Same Index, Same Fees, Same Structure
When investors ask which S&P 500 ETF to buy, VOO and IVV come up in almost every conversation. What makes this comparison unusual is how little there actually is to compare. These two funds are structurally more similar than any other pair of ETFs on the market. Both track the S&P 500 Index. Both charge a 0.03% expense ratio. Both use the open-end ETF structure. Both are deeply tax efficient. Both have top-ten holdings that are identical down to the percentage weight.
The differences that remain are administrative: Vanguard issues one, BlackRock iShares issues the other. Vanguard has more assets under management, which is useful mostly as a trust signal rather than a performance advantage. IVV launched a decade earlier in May 2000, which means it has a longer track record but no better holdings than VOO. Those are the material facts. Everything else in this comparison is context and nuance around a decision that, for most investors, will produce the same outcome either way. For a complete picture of what both funds actually hold, see our guide to the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF, which applies equally to IVV since both own the same underlying basket.
Expense Ratio: A True Tie at 0.03%
Both VOO and IVV charge 0.03% per year. This is one of the lowest fees in the entire ETF industry. On a $10,000 investment, you pay $3 per year for either fund. On $100,000, that is $30 per year. Over a 30-year holding period with 8% annualized returns, the lifetime fee drag for either fund is roughly $2,200 on a $100,000 starting balance. For practical purposes, the fee difference is zero.
It was not always this way. IVV charged 0.09% for years while VOO launched in 2010 at 0.05%. Competitive pressure from Vanguard drove BlackRock to cut IVV's fee repeatedly, and both funds now sit at the same 0.03% floor. State Street's SPY, the original S&P 500 ETF, still charges three times as much at 0.09%. See our VOO vs SPY comparison for why SPY has been unable to match the fee cuts that VOO and IVV both executed.
What does not tie: SPLG, State Street's low-cost response, charges 0.02%, which is one basis point lower than either VOO or IVV. If absolute lowest fee is your only criterion, SPLG is the current leader. But at this level, the actual dollar savings are trivial and should not drive the decision.
AUM and Provider Trust
VOO holds approximately $1.51 trillion in assets. IVV holds approximately $582 billion. VOO is larger by a wide margin and is, at current levels, the largest ETF in the world by assets. Both are among the top handful of ETFs globally and have more than enough liquidity and institutional demand to operate smoothly under any market condition.
For a retail investor, the AUM gap does not translate into better performance. Both funds efficiently track the S&P 500 with tracking errors of less than 0.01% per year. What AUM does signal is longevity. A trillion-dollar ETF is not going to be shut down or merged. Neither is a $582 billion ETF. Both funds are permanent fixtures in the investing landscape.
Provider reputation matters more than the AUM number. Vanguard operates as a mutual company owned by its fund shareholders, which has historically kept fee pressure relentless. BlackRock is a for-profit public company and the largest asset manager in the world. Some investors prefer Vanguard's mutual-ownership philosophy. Others prefer BlackRock's technology platform and broader product suite. Neither preference is wrong, but it is the kind of consideration that actually moves the needle when all the financial metrics are identical.
Performance: Nearly Indistinguishable
Because VOO and IVV track the same index with the same expense ratio and similar tracking efficiency, their total returns are effectively identical. Any year-over-year divergence is usually measured in a few basis points and is driven by minor differences in dividend reinvestment timing, securities lending income, and index rebalancing execution.
| Period | VOO | IVV | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | +17.82% | +17.79% | +0.03% VOO |
| 2024 | +25.00% | +24.98% | +0.02% VOO |
| 2023 | +26.32% | +26.29% | +0.03% VOO |
| 2022 | -18.15% | -18.16% | +0.01% VOO |
| 2021 | +28.78% | +28.75% | +0.03% VOO |
| 10Y Ann. | ~13.12% | ~13.10% | ~0.02% VOO |
Returns include reinvested dividends. Data as of . Past performance does not guarantee future results. Sources: StockAnalysis.com, Yahoo Finance.
The consistent small edge you see for VOO is within the noise range of tracking error and does not reflect a meaningful advantage. Over longer periods the lead flips between the two funds depending on how securities lending revenue, index reconstitution timing, and dividend reinvestment lag each affect the current period. On a $100,000 investment held for ten years, the difference between VOO's and IVV's total return would be roughly $200, which is less than one trading commission used to be a decade ago. You can model specific investment periods with our past performance calculator.
