By Jozsef Huszar • Updated: October 24, 2026
The best index ETFs are rarely the ones with the flashiest name. They are the ones that give you the exposure you want at a price you barely notice. We compared eight widely held US-listed ETFs from Vanguard, iShares and Invesco, using a fee table researched on October 24, 2026. Every figure comes from the fund issuers’ own materials or from our own arithmetic, and ETF expense ratios are the starting point. If you need a refresher on how these funds work, read our ETF basics guide first.
Quick comparison
The table lists each fund’s expense ratio, what it holds, the role it usually plays in a portfolio, and the exchange where it trades. Look at the expense ratio first, then at the exposure column, because two funds with the same price can hold very different things.
| Fund / Product | Expense Ratio | Primary Exposure | Portfolio Role | Exchange Listed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vanguard – Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI) | 0.03% | Broad U.S. equity market, including large-, mid-, small-, and micro-cap stocks across growth and value styles. | Core U.S. equity holding for broad domestic diversification and long-term capital growth. | NYSE Arca |
| Vanguard – Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) | 0.03% | U.S. large-cap stocks across 11 sectors, tracking the S&P 500 Index | Core U.S. equity holding for long-term capital growth, providing exposure to 500 leading U.S. companies | NYSE Arca |
| iShares – iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV) | 0.03% | U.S. large-cap stocks tracking the S&P 500 Index, representing leading companies across major industries | Core U.S. equity holding for low-cost, long-term capital growth and broad large-cap diversification | NYSE Arca |
| Invesco – Invesco QQQ Trust, Series 1 (QQQ) | 0.18% | 100+ large domestic and international nonfinancial companies listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market, tracking the Nasdaq-100 Index | Growth-oriented equity holding focused on large-cap innovation and technology-related companies; complements broader market funds but carries higher concentration risk | Nasdaq/NMS (Global Market) |
| Vanguard – Vanguard Total International Stock ETF (VXUS) | 0.05% | Developed and emerging-market stocks outside the United States, across large-, mid-, and small-cap companies | Core international equity holding for geographic diversification beyond U.S. stocks and long-term capital growth | Nasdaq |
| Vanguard – Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF (BND) | 0.03% | Broad U.S. investment-grade, taxable bond market, including Treasury, corporate, mortgage-backed, and asset-backed securities | Core fixed-income holding for income generation, portfolio diversification, and reducing reliance on equities | Nasdaq |
| iShares – iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF (AGG) | 0.03% | Broad U.S. investment-grade bond market, including Treasury, corporate, mortgage-backed, and other fixed-income securities | Core fixed-income holding for income generation, broad bond-market diversification, and balancing equity risk | NYSE Arca |
| iShares – iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) | 0.19% | U.S. small-cap stocks tracking the Russell 2000 Index, spanning a broad range of industries | Small-cap equity allocation for exposure to smaller U.S. companies and diversification beyond large-cap stocks; higher volatility and liquidity risk | NYSE Arca |
Five of the eight funds charge 0.03%, which is $3 a year per $10,000 invested. The two specialty funds, QQQ at 0.18% and IWM at 0.19%, cost six times as much. VXUS sits in between at 0.05%.
How we chose and what protection applies
We used the eight funds in the fee table as given and did not add or drop any. They cover the main building blocks of a simple portfolio: U.S. stocks, international stocks, U.S. bonds, and two satellite funds for growth and small companies. Three issuers are represented, Vanguard, iShares and Invesco, and the funds trade on NYSE Arca or Nasdaq.
The eight funds fall into four groups. VTI, VOO and IVV are broad U.S. stock funds. VXUS is the international stock fund. BND and AGG are broad bond funds. QQQ and IWM are narrower stock funds for investors who want a specific tilt, either toward large technology-related companies or toward small ones. Within a group, funds are close substitutes, so the choice often comes down to cost and to which broker you use.
An expense ratio is the yearly cost of running a fund, shown as a percentage of your investment. You never receive a separate bill. The cost is taken from the fund’s assets, so it lowers your return slowly and quietly. That is why a gap that looks tiny, such as 0.03% versus 0.18%, deserves attention over a long holding period.
ETFs are investments, not bank deposits, so FDIC insurance does not apply to them and they can lose value. Your brokerage account has a different safety net. SIPC protects the cash and securities in a customer’s brokerage account up to $500,000, including up to $250,000 for cash, if a member brokerage firm fails. It does not protect against market losses. You can read the details on the SIPC site, and our investor protection guide explains how this differs from FDIC coverage.
