SPY vs VTI Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
SPY and VTI are both excellent US equity index ETFs but serve different investor types. SPY is the institutional benchmark with unmatched liquidity but a much higher expense ratio; VTI is the cost-efficient total market fund for long-term investors. Returns are nearly identical (the S&P 500 and total market move in tandem), but VTI's lower cost is a clear advantage for buy-and-hold investors.
For long-term passive investors, VTI is the clearly superior choice due to lower costs; SPY is necessary for institutional traders who need maximum liquidity and options market depth — these are non-overlapping use cases.
VTI holds the edge across 3 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. SPY has delivered stronger 1-year price return (+16.29% vs +16.08% for VTI).
- need the world's most liquid ETF for institutional intraday trading or block execution
- actively use S&P 500 options for hedging, income, or tactical exposure management
- benchmark against the S&P 500 and need the most precise replication vehicle
- are indifferent to the 0.0645% expense ratio premium over VTI for their use case
- want complete US equity market exposure at 0.03% — the lowest cost available
- are buy-and-hold investors building long-term wealth in retirement accounts
- want the full US market rather than just the 500 largest companies
- prefer Vanguard's investor-aligned ownership structure for a core portfolio holding
| Metric | SPY | VTI |
|---|---|---|
| ETF scorei | 79.0 | 78.0 |
| Latest closei | $761.69 | $375.43 |
| 1M returni | -0.96% | -1.20% |
| 6M returni | +17.74% | +17.90% |
| 1Y returni | +16.29% | +16.08% |
The ETF score weights long-term returns and risk-adjusted performance most heavily, but still rewards low expense ratios, larger fund size, and broader diversification — so it can favor low-cost, broad, mega-cap funds over smaller thematic or actively-managed funds even when the latter have delivered stronger returns.
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | SPY | VTI |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $11.76K (+17.6%) started 2025-09-18 | $11.74K (+17.4%) started 2025-09-18 |
| 5Y ago | $20K (+100.0%) started 2021-09-20 | $19.24K (+92.4%) started 2021-09-20 |
| 10Y ago | $49.34K (+393.4%) started 2016-09-19 | $47.37K (+373.7%) started 2016-09-19 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | SPY | VTI |
|---|---|---|
| Expense ratioi | 0.09% | 0.03% |
| Total assets (AUM)i | $811.94B | $2.34T |
| Dividend yieldi | 0.98% | 1.03% |
| Trailing P/Ei | 24.61 | 24.11 |
| Betai | 1.02 | 1.03 |
| 52-week change | 16.29% | 16.08% |
| Metric | SPY | VTI |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y returni | +16.29% | +16.08% |
| 6M returni | +17.74% | +17.90% |
| 1M returni | -0.96% | -1.20% |
| 1Y Sharpe ratio | 0.89 | 0.87 |
| Betai | 1.02 | 1.03 |
| Dividend yieldi | 0.98% | 1.03% |
| 5Y CAGR | +13.37% | +12.36% |
Over the past year, SPY and VTI have moved strongly in the same direction (correlation of 1.00), based on daily returns.
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
| Period | Metric | SPY | VTI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growthi | +16.29% | +16.08% |
| CAGRi | +16.30% | +16.09% | |
| Volatilityi | 12.88% | 13.09% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.89 | 0.87 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 1.28 | 1.24 | |
| Max drawdowni | 8.88% | 8.92% | |
| Current drawdowni | 2.08% | 2.31% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 1.45% | 1.44% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 2.14% | 2.15% | |
| Max daily dropi | 2.70% | 2.68% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 3.82% | 3.66% | |
| 5Y | Growthi | +87.16% | +78.92% |
| CAGRi | +13.37% | +12.36% | |
| Volatilityi | 17.19% | 17.52% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.56 | 0.50 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.80 | 0.71 | |
| Max drawdowni | 24.50% | 25.36% | |
| Current drawdowni | 2.08% | 2.31% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 5.57% | 6.22% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 8.45% | 9.23% | |
| Max daily dropi | 5.85% | 5.87% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 11.50% | 11.61% | |
| 10Y | Growthi | +316.90% | +300.02% |
| CAGRi | +15.35% | +14.88% | |
| Volatilityi | 17.95% | 18.30% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.64 | 0.61 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.89 | 0.85 | |
| Max drawdowni | 33.72% | 35.00% | |
| Current drawdowni | 2.08% | 2.31% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 4.31% | 4.68% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 7.16% | 7.72% | |
| Max daily dropi | 10.94% | 11.38% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 17.97% | 18.80% |
| Category | SPY | VTI |
|---|---|---|
| Fund name | State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust | Vanguard Morningstar Total Stock Market ETF |
| Type | ETF | ETF |
| Expense ratioi | 0.09% | 0.03% |
| Total assets (AUM)i | $811.94B | $2.34T |
| Dividend yieldi | 0.98% | 1.03% |
- World's most liquid ETF — unmatched for institutional trading and options strategies
- S&P 500 is the primary US equity benchmark for performance reporting and comparison
- Deep options market for income, hedging, and tactical portfolio management
- 0.03% expense ratio — 3x cheaper than SPY for long-term buy-and-hold investors
- Complete US market coverage including 4,000+ companies from large to micro-cap
- Open-end fund structure allows immediate dividend reinvestment vs SPY's trust structure
- 0.0945% expense ratio — much more expensive than VTI (0.03%) for buy-and-hold investors
- Excludes small and mid-cap companies that VTI includes (though these are a small market cap share)
- Unit investment trust structure creates slight cash drag from uninvested dividends vs VTI
- Lower daily volume than SPY — not suitable for large institutional intraday block trades
- Small and mid-cap additions have historically made minimal difference in returns versus S&P 500 only
- No meaningful options market relative to SPY for income and hedging strategies
Want deeper AI forecasts?
This comparison page is public and free forever. Subscribers can unlock saved watchlists, full AI rankings, detailed forecasts, and interactive analysis tools.