Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
VTIP vs VUSB: Differences, Returns & Fees
On Jun 30, 2026 VTIP's duration was 2.3 years and VUSB's 1.0; VTIP charges 0.03% to VUSB's 0.10%.
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Net assets on Sep 30, 2026: $20.9bn for Vanguard Short-Term Inflation-Protected Securities Index Fund ETF Shares and $9.9bn for Vanguard Ultra-Short Bond ETF.
Pair scorecard
VTIP costs 0.07 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 1.3 points; VTIP is 2.1 times larger.
| Measure | VTIP | VUSB |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +2.2% | +3.5% |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | Bloomberg U.S. Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS) 0-5 Years Index | No index, actively managed |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.03% | 0.10% |
| Net assets, as of Sep 30, 2026 | $20.9bn | $9.9bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 0% | |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Jun 30, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Apr 16, 2021 to Oct 23, 2026 · 288 weekly returnsVUSB returned slightly more: +20.0% to +19.6%. VUSB swung less: 0.8% to 2.6%. VUSB fell less at its worst: −1.7% to −5.5%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | VTIP | VUSB | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +19.6% | +20.0% | VUSB (slight) | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +3.3% | +3.3% | VUSB (slight) | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | −5.6% | −1.0% | VUSB | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 2.6% | 0.8% | VUSB | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 1.9% | 0.6% | VUSB | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −5.5% | −1.7% | VUSB | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | −0.12 | −0.33 | VTIP | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | −0.16 | −0.45 | VTIP | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.60 | 1.96 | VUSB | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 288 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, VTIP and VUSB hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Jun 30, 2026.
half
0% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
VTIP and VUSB on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
VTIP and VUSB do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. VTIP follows Bloomberg U.S. Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS) 0-5 Years Index and VUSB follows No index, actively managed.
- Holdings in common. 0% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Jun 30, 2026).
- Number of holdings. VTIP holds 26 positions and VUSB holds 1344.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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VTIP
VTIP tracks an index of Short-Term Inflation-Protected Securities. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +2.2% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.03% a year.
VUSB
VUSB is actively managed and tracks no index. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +3.5% with distributions reinvested, against −1.4% for its benchmark, the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.10% a year.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, VTIP or VUSB?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, VTIP returned +2.2% and VUSB +3.5%.
- Which is cheaper, VTIP or VUSB?
- VTIP is cheaper, by 0.07 percentage points a year. That is about $7 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, VTIP against VUSB, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/vtip-vs-vusb
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). VTIP against VUSB. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/vtip-vs-vusb
[VTIP against VUSB (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/vtip-vs-vusb)
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