Is VOO safer than SPLG because it is bigger?

Not in any meaningful sense for a long-term investor. VOO holds more than $1.5 trillion in assets; SPLG holds around $55 billion. Both are large, healthy funds that are not going to close anytime soon. At very large position sizes or for institutional block trades, VOO's deeper liquidity and tighter bid-ask spread is a small real advantage. For a retail buy-and-hold investor, both funds are equally safe and either will do the job.

VOO vs SPLG: Which S&P 500 ETF Wins on Fee in 2026?

Q: Is SPLG really cheaper than VOO?

Yes. SPLG charges a 0.02% annual expense ratio; VOO charges 0.03%. On a $10,000 position that is $2.00 per year for SPLG versus $3.00 for VOO. Over 30 years on $100,000 growing at 8%, the extra drag on VOO compounds to roughly $700. Real money, but small next to a six-figure balance. SPLG is the cheapest S&P 500 ETF on the market, narrowly beating VOO, IVV, and the Fidelity ETF FXEX.

Q: Why is SPLG's share price so much lower than VOO's?

SPLG and VOO both track the S&P 500, but State Street chose to list SPLG at a much lower share price. SPLG currently trades around $83 while VOO trades around $653 (roughly 1/8 the price). Share price has nothing to do with performance, fees, or holdings; it is just a unit-of-account decision by the issuer. For investors without fractional-share support, SPLG's lower share price means less leftover cash on recurring buys.

Q: What are the main differences between VOO and SPLG?

Both VOO and SPLG are ETFs tracking the S&P 500. The differences are at the margins: expense ratio (0.03% VOO vs 0.02% SPLG), issuer (Vanguard vs State Street), share price (around $653 vs around $83), assets under management ($1.51T vs $55B), and trading volume (VOO is one of the most heavily traded ETFs on Earth, SPLG is mid-volume). Holdings are essentially identical because both replicate the same index in market-cap weight.

Q: Does SPLG pay dividends?

Yes, quarterly, just like VOO. Both ETFs distribute the dividends paid by the underlying 500 companies after deducting the fund's expenses. SPLG's slightly lower expense ratio means a very slightly higher dividend yield than VOO, but the difference is small (about 0.01 percentage points) and swamped by normal quarter-to-quarter variation in corporate payouts.

Updated Apr 22, 2026 · 3 min read

See the Difference: VOO vs SPLG Calculator

Plug in a starting amount, optional monthly contribution, and number of years. We'll show you what you'd have in VOO vs SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 ETF using actual historical returns with dividends reinvested.

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Years (1–14)

VOO Winner

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Final portfolio value

Total invested: —
Growth: —
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Annualized: —

SPLG Winner

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Final portfolio value

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How this works

Results use monthly total-return data (adjusted close) from Yahoo Finance, with dividends reinvested (DRIP) always on. Both ETFs are modeled over the exact same window and with identical contributions, so the only variable is fund performance. This calculator is for illustrative purposes only. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Not investment advice.

Click Compare to see how $10,000 in VOO stacks up against SPLG over 10 years.

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Where They Actually Differ

Fee

VOO

$3.00

SPLG

$2.00

Annual fee per $10,000 invested.

SPLG at 0.02% is the cheapest S&P 500 ETF on the market, narrowly below VOO's 0.03%. Over 30 years on $100k at 8%, the extra fee on VOO adds up to about $700. Real, but not decisive.

Share price

VOO

~$653/share

SPLG

~$83/share

SPLG is priced at ~1/8 of VOO per share. Same exposure, different unit of account. If your broker doesn't support fractional shares, SPLG means less leftover cash on a $500/month auto-invest. With fractional shares, this stops mattering.

Size & liquidity

VOO wins

VOO holds $1.51T in assets; SPLG holds about $55B. VOO is one of the most-traded ETFs in the world with tighter bid-ask spreads. For retail buy-and-hold investors this is invisible. For large block trades or active traders, VOO's depth matters.

Issuer & history

VOO

Vanguard · 2010

SPLG

State Street · 2005

SPLG is older (launched Nov 2005) but spent most of its life as a sleepy low-volume ETF. State Street cut SPLG's fee to 0.02% in 2023 to compete, and assets grew sharply. VOO (Sep 2010) is Vanguard's flagship S&P 500 ETF and the default for most index investors.

$10,000 Invested at Inception

Growth of $10,000 from 2011 through 2026-04-22, dividends reinvested.

VOO turned $10,000 into $73,602 (+14.76%/yr)

SPLG turned $10,000 into $73,403 (+14.74%/yr)

Difference after 14.5 years: $199 in favor of VOO.

Monthly adjusted-close data via Yahoo Finance. Past performance does not guarantee future results.

Up nextVOO vs SPY

Frequently Asked Questions

Is SPLG really cheaper than VOO?

Yes. SPLG charges 0.02%; VOO charges 0.03%. On a $10,000 position that's $2.00 vs $3.00 per year. Over 30 years on $100k at 8%, the gap compounds to about $700 — real but small next to a six-figure balance. SPLG is currently the cheapest S&P 500 ETF on the market.

Why is SPLG's share price so much lower than VOO's?

It's just a different unit of account. SPLG trades near $83, VOO near $653 — about 1/8 the price per share, same exposure per dollar invested. Share price has no bearing on performance, fees, or holdings. If your broker supports fractional shares (Fidelity, Schwab, Robinhood, others), this difference stops mattering. See our how to buy VOO guide for brokers with fractional support.

Is VOO safer than SPLG because it's bigger?

Not meaningfully. VOO holds $1.51T; SPLG holds about $55B. Both are large, established, healthy funds. At very large trade sizes VOO's tighter spread is a small real advantage, but for retail buy-and-hold investors it's invisible.

What are the main differences between VOO and SPLG?

Both are ETFs tracking the same S&P 500 index. The differences are at the margins: fee (0.03% vs 0.02%), issuer (Vanguard vs State Street), share price (~$653 vs ~$83), AUM ($1.51T vs $55B), and daily volume (VOO far higher). Holdings are essentially identical.

Does SPLG pay dividends?

Yes, quarterly, just like VOO. Both distribute the dividends paid by the underlying 500 companies after fund expenses. SPLG's slightly lower fee means a very slightly higher yield, but the gap (about 0.01 percentage points) is smaller than normal quarter-to-quarter variation.

At a Glance

Assets (AUM)

VOO $1.51T

SPLG $55B

Inception

VOO Sep 7, 2010

SPLG Nov 8, 2005

Dividends

VOO Quarterly

SPLG Quarterly

Data as of 2026-04-17. Sources: Vanguard, State Street, Morningstar, Yahoo Finance.

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