VOO vs. VTI

At a glance

Data last verified: 2026-09-17

Breadth of holdings is the main difference

VOO tracks the S&P 500, limiting its holdings to roughly 500 of the largest U.S. companies. VTI adds mid- and small-cap u.s. stocks on top of the large-caps voo holds. Because large-cap companies dominate total U.S. market capitalization, the two funds have historically tracked each other closely, even though VTI technically holds far more individual companies.

Project growth: VOO vs. VTI

Whether you think of it as “VTI stock or VOO,” the mechanics of building wealth in either are the same. Use the same growth assumption for both, or adjust each independently to see how the (very small) expense ratio difference compounds over time.

Which should you choose?

If you specifically want exposure to only the largest, most established U.S. companies, VOO does that directly. If you’d rather hold the entire U.S. equity market in one fund — including smaller companies that might grow into tomorrow’s large-caps — VTI is built for that. Neither is objectively “better”; they reflect a different choice about how much of the market to own.

Since both funds have historically produced similar growth and dividend characteristics, the VOO calculator can serve as a reasonable rough proxy for projecting a VTI investment as well, though the two funds are not identical.

More comparisons

• VOO vs. SPY — same index, different cost and structure
• VOO vs. IVV — another near-identical S&P 500 ETF

Frequently asked questions