SPY vs VTV: 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 IndexVTV tracks the CRSP US Large Cap Value 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
VTV turned it into
$30,183
+11.68% per year on average · 20162025
Difference
+$9,283
SPY made more of the same money

SPY vs VTV, 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
SPY won
15
years
VTV won
8
years
YearSPYVTVWinner
2026 (so far)+10.09%+15.30%VTV
2025+17.72%+15.27%SPY
2024+24.89%+15.95%SPY
2023+26.18%+9.32%SPY
2022-18.18%-2.09%VTV
2021+28.73%+26.53%SPY
2020+18.33%+2.33%SPY
2019+31.22%+25.66%SPY
2018-4.57%-5.47%SPY
2017+21.71%+17.14%SPY
2016+12.00%+17.10%VTV
2015+1.23%-0.98%SPY
2014+13.46%+13.17%SPY
2013+32.31%+33.09%VTV
2012+15.99%+15.18%SPY
2011+1.89%+1.11%SPY
2010+15.06%+14.54%SPY
2009+26.35%+19.88%SPY
2008-36.80%-35.89%VTV
2007+5.15%-0.12%SPY
2006+15.85%+22.38%VTV
2005+4.83%+7.21%VTV
2004+10.70%+13.85%VTV
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 VTV in plain words

SPY tracks the S&P 500 Index while VTV follows the CRSP US Large Cap Value 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 VTV charges 0.03% — VTV 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, SPY finished the year ahead 15 times and VTV 8 times. $10,000 invested at the start of 2016 was worth $39,466 in SPY versus $30,183 in VTV by the end of 2025, dividends reinvested.

Fund facts: SPY vs VTV

FactSPYVTV
FundSPDR S&P 500 ETF TrustVanguard Value ETF
TracksS&P 500 IndexCRSP US Large Cap Value Index
Yearly cost (TER)0.0945%0.03%
DividendsDistributing — dividends paid outDistributing — dividends paid out
Launched22 Jan 199326 Jan 2004

Frequently asked

Is SPY or VTV better?

Across the 23 calendar years both funds were trading, SPY finished the year ahead 15 times and VTV 8 times. $10,000 invested at the start of 2016 was worth $39,466 in SPY versus $30,183 in VTV 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 VTV?

SPY tracks the S&P 500 Index while VTV follows the CRSP US Large Cap Value 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 VTV charges 0.03% — VTV 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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