# How Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) compares with the whole market and its popular alternatives

> Source: EasyCompare research, https://easycompare.io/research/voo
> Data as of October 20, 2026. Total returns include reinvested dividends. Past performance does not predict future results; nothing here is investment advice.

Built by QuantCommons' quantitative engine, this page is about relative opportunity, not data on VOO alone. It places VOO (Vanguard S&P 500 ETF) against 20+ popular alternatives, its neighboring categories and the entire market of over 10,000 U.S.-listed stocks and ETFs, and surfaces what has done better on consistent outperformance, return for the risk taken, behavior in real market crashes and diversification. The result is a clearer view of where VOO stands in the market, and of the alternatives worth a closer look.

Period covered: VOO's full trading record, from September 2010 through September 2026. The crash tests reach back to 2000 using older funds. All returns include reinvested dividends. Data as of October 20, 2026.

## Key findings

- **Right now:** VOO sits 1.3% below its record high, and the total US stock market is similarly close to its own.
- **Fund or market?:** VOO rose 3.9% over the past 3 months, in line with the total US stock market, which rose 3.2%: a market move, not its own.
- **Long term:** VOO turned $10,000 into $42,400 over the past decade, against $40,200 in the total US stock market. Over the past decade, VOO returned 324%, ahead of 92% of the ETFs with at least $100 million in assets. The total US stock market returned 302%.
- **In a crash:** In the 2022 bear market, VOO fell harder than most of its similar funds, including RSP (Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF), DIA and PRF.
- **Diversification:** VOO is more of the same, not a cushion: a correlation of 1.00 with the total US stock market over 5 years, more closely than 99% of ETFs with at least $100 million in assets. When the total US stock market had a down month, VOO usually fell with it (23 of 25 months).
- **Better options**
  - **Nearby categories and themes:** PVAL (Putnam Focused Large Cap Value ETF, US large-cap value) earned more than VOO with less volatility over the past 5 years: 16.1% a year at 15.1% volatility, against 12.8% a year at 16.9%.
  - **Whole market:** Few investments have done better on both counts: only nine of the 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than VOO with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them PVAL (Putnam Focused Large Cap Value ETF), FDL (First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund) and LVHI (Franklin International Low Volatility High Dividend Index ETF).

## How much would $10,000 in VOO have grown?

This chart tracks a hypothetical $10,000 investment in VOO over the past 16 years, with dividends reinvested, alongside the same amount in investments that ended ahead of VOO over the same span and VOO's popular alternatives, among those that traded for the entire period.

- Five of the eight other investments on the chart ended ahead of VOO, and NVDA finished highest, at $8,585,151.

## VOO at a glance

This section summarizes the key facts about the fund, its returns over periods from one to ten years and the risk it has carried, with dividends reinvested throughout.

- VOO's deepest decline since it began trading in 2010 was 34.0%, from February to March 2020. It took five months from the low to climb back to its old high.
- Over 15 full calendar years, VOO's best was 2013, when it returned 32.4%, and its worst was 2022, when it lost 18.2%. It lost money in two of those years.
- VOO is 1.3% below its all-time high.

- Type: ETF, Broad Market (Asset Management)
- Trading since: September 9, 2010
- Assets: $1.7T
- Expense ratio: 0.03%
- Volatility (5 years): 16.9%; Sharpe ratio: 0.80
- Worst decline ever: −34.0%, from February 19, 2020 to March 23, 2020; back at its high by August 10, 2020

| Period | VOO total return |
| --- | --- |
| 1 month | −0.6% |
| 3 months | +3.9% |
| 6 months | +9.1% |
| year to date | +13.5% |
| 1 year | +15.8% |
| 3 years | +89.7% |
| 5 years | +82.3% |
| 10 years | +324% |

## VOO against the whole market

Where VOO ranks among every stock and fund, and what across the market has done better.

### How does VOO rank among all ETFs?

This section ranks VOO on return, volatility, risk-adjusted return and worst decline against every ETF worth at least $100 million with enough history.

