SPY's fee is 0.0945% a year, about $9.45 for every $10,000 invested, while VOO and IVV each charge 0.03%, or $3.00 per $10,000, according to the funds' fact sheets as of June 30, 2026 [3][4][5]. DataPorium price and dividend data show the gap in results: SPY's trailing 12-month dividends of $7.583 a share gave a yield of 0.99% on its October 19, 2026 close of $766.48, against 1.05% for VOO and 1.09% for IVV [1][2]. From April 29 to October 19, 2026, SPY returned 8.26% with dividends reinvested, VOO 8.29% and IVV 8.31%. SPY's edge is trading volume: about $35.9 billion of its shares changed hands on an average day in that period, more than six times as much as VOO or IVV [2].
What is SPY's fee, and what does it cost in dollars?
The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) reports a gross expense ratio of 0.0945%, and State Street lists the net expense ratio at the same 0.0945%, so no fee waiver could expire [3]. The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) and the iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV) each charge 0.03% [4][5]. IVV's 0.03% is entirely a management fee, with no acquired fund fees or other expenses [5]. VOO's 0.03% is the figure in its most recent prospectus [4].
An expense ratio is the share of assets a fund deducts each year to pay its costs. It is not billed separately; it comes out of the fund's income before dividends are paid. The arithmetic for the fees on the June 30, 2026 fact sheets is simple:
| Amount invested | SPY (0.0945%) | VOO or IVV (0.03%) | Extra cost of SPY per year | Extra cost over 10 years (no growth) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $10,000 | $9.45 | $3.00 | $6.45 | $64.50 |
| $100,000 | $94.50 | $30.00 | $64.50 | $645.00 |
Source: expense ratios from the State Street, Vanguard and iShares fact sheets as of June 30, 2026 [3][4][5]; dollar amounts are the expense ratio times the amount invested.
The 10-year column assumes the balance never grows. In practice the fee is charged on a rising balance, so the dollar gap grows with the market. Vanguard notes that the average S&P 500 index fund charged 0.41% as of December 31, 2025, so all three ETFs are cheap for the category, but SPY costs about three times as much as the other two [4].
How did SPY, VOO and IVV perform in 2026?
DataPorium's daily price data give 12 months of history for VOO and IVV and the newest 120 trading days for SPY, from April 29 to October 19, 2026 [2]. The table compares the three funds over that common window and adds the 12-month figures where the data allow.
| Measure | SPY | VOO | IVV |
|---|---|---|---|
| Closing price, October 19, 2026 | $766.48 | $704.60 | $770.01 |
| Total return, April 29 to October 19, 2026 | 8.26% | 8.29% | 8.31% |
| Price return, April 29 to October 19, 2026 | 7.72% | 7.70% | 7.71% |
| Total return, October 21, 2025 to October 19, 2026 | not in the data | 15.50% | 15.52% |
| Trailing 12-month dividends per share | $7.583 | $7.428 | $8.397 |
| Trailing 12-month dividend yield | 0.99% | 1.05% | 1.09% |
| Average daily volume, April 29 to October 19, 2026 (shares) | 47.7 million | 7.6 million | 7.3 million |
| Average daily value traded, same period | $35.9 billion | $5.3 billion | $5.5 billion |
Source: DataPorium Stock Market, daily closing prices, volumes and dividends of SPY, VOO and IVV to October 19, 2026 [2]. Total return reinvests each dividend at the closing price on its ex-dividend date. Yield is the sum of dividends with ex-dates from October 20, 2025 to October 19, 2026, divided by the October 19, 2026 close.
Over the common window of 173 days, SPY trailed VOO by 0.03 percentage points and IVV by 0.05 points [2]. The fee gap of 0.0645 points a year, prorated to 173 days, comes to about 0.03 points, so the result is close to what the fees alone predict. Over the full 12 months to October 19, 2026, VOO and IVV returned 15.50% and 15.52%; both share prices rose about 14.2%, the same as the S&P 500 index's price change of 14.18% in DataPorium's index data [2].
Our analysis of DataPorium's price data shows that the daily returns of SPY and VOO had a correlation of 0.998 from April 29 to October 19, 2026, and those of VOO and IVV 0.997 over the 12 months to October 19, 2026: the three funds move almost as one.
The three funds also fell together. Over the 12 months, VOO's largest drop from a closing high was 9.19%, from January 27 to March 30, 2026, and IVV's was 9.13%; the index itself fell 9.10% [2]. In the shorter window that includes SPY, all three fell about 4.5% between June 2 and June 10, 2026 [2].
Why the dividend yields differ
Fund expenses are paid out of the dividends the stocks in the portfolio earn, so a higher fee shows up as a slightly lower payout. SPY's trailing yield of 0.99% was 0.06 points below VOO's 1.05%, close to the fee gap [1][2]. Payment timing also matters: IVV's largest payment in the period, $2.414 a share with a December 16, 2025 ex-date, lifted its trailing figure to 1.09% [2]. All three pay four times a year.
How closely does each fund track the S&P 500?
