IXUS vs VXUS: Two Total-International ETFs, Two Index Families

IXUS and VXUS do the same job: hold the world's stock markets outside the United States in a single ETF. They come from different houses, follow different index providers, and charge slightly different fees. IXUS is the iShares Core MSCI Total International Stock ETF at 0.07%. VXUS is the Vanguard Total International Stock ETF at 0.05%. Beyond that, the differences are smaller than the volume of comparison articles would suggest.

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The Short Answer

• No existing preference? VXUS. Same coverage, lower fee, larger fund. There is no particular reason to pay more here.
• Already in the iShares ecosystem, or your plan offers IXUS? IXUS. The 0.02% difference is not worth a taxable sale or a platform change to chase.

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IXUS vs VXUS Side by Side

Feature	IXUS	VXUS
Full name	iShares Core MSCI Total International Stock ETF	Vanguard Total International Stock ETF
Provider	iShares (BlackRock)	Vanguard
Index	MSCI ACWI ex USA IMI Index	FTSE Global All Cap ex US Index
Scope	Developed and emerging markets outside the U.S.	Developed and emerging markets outside the U.S.
Expense ratio	0.07%	0.05%
Fund size	About $60 billion	Substantially larger

MSCI vs FTSE, and Why It Barely Matters

IXUS follows the MSCI ACWI ex USA IMI Index. The "IMI" stands for Investable Market Index, meaning it reaches down the company-size scale rather than stopping at large and mid caps. VXUS follows the FTSE Global All Cap ex US Index, whose “All Cap” likewise reaches down to small companies.

MSCI and FTSE are the two dominant index providers, and they make slightly different judgement calls. The best-known is country classification: the two have historically disagreed about whether certain markets, South Korea being the long-running example, count as developed or emerging. There are also small differences in the exact size cutoffs and in how quickly each index adds newly listed companies.

For an investor holding a total-international fund, these differences are close to noise. Both indexes aim to own essentially every investable company outside the United States, weighted by market value. Whether a given market sits in the developed bucket or the emerging bucket changes the label, not really the holding.

Anyone telling you that MSCI versus FTSE should decide this purchase is overstating it. The gap between owning international stocks and not owning them is enormous; the gap between these two ways of owning them is not.

The One Difference That Is Real

The fee. VXUS is cheaper, by 0.02% a year, for coverage that is materially the same. That is the only asymmetry here that compounds.

Everything else people cite tends to dissolve on inspection. Both are large, liquid, long-established core funds from the two biggest providers in the business. Both trade with tight spreads. Both are perfectly ordinary holdings to build a portfolio around.

The Fee, in Dollars

• On $10,000: IXUS $7 a year, VXUS $5.
• On $100,000: $70 against $50.
• On $500,000: $350 against $250.

Real but modest. Enough to prefer VXUS when you are choosing from scratch, nowhere near enough to justify selling an appreciated IXUS position in a taxable account and paying capital gains tax to switch. If you hold IXUS already and it has gained, the tax bill would take many years of the fee saving to recover.

In an IRA, where selling costs nothing, switching to the cheaper fund is harmless if you want to.

Which One Fits You

Pick VXUS if you are choosing fresh. Lower fee, same job, no meaningful downside.

Pick or keep IXUS if it is what your plan offers, if you already hold it at a gain in a taxable account, or if you deliberately prefer MSCI's index methodology. None of those is a bad reason.

And do not hold both. They cover the same universe, so owning each one simply splits identical exposure across two tickers and two sets of paperwork.

FAQ

Is IXUS or VXUS better?
They cover the same universe. VXUS charges less, at 0.05% against 0.07%, which is the main reason to prefer it when choosing fresh.

Do both include emerging markets?
Yes. Both are total-international funds covering developed and emerging markets outside the United States.

Does the MSCI vs FTSE difference matter?
Very little for a broad fund like this. The providers classify a few countries differently and use slightly different size cutoffs, but both aim to hold essentially the whole investable market outside the U.S.

Should I switch from IXUS to VXUS?
In a retirement account, if you want to, there is no cost. In a taxable account, selling at a gain triggers tax that would take many years of the 0.02% saving to recover, so usually not.

Do I still need a U.S. fund?
Yes. Neither holds U.S. stocks. Both are designed to sit alongside a U.S. holding.

This article is for general information and is not investment advice. Fund figures were taken from the iShares and Vanguard published fund pages on 2026-09-21 and can change; confirm current figures before you invest.