VTI vs ACWI: which ETF won each year?

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

VTI tracks the CRSP US Total Market IndexACWI tracks the MSCI ACWI 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.

VTI turned it into
$37,896
+14.25% per year on average · 20162025
ACWI turned it into
$30,708
+11.87% per year on average · 20162025
Difference
+$7,187
VTI made more of the same money

VTI vs ACWI, 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
VTI won
12
years
ACWI won
7
years
YearVTIACWIWinner
2026 (so far)+11.04%+11.66%ACWI
2025+17.10%+22.41%ACWI
2024+23.81%+17.45%VTI
2023+26.05%+22.27%VTI
2022-19.52%-18.39%ACWI
2021+25.68%+18.66%VTI
2020+21.08%+16.34%VTI
2019+30.67%+26.59%VTI
2018-5.23%-9.12%VTI
2017+21.21%+24.33%ACWI
2016+12.82%+8.40%VTI
2015+0.36%-2.21%VTI
2014+12.55%+3.83%VTI
2013+33.45%+22.38%VTI
2012+16.45%+16.75%ACWI
2011+0.97%-7.82%VTI
2010+17.43%+12.78%VTI
2009+28.90%+32.36%ACWI
2008-36.99%-35.29%ACWI
2007+5.37%
2006+15.70%
2005+6.30%
2004+12.78%
2003+30.74%
2002-20.48%
2001-4.40%

VTI vs ACWI in plain words

VTI tracks the CRSP US Total Market Index while ACWI follows the MSCI ACWI Index, so they own different slices of the market and their years can look very different. VTI charges 0.03% a year in running costs and ACWI charges 0.32% — VTI 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, VTI finished the year ahead 12 times and ACWI 7 times. $10,000 invested at the start of 2016 was worth $37,896 in VTI versus $30,708 in ACWI by the end of 2025, dividends reinvested.

Fund facts: VTI vs ACWI

FactVTIACWI
FundVanguard Total Stock Market ETFiShares MSCI ACWI ETF
TracksCRSP US Total Market IndexMSCI ACWI Index
Yearly cost (TER)0.03%0.32%
DividendsDistributing — dividends paid outDistributing — dividends paid out
Launched24 May 200126 Mar 2008

Frequently asked

Is VTI or ACWI better?

Across the 19 calendar years both funds were trading, VTI finished the year ahead 12 times and ACWI 7 times. $10,000 invested at the start of 2016 was worth $37,896 in VTI versus $30,708 in ACWI 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 VTI and ACWI?

VTI tracks the CRSP US Total Market Index while ACWI follows the MSCI ACWI Index, so they own different slices of the market and their years can look very different. VTI charges 0.03% a year in running costs and ACWI charges 0.32% — VTI 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 VTI have become?

$10,000 invested in VTI at the start of 2016 grew to $37,896 by the end of 2025, with dividends reinvested — an average of 14.3% per year.

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