VTI vs SPTM: How to Compare the Risks, Returns and Costs of Popular Total Stock Market ETFs
Find out how differences in portfolio breadth and sector tilt can affect your choice between these two low-cost U.S. stock ETFs.
both State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 1500 Composite Stock Market ETF (SPTM 0.73%) and Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI 0.76%) Designed as a key low-cost vehicle for broad U.S. equity exposure, it is preferred by long-term investors seeking simplicity.
This comparison highlights how VTI’s broader portfolio and massive scale compares with SPTM’s targeted approach of capturing approximately 90% of the investable world of U.S. equities.
Snapshots (cost and size)
| metric system | SPTM | VTI |
|---|---|---|
| Issuer | SPDR | electric potential |
| cost ratio | 0.03% | 0.03% |
| 1-year return (as of January 1, 2026) | 15.50% | 15.69% |
| dividend yield | 1.13% | 1.11% |
| operating assets | $12 billion | $567 billion |
| Beta (5 years per month) | 1.01 | 1.04 |
Beta measures price volatility relative to the S&P 500. One-year returns represent total returns over the past 12 months.
SPTM and VTI are equally cheap with the same expense ratios, and their dividend yields are surprisingly similar. Investors focused on fees and income are unlikely to experience meaningful differences between these two funds.
Performance and risk comparison
| metric system | SPTM | VTI |
|---|---|---|
| $1,000 growth over 5 years | $1,790 | $1,723 |
| Maximum decline rate (5 years) | -24.15% | -25.36% |
What’s inside?
VTI provides exposure to virtually the entire U.S. stock market across 3,527 stocks. The portfolio relies heavily on technology (35% of total assets) and also has significant exposure to financial services and consumer cyclical stocks. The highest holdings are: apologize, nvidiaand microsoftIn total, it represents about 19% of assets.
SPTM, by contrast, tracks the S&P Composite 1500 index and covers about 90% of the world of U.S. stocks with 1,511 stocks. The industry composition and top holdings are similar to VTI, indicating significant overlap. Technology accounts for 34% of assets, with the top three holdings matching VTI. It also makes up about 19% of the fund.
Both funds eschew leverage, hedging and ESG screening and instead stick to a simple index approach.
For detailed guidance on investing in ETFs, check out our full guide at this link.
What this means for investors
Both VTI and SPTM provide broad exposure to the entire stock market, including thousands of stocks across all industries. With similar underlying indices, sector allocations, and top holdings, it’s no surprise that these ETFs offer nearly identical risk, drawdown, and performance history.
Identical expense ratios and similar dividend yields make it more difficult to decide between the two, as investors can expect to receive roughly the same amount of dividends from each fund and pay the same fees.
The main difference between them is their assets under management (AUM) and the number of assets they have.
VTI is larger in both accounts. A much higher AUM can provide greater liquidity, making it easier for investors to buy and sell in large quantities without affecting the fund price. The average investor looking to hold ETFs for the long term may not need this level of liquidity, but with almost every other aspect of these funds being equal, this is a key differentiator.
VTI’s larger portfolio may be a selling point for some investors. SPTM aims to capture only about 90% of U.S. stocks, while VTI targets the entire U.S. stock market, holding about 2,000 more stocks than SPTM.
These additional holdings do not necessarily translate into higher returns or reduced risk, as both funds experienced nearly identical maximum drawdowns and five-year total returns. But for those seeking maximum diversity, VTI’s large portfolio may be the deciding factor.
vocabulary
ETFs: An exchange-traded fund that holds a basket of securities and is traded on an exchange like stocks.
Cost Ratio: Annual fund operating expenses expressed as a percentage of the fund’s average assets.
Dividend Yield: The annual dividend paid by a fund is divided by the current stock price, expressed as a percentage.
Total Revenue: The performance of an investment, including price changes and any dividends, assuming that the dividends are reinvested.
beta: Measures a fund’s volatility compared to a benchmark index (usually the S&P 500).
Operating Assets: Assets Under Management The total market value of all assets in a fund.
Maximum reduction: The greatest decline in value from peak to trough over a specific period of time.
Indexing approach: A strategy that aims to replicate a market index rather than actively selecting individual securities.
US stock market: The complete set of publicly traded U.S. stocks available to investors.
Sector Weight: The percentage of the fund’s assets invested in each industry sector.
influence: The use of leverage or derivatives to increase a fund’s exposure beyond its invested capital.