What a typical $10,000 investor looks like
To compare costs fairly, we need one simple profile. We assume you invest $10,000 once and add nothing more. We also assume the fund earns 6% a year before costs, and we subtract each fund’s expense ratio from that return. The 6% is a round number chosen only to isolate the effect of fees. It is not a forecast, and real returns will be higher or lower and will differ by fund.
We show 1, 5 and 10 years because they match common holding periods: one year as a test, five years for a mid-term goal, and ten years for retirement-style investing. The cost figure is the difference between what your money would be worth with no fee and what it is worth after the fee. Because the method scales with the amount, you can adjust it easily. A $50,000 investor pays five times the dollar amounts shown, and a $100,000 investor ten times.
What it costs in real life
Table 2 turns each expense ratio into dollars on the $10,000 profile above. Each figure is the gap between a hypothetical fee-free result and the fund’s net result at a 6% gross return, using compound growth. The ten-year column is the one to read first, because small differences compound the longest.
| Fund / Product | Expense ratio | Cost after 1 year | Cost after 5 years | Cost after 10 years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vanguard – Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI) | 0.03% | $3.00 | $18.93 | $50.62 |
| Vanguard – Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) | 0.03% | $3.00 | $18.93 | $50.62 |
| iShares – iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV) | 0.03% | $3.00 | $18.93 | $50.62 |
| Invesco – Invesco QQQ Trust, Series 1 (QQQ) | 0.18% | $18.00 | $113.24 | $301.79 |
| Vanguard – Vanguard Total International Stock ETF (VXUS) | 0.05% | $5.00 | $31.53 | $84.29 |
| Vanguard – Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF (BND) | 0.03% | $3.00 | $18.93 | $50.62 |
| iShares – iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF (AGG) | 0.03% | $3.00 | $18.93 | $50.62 |
| iShares – iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) | 0.19% | $19.00 | $119.51 | $318.42 |
Over ten years, the five 0.03% funds cost $50.62 on a $10,000 investment, while IWM costs $318.42 and QQQ costs $301.79. That is a gap of $267.80 and $251.17. The difference is not dramatic for a single fund, but it grows with your balance. On $100,000, the same gap would be about $2,678 for IWM against a 0.03% fund. A satellite fund can still earn its place, but you should know you are paying six times more for it.
Two practical points follow. First, comparing funds within a group is usually the best use of this table: VOO and IVV hold the same index at the same price, so there is no cost reason to prefer one. Second, the fee gap between groups is mostly a choice about exposure, not a mistake to fix. Cost is only one side of the decision. The next table shows the other side: what happens when markets fall.
What a bad year looks like
Fees are certain, but losses are not, and the funds differ a lot in how much risk they carry. Table 3 shows calendar-year 2022 total returns, with dividends reinvested, from a third-party data service called Total Real Returns. We chose 2022 because all eight funds existed that year and it was a hard year for both stocks and bonds. The dollar columns apply each return to $10,000. These are past results and are not a prediction.
| Fund / Product | 2022 total return | Loss on $10,000 | Value left of $10,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vanguard – Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI) | -19.52% | $1,952 | $8,048 |
| Vanguard – Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) | -18.17% | $1,817 | $8,183 |
| iShares – iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV) | -18.16% | $1,816 | $8,184 |
| Invesco – Invesco QQQ Trust, Series 1 (QQQ) | -32.58% | $3,258 | $6,742 |
| Vanguard – Vanguard Total International Stock ETF (VXUS) | -16.09% | $1,609 | $8,391 |
| Vanguard – Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF (BND) | -13.11% | $1,311 | $8,689 |
| iShares – iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF (AGG) | -13.02% | $1,302 | $8,698 |
| iShares – iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) | -20.48% | $2,048 | $7,952 |
QQQ lost 32.58%, or $3,258 on $10,000, which is more than double the loss of the two bond funds. That lines up with the “higher concentration risk” warning in the fee table. Even the bond funds fell more than 13%, so bonds reduce risk but do not remove it. Put the two tables together and the trade-off is clear. QQQ costs $251.17 more than a 0.03% fund over ten years in our model, yet in 2022 it lost $1,441 more than VOO on the same $10,000. A fee gap of this size is easy to measure, while the risk gap is the one that can derail a plan, so size your satellite holdings with that in mind. Notice also that QQQ’s extra fee, about $15 a year per $10,000 compared with a 0.03% fund, is small beside the $1,306 to $1,442 gap between QQQ’s 2022 loss and the loss of a broad U.S. stock fund (VTI, VOO or IVV).
