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VOO vs SPY: Which S&P 500 ETF Should You Buy in 2026?
See the Difference: VOO vs SPY 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 S&P 500 ETF Trust using actual historical returns with dividends reinvested.
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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 SPY over 10 years.
Where They Actually Differ
Cost impact
Annual fee per $10,000 invested.
Over 30 years, that gap compounds to roughly $3,020 more wealth for VOO investors per $10,000 invested.
Liquidity
SPY more liquid
SPY trades ~85M shares/day vs VOO's ~14.5M. For long-term buy-and-hold investors both are plenty liquid, but SPY has tighter spreads and by far the deepest options market of any U.S. ETF.
Fund structure
VOO
Open-end ETF
vs
SPY
Unit Investment Trust
VOO can reinvest dividends internally and lend securities — small mechanics that add a few basis points of return per year. SPY's UIT structure, frozen since 1993, cannot do either.
Tax efficiency
Both are tax-efficient thanks to ETF in-kind redemptions. VOO has never distributed a capital gain. SPY hasn't either in recent memory. Effectively a tie.
$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)
SPY turned $10,000 into $73,173
(+14.71%/yr)
Difference after 14.5 years:
$429
in favor of VOO.
Monthly adjusted-close data via Yahoo Finance. Past performance does not guarantee future results.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is VOO better than SPY?
For most long-term investors, yes. VOO charges 0.03% annually vs SPY's 0.0945%, and its open-end structure allows dividend reinvestment and securities lending — small mechanics that slightly improve total returns over time. SPY is the better choice for active traders and options strategies where liquidity matters more than fees.
Why is SPY more expensive than VOO?
SPY was launched in 1993 as a unit investment trust (UIT) — a legal structure that predates modern ETF regulations. UIT rules impose higher operating costs and prevent SPY from reinvesting dividends or lending securities. State Street has been unable to convert SPY to a cheaper structure due to legal and contractual constraints.
Do VOO and SPY hold the same stocks?
Yes. Both track the S&P 500 Index and hold essentially the same stocks in the same proportions. Minor differences in holdings count (VOO lists 518, SPY lists 503) come from how each fund counts dual-class shares.
Should I switch from SPY to VOO?
In a tax-advantaged account like a Roth IRA, switching is straightforward — the lower expense ratio benefits you immediately. In a taxable account, selling SPY could trigger capital gains taxes that outweigh years of fee savings. For new money, VOO is generally the better choice.
Can I hold both VOO and SPY?
You can, but there's no benefit. They hold the same stocks. Owning both is redundant — you'd be paying a blended expense ratio higher than necessary. Pick one.
At a Glance
VOO $1.51T
SPY $633B
VOO Sep 7, 2010
SPY Jan 22, 1993
VOO Quarterly
SPY Quarterly
Data as of 2026-04-17. Sources: Vanguard, State Street, Morningstar, Yahoo Finance.