VOO vs QQQ: which ETF won each year?

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

VOO tracks the S&P 500 IndexQQQ tracks the Nasdaq-100 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.

VOO turned it into
$39,747
+14.80% per year on average · 20162025
QQQ turned it into
$59,045
+19.43% per year on average · 20162025
Difference
−$19,298
QQQ made more of the same money

VOO vs QQQ, 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
VOO won
3
years
QQQ won
14
years
YearVOOQQQWinner
2026 (so far)+10.18%+20.16%QQQ
2025+17.82%+20.77%QQQ
2024+24.98%+25.58%QQQ
2023+26.32%+54.86%QQQ
2022-18.17%-32.58%VOO
2021+28.79%+27.42%VOO
2020+18.32%+48.41%QQQ
2019+31.37%+38.96%QQQ
2018-4.50%-0.13%QQQ
2017+21.77%+32.66%QQQ
2016+12.17%+7.10%VOO
2015+1.33%+9.44%QQQ
2014+12.93%+19.18%QQQ
2013+32.39%+36.63%QQQ
2012+15.99%+18.11%QQQ
2011+1.90%+3.48%QQQ
2010+14.78%+20.14%QQQ
2009+54.68%
2008-41.73%
2007+19.03%
2006+7.14%
2005+1.57%
2004+10.54%
2003+49.67%
2002-37.37%
2001-33.34%
2000-36.11%
1999+78.95%

VOO vs QQQ in plain words

VOO tracks the S&P 500 Index while QQQ follows the Nasdaq-100 Index, so they own different slices of the market and their years can look very different. VOO charges 0.03% a year in running costs and QQQ charges 0.18% — VOO 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, VOO finished the year ahead 3 times and QQQ 14 times. $10,000 invested at the start of 2016 was worth $39,747 in VOO versus $59,045 in QQQ by the end of 2025, dividends reinvested.

Fund facts: VOO vs QQQ

FactVOOQQQ
FundVanguard S&P 500 ETFInvesco QQQ Trust
TracksS&P 500 IndexNasdaq-100 Index
Yearly cost (TER)0.03%0.18%
DividendsDistributing — dividends paid outDistributing — dividends paid out
Launched7 Sept 201010 Mar 1999

Frequently asked

Is VOO or QQQ better?

Across the 17 calendar years both funds were trading, VOO finished the year ahead 3 times and QQQ 14 times. $10,000 invested at the start of 2016 was worth $39,747 in VOO versus $59,045 in QQQ 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 VOO and QQQ?

VOO tracks the S&P 500 Index while QQQ follows the Nasdaq-100 Index, so they own different slices of the market and their years can look very different. VOO charges 0.03% a year in running costs and QQQ charges 0.18% — VOO 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 VOO have become?

$10,000 invested in VOO at the start of 2016 grew to $39,747 by the end of 2025, with dividends reinvested — an average of 14.8% per year.

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