S&P 500 ETFs compared: returns and risk
Funds that track the S&P 500, the 500 largest US companies weighted by market value. They hold the same stocks, so differences come from fees, tracking, currency and how dividends are paid.
Data updated October 2026
| Fund | 1Y | 3Y a yr | 5Y a yr | 10Y a yr | Volatility | Max drawdown | Since |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 SPYSPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust | +16.6% | +23.1% | +12.7% | +15.4% | 19.4% | −55.2% | 2006 |
| VOOVanguard S&P 500 ETF | +16.7% | +23.2% | +12.8% | — | 16.6% | −24.5% | 2020 |
| IVViShares Core S&P 500 ETF | +16.7% | +23.2% | +12.8% | +15.5% | 19.3% | −55.3% | 2006 |
 CSSPXiShares Core S&P 500 UCITS ETF (Acc) | +22.6% | +20.4% | +13.5% | +14.9% | 16.5% | −33.6% | 2010 |
| VUAAVanguard S&P 500 UCITS ETF (Acc) | +22.6% | +20.3% | +13.5% | — | 23.1% | −36.6% | 2019 |
| SPLGSPDR Portfolio S&P 500 ETF | +19.8% | +19.7% | +13.1% | — | 17.0% | −24.5% | 2020 |
| VUSAVanguard S&P 500 UCITS ETF (Dist) | +21.6% | +19.3% | +12.3% | — | 17.7% | −33.7% | 2019 |
Total returns with dividends reinvested, in each fund’s trading currency, to the last close; periods longer than a year are annualised. Volatility and maximum drawdown cover each fund’s whole history since the year shown, so they are comparable only between funds with similar start dates.
Head-to-head comparisons
Other ETF categories
- Total US stock market ETFs
- Nasdaq-100 ETFs
- Dow Jones and equal-weight ETFs
- US small and mid cap ETFs
- US growth ETFs
- US value ETFs
- Small cap value and growth ETFs
- Dividend ETFs
- Covered call and equity income ETFs
- Factor ETFs (min vol, quality, momentum, value)
- World and all-world ETFs
- International developed markets ETFs
- Europe ETFs
- Emerging markets and Asia ETFs
- Technology and semiconductor ETFs
- US sector ETFs
- Real estate (REIT) ETFs
- Thematic ETFs
- US Treasury bond ETFs
- Inflation-linked bond ETFs
- Aggregate bond ETFs
- Corporate, high yield and municipal bond ETFs
- Cash and T-bill ETFs
- Gold and precious metals ETFs
- Oil, gas and commodity ETFs
- Bitcoin and crypto ETFs
- Leveraged and inverse ETFs
- Allocation and multi-asset ETFs
Source: MarketStack end-of-day prices, total return with dividends reinvested. Figures are historical and descriptive; they are not forecasts and not investment advice. MEDGE Capital does not recommend buying or selling any instrument. Risk disclaimer.