QQQ vs VGT: which ETF won each year?

Yearly returns side by side, one winner per year — dividends included, priced as you'd actually buy them.

QQQ tracks the Nasdaq-100 IndexVGT tracks the MSCI US IMI Information Technology 25/50 Index

What did the last 10 years do to $10,000?

You invest $10,000 at the start of the window and touch nothing — dividends reinvested, the running year not counted.

QQQ turned it into
$59,045
+19.43% per year on average · 20162025
VGT turned it into
$76,464
+22.56% per year on average · 20162025
Difference
−$17,419
VGT made more of the same money

QQQ vs VGT, year by year

Calendar-year total returns (dividends included) side by side, and who took the crown each year. A dash means the fund did not exist yet.

Years compared
23
where both funds were trading
QQQ won
11
years
VGT won
12
years
YearQQQVGTWinner
2026 (so far)+20.16%+27.13%VGT
2025+20.77%+21.77%VGT
2024+25.58%+29.30%VGT
2023+54.86%+52.66%QQQ
2022-32.58%-29.70%VGT
2021+27.42%+30.45%VGT
2020+48.41%+46.04%QQQ
2019+38.96%+48.62%VGT
2018-0.13%+2.46%VGT
2017+32.66%+37.08%VGT
2016+7.10%+13.77%VGT
2015+9.44%+5.05%QQQ
2014+19.18%+16.69%QQQ
2013+36.63%+30.97%QQQ
2012+18.11%+13.96%QQQ
2011+3.48%+0.54%QQQ
2010+20.14%+12.78%QQQ
2009+54.68%+61.89%VGT
2008-41.73%-42.82%QQQ
2007+19.03%+14.78%QQQ
2006+7.14%+8.85%VGT
2005+1.57%+3.00%VGT
2004+10.54%-2.86%QQQ
2003+49.67%
2002-37.37%
2001-33.34%
2000-36.11%
1999+78.95%

QQQ vs VGT in plain words

QQQ tracks the Nasdaq-100 Index while VGT follows the MSCI US IMI Information Technology 25/50 Index, so they own different slices of the market and their years can look very different. QQQ charges 0.18% a year in running costs and VGT charges 0.09% — VGT is the cheaper fund to hold.

Both funds distribute: dividends land in your account as cash instead of being reinvested automatically. Across the 23 calendar years both funds were trading, QQQ finished the year ahead 11 times and VGT 12 times. $10,000 invested at the start of 2016 was worth $59,045 in QQQ versus $76,464 in VGT by the end of 2025, dividends reinvested.

Fund facts: QQQ vs VGT

FactQQQVGT
FundInvesco QQQ TrustVanguard Information Technology ETF
TracksNasdaq-100 IndexMSCI US IMI Information Technology 25/50 Index
Yearly cost (TER)0.18%0.09%
DividendsDistributing — dividends paid outDistributing — dividends paid out
Launched10 Mar 199926 Jan 2004

Frequently asked

Is QQQ or VGT better?

Across the 23 calendar years both funds were trading, QQQ finished the year ahead 11 times and VGT 12 times. $10,000 invested at the start of 2016 was worth $59,045 in QQQ versus $76,464 in VGT by the end of 2025, dividends reinvested. Past returns don't promise future ones — but this is what actually happened.

What is the difference between QQQ and VGT?

QQQ tracks the Nasdaq-100 Index while VGT follows the MSCI US IMI Information Technology 25/50 Index, so they own different slices of the market and their years can look very different. QQQ charges 0.18% a year in running costs and VGT charges 0.09% — VGT is the cheaper fund to hold. Both funds distribute: dividends land in your account as cash instead of being reinvested automatically.

What would $10,000 in QQQ have become?

$10,000 invested in QQQ at the start of 2016 grew to $59,045 by the end of 2025, with dividends reinvested — an average of 19.4% per year.

Related comparisons

More head-to-heads featuring QQQ or VGT.