Wealthy PotSPY vs VTI: 88% the Same Stocks, and a Fee Gap That Ate Part of the Lead
SPY owns the S&P 500, about 500 large US companies. VTI owns the whole investable US market, about 3,500 companies. But the overlap is large: 88.1% of VTI's money sat in the same stocks SPY holds, on a holdings match at 30 June 2026. The bigger structural difference is cost. SPY charges 0.0945% a year and VTI charges 0.03%. Over the ten years to 31 December 2025, SPY returned 14.66% a year and VTI 14.25%, because large companies beat small ones over that decade. The S&P 500 itself beat VTI's index by 0.57 points a year, and SPY kept only 0.41 of that lead. For a long-term holder, the real choice is between "S&P 500 or total market", and SPY charges more than three times what SPYM, IVV or VOO charge for it.
Table of Contents
The Short Answer
- Overlap: 88.1%. At 30 June 2026, 88.1% of VTI's weight was in S&P 500 companies, and 99.7% of the S&P 500's weight was inside VTI.
- Fees: SPY 0.0945%, VTI 0.03%. On $10,000 that is $9.45 a year against $3.
- Ten-year returns to 31 December 2025: SPY 14.66%, VTI 14.25% a year. The gap came from the indexes. The S&P 500 beat VTI's total-market index by 0.57 points a year; SPY's costs and tracking gave back 0.16 of that.
- VTI tracked its index exactly over ten years. SPY trailed the S&P 500 by 0.16 points a year.
- Tax drag is nearly identical: 0.45 points a year for SPY and 0.47 for VTI over ten years, on the SEC's standard after-tax calculation.
- VTI is less top-heavy. Its ten largest companies were 33.4% of the fund against 37.8% for the S&P 500.
- Do not hold both. SPY adds nothing VTI does not already own except a tilt toward large caps.
How Much of VTI Is Already SPY
"VTI holds 3,000 more stocks" is true and slightly misleading. Both funds weight by company size, so the giants dominate both. Our Portfolio Overlap Checker matches holdings from the funds' SEC filings and sums the smaller weight of every shared stock.
| Portfolios at 30 June 2026 | Result |
|---|---|
| Overlap (sum of the smaller shared weights) | 88.1% |
| Share of VTI's weight in S&P 500 companies | 88.1% |
| Share of the S&P 500's weight also held by VTI | 99.7% |
| Companies shared | 498 |
So nearly nine dollars in ten inside VTI are invested in the S&P 500, at slightly lower weights. NVIDIA was 7.51% of the S&P 500 portfolio and 6.36% of VTI. Apple was 6.58% against 5.87%. The rest of the market, a couple of thousand mid, small and micro-cap companies, adds up to roughly the remaining tenth.
The difference that does show up is concentration:
| Weight of the largest companies, 30 June 2026 | S&P 500 (SPY) | VTI |
|---|---|---|
| Top 10 | 37.83% | 33.44% |
| Top 25 | 51.75% | 45.55% |
VTI dials the mega-caps down by about four points. It does not remove them. If concentration in a handful of tech giants is what worries you, VTI softens it a little; an equal-weight fund such as the one in RSP vs VOO addresses it directly.
SPY vs VTI Side by Side
| SPY | VTI | |
|---|---|---|
| Full name | State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust | Vanguard Morningstar Total Stock Market ETF |
| Index | S&P 500 | Morningstar US Total Market Index (CRSP US Total Market Index until 29 July 2026) |
| Expense ratio | 0.0945% | 0.03% |
| Annual cost on $10,000 | $9.45 | $3.00 |
| Holdings | 505 (1 Oct 2026) | 3,507 (31 Aug 2026) |
| Size | $817.6 billion (1 Oct 2026) | ETF class $690.1 billion; whole fund $2.3 trillion (31 Aug 2026) |
| Top 10 weight | 37.83% | 33.44% |
| Legal form | Unit investment trust | ETF share class of a Vanguard mutual fund |
| Replication | Holds as many index stocks as practicable | Samples the index |
| Securities lending | Not permitted | Yes: $194.0 million net lending income in 2025, whole fund |
| Inception | 22 January 1993 | 24 May 2001 |
| Distributions | Quarterly | Quarterly |
About the name. Morningstar acquired the Center for Research in Security Prices, and Vanguard renamed the fund and its index effective 29 July 2026. The supplement says each fund's "investment objective, strategies, and polices remain unchanged." Same ticker, same fee. Prospectuses from April 2026 still say CRSP, which is why both names circulate.
