ETF Comparison

VOO vs VTI

Vanguard S&P 500 ETF vs Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF. Same expense ratio, same provider — so what is actually different?

Updated for 2026. Only widely-known public data used.

0.03%

Both Expense Ratios

500

VOO Holdings

3,600+

VTI Holdings

TL;DR

VOO and VTI are 82% the same fund. Both charge 0.03%. The difference is that VTI includes ~3,100 additional mid-cap and small-cap stocks that VOO does not. In practice, they perform almost identically. Pick one and never look back.

Choose VOO if...

+You want to track the world's most-followed benchmark (S&P 500)
+You want slightly higher liquidity and trading volume
+You believe large-cap stocks are all you need
+You want the simplest possible portfolio benchmark

Choose VTI if...

+You want exposure to the entire U.S. stock market in one fund
+You want small-cap and mid-cap diversification
+You believe in the small-cap premium over the long run
+You want a single fund that covers everything domestic

Side-by-Side Comparison

Every feature that matters, compared head-to-head.

Feature	VOO	VTI
Index Tracked	S&P 500 (500 large-cap U.S. stocks)	CRSP US Total Market Index (~3,600 stocks — large, mid, small, micro)
Expense Ratio	0.03%	0.03%
Number of Holdings	~500 stocks	~3,600 stocksEdge
Diversification	Large-cap only — no mid-cap, small-cap, or micro-cap exposure	Full U.S. stock market — large, mid, small, and micro-cap all includedEdge
Small-Cap Exposure	None — S&P 500 only includes the 500 largest U.S. companies	~10% in mid-cap, ~6% in small/micro-cap stocksEdge
Overlap	100% of VOO holdings are also in VTI	VOO's 500 stocks make up ~82% of VTI by weight
Simplicity	S&P 500 is the most-followed benchmark — easy to understand and compareEdge	Broader index is slightly less intuitive but still simple
Dividend Yield	~1.3% (varies with market conditions)	~1.3% (very similar — same large-cap stocks dominate)
Tax Efficiency	Excellent — Vanguard ETF structure, rarely distributes capital gains	Excellent — same Vanguard ETF structure
Liquidity	Extremely liquid — one of the most-traded ETFs in the worldEdge	Very liquid — slightly lower daily volume than VOO but still massive

Data as of early 2026. Expense ratios are identical. The key difference is breadth of holdings.

What Is VOO?

VOO is the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF. It tracks the S&P 500 index, which consists of approximately 500 of the largest publicly traded U.S. companies, selected by the S&P Index Committee based on market capitalization, liquidity, and other criteria.

VOO launched on September 7, 2010 and has grown into one of the largest ETFs in the world. It charges an expense ratio of just 0.03% — that is $3 per year for every $10,000 invested. The fund is managed by Vanguard and is the ETF share class of the Vanguard 500 Index Fund, which has been around since 1976 when Jack Bogle created the first retail index fund.

The S&P 500 is the most-followed stock market index in the world. When people say “the market was up 1% today,” they are usually referring to the S&P 500. Owning VOO means owning a slice of Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Nvidia, Alphabet, Meta, Berkshire Hathaway, and roughly 493 other companies — all in a single fund.

What Is VTI?

VTI is the Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF. It tracks the CRSP US Total Market Index, which includes virtually every investable U.S. stock — approximately 3,600 companies spanning large-cap, mid-cap, small-cap, and micro-cap segments.

VTI launched on May 24, 2001 and, like VOO, charges an expense ratio of 0.03%. It is the ETF share class of the Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund (VTSAX for Admiral Shares), which is Vanguard's single most popular fund by assets.

The key difference from VOO is the tail: VTI includes approximately 3,100 additional stocks that are not in the S&P 500. These are mid-cap companies (like Zillow or Five Below), small-cap companies, and micro-cap companies. However, because the index is market-cap weighted, the S&P 500 stocks still make up roughly 82% of VTI's total value. The thousands of smaller stocks collectively represent only about 18% of the fund.

The 82% Overlap Problem

Here is the uncomfortable truth about this comparison: VOO and VTI are mostly the same fund. The S&P 500 stocks that make up VOO also represent about 82% of VTI's total value. This means on any given day, VOO and VTI will move in nearly identical directions by nearly identical amounts.

The remaining ~18% of VTI comes from mid-cap and small-cap stocks. In years when small-caps outperform large-caps, VTI will slightly edge out VOO. In years when large-caps dominate (as they have for much of the 2010s and 2020s), VOO will slightly edge out VTI. Over long periods, these differences tend to wash out.