- VOO's 10-year return ranks in the top 8% of the 958 ETFs with at least $100 million in assets with 10 years of history.

| Measure | VOO | Rank |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1-year return | +15.8% | 722 of 2,485 (top 30%) |
| 3-year return | +89.7% | 348 of 1,949 (top 18%) |
| 5-year return | +82.3% | 236 of 1,560 (top 16%) |
| 10-year return | +324% | 74 of 958 (top 8%) |
| Volatility, 5 years | 16.9% | 818 of 1,560 (top 53%) |
| Sharpe ratio, 5 years | 0.80 | 349 of 1,560 (top 23%) |
| Worst decline, past 10 years | −34.0% | 294 of 951 (top 31%) |

### What has beaten VOO on both return and risk?

Each dot is an investment, placed by how much it earned a year over the past 5 years (higher is better) and how much its price swung, its volatility (further left is calmer).

- Nine ETFs worth at least $500 million sit in the green region: each earned more than VOO over the past 5 years with smaller price swings. That is fewer than 1% of the 3,633 screened. Few investments beat it on both counts.
- Among those with at least half VOO's swings, LVHI has the best return for its risk: 17.0% a year at 11.1% volatility, 34% less than VOO's 16.9%, and a Sharpe ratio (return above cash per unit of volatility) of 1.48 against 0.80 for VOO.
- None of VOO's popular alternatives made it, but PVAL (US large-cap value) did: 16.1% a year at 15.1% volatility, 11% less than VOO's 16.9%.

### Is there a better investment than VOO?

The table below lists investments that beat VOO over the past 5 years on at least one of these measures: a higher annual return with lower volatility, a higher annual return at similar volatility, a similar return with lower volatility, a higher Sharpe ratio with a smaller worst decline, a higher total return in most periods from 3 months to 10 years, or smaller losses in recent market crashes, and, for funds, the same exposure at a lower expense ratio.

- Looking beyond its popular alternatives, PVAL (US large-cap value) earned more than VOO with less volatility over the past 5 years: 16.1% a year at 15.1% volatility, against 12.8% a year at 16.9%.
- Few investments have done better on both counts: only nine of the 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than VOO with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them PVAL, FDL and LVHI.

The 9 strongest of 9 investments that beat VOO over the past 5 years, out of 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million.

| Investment | Group | Annual return (5 years) | Volatility | Sharpe | Worst decline (10 years) | 10Y return | Correlation with VOO | Better on |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| VOO: Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (this page) |  | +12.8% | 16.9% | 0.80 | −34.0% | +324% |  |  |
| PVAL: Putnam Focused Large Cap Value ETF | US Large-Cap Value | +16.1% | 15.1% | 1.07 | −41.3% | — | 0.88 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| DIVB: iShares Core Dividend ETF | Dividend & Income | +13.9% | 15.4% | 0.93 | −36.9% | — | 0.86 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| LVHI: Franklin International Low Volatility High Dividend Index ETF | International Equity | +17.0% | 11.1% | 1.48 | −32.4% | +194% | 0.55 | Higher return, lower volatility |
| FDL: First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund | US Dividend Equity | +13.9% | 14.4% | 0.98 | −41.4% | +199% | 0.58 | Higher return, lower volatility |
| EMLP: First Trust North American Energy Infrastructure Fund | Energy Infrastructure | +14.9% | 14.5% | 1.04 | −43.6% | +150% | 0.61 | Higher return, lower volatility |
| GCOW: Pacer Global Cash Cows Dividend ETF | International | +14.1% | 13.6% | 1.04 | −37.6% | +168% | 0.53 | Higher return, lower volatility |
| IUS: Invesco RAFI Strategic US ETF | Broad Market | +14.7% | 14.9% | 1.00 | −34.7% | — | 0.94 | Higher return, lower volatility |
| DGT: State Street SPDR Global Dow ETF | International | +13.8% | 15.1% | 0.94 | −34.4% | +261% | 0.85 | Higher return, lower volatility |
| IDOG: ALPS International Sector Dividend Dogs ETF | International | +14.1% | 15.6% | 0.93 | −37.3% | +180% | 0.59 | Higher return, lower volatility |

## VOO against its popular alternatives

The investments people most often weigh against VOO, compared period by period and year by year.

### How do VOO's risk and return compare with its alternatives?

This map plots each investment's annual return over the past 5 years against its volatility, the size of its typical price swings.

