VTI vs SCHB Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
VTI (Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF) and SCHB (Schwab US Broad Market ETF) are both excellent total U.S. stock market ETFs at the same 0.03% expense ratio with nearly identical performance — the practical choice depends on your brokerage: SCHB is the natural choice for Schwab customers while VTI is typically preferred at Vanguard or any other brokerage given its larger AUM and liquidity. Long-term returns will be indistinguishable between the two.
VTI vs SCHB is the choice between two nearly identical total U.S. market ETFs at the same expense ratio — VTI's massive scale and broadest coverage (3,700+ holdings, $1.6T in combined assets, deepest ETF liquidity) versus SCHB's Schwab ecosystem integration and commission-free convenience for Schwab customers (2,500 holdings, $35B AUM, same 0.03% cost). Performance differences are negligible; the decision is primarily about brokerage convenience and ETF liquidity preferences.
VTI holds the edge across 4 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. VTI has delivered stronger 1-year price return (+16.08% vs +16.06% for SCHB).
- Want the broadest U.S. total market ETF with 3,700+ holdings at maximum liquidity — VTI is the largest and most liquid total market ETF with tight bid-ask spreads and deep options market
- Invest at Vanguard, Fidelity, or any non-Schwab brokerage where VTI's liquidity advantage and larger AUM make it the natural choice for core U.S. equity exposure
- Prefer Vanguard's investor-owned structure as aligning the fund manager's incentives with long-term low-cost fund administration rather than profit-driven asset management
- Have a Schwab brokerage account where SCHB is integrated into Schwab Intelligent Portfolios, offered commission-free, and is the most convenient broad market ETF in the Schwab ecosystem
- Are building a Schwab-native portfolio using multiple Schwab ETFs (SCHB for domestic, SCHF for international, SCHZ for bonds) with zero commission trading across the entire lineup
- Understand that SCHB and VTI are functionally equivalent for long-term investors and make the choice purely based on brokerage convenience rather than any meaningful performance difference
| Metric | VTI | SCHB |
|---|---|---|
| ETF scorei | 78.0 | 78.0 |
| Latest closei | $375.43 | $29.41 |
| 1M returni | -1.20% | -1.08% |
| 6M returni | +17.90% | +18.04% |
| 1Y returni | +16.08% | +16.06% |
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 | VTI | SCHB |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $11.74K (+17.4%) started 2025-09-18 | $11.74K (+17.4%) started 2025-09-18 |
| 5Y ago | $19.24K (+92.4%) started 2021-09-20 | $19.26K (+92.6%) started 2021-09-20 |
| 10Y ago | $47.37K (+373.7%) started 2016-09-19 | $47.65K (+376.5%) started 2016-09-19 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | VTI | SCHB |
|---|---|---|
| Expense ratioi | 0.03% | 0.03% |
| Total assets (AUM)i | $2.34T | $44.61B |
| Dividend yieldi | 1.03% | 1.02% |
| Trailing P/Ei | 24.11 | 24.47 |
| Betai | 1.03 | 1.03 |
| 52-week change | 16.08% | 16.06% |
| Metric | VTI | SCHB |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y returni | +16.08% | +16.06% |
| 6M returni | +17.90% | +18.04% |
| 1M returni | -1.20% | -1.08% |
| 1Y Sharpe ratio | 0.87 | 0.86 |
| Betai | 1.03 | 1.03 |
| Dividend yieldi | 1.03% | 1.02% |
| 5Y CAGR | +12.36% | +12.42% |
Over the past year, VTI and SCHB 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 | VTI | SCHB |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growthi | +16.08% | +16.06% |
| CAGRi | +16.09% | +16.07% | |
| Volatilityi | 13.09% | 13.11% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.87 | 0.86 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 1.24 | 1.24 | |
| Max drawdowni | 8.92% | 8.91% | |
| Current drawdowni | 2.31% | 2.26% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 1.44% | 1.45% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 2.15% | 2.16% | |
| Max daily dropi | 2.68% | 2.70% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 3.66% | 3.71% | |
| 5Y | Growthi | +78.92% | +79.43% |
