SCHG 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.

SCHG tracks the Dow Jones U.S. Large-Cap Growth Total Stock Market 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.

SCHG turned it into
$52,975
+18.14% per year on average · 20162025
VUG turned it into
$49,942
+17.45% per year on average · 20162025
Difference
+$3,033
SCHG made more of the same money

SCHG 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
17
where both funds were trading
SCHG won
9
years
VUG won
7
years
YearSCHGVUGWinner
2026 (so far)+3.97%+6.18%VUG
2025+17.50%+19.40%VUG
2024+34.96%+32.69%SCHG
2023+50.11%+46.83%SCHG
2022-31.80%-33.16%SCHG
2021+28.12%+27.35%SCHG
2020+39.14%+40.25%VUG
2019+36.02%+37.03%VUG
2018-1.36%-3.32%SCHG
2017+28.05%+27.72%SCHG
2016+6.55%+6.27%SCHG
2015+3.24%+3.24%Tie
2014+15.80%+13.61%SCHG
2013+34.04%+32.48%SCHG
2012+16.89%+17.01%VUG
2011-0.74%+1.82%VUG
2010+14.92%+17.22%VUG
2009+36.14%
2008-38.02%
2007+12.52%
2006+9.19%
2005+5.02%
2004+4.99%

SCHG vs VUG in plain words

SCHG tracks the Dow Jones U.S. Large-Cap Growth Total Stock Market 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. SCHG charges 0.04% 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 17 calendar years both funds were trading, SCHG finished the year ahead 9 times and VUG 7 times. $10,000 invested at the start of 2016 was worth $52,975 in SCHG versus $49,942 in VUG by the end of 2025, dividends reinvested.

Fund facts: SCHG vs VUG

FactSCHGVUG
FundSchwab U.S. Large-Cap Growth ETFVanguard Growth ETF
TracksDow Jones U.S. Large-Cap Growth Total Stock Market IndexCRSP US Large Cap Growth Index
Yearly cost (TER)0.04%0.03%
DividendsDistributing — dividends paid outDistributing — dividends paid out
Launched11 Dec 200926 Jan 2004

Frequently asked

Is SCHG or VUG better?

Across the 17 calendar years both funds were trading, SCHG finished the year ahead 9 times and VUG 7 times. $10,000 invested at the start of 2016 was worth $52,975 in SCHG 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 SCHG and VUG?

SCHG tracks the Dow Jones U.S. Large-Cap Growth Total Stock Market 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. SCHG charges 0.04% 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 SCHG have become?

$10,000 invested in SCHG at the start of 2016 grew to $52,975 by the end of 2025, with dividends reinvested — an average of 18.1% per year.

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