VOO vs SPY
Both VOO and SPY aim to track the S&P 500 index. Here's how they differ and what's worth checking before choosing between them.
Written by Muhammad Hamza
VOO
S&P 500 — managed by Vanguard
SPY
S&P 500 — managed by State Street
| VOO | SPY | |
|---|---|---|
| Issuer | Vanguard | State Street (SSGA) |
| Expense ratio | 0.03% | 0.0945% |
| Holdings | ~516 | ~504 |
| Inception | Sep 7, 2010 | Jan 22, 1993 |
| Dividend frequency | Quarterly | Quarterly |
Sources: each fund's issuer page (Vanguard, State Street/SSGA, Invesco, Charles Schwab, BlackRock/iShares), cross-checked against StockAnalysis.com. Holdings counts are approximate and change daily; expense ratios can change — verify current figures on the issuer's own page before investing.
What they have in common
VOO and SPY both aim to track the S&P 500 index, meaning their underlying holdings — roughly 500 large U.S. companies — are very similar. Because of this, their day-to-day price movements tend to track each other closely.
Fund structure
VOO is an open-end fund managed by Vanguard. SPY is structured as a unit investment trust (UIT), one of the oldest ETF structures, managed by State Street. This structural difference affects some technical details, such as how each fund can handle dividends internally and whether it can lend out securities it holds.
Expense ratio and share price
As of September 28, 2026, VOO charges a 0.03% expense ratio and SPY charges 0.0945% — SPY costs more than 3x as much per year, mainly a byproduct of its older unit investment trust structure. Share prices differ too and change daily; expense ratios can also change over time, so check current figures directly on Vanguard's and State Street's official fund pages before comparing.
Liquidity and trading
SPY has historically been one of the most actively traded ETFs in the world, with a deep options market, which is part of why it's popular with active traders and institutions. VOO is also highly liquid and widely held, particularly by long-term, buy-and-hold investors, but its options market and trading volume have generally been smaller than SPY's.
What the fee gap actually costs: an example
Say you invest $10,000 up front plus $500 a month for 20 years, at a 7% gross assumed annual return before fees — the only difference between the two scenarios below is each fund's real expense ratio subtracted from that return. This isn't a prediction of either fund's actual future return, just the effect of the fee gap in isolation, holding every other assumption identical.
| Fund | Net annual return | Value after 20 years |
|---|---|---|
| VOO | 6.97% | $299,664 |
| SPY | 6.9055% | $297,131 |
That's a $2,533 gap over 20 years from the expense ratio difference alone — real money, though modest next to how much the return assumption itself moves the outcome. Run your own numbers in the VOO calculator.
Which one is "better"
Since both funds track the same index, the choice often comes down to factors like cost, whether you value SPY's deep options liquidity, and which platform or brokerage you're using. This is an area where individual circumstances matter — this page is educational and not a recommendation to buy either fund.
Want to project growth for either fund under your own assumptions? Use our VOO calculator — the same compound-growth math applies regardless of which S&P 500 fund you hold.