We have not compared sector weights. State Street classifies SPY's holdings under GICS, where information technology was 38.03% at 30 June 2026, and Vanguard uses a different system (ICB) for VTI, so the labels do not line up.
Ten Years of Returns, Same Date
Both prospectuses print the SEC's standard return table for periods ended 31 December 2025, so this is a clean, same-date comparison straight from the filings.
| Average annual total return to 31 Dec 2025 | 1 year | 5 years | 10 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| SPY, before taxes | 17.73% | 14.28% | 14.66% |
| VTI, before taxes (NAV) | 17.14% | 13.08% | 14.25% |
| SPY minus VTI | +0.59 | +1.20 | +0.41 |
| S&P 500 | 17.88 | 14.42 | 14.82 |
| CRSP US Total Market Index | 17.15 | 13.08 | 14.25 |
| Index minus index | +0.73 | +1.34 | +0.57 |
| SPY, after taxes on distributions | 17.41 | 13.91 | 14.21 |
| VTI, after taxes on distributions | 16.79 | 12.69 | 13.78 |
| Tax drag, SPY | 0.32 | 0.37 | 0.45 |
| Tax drag, VTI | 0.35 | 0.39 | 0.47 |
Two things stand out.
The lead belongs to the index, and SPY handed some back. Large caps beat the broad market over this decade, so the S&P 500 outran VTI's index by 0.57 points a year. VTI matched its index to the hundredth. SPY trailed the S&P 500 by 0.16 points a year, so it kept 0.41 of the 0.57. A cheaper S&P 500 fund kept more of it: see IVV vs SPY and SPY vs SPYM.
Taxes are a draw. In a taxable account, SPY gave up 0.45 points a year to taxes on distributions and VTI 0.47. Neither is a reason to choose.
| Hypothetical $10,000 held for 10 years | Ending value |
|---|---|
| At VTI's 10-year return (14.25%) | $37,893 |
| At SPY's 10-year return (14.66%) | $39,275 |
| Difference | about $1,382 |
Vanguard's most recent figures, to 30 September 2026, show VTI at 14.70% a year over ten years. State Street had not yet published SPY's September quarter when we checked, so we do not put the two side by side.
This is educational information, not personalized investment advice. Past performance does not guarantee future results, and all investing carries the risk of loss.
A Trust and a Share Class
SPY is a unit investment trust, launched in 1993. Its prospectus says the trust is not authorized to "lend its portfolio securities" or "invest in derivative instruments, including, without limitation, futures contracts, options or swaps." Dividends it collects are "credited by the Trustee to a non-interest-bearing account" until the quarterly payout, and "No dividend reinvestment service is provided by the Trust." These rules are part of why SPY trails its index more than newer funds do.
VTI is a share class, not a standalone fund. Its prospectus describes it as "an exchange-traded share class of Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund." The same portfolio also backs Vanguard's mutual fund classes, including VTSAX. That is useful if you already hold VTSAX at Vanguard: the prospectus lists no fee for converting to the ETF shares. There is no equivalent path from SPY. See VTSAX vs VTI.
For a buy-and-hold investor, the structure matters mainly through cost and tracking, both of which favor VTI in the filings above. For a frequent trader, SPY's three-decade history and size, $817.6 billion on 1 October 2026, are the attractions. We could not find a primary-source figure for either fund's trading volume or options market, so we make no claim in numbers.
Which One Fits You
If you want one US stock fund to hold for decades: VTI. It owns the whole market, so you never have to decide whether small and mid caps deserve a place. It costs a third of SPY's fee and tracked its index exactly over ten years. Its prospectus sets no minimum dollar amount or share count beyond anything your broker imposes.
If you specifically want the S&P 500: a cheaper S&P 500 fund, not SPY. SPY's 0.0945% is more than three times what State Street's own SPYM charges (0.02%) and well above VOO and IVV (0.03% each). Compare them in SPY vs SPYM, SPY vs VOO and IVV vs SPY. The "S&P 500 or total market" question itself is covered with Vanguard's two funds in VTI vs VOO and IVV vs VTI.