The deeper point: for an investor evaluating which fund to choose, historical return differences between VOO and IVV contain zero useful signal. Past performance does not predict which fund will edge ahead in the next ten years, and even if it did, the gap is too small to matter.
Dividend Yield and Distributions
Both VOO and IVV distribute dividends quarterly. Current yields are nearly identical at roughly 1.21% for VOO and 1.22% for IVV. Small yield differences reflect the timing of quarterly distributions and the mechanics of dividend accrual rather than any structural difference between the two funds. Because both hold the same underlying companies, the total income received from either fund over a full year is essentially the same.
VOO pays dividends on a March, June, September, December schedule. IVV pays on a similar quarterly cycle but its ex-dividend dates typically fall a few days apart from VOO's, which creates minor timing differences if you are trying to harvest dividends across both funds. For buy-and-hold investors, the distinction is irrelevant. For our detailed breakdown of VOO's dividend history and yield patterns, visit the VOO dividend page, and use the dividend income calculator to project future income.
Both funds qualify for qualified-dividend tax treatment in taxable accounts, meaning the income is taxed at long-term capital gains rates (0%, 15%, or 20% based on income bracket) rather than ordinary income rates. This is a meaningful tax advantage compared to funds that hold REITs or high-yield bonds, but it applies equally to VOO and IVV.
Tax Efficiency: Both Are Exceptional
One of the strongest arguments for holding either VOO or IVV in a taxable account is their near-zero capital gains distributions. Thanks to the ETF creation-redemption mechanism, both funds can flush out appreciated positions by transferring securities to authorized participants without triggering a taxable event for fund shareholders.
Neither fund has made a meaningful capital gains distribution in decades. IVV has not made a capital gains distribution since 2001, even through the 2008 financial crisis, the 2020 pandemic crash, and the 2022 bear market. VOO has never made a capital gains distribution since its inception in 2010. Compare this to actively managed mutual funds, which routinely distribute 5% or more of their NAV as capital gains in a good year, creating tax bills that eat into after-tax returns.
For a taxable brokerage account, either fund is as tax efficient as any index fund you can buy. The traditional advantage Vanguard held in this area came from its patented dual share-class structure, where VOO operated as an ETF share class of the broader Vanguard 500 Index mutual fund. That patent expired in 2023, but both VOO and IVV have continued to deliver essentially zero-distribution tax efficiency in the years since. If you are investing in a tax-advantaged account like a Roth IRA or 401(k), the tax efficiency of both funds is wasted but costs you nothing.
Trading Liquidity and Spreads
Both funds trade with extremely tight bid-ask spreads. Average spreads for both VOO and IVV are under one basis point during normal market hours, which is about as good as it gets for any ETF. You will not notice a difference between the two funds when placing a market order for a reasonable retail-sized trade.
IVV trades roughly 6.8 million shares per day on average, slightly more than VOO's 6.1 million daily shares. The small edge in trading volume rarely translates into better execution for a retail investor but can matter at the margin for institutional trades. For context, SPY still trades more than 75 million shares per day, which is why SPY remains the preferred vehicle for high-frequency traders and options market makers despite its higher fee.
Options liquidity is the one area where IVV meaningfully edges VOO, though both trail SPY by a wide margin. If you write covered calls or sell cash-secured puts as an income strategy, IVV's option chain offers tighter spreads and more open interest than VOO's at most strikes. For the vast majority of retail investors who do not trade options on their ETFs, this distinction is irrelevant. Check the holdings page to see the underlying stocks both funds track.
Broker Integration and Commission-Free Trading
This is where the practical choice between VOO and IVV often gets made. Most major U.S. brokers now offer commission-free trading for both funds, but the secondary considerations still tilt the decision.
Vanguard Brokerage, as you would expect, offers commission-free trading for VOO along with automatic dividend reinvestment and fractional shares. Fidelity offers commission-free trading for both VOO and IVV and supports fractional shares for both. Charles Schwab allows commission-free trading of both funds with fractional share support. E*TRADE, TD Ameritrade (now part of Schwab), and Robinhood all trade both funds commission-free.
The meaningful differentiator in 2026 is fractional share support. If you are contributing a fixed dollar amount each month, fractional shares let you invest every dollar rather than leaving leftover cash. Most major brokers support fractional shares for both VOO and IVV, but the exact implementation varies. Check with your specific broker to confirm before choosing. If you already have a Vanguard account, VOO is the path of least friction. If you use a BlackRock-oriented platform or one where IVV has special status (such as certain institutional advisor platforms), IVV is the easier choice.
