TLT vs BND: Which ETF Is Better in 2026?
Short answer
TLT (iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF) tracks ICE US Treasury 20+ Year Bond Index at 0.15%; BND (Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Fund) tracks Bloomberg US Aggregate Float Adjusted Index at 0.03%. They give you different exposure, so pick by what you want to own: TLT for ICE US Treasury 20+ Year Bond Index, BND for Bloomberg US Aggregate Float Adjusted Index. Neither is universally better.
TLT vs BND at a glance
| TLT | BND | |
|---|---|---|
| Fund | iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF | Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Fund |
| Tracks | ICE US Treasury 20+ Year Bond Index | Bloomberg US Aggregate Float Adjusted Index |
| Expense ratio | 0.15% | 0.03% |
| Dividend yield | ~4.55% | ~3.94% |
| AUM | ~$42.9 billion | ~$394.4 billion |
| Top holding | n/a | n/a |
| Issuer | iShares | Vanguard |
Approximate as of mid-2026; verify with each issuer.
What the differences actually mean
Cost. TLT charges 0.15% a year and BND charges 0.03%. On a $10,000 holding that is roughly $15 versus $3 a year. The gap looks tiny, but BND keeps a little more of your return every year, and over two or three decades of compounding that difference grows into real money.
Dividend yield. TLT yields about ~4.55% and BND about ~3.94%. TLT pays more income today, which matters if you are drawing from the portfolio. If you are reinvesting for growth, total return (price plus dividends) matters more than the headline yield.
Size and liquidity. TLT holds about ~$42.9 billion versus BND's ~$394.4 billion. Both are large enough to trade with tight bid-ask spreads, so for a buy-and-hold investor the size gap rarely changes anything in practice; it mostly tells you how widely each fund is already held.
Issuer. TLT is run by iShares and BND by Vanguard. iShares (BlackRock) is the largest ETF issuer, with deep liquidity across its range. Vanguard is investor-owned and known for rock-bottom fees.
Which fits which investor
TLT (ICE US Treasury 20+ Year Bond Index) and BND (Bloomberg US Aggregate Float Adjusted Index) give you genuinely different exposure, so this is a choice of what you want to own, not just which is cheaper. A broad-market fund suits a core, long-horizon holding you can size large and forget. A narrower, sector, or growth-tilted fund adds concentration and usually more volatility, which suits a longer time horizon and a higher risk tolerance, and is better used as a satellite position than as your whole portfolio. TLT's higher yield leans more toward income and steadier names; the other tilts more toward growth and price appreciation.
What is TLT?
Holds US Treasury bonds maturing in 20 years or more, so its price swings sharply as long-term interest rates move: up when yields fall, down when they rise. It is used as a duration and recession hedge rather than a stable cash holding. Fee is 0.15%.
What is BND?
Holds thousands of US investment-grade bonds (Treasuries, agency, and corporate) across maturities, making it a one-fund core bond allocation. It adds ballast and income to an equity portfolio at a 0.03% fee, with price sensitivity to interest rates.
TLT or BND: which should you pick?
- Pick TLT if you want ICE US Treasury 20+ Year Bond Index exposure at 0.15%.
- Pick BND if you want Bloomberg US Aggregate Float Adjusted Index exposure at 0.03%.
- Overlap: their top holdings differ, so they can be complementary.
- Cost: 0.15% vs 0.03%, a small but compounding difference.
The bottom line: TLT vs BND
TLT (ICE US Treasury 20+ Year Bond Index) and BND (Bloomberg US Aggregate Float Adjusted Index) give you different exposure, so pick by what you want to own, not by which is "better". They are different enough to hold together if you want both. Walnut can show the overlap against your real portfolio before you decide.
Build a portfolio around TLT with Walnut
Walnut connects your real brokerage so you can see how TLT and BND overlap with what you already own, analyze either by chatting through Claude or ChatGPT, and place any trade yourself.
FAQ
What is the difference between TLT and BND?
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TLT tracks ICE US Treasury 20+ Year Bond Index (0.15% expense ratio); BND tracks Bloomberg US Aggregate Float Adjusted Index (0.03%). They track different indexes, so they give you different exposure.
Is TLT or BND cheaper?
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TLT charges 0.15% and BND charges 0.03% as of mid-2026. Over decades the cheaper fund keeps more of your return, but verify current figures with each issuer.
Do TLT and BND hold the same stocks?
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Their top holdings differ, so they are more complementary than redundant. Check the full holdings before assuming they are interchangeable.
Which has a higher dividend yield, TLT or BND?
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TLT yields about ~4.55% and BND about ~3.94% (mid-2026, approximate). If income matters, that gap is one input, but total return and cost matter more for most long-term investors.
Should you own both TLT and BND?
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It can make sense if they give you genuinely different exposure, but check the overlap first so you are not paying two fees for one bet. Walnut can show the overlap against your real portfolio.
Walnut is informational, not investment advice. ETF figures are approximations stamped to mid-2026; verify current data with each issuer before deciding. Nothing here is a recommendation.