If you trade during the day or use options: SPY may still be your tool. That is a trading decision; check live spreads and option chains in your own platform.
If you already hold SPY in a taxable account: selling realizes capital gains. A reasonable path is to keep it and point new contributions to the fund you prefer. In an IRA or 401(k), switching has no tax cost. Check your 2026 tax bracket before selling anything in a taxable account.
Should you own both? Usually not. Adding SPY to VTI just raises your large-cap weight, which you could do on purpose with chosen percentages rather than by accident.
Sources & Methodology
- SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust, Form 485BPOS filed 26 January 2026: SPY's 0.0945% expense accrual, trust structure and restrictions, dividend handling, and average annual returns to 31 December 2025.
- SPY Fact Sheet as of 30 June 2026 and State Street's SPY page: top ten, sector weights, holdings and assets.
- Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF Summary Prospectus, 28 April 2026: the 0.03% fee table, index description, sampling, minimums and returns to 31 December 2025.
- Vanguard Index Funds supplement dated 29 July 2026: the Morningstar renaming of the fund and its index.
- Vanguard VTI profile: holdings count, share-class and fund assets as of 31 August 2026, and returns to 30 September 2026.
- VTI Form N-PORT and IVV Form N-PORT, both for 30 June 2026: the holdings behind the overlap and concentration tables.
How the overlap was computed. The Portfolio Overlap Checker sums, for every security both funds hold, the smaller of its two weights, using each fund's N-PORT filing. SPY files no N-PORT, so IVV's S&P 500 holdings stand in for it. Both track the same index, and SPY's own fact sheet shows the same top ten at matching weights.
What we could not verify. VTI's quarter-end returns to 30 June 2026 are no longer published on Vanguard's page, so we used the matched 31 December 2025 prospectus tables instead of mixing dates. We did not compare sector weights because the two issuers use different classification systems, and we quote no trading volume, spread or options data.
This article is for general education and is not investment, tax or legal advice. Past performance does not guarantee future results, index returns cannot be invested in directly, and all investing carries the risk of loss. Figures were checked against the sources above on 4 October 2026; verify current data with each issuer before acting.
FAQ: SPY vs VTI
Is SPY or VTI better?
For a long-term holder, VTI on cost: 0.03% against 0.0945%. SPY returned more over the ten years to 2025, 14.66% against 14.25% a year, because the S&P 500 beat the broad market in that decade. That edge came from the index, not from SPY, and a cheaper S&P 500 fund kept more of it.
How much do SPY and VTI overlap?
88.1% at 30 June 2026. That is the share of VTI's weight held in S&P 500 companies. Looked at the other way, 99.7% of the S&P 500's weight is inside VTI.
Should I own both SPY and VTI?
Generally no. VTI already contains almost all of SPY. Holding both only increases your large-cap tilt and leaves you paying SPY's higher fee on part of the money.
Which has lower fees, SPY or VTI?
VTI. Its prospectus shows total annual operating expenses of 0.03%. SPY's expenses are accrued at 0.0945%. On $100,000 that is about $30 a year against $94.50.
Is VTI more diversified than SPY?
By count, far more: 3,507 stocks against 505. By money, modestly: VTI's top ten were 33.44% of the fund against 37.83% for the S&P 500 at 30 June 2026.
Is SPY or VTI better in a Roth IRA?
Taxes do not apply inside a Roth, so the decision is index choice and cost. VTI covers the whole market at 0.03%. If you want only the S&P 500, a 0.02% or 0.03% S&P 500 ETF does the same job as SPY for less.
Which index does VTI track now?
The Morningstar US Total Market Index. Before 29 July 2026 it was called the CRSP US Total Market Index; Vanguard renamed the fund and the index after Morningstar acquired CRSP, and says the objective and strategy are unchanged.
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"SPY vs VTI: 88% the Same Stocks, and a Fee Gap That Ate Part of the Lead." Wealthy Pot, 2026. https://wealthypot.com/spy-vs-vti/
Related comparisons: VTI vs VOO · IVV vs VTI · SPY vs VOO · IVV vs SPY · SPY vs SPYM · VTSAX vs VTI · All ETF comparisons