- Only PRF and SPYM were both more rewarding and calmer than VOO over the past 5 years, earning a higher annual return with lower volatility.
- Ten of the 17 popular alternatives earned less than VOO over the past 5 years while swinging more, the weaker corner of the map.

### Has VOO consistently beaten its popular alternatives?

This section compares VOO with the investments people most often weigh against it, checking each one over eight periods from one month to ten years.

- None of the 23 popular alternatives outperformed VOO in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes. The closest was VUG.
- SPYM earned more for the risk it took than VOO (a higher Sharpe ratio) and fell less in its worst decline of the past 10 years.

| Investment | 1Y return | 3Y return | 5Y return | 10Y return | Periods ahead of VOO | Verdict | Sharpe |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| VOO: Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (this page) | +15.8% | +89.7% | +82.3% | +324% |  |  | 0.80 |
| [VUG](https://easycompare.io/research/vug): Vanguard Morningstar Growth ETF | +10.2% | +100% | +78.6% | +419% | 0/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.63 |
| PRF: Invesco RAFI US 1000 ETF | +25.5% | +90.1% | +84.3% | +270% | 4/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.90 |
| [VTV](https://easycompare.io/research/vtv): Vanguard Morningstar Value ETF | +22.5% | +77.9% | +76.6% | +235% | 4/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.90 |
| GSLC: Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta U.S. Large Cap Equity ETF | +14.0% | +83.5% | +73.1% | +297% | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.74 |
| [DIA](https://easycompare.io/research/dia): State Street SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust | +13.9% | +66.1% | +60.6% | +250% | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.72 |
| [RSP](https://easycompare.io/research/rsp): Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF | +15.5% | +65.4% | +48.6% | +211% | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.57 |
| ESGV: Vanguard ESG U.S. Stock ETF | +14.9% | +89.8% | +70.7% | — | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.67 |
| [SPYM](https://easycompare.io/research/spym): State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 ETF | +15.9% | +89.8% | +82.5% | +324% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.80 |
| [VV](https://easycompare.io/research/vv): Vanguard Morningstar Large-Cap ETF | +15.4% | +90.6% | +78.8% | +324% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.76 |
| [IVV](https://easycompare.io/research/ivv): iShares Core S&P 500 ETF | +15.8% | +89.7% | +82.3% | +324% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.80 |
| [SPY](https://easycompare.io/research/spy): State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF | +15.8% | +89.3% | +81.7% | +321% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.79 |
| [SCHX](https://easycompare.io/research/schx): Schwab U.S. Large-Cap ETF | +15.1% | +89.1% | +76.6% | +317% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.75 |
| VONE: Vanguard Russell 1000 ETF | +15.2% | +88.5% | +75.9% | +312% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.75 |
| SPTM: State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 1500 Composite Stock Market ETF | +15.7% | +87.2% | +78.6% | +310% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.77 |
| [IWB](https://easycompare.io/research/iwb): iShares Russell 1000 ETF | +15.1% | +87.7% | +75.1% | +309% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.74 |
| [VTI](https://easycompare.io/research/vti): Vanguard Morningstar Total Stock Market ETF | +15.2% | +87.9% | +72.6% | +302% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.71 |
| [ITOT](https://easycompare.io/research/itot): iShares Core S&P Total U.S. Stock Market ETF | +15.2% | +88.0% | +72.7% | +301% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.72 |
| [SCHB](https://easycompare.io/research/schb): Schwab U.S. Broad Market ETF | +15.2% | +88.0% | +72.9% | +286% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.72 |
| [IJH](https://easycompare.io/research/ijh): iShares Core S&P Mid-Cap ETF | +13.5% | +59.4% | +41.4% | +178% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.45 |
| [IWM](https://easycompare.io/research/iwm): iShares Russell 2000 ETF | +12.3% | +71.3% | +29.0% | +158% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.34 |
| [VXUS](https://easycompare.io/research/vxus): Vanguard Total International Stock ETF | +14.6% | +77.2% | +48.6% | +140% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.57 |
| DFUS: Dimensional U.S. Equity ETF | +15.7% | +88.9% | +78.8% | — | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.76 |
| ESGU: iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF | +15.6% | +88.3% | +72.4% | — | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.72 |

### How did VOO do year by year?

This table shows each investment's total return in every full calendar year since 2011, along with where VOO ranked among its popular alternatives each year.