| CAGRi | +12.36% | +12.42% | |
| Volatilityi | 17.52% | 17.37% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.50 | 0.50 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.71 | 0.72 | |
| Max drawdowni | 25.36% | 25.41% | |
| Current drawdowni | 2.31% | 2.26% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 6.22% | 6.19% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 9.23% | 9.19% | |
| Max daily dropi | 5.87% | 5.90% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 11.61% | 11.61% | |
| 10Y | Growthi | +300.02% | +300.42% |
| CAGRi | +14.88% | +14.89% | |
| Volatilityi | 18.30% | 18.32% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.61 | 0.61 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.85 | 0.84 | |
| Max drawdowni | 35.00% | 35.27% | |
| Current drawdowni | 2.31% | 2.26% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 4.68% | 4.67% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 7.72% | 7.70% | |
| Max daily dropi | 11.38% | 11.99% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 18.80% | 18.80% |
| Category | VTI | SCHB |
|---|---|---|
| Fund name | Vanguard Morningstar Total Stock Market ETF | Schwab U.S. Broad Market ETF |
| Type | ETF | ETF |
| Expense ratioi | 0.03% | 0.03% |
| Total assets (AUM)i | $2.34T | $44.61B |
| Dividend yieldi | 1.03% | 1.02% |
- Broadest U.S. market coverage at 3,700+ holdings — VTI captures virtually every publicly traded U.S. company from Apple to micro-cap stocks; this breadth means investors capture returns across the full market-cap spectrum including small-cap and value premiums
- Vanguard cost leadership at 0.03% expense ratio — Vanguard's investor-owned structure creates a structural incentive to minimize costs; 0.03% is essentially at the lower bound of what is sustainable for fund administration
- Massive liquidity and assets under management — VTI's combined mutual fund/ETF assets exceed $1.6T; this scale enables Vanguard to negotiate lower transaction costs, maintain tight ETF spreads, and minimize tracking error
- Identical 0.03% expense ratio to VTI at commission-free Schwab — for Schwab brokerage customers, SCHB has effectively zero cost of ownership and integrates seamlessly into Schwab Intelligent Portfolios and other Schwab managed accounts
- 2,500 holdings cover the vast majority of U.S. market cap — while SCHB's 2,500 holdings is fewer than VTI's 3,700+, the additional holdings in VTI are very small micro-caps that contribute negligible performance differences
- Virtually identical performance to VTI — SCHB and VTI track different but highly similar indexes; annual return differences between the two are typically less than 0.05%, making the practical choice largely a matter of brokerage preference
- Very similar performance to S&P 500 ETFs — because large-caps dominate market-cap weighting, VTI's performance is 95%+ correlated with the S&P 500 (SPY/VOO); small and mid-cap inclusion adds marginal diversification in most environments
- Market-cap weighting creates same mega-cap tech concentration as S&P 500 — VTI's market-cap weighting means the Magnificent 7 tech giants still represent 25%+ of VTI's weight; total market does not meaningfully diversify mega-cap concentration
- Small-cap exposure is small — despite holding 3,700 stocks, the bottom 2,000 represent less than 5% of VTI's total weight due to market-cap methodology; small-cap exposure is present but not transformative
- Smaller AUM versus VTI means slightly less liquidity — SCHB's $30-35B AUM vs. VTI's $500B+ ETF AUM means slightly wider bid-ask spreads for very large transactions; for most retail investors this is not a practical concern
- Holds fewer small-cap companies than VTI — SCHB's index covers ~2,500 companies vs. VTI's 3,700+; the excluded companies are micro-caps where liquidity is thin; this has minimal practical performance impact
- Schwab-specific ecosystem advantage disappears at other brokerages — SCHB's primary advantage (commission-free trading at Schwab) is specific to Schwab customers; at other brokerages, VTI may have more liquidity and tighter spreads
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