SPY vs SCHG: 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 IndexSCHG tracks the Dow Jones U.S. Large-Cap Growth Total Stock Market 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
SCHG turned it into
$52,975
+18.14% per year on average · 20162025
Difference
−$13,510
SCHG made more of the same money

SPY vs SCHG, 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
SPY won
7
years
SCHG won
10
years
YearSPYSCHGWinner
2026 (so far)+10.09%+3.97%SPY
2025+17.72%+17.50%SPY
2024+24.89%+34.96%SCHG
2023+26.18%+50.11%SCHG
2022-18.18%-31.80%SPY
2021+28.73%+28.12%SPY
2020+18.33%+39.14%SCHG
2019+31.22%+36.02%SCHG
2018-4.57%-1.36%SCHG
2017+21.71%+28.05%SCHG
2016+12.00%+6.55%SPY
2015+1.23%+3.24%SCHG
2014+13.46%+15.80%SCHG
2013+32.31%+34.04%SCHG
2012+15.99%+16.89%SCHG
2011+1.89%-0.74%SPY
2010+15.06%+14.92%SPY
2009+26.35%
2008-36.80%
2007+5.15%
2006+15.85%
2005+4.83%
2004+10.70%
2003+28.18%
2002-21.58%
2001-11.76%
2000-9.74%
1999+20.39%
1998+28.69%
1997+33.47%
1996+22.50%
1995+38.05%
1994+0.40%
1993+8.71%

SPY vs SCHG in plain words

SPY tracks the S&P 500 Index while SCHG follows the Dow Jones U.S. Large-Cap Growth Total Stock Market Index, so they own different slices of the market and their years can look very different. SPY charges 0.0945% a year in running costs and SCHG charges 0.04% — SCHG 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, SPY finished the year ahead 7 times and SCHG 10 times. $10,000 invested at the start of 2016 was worth $39,466 in SPY versus $52,975 in SCHG by the end of 2025, dividends reinvested.

Fund facts: SPY vs SCHG

FactSPYSCHG
FundSPDR S&P 500 ETF TrustSchwab U.S. Large-Cap Growth ETF
TracksS&P 500 IndexDow Jones U.S. Large-Cap Growth Total Stock Market Index
Yearly cost (TER)0.0945%0.04%
DividendsDistributing — dividends paid outDistributing — dividends paid out
Launched22 Jan 199311 Dec 2009

Frequently asked

Is SPY or SCHG better?

Across the 17 calendar years both funds were trading, SPY finished the year ahead 7 times and SCHG 10 times. $10,000 invested at the start of 2016 was worth $39,466 in SPY versus $52,975 in SCHG 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 SCHG?

SPY tracks the S&P 500 Index while SCHG follows the Dow Jones U.S. Large-Cap Growth Total Stock Market Index, so they own different slices of the market and their years can look very different. SPY charges 0.0945% a year in running costs and SCHG charges 0.04% — SCHG 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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