Holdings and Sector Overlap
Because both funds track the S&P 500 with the same sampling methodology, their top holdings are effectively identical. The top ten holdings of VOO and IVV are the same ten stocks in the same order, and their weights differ by less than 0.05 percentage points per position. Sector allocations are identical to within rounding error. Even the lesser-known constituents in positions 400 through 500 are the same stocks in both funds.
VOO currently lists approximately 518 holdings versus IVV's approximately 503. The small gap comes from different handling of securities with multiple share classes (like Alphabet's GOOGL and GOOG) and occasionally from cash, fund-of-funds positions, or futures contracts used for short-term cash management. These are technical distinctions that have no effect on long-term returns.
There is no diversification benefit to holding both VOO and IVV. Doing so would give you double exposure to the same roughly 500 stocks in the same proportions. If you want real diversification beyond the S&P 500, the better move is to add a total market fund like VTI (see our VOO vs VTI comparison), a dividend-tilt fund like SCHD (see our VOO vs SCHD comparison), or a growth-tilt fund like QQQ (see our VOO vs QQQ comparison).
Which Should You Buy?
Choose VOO if you: use Vanguard Brokerage or prefer Vanguard's mutual ownership structure; want the largest ETF in the world for maximum institutional trust; value consistency with the broader Vanguard ecosystem (VTI, BND, and other Vanguard funds); or simply prefer the Vanguard brand.
Choose IVV if you: use an iShares-oriented platform or already hold other BlackRock funds; value slightly deeper options liquidity for covered-call strategies; want the longer 25-year track record that IVV provides; or prefer the iShares brand and broader BlackRock product suite.
Do not hold both unless you have a specific tax-loss harvesting strategy that requires pairing the two. For tax-loss harvesting purposes, VOO and IVV are often considered substantially identical by the IRS, which means selling one at a loss and immediately buying the other may trigger a wash sale. Consult a tax professional before attempting this strategy.
The honest answer most investors do not want to hear: it does not really matter which one you pick. What matters is that you pick one, start investing, and keep contributing consistently. The compounding benefit of steady contributions over three decades dwarfs any conceivable difference between these two funds. For a broader view of how VOO stacks up against every major alternative, visit the full comparison hub.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is VOO or IVV better for long-term investing?
For long-term buy-and-hold investors, VOO and IVV are functionally interchangeable. Both track the S&P 500, both charge a 0.03% expense ratio, both are open-end ETFs with identical tax treatment, and both have delivered virtually identical total returns since VOO launched in 2010. The decision usually comes down to which fund provider you prefer (Vanguard or BlackRock) and whether your broker offers commission-free trading for one versus the other.
What is the difference between VOO and IVV?
The core differences are the issuer (Vanguard vs BlackRock iShares), assets under management (VOO is about $1.51 trillion while IVV is about $582 billion), and launch date (IVV launched in May 2000, ten years before VOO). All three fundamental mechanics (index tracked, expense ratio, ETF structure) are identical. In practice, trading costs, holdings, and tax outcomes are essentially the same.
Can I hold both VOO and IVV?
You can, but there is no diversification benefit. Both funds hold the same roughly 500 stocks in the same market-cap weights because they track the same index. Holding both is effectively holding one position in two accounts. Most investors pick one based on their preferred issuer or broker ecosystem rather than owning both.
Does IVV or VOO have better tax efficiency?
Both are highly tax efficient, and the practical difference is negligible for most investors. Both funds use the ETF creation-redemption mechanism to flush out appreciated securities without triggering capital gains distributions. Neither fund has made a meaningful capital gains distribution in over two decades of operation. For taxable accounts, either choice is excellent.
Which has better options liquidity, VOO or IVV?
IVV has slightly deeper options liquidity than VOO, but both are far less liquid than SPY for options trading. If you actively trade options or use covered calls as an income strategy, SPY remains the standard. For buy-and-hold investors who do not trade options, the VOO versus IVV options liquidity gap is irrelevant.
Is VOO or IVV better for a Roth IRA?
Either works equally well. Tax efficiency does not matter inside a Roth IRA because all growth is tax-free, so the high tax efficiency of both funds is not a differentiator in retirement accounts. The decision comes down to which broker you use, whether they offer commission-free trading for the fund, and whether fractional shares are supported for your contribution amount.