VT 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.

VT tracks the FTSE Global All Cap 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.

VT turned it into
$30,414
+11.77% per year on average · 20162025
VUG turned it into
$49,942
+17.45% per year on average · 20162025
Difference
−$19,528
VUG made more of the same money

VT 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
19
where both funds were trading
VT won
6
years
VUG won
13
years
YearVTVUGWinner
2026 (so far)+11.93%+6.18%VT
2025+22.43%+19.40%VT
2024+16.49%+32.69%VUG
2023+22.02%+46.83%VUG
2022-18.00%-33.16%VT
2021+18.27%+27.35%VUG
2020+16.59%+40.25%VUG
2019+26.81%+37.03%VUG
2018-9.76%-3.32%VUG
2017+24.50%+27.72%VUG
2016+8.50%+6.27%VT
2015-1.86%+3.24%VUG
2014+3.68%+13.61%VUG
2013+22.94%+32.48%VUG
2012+17.12%+17.01%VT
2011-7.51%+1.82%VUG
2010+13.08%+17.22%VUG
2009+32.66%+36.14%VUG
2008-33.05%-38.02%VT
2007+12.52%
2006+9.19%
2005+5.02%
2004+4.99%

VT vs VUG in plain words

VT tracks the FTSE Global All Cap 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. VT charges 0.06% a year in running costs and VUG charges 0.03% — VUG is the cheaper fund to hold.

Both funds distribute: dividends land in your account as cash instead of being reinvested automatically. Across the 19 calendar years both funds were trading, VT finished the year ahead 6 times and VUG 13 times. $10,000 invested at the start of 2016 was worth $30,414 in VT versus $49,942 in VUG by the end of 2025, dividends reinvested.

Fund facts: VT vs VUG

FactVTVUG
FundVanguard Total World Stock ETFVanguard Growth ETF
TracksFTSE Global All Cap IndexCRSP US Large Cap Growth Index
Yearly cost (TER)0.06%0.03%
DividendsDistributing — dividends paid outDistributing — dividends paid out
Launched24 Jun 200826 Jan 2004

Frequently asked

Is VT or VUG better?

Across the 19 calendar years both funds were trading, VT finished the year ahead 6 times and VUG 13 times. $10,000 invested at the start of 2016 was worth $30,414 in VT 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 VT and VUG?

VT tracks the FTSE Global All Cap 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. VT charges 0.06% a year in running costs and VUG charges 0.03% — VUG 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 VT have become?

$10,000 invested in VT at the start of 2016 grew to $30,414 by the end of 2025, with dividends reinvested — an average of 11.8% per year.

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