VOO 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.

VOO tracks the S&P 500 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.

VOO turned it into
$39,747
+14.80% per year on average · 20162025
VUG turned it into
$49,942
+17.45% per year on average · 20162025
Difference
−$10,195
VUG made more of the same money

VOO 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
VOO won
5
years
VUG won
12
years
YearVOOVUGWinner
2026 (so far)+10.18%+6.18%VOO
2025+17.82%+19.40%VUG
2024+24.98%+32.69%VUG
2023+26.32%+46.83%VUG
2022-18.17%-33.16%VOO
2021+28.79%+27.35%VOO
2020+18.32%+40.25%VUG
2019+31.37%+37.03%VUG
2018-4.50%-3.32%VUG
2017+21.77%+27.72%VUG
2016+12.17%+6.27%VOO
2015+1.33%+3.24%VUG
2014+12.93%+13.61%VUG
2013+32.39%+32.48%VUG
2012+15.99%+17.01%VUG
2011+1.90%+1.82%VOO
2010+14.78%+17.22%VUG
2009+36.14%
2008-38.02%
2007+12.52%
2006+9.19%
2005+5.02%
2004+4.99%

VOO vs VUG in plain words

VOO tracks the S&P 500 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. Both funds charge 0.03% a year in running costs.

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 5 times and VUG 12 times. $10,000 invested at the start of 2016 was worth $39,747 in VOO versus $49,942 in VUG by the end of 2025, dividends reinvested.

Fund facts: VOO vs VUG

FactVOOVUG
FundVanguard S&P 500 ETFVanguard Growth ETF
TracksS&P 500 IndexCRSP US Large Cap Growth Index
Yearly cost (TER)0.03%0.03%
DividendsDistributing — dividends paid outDistributing — dividends paid out
Launched7 Sept 201026 Jan 2004

Frequently asked

Is VOO or VUG better?

Across the 17 calendar years both funds were trading, VOO finished the year ahead 5 times and VUG 12 times. $10,000 invested at the start of 2016 was worth $39,747 in VOO 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 VOO and VUG?

VOO tracks the S&P 500 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. Both funds charge 0.03% a year in running costs. 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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