$10,000 in VOO ten years ago grew to $39,718. That same $10,000 in VUG? $49,944.
A $10,227 gap — from two Vanguard funds that share 9 of the same top 10 stocks. The VOO vs VUG comparison comes down to one thing: how much you’re betting on growth.
VUG holds the same mega-cap names as VOO — NVDA, AAPL, MSFT — but at nearly double the weight. That concentration powered a 10-year win. It also caused a -33.15% crash in 2022 while VOO dropped only -18.19%.
Same stocks. Different dose. Here’s what the numbers actually show.
$10K Growth Test: VOO vs VUG Over 5 and 10 Years
The longer the timeline, the wider the gap. VUG’s growth tilt compounds harder in bull markets — but look at the 5-year column.
| Period | VOO | VUG | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5-Year (2021–2025) | $19,597 | $19,803 | $206 |
| 10-Year (2016–2025) | $39,718 | $49,944 | $10,227 |
| 10-Year CAGR | 14.79% | 17.45% | +2.66% |
Source: Yahoo Finance. Total returns with dividends reinvested.
$10,000 Invested — How It Grew
Gap: $10,227 — VUG’s growth premium compounded over a full decade
Gap: $206 — 2022 erased years of outperformance
Over 10 years VUG delivered an extra $10,227 on a $10K investment. Over 5 years? Practically a coin flip — just $206 apart. That 5-year number tells you everything about the cost of 2022.
VUG was ahead by over $5,600 at the end of 2020. By the end of 2022, the two funds were within $117 of each other. Two years of gains — gone in twelve months. The growth premium is real, but it demands patience most investors underestimate.
VOO vs VUG Risk Profile: The Price of That Extra $10K
VUG’s 10-year outperformance didn’t come without trade-offs. Every risk metric points in the same direction.
| Metric | VOO | VUG |
|---|---|---|
| Max Drawdown (Since Inception) | -33.99% | -50.68% |
| Beta (5Y) | 1.00 | 1.23 |
| Annual Std Deviation (10Y) | 15.75% | 24.15% |
| Worst Single Year (2016–2025) | -18.19% | -33.15% |
| Correlation (VOO–VUG) | 0.94 | |
Sources: PortfoliosLab, Yahoo Finance.
VUG’s max drawdown was -50.68% — meaning at its worst, a $100,000 VUG position shrank to under $50,000. VOO’s worst drop was -33.99%. That’s $17,000 less pain on the same starting amount.
A 1.23 beta means VUG amplifies market moves by roughly 23%. Markets up 10%? VUG tends to gain closer to 12%. Markets down 10%? VUG drops closer to 12% too. That amplification is exactly what creates the growth premium — and the volatility gap.
Put differently: on a $100,000 portfolio, VUG’s worst calendar year (-33.15%) would have erased $33,150. VOO’s worst year (-18.19%) would have cost $18,190. That’s a $14,960 difference in realized pain — enough to trigger emotional selling for many investors. The extra return only shows up for those who held through both sides of the cycle.
Year-by-Year Total Returns: VOO vs VUG (2016–2025)
VUG won 7 out of 10 years. But VOO won the years that mattered most for risk.
| Year | VOO | VUG | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | +12.17% | +6.28% | -5.89% |
| 2017 | +21.77% | +27.72% | +5.95% |
| 2018 | -4.50% | -3.30% | +1.20% |
| 2019 | +31.35% | +37.03% | +5.68% |
| 2020 | +18.29% | +40.22% | +21.93% |
| 2021 | +28.78% | +27.34% | -1.44% |
| 2022 | -18.19% | -33.15% | -14.96% |
| 2023 | +26.32% | +46.83% | +20.51% |
| 2024 | +24.98% | +32.69% | +7.71% |
| 2025 | +17.82% | +19.40% | +1.58% |
| Wins | 3 | 7 |
Source: Yahoo Finance. Total returns with dividends reinvested.
2020 is the year that built VUG’s lead — +40.22% versus VOO’s +18.29%. That single pandemic-fueled tech rally created a 21.93-point spread. Without 2020, the 10-year gap shrinks dramatically.
Annual Return Spread: VUG − VOO
Then 2022 gave most of it back. VUG fell -33.15% — almost double VOO’s loss. That’s the amplifier working in reverse. If you started investing in 2021, you wouldn’t see any VUG advantage until 2024.
VOO vs VUG Holdings: Same Stocks, Different Weights
This is where the VOO vs VUG comparison gets interesting. These aren’t two funds with different strategies. VUG is essentially VOO’s growth half — the same companies, amplified.
🔍 Same Stock, Different Weight
9 of VUG’s top 10 stocks are also in VOO’s top 10. The only difference: BRK.B (VOO) vs LLY (VUG).
VOO’s top 10 holdings make up 39% of the fund. VUG’s top 10? 64%. That concentration is the mechanism behind the extra return — and the extra volatility.
Sector Allocation Comparison
| Sector | VOO | VUG |
|---|---|---|
| Technology | 34.13% | 51.18% |
| Communication Services | 11.25% | 17.43% |
| Consumer Cyclical | 10.61% | 12.99% |
| Financials | 12.54% | 5.17% |
| Healthcare | 9.45% | 5.54% |
| Industrials | 7.96% | 4.05% |
| Consumer Defensive | 5.00% | 1.46% |
| Energy | 3.18% | 0.35% |
Source: Yahoo Finance, as of February 2026.
Sector Weight — Side by Side
VUG puts 51% of its weight in technology. VOO is at 34%. That 17-point difference is mostly where the return gap comes from. But it also means VUG has almost no energy, utilities, or consumer staples — sectors that tend to hold up during downturns.
