Wealthy PotVTI vs VUG: The Whole US Market or Just Its Growth Half?
VUG is not an alternative to VTI. It is a slice of it. Every one of VUG's 144 holdings in its June 2026 SEC filing was also a VTI holding, and together those stocks made up 52.2% of VTI. Both funds charge 0.03% a year. So the real question is not which fund is better, but whether you want to own the other half of the US market (value stocks, mid caps and small caps) or leave it out. VUG has returned more over the past ten years, with noticeably bigger swings. VTI is the one-fund core. VUG is a deliberate tilt.
Table of Contents
The Short Answer
- Overlap: 100% one way, 52.2% the other. All of VUG's weight sits in stocks VTI also owns. Those same stocks are 52.2% of VTI. That is our calculation from both funds' SEC holdings filings for 30 June 2026.
- Same price. Both ETFs charge 0.03% a year in Vanguard's April 2026 prospectus. VUG's fee was 0.04% in the April 2025 prospectus, so the old "VUG costs a bit more" line is out of date.
- Very different concentration. VUG's ten largest holdings were 63.1% of the fund on 30 June 2026. VTI's were 33.4%. Nvidia, Apple and Alphabet alone were 34.6% of VUG.
- VUG has returned more, with more volatility. Ten years to 30 June 2026 at NAV: VUG 18.02% a year, VTI 15.04%. Over one year VTI led, 23.16% to 18.61%. VUG's three-year standard deviation was 17.42% against VTI's 13.45%.
- VUG pays almost no income. 30-day SEC yield on 30 September 2026: VUG 0.35%, VTI 1.03%.
- Owning both is mostly a doubling-up. Adding VUG to VTI raises your weight in the same megacap growth names you already own.
How Much of VTI Is Already VUG
Start with the prospectus language, because it explains the overlap before any arithmetic. VTI's index "represents 100% of the investable U.S. stock market," including "large-, mid-, small-, and micro-cap stocks." VUG's index is "a broadly diversified index made up of the growth stocks of large U.S. companies, as determined by the index provider." One index is the whole market. The other is the large-cap growth portion of that market.
The holdings filings confirm it. We matched both funds' Form N-PORT reports for the period ended 30 June 2026, security by security, using the same data that powers our Portfolio Overlap Checker.
| Overlap measure, 30 June 2026 | Result |
|---|---|
| VUG holdings also held by VTI | 144 of 144 |
| Share of VUG's weight in stocks VTI also owns | 100.0% |
| Share of VTI's weight in stocks VUG also owns | 52.2% |
| Overlap (sum of the smaller weight in each shared stock) | 52.2% |
Read the two directions separately. If you own VUG, you already own nothing that VTI lacks. If you own VTI, just over half of your money is already in VUG's stocks, at roughly half the weight. The other 47.8% of VTI is what VUG leaves out: banks, energy companies, utilities, consumer staples, and thousands of mid and small companies.
The shared stocks are the same names at very different sizes:
| Stock | Weight in VTI | Weight in VUG |
|---|---|---|
| Nvidia | 6.36% | 12.63% |
| Apple | 5.87% | 11.67% |
| Alphabet (both classes) | 5.18% | 10.29% |
| Microsoft | 3.83% | 7.61% |
| Amazon.com | 3.19% | 4.47% |
| Broadcom | 2.47% | 4.28% |
| Meta Platforms | 1.71% | 3.41% |
| Tesla | 1.64% | 3.27% |
Most of these names carry about twice the weight in VUG that they carry in VTI. That ratio is the tilt you are buying.
VTI vs VUG Side by Side
| VTI | VUG | |
|---|---|---|
| Current name | Vanguard Morningstar Total Stock Market ETF | Vanguard Morningstar Growth ETF |
| Index | Morningstar US Total Market Index | Morningstar US Large Cap Growth Index |
| Expense ratio | 0.03% | 0.03% |
| Prospectus cost of $10,000 over 10 years | $39 | $39 |
| Number of stocks | 3,531 | 147 |
| Top 10 holdings, % of assets | 33.4% | 63.1% |
| Median market cap | $336.5B | $1,797.3B |
| Price/earnings ratio | 27.0x | 35.6x |
| 3-year standard deviation | 13.45% | 17.42% |
| 30-day SEC yield (30 Sep 2026) | 1.03% | 0.35% |
| Portfolio turnover, fiscal 2025 | 3% | 12% |
| ETF share class net assets | $663.5 billion | $223.2 billion |
| 10-year return, NAV, to 30 Jun 2026 | 15.04% | 18.02% |
| Inception | 24 May 2001 | 26 January 2004 |
What You Give Up by Owning Only the Growth Half
Both fact sheets classify holdings on the same scheme (the Industry Classification Benchmark), so the sector weights below compare like with like.
