SPY vs VOO vs IVV: Which of the Three Biggest S&P 500 ETFs Should You Own?

Q: Is SPY, VOO, or IVV the best S&P 500 ETF?

For long-term buy-and-hold investors, VOO or IVV. Both charge a 0.03% expense ratio, both are open-end ETFs, and both hold the same 500 S&P 500 stocks in the same market-cap weights. Their long-term after-fee returns are essentially identical. For options traders and institutions that need the deepest intraday liquidity, SPY is still the standard despite its higher 0.0945% expense ratio. SPY has the largest options market of any equity in the world.

Q: What is the difference between SPY, VOO, and IVV?

All three track the same S&P 500 index and hold effectively the same stocks in the same weights. The differences are structural: SPY is a unit investment trust (UIT) launched by State Street in 1993 and cannot reinvest dividends internally. VOO is an open-end ETF launched by Vanguard in 2010. IVV is an open-end ETF launched by BlackRock in 2000 and does reinvest dividends internally. SPY charges 0.0945%, VOO and IVV each charge 0.03%. SPY has the deepest trading volume and options market; VOO and IVV have lower volume but still trade millions of shares per day.

Q: Why is SPY more expensive than VOO and IVV?

SPY is structured as a unit investment trust (UIT), an older ETF structure that has more operational overhead and less flexibility than the open-end fund structure used by VOO and IVV. State Street has not lowered SPY's fee significantly because SPY's revenue from institutional users and options market makers makes it profitable at 0.0945%. For retail buy-and-hold investors paying that fee is usually not worth it; for a trader who benefits from SPY's liquidity, it is.

Q: Do SPY, VOO, and IVV pay the same dividends?

Very close, but not identical. All three distribute dividends from the underlying S&P 500 companies on a quarterly schedule, after deducting the fund's expense ratio. VOO and IVV have essentially identical yields because they share the same fee. SPY's yield is very slightly lower because of its higher expense ratio (about 0.06 percentage points lower). SPY's UIT structure also cannot reinvest dividends between quarters, so its uninvested cash drag is slightly higher in rising markets. In practice this shows up as a few basis points of tracking difference per year.

Q: Which S&P 500 ETF is best for a Roth IRA or 401(k)?

VOO or IVV. In a tax-advantaged account there is no tax-efficiency advantage to any of the three, so the decision reduces to fee. Both VOO and IVV charge 0.03%, one third of SPY's 0.0945%. On a $100,000 balance over 30 years, the extra fee on SPY costs roughly $6,500 in final value. If your broker offers one and not the others, pick what you have; if it offers all three, pick VOO or IVV.

Updated Apr 22, 2026 · 4 min read

SPY State Street · 1993

0.0945%

$580B AUM · deepest liquidity

VOO Vanguard · 2010

0.03%

$1.51T AUM · largest of the three

IVV BlackRock · 2000

0.03%

$600B AUM · reinvests dividends

Which one actually fits you

Buy and hold

VOO or IVV

Best if you’re saving for retirement, DCA-ing monthly, or parking cash in a tax-advantaged account.

Tied at 0.03%. Open-end ETF structure. On a $100k balance over 30 years, you keep about $6,500 more than in SPY.

Trading & options

SPY

Best if you write covered calls, buy options, day-trade the S&P, or run institutional block trades.

Largest options market of any equity on Earth. Tighter intraday spreads than VOO or IVV. The 0.0945% fee is the price of that liquidity.

Full side-by-side

	SPY SPDR S&P 500	VOO Vanguard S&P 500	IVV iShares Core S&P 500
Expense ratio	0.0945%	0.03%	0.03%
Annual cost per $10k	$9.45	$3.00	$3.00
Assets (AUM)	~$580B	~$1.51T	~$600B
Structure	UIT	Open-end ETF	Open-end ETF
Internal dividend reinvestment	No (cash drag)	Yes	Yes
Average daily volume	~75M shares	~5M shares	~5M shares
Options market	Deepest of any equity	Liquid but thinner	Liquid but thinner
Inception	Jan 22, 1993	Sep 7, 2010	May 19, 2000
Dividend schedule	Quarterly	Quarterly	Quarterly
Issuer	State Street	Vanguard	BlackRock

Data as of Apr 22, 2026. Winner highlighted per row where meaningful. Sources: Vanguard, State Street, BlackRock, Morningstar, Yahoo Finance.

Where They Actually Differ

Fee

SPY

$9.45

VOO

$3.00

IVV

$3.00

Annual fee per $10,000 invested.

VOO and IVV at 0.03% are tied for cheapest. SPY at 0.0945% is about 3x more expensive. Over 30 years on $100k at 8%, SPY's extra drag costs roughly $6,500.

Structure

SPY

UIT · cash drag

VOO

Open-end ETF

IVV

Open-end ETF

SPY's unit-investment-trust structure can't reinvest dividends between pay dates, so a small cash balance sits idle when the market is rising. VOO and IVV reinvest immediately. The real-world gap is a few basis points per year.

Liquidity & options

SPY wins

SPY trades ~75M shares per day; VOO and IVV trade closer to 5M. More importantly, SPY has the largest options market of any equity on Earth. For retail buy-and-hold this is invisible. For options writers, block traders, and institutions, it's the whole ball game.

Long-term tracking

Tiny gaps only

All three track the S&P 500 to within a few basis points per year. Over 15-year rolling windows, VOO and IVV have slightly outperformed SPY by roughly the fee differential (~0.06% per year). Over any single year, the winner can be any of the three.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is SPY, VOO, or IVV the best S&P 500 ETF?

For long-term buy-and-hold, VOO or IVV — both charge 0.03% and are essentially interchangeable. For options and institutional trading, SPY — its 0.0945% fee is the toll for owning the deepest options market in the world. For a Roth IRA or 401(k), VOO or IVV every time. See our VOO vs SPY and VOO vs IVV breakdowns.

What is the difference between SPY, VOO, and IVV?

All three track the same S&P 500 index with essentially identical holdings. Differences: SPY is a UIT (1993, State Street, 0.0945%); VOO is an open-end ETF (2010, Vanguard, 0.03%); IVV is an open-end ETF (2000, BlackRock, 0.03%). SPY has ~75M shares/day volume; VOO and IVV closer to 5M.

Why is SPY more expensive than VOO and IVV?

SPY's older UIT structure has more operational overhead. State Street hasn't cut SPY's fee aggressively because SPY's institutional and options-market revenue makes it profitable at 0.0945%. The premium is justified for traders who value its liquidity; not for long-term retail holders.

Do SPY, VOO, and IVV pay the same dividends?

Close, not identical. All three distribute quarterly from the same underlying S&P 500 constituents. VOO and IVV yields are effectively tied at the same fee. SPY's yield runs about 0.06 percentage points lower because of its higher expense ratio, plus a small cash-drag effect from its UIT structure.

Which S&P 500 ETF is best for a Roth IRA or 401(k)?

VOO or IVV. In tax-advantaged accounts there's no tax-efficiency edge for any of the three, so the decision reduces to fee. The $6,500 gap on a $100k, 30-year balance is real. Pick what your broker offers; if both, flip a coin.

Dig Deeper

VOO vs SPY (1-on-1)

Full breakdown of the fee and structure gap

Compare →

VOO vs IVV (1-on-1)

Vanguard vs BlackRock at identical 0.03% fee

Compare →

VOO vs FXAIX

ETF vs Fidelity 500 mutual fund

Compare →

VOO vs SPLG

VOO vs the cheapest S&P 500 ETF (0.02%)

Compare →

All Comparisons

See every ETF matchup

View all →