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Final portfolio value
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- Growth
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- Total return
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- Per year
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VOO vs SCHD: Growth or Dividend Income in 2026?
Bottom line
VOO compounds faster. SCHD pays ~3x the dividend today. Different tools for different jobs.
The 10 universal facts
VOO Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
vs
SCHD Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF
0.03%
Expense ratio
0.06%
$3
Annual cost / $10k
$6
$1.51T
AUM
$65B
Sep 7, 2010
Inception
Oct 20, 2011
518
Holdings
~100
~13.1%
10y CAGR (total return)
~10.8%
~1.2%
Dividend yield
~3.5%
Quarterly
Dividend frequency
Quarterly
Open-end ETF
Structure
Open-end ETF
Vanguard
Issuer
Charles Schwab
Performance & backtest
Investing $10,000 from Oct 2011 How this is calculated Dividends reinvested every month. Monthly adjusted-close prices from Yahoo Finance. Past performance doesn't predict future returns.
$—
Final portfolio value
- Invested
- —
- Growth
- —
- Total return
- —
- Per year
- —
What's specific to VOO vs SCHD
Dividend income
1.2% vs 3.5% yield
On a $500,000 position SCHD pays about $17,500/year vs VOO's $6,000. The yield gap is the whole reason SCHD exists.
Total return (10y)
13.1% vs 10.8% per year
A $100k investment 10 years ago is roughly $342k in VOO vs $279k in SCHD. Growth compounds; income's lower starting yield was the trade.
Drawdown profile
SCHD smoother in 2022
VOO fell about 18% in 2022 while SCHD lost ~6%. Dividend names hold up better in sell-offs, which matters if you can't stomach the drawdown.
Compare next
Frequently asked questions
Should I buy VOO or SCHD?
Depends on your goal. For long-term growth and the broadest US large-cap exposure, VOO. For higher current income (~3.5% yield) and lower drawdowns, SCHD. Many investors hold both to balance growth and income.
Has SCHD beaten VOO?
No. Over the past 10 years VOO has returned roughly 13.1%/yr vs SCHD's 10.8%/yr. SCHD's lower starting yield is a real return — the gap is mostly that large-cap growth has crushed dividend equities this decade.
Is SCHD safer than VOO?
On drawdown, yes. SCHD's dividend tilt held up better in 2022 (-6% vs VOO's -18%) and in 2008. On long-term volatility the difference is smaller. Both are diversified, large-cap, low-fee.
Can I hold both VOO and SCHD?
Yes, and the overlap is low (~25%). They complement each other: VOO for growth and broad exposure, SCHD for income and downside resilience. A common split is 70-80% VOO + 20-30% SCHD.
Does SCHD pay monthly dividends?
No. SCHD pays quarterly, same as VOO. Both distribute the dividends paid by their underlying companies after fund expenses, on a roughly March / June / September / December schedule.