| Sector (ICB), 30 June 2026 | VTI | VUG | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Technology | 41.0% | 69.2% | +28.2 |
| Consumer Discretionary | 12.3% | 13.9% | +1.6 |
| Industrials | 12.5% | 7.6% | -4.9 |
| Financials | 10.0% | 1.1% | -8.9 |
| Health Care | 9.1% | 4.6% | -4.5 |
| Consumer Staples | 3.4% | 0.2% | -3.2 |
| Energy | 3.2% | 0.3% | -2.9 |
| Utilities | 2.5% | 0.1% | -2.4 |
| Real Estate | 2.3% | 1.0% | -1.3 |
| Telecommunications | 2.1% | 1.5% | -0.6 |
| Basic Materials | 1.6% | 0.4% | -1.2 |
VUG is more than two-thirds technology on Vanguard's classification. Financials, energy, staples and utilities together are under 2% of the fund. VTI already holds 41% technology because the largest US companies are technology companies, so VUG adds to an exposure that is already the biggest one in the market fund.
Size is the other gap. VTI's median holding by market cap was $336.5 billion; VUG's was $1.8 trillion. VUG's index covers only large companies, so VTI's mid-cap and small-cap holdings are absent from VUG entirely. If you hold VUG alone, you have no small-company exposure at all.
Turnover is higher in VUG too: 12% of the portfolio in fiscal 2025 against 3% for VTI. A style index has to move stocks between growth and value as their characteristics change, and a total-market index mostly does not. Inside an ETF most of that turnover is handled in kind, and both funds have the same Vanguard ETF structure.
What the Growth Tilt Has Been Worth
| Average annual return at NAV, to 30 June 2026 | 1 year | 3 years | 5 years | 10 years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| VTI | 23.16% | 20.43% | 12.24% | 15.04% |
| VUG | 18.61% | 22.92% | 13.18% | 18.02% |
| VUG minus VTI | -4.55 | +2.49 | +0.94 | +2.98 |
Over the decade, the growth half beat the whole market by about three points a year. That is a large gap. It came from a period when the largest US technology companies drove most of the market's gains, which is exactly the exposure VUG concentrates. Over the latest year the order reversed and VTI led by four and a half points.
For scale, the ten-year figures compound like this:
| Hypothetical $10,000 held for 10 years | Ending value |
|---|---|
| At VTI's 10-year return to 30 Jun 2026 (15.04%) | $40,597 |
| At VUG's 10-year return to 30 Jun 2026 (18.02%) | $52,427 |
The cost of that return was a rougher ride. VUG's three-year standard deviation of 17.42% compares with 13.45% for VTI, and VUG's price-to-earnings ratio of 35.6x means investors are paying more for each dollar of current earnings. A growth tilt that worked for ten years can lag for the next ten. Neither fact sheet says which will happen, and nobody else can either.
This is educational information, not personalized investment advice. Past performance does not guarantee future results, and all investing carries the risk of loss.
Both Funds Changed Their Names in July 2026
Vanguard's supplement dated 29 July 2026 says Morningstar "has announced the acquisition of the Center for Research in Security Prices ('CRSP') and its CRSP Market Indexes," and renames ten funds. Both of these are on the list:
- VTI became the Vanguard Morningstar Total Stock Market ETF. Its index, the CRSP US Total Market Index, is now the Morningstar US Total Market Index.
- VUG became the Vanguard Morningstar Growth ETF. Its index, the CRSP US Large Cap Growth Index, is now the Morningstar US Large Cap Growth Index.
The supplement states that "each Fund's investment objective, strategies, and polices remain unchanged." Tickers and fees did not change. Vanguard's 30 June 2026 fact sheets and its April 2026 prospectus still show the CRSP names because they were published before the rename took effect.
Which One Fits You
If you want one US stock fund, pick VTI. It already contains every VUG holding, plus the value stocks, mid caps and small caps that VUG excludes. At the same 0.03% fee there is no cost reason to prefer the narrower fund.
Pick VUG only if you want a growth tilt on purpose. That is a view that large growth companies will keep outperforming. It worked over the last decade. If you hold it, size it so that a long stretch of underperformance would not push you to sell at the wrong time.
Holding both is a tilt, not diversification. A portfolio of 70% VTI and 30% VUG raises your weight in Nvidia, Apple, Alphabet and Microsoft. It does not add any company you did not already own.
Taxable account. VUG's 0.35% SEC yield means very little taxable income each year, against 1.03% for VTI. That small edge is real, but it is not a reason on its own to give up half the market. Switching an existing position at a gain is a taxable sale, so redirect new money instead.