VOO covers 11 sectors with meaningful weight across all of them. VUG concentrates on three. Technology, communication services, and consumer cyclical make up over 81% of VUG. In VOO, those same three sectors total 56%.
What VUG leaves out matters during sector rotations. In 2022, energy stocks surged while tech cratered. VOO’s 3.18% energy allocation provided a small cushion. VUG’s 0.35% meant zero offset. Financials — 12.54% of VOO, 5.17% of VUG — tend to benefit from rising interest rates, which are often the exact environment that pressures growth valuations.
Neither allocation is “wrong.” But investors who expect VUG to behave like a diversified fund during a downturn are misjudging what they own. VUG is a sector bet dressed as a style fund.
VOO vs VUG Dividend and Cost Comparison
| Metric | VOO | VUG |
|---|---|---|
| Expense Ratio | 0.03% | 0.03% |
| Dividend Yield | 1.11% | 0.43% |
| Annual Dividend (per $10K) | ~$111 | ~$43 |
| Dividend Frequency | Quarterly | Quarterly |
| P/E Ratio | 28.49 | 39.34 |
Costs are a non-factor. Vanguard cut VUG’s expense ratio from 0.04% to 0.03% in February 2026, matching VOO. On a $50,000 position, both funds cost $15 per year. The fee advantage that separates VOO from SPY doesn’t apply here.
The dividend gap is more notable. VOO yields 1.11% versus VUG’s 0.43%. On $10,000 that’s $111 vs $43 — a $68 annual difference. Not large enough to change any portfolio decision, but VOO does produce more income along the way.
VUG’s P/E of 39.34 is nearly 40% higher than VOO’s 28.49. Growth stocks trade at premiums because investors pay for expected future earnings. That premium means VUG is more vulnerable to sentiment shifts — when the market reprices growth expectations downward, VUG feels it first.
VOO vs VUG: Who Should Buy Which
• Prefer lower volatility and smaller drawdowns
• Plan to hold a single equity fund for the long term
• Value dividend income alongside growth
• Have a 15+ year horizon and can stomach 30%+ drops
• Already hold value or bond exposure elsewhere
• Believe tech-driven earnings growth will continue
• You’re within 10 years of retirement
• A 33% single-year loss would make you sell
The Amplifier Verdict
VUG is not a different fund from VOO. It’s a concentrated version of the same stocks. Holding both at the same time is not diversification — it’s an overweight on growth with extra steps.
The 10-year numbers favor VUG by $10,227 on a $10K investment. The 5-year numbers are essentially flat because one bad year — 2022 — wiped out years of outperformance. The next time growth sells off, the same pattern will repeat.
That’s the core tension. VUG has similar characteristics to QQQ — heavy tech concentration, higher volatility, stronger returns in growth cycles. The difference is VUG filters by growth metrics rather than Nasdaq membership, which gives it a slightly different composition but a similar risk profile.
For a single-fund portfolio, VOO remains the broader choice. It holds the growth stocks VUG is built on — plus the financials, healthcare, industrials, and energy names that VUG excludes. The fundamentals of ETF diversification favor breadth over concentration when one fund is carrying the entire portfolio.
For investors who consciously want a growth tilt alongside other holdings, VUG has historically delivered — but only for those willing to hold through drawdowns that can reach 50%. Past returns don’t guarantee future performance, but the pattern is consistent: VUG wins in good years and loses harder in bad ones.
The premium requires patience. Do your own research before making any investment decision.
VOO vs VUG — Fund Overview at a Glance
| Spec | VOO | VUG |
|---|---|---|
| Full Name | Vanguard S&P 500 ETF | Vanguard Growth ETF |
| Index | S&P 500 | CRSP US Large Cap Growth |
| Expense Ratio | 0.03% | 0.03% |
| AUM (ETF) | ~$867B | ~$199B |
| Holdings | 518 | 155 |
| Top 10 Weight | ~39% | ~64% |
| Dividend Yield | 1.11% | 0.43% |
| Inception | Sep 2010 | Jan 2004 |
| Category | Large Blend | Large Growth |
| Issuer | Vanguard | Vanguard |
Sources: Vanguard (VOO), Vanguard (VUG), Yahoo Finance. Data as of February 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is VUG just the growth stocks inside VOO?
Roughly, yes. VUG tracks the CRSP US Large Cap Growth Index, which filters for growth characteristics like earnings growth and return on assets. About 80% of VUG’s holdings overlap with VOO. The difference is weight — VUG holds the same top stocks at roughly 1.7× to 1.8× the allocation VOO gives them.
Can I hold both VOO and VUG at the same time?
You can, but the practical result is just a larger growth tilt. Since VUG’s holdings are almost entirely contained within VOO, owning both doesn’t add diversification. Investors who want a deliberate growth overweight sometimes split between VOO and VUG, but the effect is similar to just holding more VUG.
Why was VOO vs VUG so close over 5 years but $10K apart over 10?
The 2022 bear market hit growth stocks particularly hard. VUG dropped 33.15% while VOO fell 18.19%. That single year erased the outperformance VUG had built up from 2020’s massive rally. The 10-year window captures enough bull market years for VUG’s growth premium to compound past the drawdowns.
Is VOO or VUG better for a Roth IRA?
Both work well in a Roth IRA. VUG’s lower dividend yield (0.43% vs 1.11%) means slightly less taxable distribution, which matters more in taxable accounts. In a Roth, where all growth is tax-free, the decision comes down to your risk tolerance and time horizon rather than tax efficiency.
Did VUG’s expense ratio change recently?
Yes. Vanguard reduced VUG’s expense ratio from 0.04% to 0.03% in February 2026 as part of a broader fee cut across 53 funds. VOO was already at 0.03%, so the two funds now cost exactly the same.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. Always do your own research or consult a licensed financial advisor before making investment decisions.