iShares vs Vanguard: ETF issuers compared

BOX SCORE · SECTORS	iShares	Vanguard
Funds in the category	45	12
Made money (W–L)	37–8	8–4
Win %	82%	67%
Money made	$18.2B	$50.2B
Typical return	+14.4%	+9.8%
Launches · 2026	0	0
Assets	$110B	$340B
Fee per $100	$0.36	$0.10

The biggest sectors funds on each side

iShares

Fund	Name	Assets	1Y
IYW	iShares U.S. Technology ETF	$24.8B	+21.3% ✓
IBB	iShares Biotechnology ETF	$11.5B	+38.5% ✓
IXN	iShares Global Tech ETF	$9.3B	+29.0% ✓
REET	iShares Global REIT ETF	$4.8B	+6.9% ✓
IYH	iShares U.S. Healthcare ETF	$4.6B	+28.1% ✓
IXJ	iShares Global Healthcare ETF	$4.6B	+23.4% ✓

Vanguard

Fund	Name	Assets	1Y
VGT	Vanguard Information Technology ETF	$178B	+23.4% ✓
VNQ	Vanguard Real Estate ETF	$66.4B	+7.2% ✓
VHT	Vanguard Health Care ETF	$21.8B	+27.8% ✓
VFH	Vanguard Financials ETF	$13.9B	+9.1% ✓
VDE	Vanguard Energy ETF	$12.7B	+59.5% ✓
VPU	Vanguard Utilities ETF	$9.5B	−2.0% ✕

Twin funds: Vanguard is cheaper in 52 of 60. Vanguard returned more in 27.

Pairs that hold the same market. Fee = per $100 a year. Returns within 0.1 points are a tie; 5-year returns are per year.

CHEAPER3 – 525 tieBETTER 1Y19 – 2712 tieBETTER 5Y15 – 2215 tie

Low-cost core · 4

iSharesFee1Y5Y5Y1YFeeVanguard

IVV$0.03+13.3%+12.7%S&P 500+12.7%+13.3%$0.03VOO
ITOT$0.03+13.1%+11.6%Total US market+11.5%+13.2%$0.03VTI
IVW$0.18+10.4%+12.7%S&P 500 growth+12.8%+10.5%$0.07VOOG
IVE$0.18+16.4%+11.6%S&P 500 value+11.7%+16.5%$0.07VOOV

US stocks · 20

iSharesFee1Y5Y5Y1YFeeVanguard

IUSG$0.04+10.8%+12.5%Large growth+11.9%+5.2%$0.03VUG
IUSV$0.04+16.5%+11.6%Large value+12.5%+24.6%$0.03VTV
IWR$0.18+16.9%+7.5%Mid caps+7.1%+13.8%$0.03VO
IWF$0.18−0.7%+11.3%Russell 1000 growth+11.4%−0.5%$0.06VONG
MSML$0.04——Small caps+6.7%+15.9%$0.03VB
IJH$0.05+14.5%+7.4%

All 60 twins

US stocks · 6

iSharesFee1Y5Y5Y1YFeeVanguard

IWN$0.24+22.2%+7.3%Russell 2000 value+7.6%+22.6%$0.06VTWV
IJK$0.16+14.1%+6.5%S&P 400 growth+6.5%+14.3%$0.10IVOG
VLUE$0.15+54.0%+16.5%Value factor+11.7%+28.6%$0.13VFVA
IJJ$0.18+14.5%+8.0%S&P 400 value+8.1%+14.6%$0.10IVOV
IJS$0.18+20.9%+6.8%S&P 600 value+6.9%+21.1%$0.10VIOV
IJT

Squares, left to right: fee · 1 year · 5 years, coloured by who won. Most gaps come from different index rules, not fees.

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A picture of the tape, with the link back to it.

Post on X

The made–lost record behind every Win %
The date of the data
The link to the live matchup
“Not advice”, on the card itself

The past year. Win % counts funds, not dollars; money made is estimated from each fund’s assets and return. Categories with fewer than 3 funds on a side are flagged. Not advice.

