ETF Versus

SPY vs VGT

State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust vs Vanguard Information Technology Index Fund ETF Shares

Last updated: 2026-04-02

SPY State Street

State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) is an exchange-traded fund issued by State Street that provides exposure to large-cap U.S. equities across growth and value styles. It charges a low expense ratio of 0.09%. The fund offers a moderate dividend yield of 1.13%. Launched in 1993, the fund has a 33-year track record.

AUM: $636.7B ER: 0.09% Yield: 1.13% Since: Jan 22, 1993
VGT

Vanguard Information Technology Index Fund ETF Shares (VGT) is an exchange-traded fund that provides exposure to us sector - technology securities. It charges a low expense ratio of 0.09%. The fund offers a modest dividend yield of 0.43%. Launched in 2004, the fund has a 22-year track record.

AUM: $102.6B ER: 0.09% Yield: 0.43% Since: Jan 26, 2004

Quick Verdict

Over the past year, VGT has significantly outperformed with a 29.2% return vs 16.8%. Income investors may prefer SPY for its higher yield (1.1% vs 0.4%).

Key Metrics

Metric SPY VGT
Expense Ratio 0.09% 0.09%
Dividend Yield 1.1% 0.4%
Fund Family State Street N/A
Category US Large Cap Blend US Sector - Technology

Performance Chart

Indexed to 100 at start (5-year comparison)

80 107 134 161 188 215 2021-04 2022-06 2023-09 2024-12 2026-04
SPY +61.2%
VGT +89.7%

Performance Comparison

Period SPY VGT Difference
1 Month -4.54% -3.71% -0.83%
3 Months -4.09% -6.53% +2.44%
6 Months -2.09% -6.49% +4.40%
YTD -4.09% -6.53% +2.44%
1 Year +16.80% +29.20% -12.40%
3 Years +59.45% +83.56% -24.11%
5 Years +61.25% +89.73% -28.48%

Fee Impact Over Time

Estimated fee cost difference assuming 8% annual returns

Investment Period SPY Fees VGT Fees You Save
$10.000 10 years $179 $179 $0
$10.000 20 years $771 $771 $0
$10.000 30 years $2.486 $2.486 $0
$50.000 10 years $896 $896 $0
$50.000 30 years $12.428 $12.428 $0
$100.000 30 years $24.855 $24.855 $0

Risk Metrics

Based on 5 years of daily returns

Metric SPY VGT
Annualized Volatility 17.1% 25.1%
Max Drawdown -25.4% -35.5%
Sharpe Ratio 0.38 0.46

Dividend Comparison

Metric SPY VGT
Annual Dividend (per share) $7.38 $3.06
Dividend Yield 1.13% 0.43%
Distribution Frequency Quarterly Quarterly

Top Holdings

4 of top 9 holdings overlap (44% overlap in top holdings)

SPY Top Holdings

NameWeight
NVIDIA CorporationNVDA7.58%
Apple Inc.AAPL6.66%
Microsoft CorporationMSFT4.91%
Amazon.com, Inc.AMZN3.64%
Broadcom Inc.AVGO2.62%
Alphabet Inc.GOOG2.40%
Meta Platforms, Inc.META2.24%
Tesla, Inc.TSLA1.87%
Berkshire Hathaway Inc.BRK.B1.57%

VGT Top Holdings

NameWeight
NVIDIA CorporationNVDA18.07%
Apple Inc.AAPL15.84%
Microsoft CorporationMSFT10.39%
Broadcom Inc.AVGO4.34%
Micron Technology, Inc.MU2.37%
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.AMD1.65%
Cisco Systems, Inc.CSCO1.63%
Palantir Technologies Inc.PLTR1.57%
Applied Materials, Inc.AMAT1.54%
Lam Research CorporationLRCX1.53%

Which One Should You Choose?

Choose VGT if...

recent performance momentum matters to your strategy. Note that past performance doesn't guarantee future results.

Choose SPY if...

you prioritize dividend income and want higher regular distributions from your portfolio.

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