SCHD vs VUG: which ETF won each year?

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

SCHD tracks the Dow Jones U.S. Dividend 100 IndexVUG tracks the CRSP US Large Cap Growth 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.

SCHD turned it into
$29,781
+11.53% per year on average · 20162025
VUG turned it into
$49,942
+17.45% per year on average · 20162025
Difference
−$20,161
VUG made more of the same money

SCHD vs VUG, 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
16
where both funds were trading
SCHD won
6
years
VUG won
10
years
YearSCHDVUGWinner
2026 (so far)+17.51%+6.18%SCHD
2025+4.34%+19.40%VUG
2024+11.66%+32.69%VUG
2023+4.54%+46.83%VUG
2022-3.26%-33.16%SCHD
2021+29.88%+27.35%SCHD
2020+15.03%+40.25%VUG
2019+27.29%+37.03%VUG
2018-5.56%-3.32%VUG
2017+20.85%+27.72%VUG
2016+16.45%+6.27%SCHD
2015-0.30%+3.24%VUG
2014+11.68%+13.61%VUG
2013+32.88%+32.48%SCHD
2012+11.39%+17.01%VUG
2011+5.31%+1.82%SCHD
2010+17.22%
2009+36.14%
2008-38.02%
2007+12.52%
2006+9.19%
2005+5.02%
2004+4.99%

SCHD vs VUG in plain words

SCHD tracks the Dow Jones U.S. Dividend 100 Index while VUG follows the CRSP US Large Cap Growth Index, so they own different slices of the market and their years can look very different. SCHD charges 0.06% a year in running costs and VUG charges 0.03% — VUG is the cheaper fund to hold.

Both funds distribute: dividends land in your account as cash instead of being reinvested automatically. Across the 16 calendar years both funds were trading, SCHD finished the year ahead 6 times and VUG 10 times. $10,000 invested at the start of 2016 was worth $29,781 in SCHD versus $49,942 in VUG by the end of 2025, dividends reinvested.

Fund facts: SCHD vs VUG

FactSCHDVUG
FundSchwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETFVanguard Growth ETF
TracksDow Jones U.S. Dividend 100 IndexCRSP US Large Cap Growth Index
Yearly cost (TER)0.06%0.03%
DividendsDistributing — dividends paid outDistributing — dividends paid out
Launched20 Oct 201126 Jan 2004

Frequently asked

Is SCHD or VUG better?

Across the 16 calendar years both funds were trading, SCHD finished the year ahead 6 times and VUG 10 times. $10,000 invested at the start of 2016 was worth $29,781 in SCHD versus $49,942 in VUG 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 SCHD and VUG?

SCHD tracks the Dow Jones U.S. Dividend 100 Index while VUG follows the CRSP US Large Cap Growth Index, so they own different slices of the market and their years can look very different. SCHD charges 0.06% a year in running costs and VUG charges 0.03% — VUG 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 SCHD have become?

$10,000 invested in SCHD at the start of 2016 grew to $29,781 by the end of 2025, with dividends reinvested — an average of 11.5% per year.

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