- Ranked against its popular alternatives each year, VOO finished in the top quarter in eight of 15 years and in the bottom quarter in no. In 2025, it ranked 5 of 18.
- Among its popular alternatives, VUG came out ahead of VOO most often, in nine of the 15 years both traded.

| Year | VOO |
| --- | --- |
| 2025 | +17.8% |
| 2024 | +25.0% |
| 2023 | +26.3% |
| 2022 | −18.2% |
| 2021 | +28.8% |
| 2020 | +18.3% |
| 2019 | +31.4% |
| 2018 | −4.5% |
| 2017 | +21.8% |
| 2016 | +12.2% |

## Risk and diversification

How VOO has fallen, how it held up in crashes beside the S&P 500 and its popular alternatives, and what moves independently of it.

### What were VOO's worst declines?

A drawdown is the decline from a peak to the lowest point before a new high.

- In four of VOO's five worst declines, the S&P 500 held up better over the same dates.
- The longest climb back to a previous high took 14 months, after VOO fell 24.5% from January to October 2022.

| Decline | Peak | Low | Back at the high | SPY over the same dates | Market event |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| −34.0% | February 19, 2020 | March 23, 2020 | August 10, 2020 | −33.7% | Covid crash |
| −24.5% | January 3, 2022 | October 12, 2022 | December 13, 2023 | −24.5% | 2022 bear market |
| −19.5% | September 20, 2018 | December 24, 2018 | April 12, 2019 | −19.4% | late-2018 sell-off |
| −18.8% | April 29, 2011 | October 3, 2011 | February 3, 2012 | −18.6% | 2011 euro debt crisis |
| −18.7% | February 19, 2025 | April 8, 2025 | June 26, 2025 | −18.8% |  |

### How did VOO do in stock market crashes?

This section measures how far VOO and each alternative fell from peak to trough during every major market crash since 2000.

- Among its popular alternatives, DIA held up best, falling less than VOO in four of the seven crashes they both traded through.

| Crash | Dates | VOO fall |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Dot-com bust | March 10, 2000 to October 9, 2002 | not trading |
| Global financial crisis | October 9, 2007 to March 9, 2009 | not trading |
| Flash crash | May 6, 2010 to May 7, 2010 | not trading |
| Euro debt crisis | July 22, 2011 to October 3, 2011 | −18.0% |
| China devaluation & oil rout | August 10, 2015 to February 11, 2016 | −12.8% |
| Volmageddon | February 2, 2018 to February 9, 2018 | −6.5% |
| Q4 2018 selloff | September 21, 2018 to December 24, 2018 | −19.4% |
| COVID crash | February 19, 2020 to March 23, 2020 | −34.0% |
| 2022 bear market | January 4, 2022 to October 12, 2022 | −24.5% |
| SVB / regional bank stress | March 8, 2023 to March 13, 2023 | −3.4% |

### What diversifies VOO?

Correlation measures how closely two investments move together, on a scale from 1 (in lockstep) through 0 (unrelated) to -1 (in opposite directions).

- Moving a fifth of the money in VOO into DBMF would have cut the portfolio's volatility by 23% over the past 5 years for a small cut in its annual return (+13.8% for VOO alone, +13.5% for the mix).
- Among large ETFs, GLD, XLE and AMLP have moved largely independently of VOO over the past 5 years, with correlations of 0.46 or lower, and each still earned a positive 5-year return.
- Among large stocks, CAH, MCK and MPC have moved largely independently of VOO over the past 5 years, with correlations of 0.29 or lower, and each still earned a positive 5-year return.