S&P 400 mid caps

+7.4%+14.4%$0.07IVOO

IJR$0.06+19.4%+6.3%S&P 600 small caps+6.3%+19.4%$0.07VIOO

IWD$0.18+28.5%+11.7%Russell 1000 value+11.8%+28.7%$0.06VONV

IWM$0.19+15.2%+5.8%Russell 2000+6.0%+15.4%$0.06VTWO

ISCV$0.06+19.7%+8.1%Small-cap value+8.8%+19.6%$0.05VBR

IWB$0.15+12.8%+11.8%Russell 1000+11.9%+12.9%$0.06VONE

IWP$0.23−4.9%+3.1%Mid-cap growth+3.7%+0.7%$0.05VOT

IWS$0.23+24.5%+9.2%Mid-cap value+9.9%+24.2%$0.05VOE

QUAL$0.15+13.9%+11.2%Quality+9.1%+18.1%$0.13VFQY

ISCG$0.06+12.6%+4.8%Small-cap growth+3.5%+11.0%$0.05VBK

OEF$0.20+10.9%+14.1%Large caps+13.3%+12.6%$0.05MGC

IWV$0.20+13.0%+11.4%Russell 3000+11.6%+13.0%$0.06VTHR

USMV$0.15+11.1%+7.7%Low volatility+10.1%+16.1%$0.13VFMV

MTUM$0.15+16.4%+11.1%Momentum+11.7%+14.4%$0.13VFMO

IWO$0.24+9.0%+4.0%Russell 2000 growth+4.1%+9.1%$0.06VTWG

$0.18

+17.5%

+5.5%

S&P 600 growth

+5.6%+17.9%$0.10VIOG

International · 8

iSharesFee1Y5Y5Y1YFeeVanguard

IXUS$0.07+14.0%+8.3%All non-US+8.3%+13.6%$0.05VXUS
IEFA$0.07+12.9%+8.5%Developed markets+9.6%+17.3%$0.03VEA
IEMG$0.09+13.9%+6.7%Emerging markets+4.8%+4.1%$0.06VWO
ACWI$0.32+13.1%+10.6%Whole world+10.3%+13.3%$0.06VT
IEUR$0.10+11.3%+8.5%Europe+8.6%+11.5%$0.06VGK
SCZ$0.40+11.8%+5.0%Non-US small caps+4.9%+8.2%$0.06VSS
EMXC$0.25+31.6%+11.3%EM ex China—+18.1%$0.07VEXC
IPAC$0.09+15.8%+8.5%Pacific+10.0%+24.0%$0.07VPL

Bonds & cash · 22

iSharesFee1Y5Y5Y1YFeeVanguard

AGG$0.03−1.2%−0.1%Total bond market−0.2%−1.4%$0.03BND
IAGG$0.07+0.6%+1.2%Non-US bonds+0.3%−1.0%$0.07BNDX
SGOV$0.09+3.4%+3.8%T-bills—+3.5%$0.06VBIL
MUB$0.05−0.3%+0.7%Muni bonds+0.6%−0.3%$0.03VTEB
IEF$0.15−3.1%−1.4%Mid Treasuries+0.1%−1.5%$0.03VGIT
STIP$0.03+2.3%+2.7%Short TIPS+2.7%+0.9%$0.03VTIP
IGIB$0.04−2.0%+1.0%Mid corporates+0.9%−2.0%$0.03VCIT
ISTB$0.06+0.9%+2.0%Short bonds+1.8%+1.1%$0.03BSV
IGSB$0.04+1.1%+2.5%Short corporates+2.4%+1.1%$0.03VCSH
SHY$0.15+1.4%+1.9%Short Treasuries+2.0%+1.6%$0.03VGSH
TLT$0.15−7.7%−7.4%Long Treasuries−6.3%−6.5%$0.03VGLT
GVI$0.20+0.1%+1.1%Mid bonds+0.1%−1.9%$0.03BIV
MBB$0.04−0.9%+0.1%Mortgage bonds+0.3%−0.5%$0.03VMBS
GOVT$0.05−1.1%−0.5%All Treasuries—−1.2%$0.03VTG
LQD$0.14−3.3%−0.6%Corporate bonds−0.0%−2.2%$0.03VTC
USHY$0.08+1.8%+3.8%High-yield bonds——$0.05VCHY
EMB$0.39−0.3%+1.6%EM bonds+1.9%−0.9%$0.15VWOB
ICSH$0.08+3.6%+3.9%Ultra-short bonds+3.7%+3.5%$0.10VUSB
SUB$0.07+2.2%+1.6%Short munis—+1.4%$0.05VTES
TIP$0.18−0.8%+0.1%TIPS—−0.7%$0.05VTP
IGLB$0.04−5.7%−2.8%Long corporates−3.0%−6.2%$0.03VCLT
CMF$0.08−0.4%+0.4%California munis—−0.7%$0.06VTEC

Tale of the tape

Sectors: iShares wins, 82% to 67% of funds made money

The biggest sectors funds on each side

iS iShares

V Vanguard

Low-cost core · 4

US stocks · 20

US stocks · 6

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International · 8

Bonds & cash · 22

iShares

Vanguard