{"url":"https://etfiq.com/compare/any/vug-vs-xar","section":"compare","title":"VUG vs XAR: ETF Returns, Fees and Overlap | ETFIQ","description":"VUG vs XAR to Oct 28, 2026: one-year total return +6.6% against \u221210.0%, expense ratio 0.03% against 0.35%. 2% of their weight is in the same names.","as_of":"Oct 28, 2026","structured_data":[{"@type":"FAQPage","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"Are VUG and XAR in the same category?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"VUG 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."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"Which returned more over the last year, VUG or XAR?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, VUG returned +6.6% and XAR \u221210.0%."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"Which is cheaper, VUG or XAR?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"VUG 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."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"How much do VUG and XAR overlap with the S&P 500?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"By their latest filed holdings, 97% of VUG and 40% of XAR by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds."}}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"ETFIQ","item":"https://etfiq.com/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Compare ETFs","item":"https://etfiq.com/compare/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"VUG vs XAR","item":"https://etfiq.com/compare/any/vug-vs-xar"}]},{"@type":"WebPage","name":"VUG vs XAR: ETF Returns, Fees and Overlap","description":"VUG vs XAR to Oct 28, 2026: one-year total return +6.6% against \u221210.0%, expense ratio 0.03% against 0.35%. 2% of their weight is in the same names.","url":"https://etfiq.com/compare/any/vug-vs-xar","dateModified":"2026-10-28","speakable":{"@type":"SpeakableSpecification","cssSelector":[".verdict",".lede",".faq"]},"isPartOf":{"@type":"WebSite","name":"ETFIQ","url":"https://etfiq.com"}},{"@type":"Dataset","name":"ETFIQ comparison of VUG and XAR","description":"VUG vs XAR to Oct 28, 2026: one-year total return +6.6% against \u221210.0%, expense ratio 0.03% against 0.35%. 2% of their weight is in the same names.","dateModified":"2026-10-28","creator":{"@id":"https://etfiq.com/#org"},"license":"https://etfiq.com/license/","isAccessibleForFree":true,"url":"https://etfiq.com/compare/any/vug-vs-xar","publisher":{"@id":"https://etfiq.com/#org"},"inLanguage":"en","creativeWorkStatus":"Published","distribution":[{"@type":"DataDownload","encodingFormat":"application/json","contentUrl":"https://etfiq.com/data/alternatives.json"},{"@type":"DataDownload","encodingFormat":"application/json","contentUrl":"https://etfiq.com/data/core.json"},{"@type":"DataDownload","encodingFormat":"application/json","contentUrl":"https://etfiq.com/data/crypto.json"},{"@type":"DataDownload","encodingFormat":"application/json","contentUrl":"https://etfiq.com/data/funds.json"},{"@type":"DataDownload","encodingFormat":"application/json","contentUrl":"https://etfiq.com/data/income.json"},{"@type":"DataDownload","encodingFormat":"application/json","contentUrl":"https://etfiq.com/data/leverage.json"},{"@type":"DataDownload","encodingFormat":"application/json","contentUrl":"https://etfiq.com/data/thematic.json"}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"ETFIQ","item":"https://etfiq.com/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Compare ETFs","item":"https://etfiq.com/compare/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"VUG vs XAR","item":"https://etfiq.com/compare/any/vug-vs-xar"}]},{"@type":"WebPage","name":"VUG vs XAR: ETF Returns, Fees and Overlap","description":"VUG vs XAR to Oct 28, 2026: one-year total return +6.6% against \u221210.0%, expense ratio 0.03% against 0.35%. 