| Investment | Correlation with VOO | 5Y return | Volatility | Sharpe | Rose in VOO's 2 down years |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [GLD](https://easycompare.io/research/gld): SPDR Gold Shares | 0.16 | +126% | 18.9% | 0.96 | 0 of 2 |
| [XLE](https://easycompare.io/research/xle): State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF | 0.29 | +177% | 25.5% | 0.93 | 1 of 2 |
| AMLP: Alerian MLP ETF | 0.46 | +111% | 18.9% | 0.89 | 1 of 2 |
| DBMF: iMGP DBi Managed Futures Strategy ETF | -0.27 | +59.7% | 12.4% | 0.82 | 1 of 2 |
| DBA: Invesco DB Agriculture Fund | 0.17 | +66.4% | 13.8% | 0.81 | 1 of 2 |
| IHE: iShares U.S. Pharmaceuticals ETF | 0.49 | +81.2% | 16.8% | 0.80 | 0 of 2 |
| GDX: VanEck Gold Miners ETF | 0.28 | +181% | 38.2% | 0.73 | 0 of 2 |
| USO: United States Oil Fund, LP | 0.01 | +176% | 37.7% | 0.73 | 1 of 2 |

## Common questions

### What was VOO's worst drawdown?

VOO's deepest decline since it began trading in 2010 was 34.0%, from February to March 2020. It took five months from the low to climb back to its old high. Because VOO launched in September 2010, that record does not include the dot-com bust, the 2008 financial crisis or the 2010 flash crash.

### What were VOO's best and worst years?

Over 15 full calendar years, VOO's best year was 2013, when it returned 32.4%. Its worst was 2022, with a return of -18.2%.

### Is there a better investment than VOO?

Looking beyond its popular alternatives, PVAL (US large-cap value) earned more than VOO with less volatility over the past 5 years: 16.1% a year at 15.1% volatility, against 12.8% a year at 16.9%. Few investments have done better on both counts: only nine of the 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than VOO with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them PVAL, FDL and LVHI.

### Is VOO more volatile than the S&P 500?

No. VOO's volatility over the past 5 years was 16.9%, 1.0 times the S&P 500's 17.5%. Volatility measures how widely returns swing around their average: in roughly two years out of three, VOO's return lands within 16.9% of its average, either way. The higher it is, the rougher the ride and the harder it is to hold through a slump.

### What is VOO's Sharpe ratio?

VOO's Sharpe ratio over the past 5 years was 0.80, against 0.71 for the S&P 500, so VOO earned more for each unit of risk than an index fund did. The Sharpe ratio is the return earned above cash for each unit of volatility: two investments with the same return are not equal if one got there with far bigger swings.

### How correlated is VOO with the S&P 500?

Over the past 5 years, VOO's monthly returns had a correlation of 1.00 with the S&P 500. Correlation runs from 1 (moving in lockstep) through 0 (unrelated) to −1 (moving in opposite directions). They move almost in lockstep, so holding both adds little diversification. In the table, the correlation column measures each option against VOO instead: the lower it is, the more that option would diversify a VOO holding.

### What are the best alternatives to VOO?

None of the 23 popular alternatives we compared outperformed VOO in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes, which says more about VOO's strength than about its alternatives.

### What diversifies VOO?

These had a low correlation with VOO over the past 5 years and still earned a positive 5-year return: among large ETFs, GLD (correlation 0.16), XLE (correlation 0.29) and AMLP (correlation 0.46); among large stocks, CAH (correlation 0.29), MCK (correlation 0.18) and MPC (correlation 0.26). A correlation near zero means the two have moved largely independently.

## More research

- [Vanguard Morningstar Growth ETF (VUG) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/vug)
- [Vanguard Morningstar Value ETF (VTV) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/vtv)
- [State Street SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (DIA) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/dia)
- [Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF (RSP) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/rsp)
- [State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 ETF (SPYM) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/spym)
- [Vanguard Morningstar Large-Cap ETF (VV) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/vv)
- [iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/ivv)
- [State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/spy)
- [Schwab U.S. Large-Cap ETF (SCHX) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/schx)
- [iShares Russell 1000 ETF (IWB) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/iwb)
- [Vanguard Morningstar Total Stock Market ETF (VTI) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/vti)
- [iShares Core S&P Total U.S. Stock Market ETF (ITOT) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/itot)

## Explore further

- Full page with charts: https://easycompare.io/research/voo
- All research pages: https://easycompare.io/llms.txt
- Compare the entire market against VOO live: https://betterthanspy.com/?b=VOO&utm_source=easycompare&utm_medium=research