Which one fits you
You want one core fund for U.S. stocks
Pick VTI, VOO or IVV. All three cost 0.03%, or $3.00 a year per $10,000, and $50.62 over ten years in our model. VTI holds large-, mid-, small- and micro-cap stocks, while VOO and IVV hold the 500 stocks in the S&P 500. In 2022 VOO and IVV lost 18.17% and 18.16%, and VTI lost 19.52%. Choose by exposure, not price, because the price is the same. If you want the widest slice of the U.S. market, VTI is the natural pick. If you prefer to hold only the 500 large companies in the S&P 500, VOO or IVV does that, and you can choose between them by the issuer or the platform you already use. Both S&P 500 funds lost almost exactly the same amount in 2022, within $1 per $10,000.
You want to add stocks outside the United States
VXUS gives exposure to developed and emerging markets outside the United States for 0.05%, or $84.29 over ten years on $10,000. It fell 16.09% in 2022, less than the U.S. stock funds that year. Past results can reverse, so use it for diversification, not as a bet. At 0.05% it costs $2.00 a year more per $10,000 than the 0.03% funds, which is a modest price for holding stocks in many countries.
You want a steadier core
BND and AGG both charge 0.03% and hold broad U.S. investment-grade bonds. They lost 13.11% and 13.02% in 2022, which is smaller than any stock fund in the table but still a real loss. Their job is to reduce reliance on equities, not to eliminate losses. BND and AGG are nearly identical on price and on 2022 results, a gap of 9 basis points in return, so either one can serve as the bond core. Compare how each fits the rest of your portfolio before you decide.
You want a growth or small-company tilt
QQQ and IWM cost 0.18% and 0.19%, and they carry the most risk here. QQQ lost 32.58% in 2022 and IWM lost 20.48%. Consider them only as a small slice next to a broad fund, and size the slice so a drop like that would not change your plans.
The bottom line: for most people, one broad U.S. stock fund plus a bond fund, and optionally VXUS, covers the basics at a cost of 0.03% to 0.05% each. Add QQQ or IWM only if you accept the extra fee and the larger swings. Expense ratios are the one number you can control before you invest.
What we did not cover
We did not compare brokerage commissions, bid-ask spreads, taxes, dividend yields, or tracking differences between funds that follow the same index. We also left out other ETFs, mutual funds, target-date funds and individual stocks, and we did not look at how each fund is constructed beyond the description in the fee table. Your own tax situation and account type, such as a taxable or retirement account, may change which fund is the better fit. We also did not model regular deposits, which would raise the dollar costs in proportion to the money you add, or the effect of changing your mix over time.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between VOO and IVV?
Both funds track the S&P 500 Index, both charge 0.03%, and both trade on NYSE Arca. VOO comes from Vanguard and IVV from iShares. In 2022 they returned -18.17% and -18.16%. The difference is tiny, so many investors simply choose the one that is easiest to buy at their broker.
Should I choose VTI or VOO?
Both cost 0.03%. VOO holds 500 large U.S. companies. VTI holds those companies plus mid-, small- and micro-cap stocks, so it spreads your money across more of the market. If you want the broadest U.S. exposure, choose VTI. If you prefer large companies only, choose VOO.
Are ETFs FDIC insured?
No. ETFs are investments, not bank deposits, so they can lose value and FDIC insurance does not apply. If your brokerage firm fails, SIPC may protect the securities and cash in your account up to $500,000, including $250,000 for cash. SIPC does not cover losses from falling prices.
Is paying 0.18% instead of 0.03% really worth worrying about?
On $10,000, 0.18% costs $18 a year against $3 for 0.03%. In our model that is $301.79 against $50.62 over ten years, a gap of $251.17. It is small for a single fund and larger as your balance grows, so pay it only for a fund you really need.
Do I pay the expense ratio as a separate fee?
No. The fund takes its expense ratio from its assets, so it is already reflected in the fund’s price and returns. You will not see a separate charge on your statement. Your broker may charge other costs, such as commissions or account fees, so check its fee schedule as well.
Methodology and last update
The fund list and expense ratios come from a fee table researched on October 24, 2026. Dollar costs are our own calculations at a 6% hypothetical gross return, and 2022 returns come from a third-party data service. We review the guide monthly. Check the issuer’s current prospectus before you buy, since expense ratios can change. This guide is general information and not personalized financial advice.