2% of their weight is in the same names.","url":"https://etfiq.com/compare/any/vug-vs-xar","dateModified":"2026-10-28","isPartOf":{"@type":"WebSite","name":"ETFIQ","url":"https://etfiq.com"},"speakable":{"@type":"SpeakableSpecification","cssSelector":[".verdict",".lede",".faq"]},"publisher":{"@id":"https://etfiq.com/#org"}}],"characters":5461,"truncated":true,"content":"ETFIQ / Compare ETFs / VUG vs XAR \n \n Data as of Oct 28, 2026.\n ETFIQ etfiq.com \u00b7 independent ETF data \n VUG vs XAR: Differences, Returns & Fees\n Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, VUG returned +6.6% to XAR's \u221210.0%, and VUG charges 0.03% to XAR's 0.35%.\n Copy this for sharing \n VUG costs 0.32 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 16.6 points; VUG is far larger, $232.9bn against $5.5bn.\n VUG and XAR at a glance. As of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ. VUG XAR \n Expense ratio 0.03% 0.35% \n Net assets, as of Sep 30, 2026 $232.9bn $5.5bn \n Total return, 1 year +6.6% \u221210.0% \n What it tracks ","source":"ETFIQ, independent ETF data. Recomputed nightly from public filings and prices.","publisher":{"@id":"https://etfiq.com/#org","name":"ETFIQ","url":"https://etfiq.com"},"license":"https://etfiq.com/license/","license_text":"Data ETFIQ computes is free to use with attribution: ETFIQ (etfiq.com). Issuer data stays under its owner's terms.","citation":"ETFIQ, VUG against XAR, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/vug-vs-xar","a":{"ticker":"VUG","name":"Vanguard Morningstar Growth ETF","issuer":"Vanguard","desk":"core","as_of":"2026-10-28","verdict":"VUG tracks an index of US growth and returned +6.6% over the past year.","url":"https://etfiq.com/funds/vug","key_facts":[{"label":"Total return, 1 year","value":"+6.6%","as_of":"2026-10-28","source":"computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices"},{"label":"Expense ratio","value":"0.03%","as_of":"2026-04-28","source":"485BPOS XBRL, Apr 28, 2026"},{"label":"Holdings","value":"137","as_of":"2026-09-30","source":"the issuer\u2019s holdings file"},{"label":"Below its high","value":"\u22124.1%","as_of":"2026-10-28","source":"ETFIQ"},{"label":"12-month yield, capital gains included, on its starting price","value":"0.4%","as_of":"2026-10-28","source":"computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and distributions"},{"label":"Last payment (paid quarterly), ex-date Sep 28, 2026","value":"$0.091","as_of":"2026-09-28","source":"Tiingo end-of-day distributions"},{"label":"Net assets","value":"$232.9bn","as_of":"2026-09-30","source":"the issuer\u2019s own number for this ETF, month end, as of Sep 30, 2026"}]},"b":{"ticker":"XAR","name":"State Street SPDR S&P Aerospace & Defense ETF","issuer":"State Street","desk":"themes","as_of":"2026-10-28","verdict":"Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, XAR lost 10.0%, against 13.7% for VOO.","url":"https://etfiq.com/funds/xar","key_facts":[{"label":"Already in the S&P 500","value":"39.7%","as_of":"2026-10-27","source":"the issuer\u2019s daily holdings file"},{"label":"Active share vs the S&P 500","value":"97.7%","as_of":"2026-10-27","source":"ETFIQ"},{"label":"Top ten holdings","value":"32.2%","as_of":"2026-10-27","source":"the issuer\u2019s daily holdings file"},{"label":"Total return, 1 year","value":"\u221210.0%","as_of":"2026-10-28","source":"computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices"},{"label":"12-month yield, capital gains included, on its starting price","value":"0.2%","as_of":"2026-10-28","source":"computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and distributions"},{"label":"Last payment (paid quarterly), ex-date Sep 21, 2026","value":"$0.1293","as_of":"2026-09-21","source":"Tiingo end-of-day distributions"},{"label":"Net assets","value":"$5.0bn","as_of":"2026-10-27","source":"the issuer\u2019s own daily fund list, as of Oct 27, 2026"},{"label":"Expense ratio","value":"0.35%","as_of":"2025-10-24","source":"485BPOS XBRL, Oct 24, 2025"}]},"overlap_pct":2,"full_text_at":"https://etfiq.com/compare/any/vug-vs-xar"}