&P 500 through SPY.
- One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 VTI returned +13.5% and XYLD +15.8% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 2.3 points.
- Cost. VTI charges 0.03% of assets a year and XYLD 0.60%, a gap of 0.57 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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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%.
XYLD
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, XYLD paid 10.6% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 4.3%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +15.8%. S&P 500 (SPY) returned +13.6% over the same days, so a holder was ahead by 2.2 pts. At its price on Oct 28, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 9.1%, paid monthly. Global X estimates that 93% of the distribution paid Sep 24, 2026 was a return of capital (its 19a-1 notice). That is a tax label, not a measure of erosion.
Questions people ask
- Are VTI and XYLD in the same category?
- VTI is a stock ETF and XYLD is an option-income 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 XYLD?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, VTI returned +13.5% and XYLD +15.8%.
- Which is cheaper, VTI or XYLD?
- VTI is cheaper, by 0.57 percentage points a year. That is about $57 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, VTI against XYLD, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/vti-vs-xyld
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). VTI against XYLD. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/vti-vs-xyld
[VTI against XYLD (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/vti-vs-xyld)
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