401(k) or IRA. Tax differences disappear. If your plan offers a total-market fund, that is usually the simpler core choice. Some 401(k) menus only offer a large-cap growth fund and an S&P 500 fund; in that case see VUG vs VOO.
Mutual fund versions. Vanguard's April 2026 prospectus lists Admiral Shares for both funds: VTSAX at 0.04% and VIGAX at 0.05%, with a $3,000 minimum to open an account directly with Vanguard. For the ETF shares, the same prospectus says "there is no minimum dollar amount you must invest," and they cost less. Check your own broker's trading terms before buying either.
For a narrower growth comparison, VOOG vs VUG compares the two Vanguard growth indexes and SCHG vs VUG compares Schwab's version. For the total-market question, VTI vs VOO covers whether you need the small caps at all.
Sources & Methodology
Every hard figure on this page comes from Vanguard's SEC filings, Vanguard's own fund documents, or our calculation from SEC holdings filings.
- Vanguard Index Funds, Form 485BPOS filed 28 April 2026: ETF Shares fee tables for VTI and VUG (0.03% each), the $10,000 cost example, index descriptions, fiscal 2025 turnover, and the Admiral Shares fees and minimum.
- Vanguard Index Funds, Form 485BPOS filed 29 April 2025: the prior VUG ETF fee of 0.04%.
- Vanguard, Form 497 supplement dated 29 July 2026: the Morningstar renaming of both funds and their indexes.
- Vanguard VTI fact sheet, 30 June 2026 and Vanguard VUG fact sheet, 30 June 2026: returns, holdings counts, top-10 weights, sectors, valuation, volatility and net assets.
- Vanguard VTI profile and VUG profile: 30-day SEC yields as of 30 September 2026 and the current fund names.
- VTI Form N-PORT, period ended 30 June 2026 and VUG Form N-PORT, period ended 30 June 2026: the holdings behind the overlap figures.
How the overlap was computed. We matched the two N-PORT holdings lists and summed, for each stock both funds own, the smaller of its two weights. This is the same method used by our Portfolio Overlap Checker. The N-PORT count of 144 VUG holdings differs from the fact sheet's 147 stocks because the two documents count share classes and lines differently; the conclusion that every VUG holding is in VTI does not depend on that.
What we did not verify. Vanguard's April 2026 prospectus says VUG's fee table "has been restated to reflect current fees," but we did not find a dated supplement announcing the cut from 0.04% to 0.03%, so this page does not give a date for it. The SEC yields are dated three months after the return and holdings data because that is what Vanguard publishes.
This article is for general education and is not investment, tax or legal advice. Fund data changes daily, and past performance does not guarantee future results. All investing carries the risk of loss. Figures were checked against the sources above on 4 October 2026. Confirm current figures with Vanguard and consider speaking with a licensed financial professional before acting.
FAQ: VTI vs VUG
Is VUG better than VTI?
It has returned more over ten years: 18.02% a year against 15.04% at NAV to 30 June 2026. It also swung more, holds 147 stocks against 3,531, and lagged VTI over the latest year. Better depends on whether you want the whole market or a concentrated growth bet.
Should I hold both VTI and VUG?
Only if you want to overweight large growth stocks on purpose. Every VUG holding is already in VTI, so adding VUG raises your exposure to names like Nvidia and Apple rather than adding anything new.
How much do VTI and VUG overlap?
By our calculation from their 30 June 2026 SEC filings, 100% of VUG's weight is in stocks VTI owns, and those stocks are 52.2% of VTI.
Which has the lower expense ratio?
Neither. Both charge 0.03% in Vanguard's April 2026 prospectus. VUG was 0.04% in the April 2025 prospectus.
Does VUG pay dividends?
Yes, quarterly, but very little. Its 30-day SEC yield was 0.35% on 30 September 2026, against 1.03% for VTI.
Is VUG the same as the Nasdaq-100?
No. They share many of the largest holdings but use different indexes. See VUG vs QQQ for the comparison.
Why do VTI and VUG have "Morningstar" in their names now?
Morningstar acquired CRSP, the provider of both indexes. Vanguard renamed the funds and indexes effective 29 July 2026 and states that each fund's objective, strategies and policies are unchanged.
Cite This Page
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"VTI vs VUG: The Whole US Market or Just Its Growth Half?" Wealthy Pot, 2026. https://wealthypot.com/vti-vs-vug/
Related comparisons: VUG vs VOO · VOOG vs VUG · VTI vs VOO · VOO vs VOOG · SCHD vs VTI · All ETF comparisons
