SPY vs IVV: which ETF won each year?

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

SPY tracks the S&P 500 IndexIVV tracks the S&P 500 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.

SPY turned it into
$39,466
+14.72% per year on average · 20162025
IVV turned it into
$39,497
+14.72% per year on average · 20162025
Difference
−$31
IVV made more of the same money

SPY vs IVV, 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
27
where both funds were trading
SPY won
5
years
IVV won
21
years
YearSPYIVVWinner
2026 (so far)+10.09%+9.92%SPY
2025+17.72%+17.85%IVV
2024+24.89%+24.93%IVV
2023+26.18%+26.31%IVV
2022-18.18%-18.16%IVV
2021+28.73%+28.76%IVV
2020+18.33%+18.40%IVV
2019+31.22%+31.25%IVV
2018-4.57%-4.49%IVV
2017+21.71%+21.75%IVV
2016+12.00%+11.54%SPY
2015+1.23%+1.28%IVV
2014+13.46%+13.57%IVV
2013+32.31%+32.31%Tie
2012+15.99%+16.06%IVV
2011+1.89%+1.88%SPY
2010+15.06%+15.10%IVV
2009+26.35%+26.61%IVV
2008-36.80%-37.01%SPY
2007+5.15%+5.29%IVV
2006+15.85%+15.94%IVV
2005+4.83%+4.87%IVV
2004+10.70%+10.79%IVV
2003+28.18%+28.46%IVV
2002-21.58%-21.53%IVV
2001-11.76%-11.96%SPY
2000-9.74%-6.08%IVV
1999+20.39%
1998+28.69%
1997+33.47%
1996+22.50%
1995+38.05%
1994+0.40%
1993+8.71%

SPY vs IVV in plain words

SPY and IVV both track the S&P 500 Index, so their returns are nearly identical — the real differences are costs and fund structure. SPY charges 0.0945% a year in running costs and IVV charges 0.03% — IVV is the cheaper fund to hold.

Both funds distribute: dividends land in your account as cash instead of being reinvested automatically. Across the 27 calendar years both funds were trading, SPY finished the year ahead 5 times and IVV 21 times. $10,000 invested at the start of 2016 was worth $39,466 in SPY versus $39,497 in IVV by the end of 2025, dividends reinvested.

Fund facts: SPY vs IVV

FactSPYIVV
FundSPDR S&P 500 ETF TrustiShares Core S&P 500 ETF
TracksS&P 500 IndexS&P 500 Index
Yearly cost (TER)0.0945%0.03%
DividendsDistributing — dividends paid outDistributing — dividends paid out
Launched22 Jan 199315 May 2000

Frequently asked

Is SPY or IVV better?

Across the 27 calendar years both funds were trading, SPY finished the year ahead 5 times and IVV 21 times. $10,000 invested at the start of 2016 was worth $39,466 in SPY versus $39,497 in IVV 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 SPY and IVV?

SPY and IVV both track the S&P 500 Index, so their returns are nearly identical — the real differences are costs and fund structure. SPY charges 0.0945% a year in running costs and IVV charges 0.03% — IVV 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 SPY have become?

$10,000 invested in SPY at the start of 2016 grew to $39,466 by the end of 2025, with dividends reinvested — an average of 14.7% per year.

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