IVV vs VOO: Which ETF Is Better in 2026?

Fee (this is the whole decision). IVV charges 0.03% and VOO charges 0.03%. On a $10,000 holding that is about $3 vs $3 a year. The cost is identical, so this really comes down to issuer preference and share price.

Liquidity (only if you trade). IVV holds about ~$600 billion and VOO about ~$1.7 trillion. For buy-and-hold this changes nothing; if you trade options or in size, the larger, more liquid fund gives tighter spreads.

No performance table, on purpose. Two funds tracking S&P 500 deliver essentially the same return. Any past-performance gap between them is tracking noise, not manager skill, and comparing it would mislead more than it informs.

The label is the same; the portfolio is not. Their top holdings overlap about 36% by weight (9 shared names: NVDA, AAPL, MSFT, AMZN, GOOGL, AVGO). That is real overlap, but each still tilts differently, so the two are genuinely different bets under one label.

Overlap reflects top holdings by weight (an approximation of full-fund overlap), as of early 2026. Verify full holdings with each issuer.

IVV tracks S&P 500, and VOO tracks S&P 500. Because both funds follow the same benchmark, their constituent lists and weights are essentially identical, so what you own barely changes between them. The decision is about cost, structure, and issuer, not exposure.

On construction, IVV is market-cap-weighted and VOO is market-cap-weighted. They share a weighting approach, so any difference comes from the underlying index rather than the method.

In practice, tracking the same index means the two are interchangeable exposure; a past-return gap between them reflects tracking differences and fees, not a difference in what the fund is designed to hold.

The fees match exactly at 0.03%, so cost is not the deciding factor here; the difference, if any, comes from exposure and structure.

On scale, IVV holds about ~$600 billion and VOO about ~$1.7 trillion. Larger funds generally trade at tighter bid-ask spreads and carry deeper options markets, which matters if you trade actively or in size; for buy-and-hold investors it rarely changes the outcome. IVV currently pays the higher dividend yield (~1.3% versus ~1.0%), which shifts more of its return into cash today.

Since IVV and VOO track S&P 500, the same investor is well served by either. A cost-focused buy-and-hold investor should lean to whichever is cheaper to trade at their broker (the fees are identical), while an active trader who uses options or trades in size may prefer the larger, more liquid of the two for tighter spreads.

These are descriptive profiles, not recommendations. What fits you depends on your goals, horizon, and what you already own. Walnut is not an investment adviser.

The overlap that decides most ETF purchases is not between IVV and VOO, it is with what you already hold. ETF redundancy is invisible without looking through to the underlying holdings: you can already own most of IVV inside a broad fund like an S&P 500 or total-market ETF and not realize it.

This is the part a generic comparison cannot answer, because it depends on your account. Connect your brokerage and Walnut looks through your funds to show your real, combined exposure, flags how much of IVV or VOO you already own elsewhere, and tells you whether adding either just buys the same companies twice, read-only by default, with your login staying at your broker. Walnut is not an investment adviser.

Tracks the S&P 500 Index, the standard measure of US large-cap equity. Effectively identical exposure to VOO and SPY at a 0.03% expense ratio, which matches VOO and undercuts SPY. Used as a core building block in most diversified portfolios. Verify current figures on the issuer's site.

Full IVV guide

Tracks the S&P 500 Index, the standard measure of US large-cap equity. Effectively identical exposure to SPY and IVV at a 0.03% expense ratio. Used as a core building block in most diversified portfolios.

Full VOO guide

Permission to stop deliberating: IVV and VOO are equivalent exposure, so take either (the fees match) and let issuer preference decide, unless you actively trade options, in which case the larger, more liquid fund is the practical pick.

For the full detail, see the IVV and VOO guides.

Approximate as of early 2026; verify with each issuer.

iShares (BlackRock) is the largest ETF issuer, with deep liquidity across its range. Vanguard is investor-owned and known for rock-bottom fees.

IVV and VOO track the same index, so this is cost and issuer, not what you own: the fees match, so take either. Either way, the decisive check is overlap with your real portfolio. Walnut can show that before you buy. It is not an investment adviser.

Both funds lean on MSFT, so understanding that one company explains a lot of what drives either ETF.