Glen's Take

I own VTI personally. My reasoning is simple: for the same 0.03% expense ratio, I get the entire U.S. stock market instead of just the 500 largest companies. The additional diversification costs me nothing. But I would be equally comfortable holding VOO. The difference between these two funds is genuinely one of the least important financial decisions you will ever make. The important decision is how much you invest and how long you hold.

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Which Should You Buy?

The honest answer: it barely matters. But here is a framework.

Want the simplest benchmark? VOO.

The S&P 500 is the most-referenced market index in financial media. If you like knowing exactly how your portfolio compares to “the market,” VOO makes that comparison trivial. It is also slightly more liquid with higher daily trading volume.

Want maximum diversification at the same cost? VTI.

VTI gives you 3,600+ stocks for the same 0.03% expense ratio. You are getting mid-cap and small-cap exposure for free. Academic research suggests small-cap stocks have a slight return premium over very long periods, though this has been inconsistent recently.

Building a two-fund portfolio? VTI + VXUS.

If you want total global stock exposure, VTI (U.S.) plus VXUS (international) gives you the entire world in two funds. This is one of the most popular and respected simple portfolios in the investing community.

Mutual Fund Equivalents

Both VOO and VTI have mutual fund counterparts if you prefer automatic dollar-amount investing:

VOO → VFIAX

Fund: Vanguard 500 Index Fund Admiral Shares
Expense ratio: 0.04%
Minimum: $3,000
Tax-free conversion: Yes, at Vanguard

VTI → VTSAX

Fund: Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund Admiral Shares
Expense ratio: 0.04%
Minimum: $3,000
Tax-free conversion: Yes, at Vanguard

Frequently Asked Questions

Is VOO or VTI a better investment?

Both are excellent choices and you cannot go wrong with either. VOO tracks the S&P 500 (500 large-cap stocks) while VTI tracks the entire U.S. stock market (~3,600 stocks). VTI gives you slightly more diversification by including mid-cap and small-cap companies. Historically, their returns have been extremely similar because the 500 stocks in VOO make up about 82% of VTI by market weight. The real answer: pick one and invest consistently.

Do VOO and VTI have the same expense ratio?

Yes. Both VOO and VTI charge an expense ratio of 0.03%, which means you pay $3 per year for every $10,000 invested. This makes them among the cheapest investment funds in the world. At this cost level, the expense ratio should not be a deciding factor between the two.

How much overlap is there between VOO and VTI?

There is massive overlap. Every stock in VOO (S&P 500) is also held in VTI (Total Market). The S&P 500 stocks represent approximately 82% of VTI's total value by market-cap weight. The remaining ~18% of VTI consists of mid-cap, small-cap, and micro-cap stocks not in the S&P 500. This means the two funds will move almost identically on any given day.

Should I own both VOO and VTI?

There is no need to own both. Since every stock in VOO is already in VTI, owning both just overweights large-cap stocks. If you want total market exposure, buy VTI alone. If you only want large-cap exposure, buy VOO alone. Holding both adds complexity without meaningful diversification benefit.

Has VTI outperformed VOO historically?

Their long-term performance has been remarkably similar, typically within 0.1-0.3% of each other in any given year. In some years small-cap stocks outperform and VTI edges ahead; in other years large-caps dominate and VOO wins. Over multi-decade periods, the difference has been negligible. The academic expectation is that small-cap stocks have a slight return premium over the very long run, which would favor VTI, but this premium has been inconsistent in recent decades.

Which is better for a Roth IRA — VOO or VTI?

Either is an excellent core holding for a Roth IRA. Since Roth IRAs are tax-free, you do not need to worry about tax efficiency differences (though both are already extremely tax-efficient). If you want simplicity and track the world's most-followed benchmark, go with VOO. If you want the broadest possible U.S. stock exposure in a single fund, go with VTI. The difference in outcomes over 30 years will likely be minimal.

What are the mutual fund equivalents of VOO and VTI?

VOO's mutual fund equivalent is VFIAX (Vanguard 500 Index Fund Admiral Shares, expense ratio 0.04%, $3,000 minimum). VTI's mutual fund equivalent is VTSAX (Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund Admiral Shares, expense ratio 0.04%, $3,000 minimum). At Vanguard, you can convert from the mutual fund to the ETF share class tax-free.

The Bottom Line

VOO and VTI are both outstanding, rock-bottom-cost index funds from Vanguard. You cannot make a wrong choice between them. VOO gives you the S&P 500. VTI gives you the S&P 500 plus 3,100 more stocks. They charge the same fee.

The amount of time people spend debating VOO vs VTI is wildly disproportionate to the difference it will make in their portfolio. Pick one, set up automatic investments, and spend your mental energy on saving more — that is the variable that actually determines your wealth.

$500/month invested consistently for 30 years at average market returns = over $1,000,000. In VOO or VTI — it genuinely does not matter. Just start.

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