Tracking difference is the gap between a fund's return and the index return, and it is the cleanest way to see what fees and structure cost. The issuers' own figures use net asset value (NAV), the value of the holdings per share, for periods ended June 30, 2026.
| Period to June 30, 2026 | SPY (NAV) | VOO (NAV) | IVV (NAV) | S&P 500 Index |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year to date | 10.13% | 10.19% | n/a | 10.21% |
| 1 year | 22.15% | 22.28% | 22.29% | 22.32% |
| 3 years (annualized) | 20.46% | 20.58% | 20.58% | 20.61% |
| 5 years (annualized) | 13.26% | 13.36% | 13.37% | 13.41% |
| 10 years (annualized) | 15.35% | 15.47% | 15.47% | 15.51% |
Source: State Street, Vanguard and iShares fact sheets as of June 30, 2026 [3][4][5].
Over ten years SPY lagged the index by 0.16 percentage points a year, while VOO and IVV lagged by 0.04 points [3][4][5]. Over one year SPY trailed by 0.17 points, VOO by 0.04 and IVV by 0.03. IVV's calendar-year record shows the same tightness, with a 17.85% NAV return in 2025 against 17.88% for the benchmark [5]. SPY's market value return was 10.02% year to date on June 30, 2026, 0.11 points below its NAV return, which reflects a small end-of-quarter discount to net asset value [3][6].
Why SPY's structure costs a little extra
SPY is organized as a unit investment trust, a structure it shares with the SPDR S&P MidCap 400 and SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average products [3]. A unit investment trust must hold the index stocks directly and cannot lend securities or reinvest dividends between quarterly distributions, so cash sits idle for short periods. VOO and IVV are open-end funds that can lend securities and manage cash more flexibly, and VOO reported a turnover rate of 2.4% for its most recent fiscal year [4]. These details help explain why the two cheaper funds track slightly tighter than the fee gap alone would suggest.
Is SPY more liquid than VOO and IVV?
Yes, by a wide margin. From April 29 to October 19, 2026, an average of 47.7 million SPY shares traded each day, worth about $35.9 billion, compared with 7.6 million VOO shares ($5.3 billion) and 7.3 million IVV shares ($5.5 billion) [2]. SPY, launched on January 22, 1993, was the first ETF listed in the United States and remains the reference product for index options and short-term hedging [3]. For traders who move large blocks or use options on the ETF, that depth can matter more than a few hundredths of a percentage point in fees.
For a long-term holder, VOO and IVV are also very large. VOO held $978,960 million in ETF share assets as of June 30, 2026, and IVV held $888,128.94 million on the same date [4][5]. Both trade billions of dollars a day, and creation and redemption keep their prices close to net asset value: VOO's one-year market price return of 22.34% to June 30, 2026 was within 0.06 points of its NAV return [4].
Do SPY, VOO and IVV hold the same stocks?
Yes. All three replicate the same index. As of June 30, 2026, Nvidia (NVDA) was 7.50% of SPY, Apple (AAPL) 6.57%, Microsoft (MSFT) 4.29%, Amazon (AMZN) 3.61% and Alphabet (GOOGL) Class A 3.24%, and the top ten holdings were 36.31% of the fund [3]. IVV reported its top ten at 36.37% and VOO at 37.9%, with Vanguard combining the two Alphabet share classes [4][5]. Information technology was 38.03% of SPY [3]. The concentration is a feature of the index, not of the wrapper, so it is the same in all three funds.
Valuation is shared as well. Vanguard reported a price/earnings ratio of 27.5x and a price/book ratio of 5.4x for VOO on June 30, 2026 [4]. SPY's 30-day SEC yield was 0.96% and IVV's 0.98% on that date [3][5]. The practical differences come down to three items: the fee (0.0945% against 0.03%), the trading volume (SPY's is several times larger) and, for current holders in a taxable account, the capital gains tax that a sale of one fund to buy another would trigger. Current prices and dividends for all three are on DataPorium's ETF pages [1].
Key takeaways
- SPY's fee is 0.0945% a year ($9.45 per $10,000); VOO and IVV charge 0.03% ($3.00), per the June 30, 2026 fact sheets [3][4][5].
- From April 29 to October 19, 2026, SPY returned 8.26% with dividends, VOO 8.29% and IVV 8.31% [2].
- Trailing 12-month yields on October 19, 2026: SPY 0.99%, VOO 1.05%, IVV 1.09% [2].
- SPY traded about $35.9 billion a day on average from April 29 to October 19, 2026, more than six times VOO's $5.3 billion [2].
- Ten-year annualized NAV returns to June 30, 2026: SPY 15.35%, VOO 15.47%, IVV 15.47%, index 15.51% [3][4][5].
Frequently asked questions
What is the SPY management fee?
SPY's total expense ratio is 0.0945% a year, both gross and net, according to State Street's fact sheet as of June 30, 2026 [3]. That equals $9.45 a year on a $10,000 investment and $94.50 on $100,000.
Is VOO better than SPY for long-term investing?
On cost and tracking, VOO has the edge: it charges 0.03% against 0.0945% and returned 15.47% a year over the ten years to June 30, 2026, versus 15.35% for SPY [3][4]. SPY's advantage is trading volume, about $35.9 billion a day from April 29 to October 19, 2026 [2].
What is the difference between IVV and VOO?
Very little. Both charge 0.03%, both returned 15.47% a year over the ten years to June 30, 2026, and their daily returns had a correlation of 0.997 over the 12 months to October 19, 2026 [2][4][5]. IVV is run by BlackRock's iShares and VOO by Vanguard.
Why does SPY have a higher expense ratio than VOO and IVV?
SPY is a unit investment trust created in 1993, and its 0.0945% fee has stayed above the 0.03% of the newer open-end S&P 500 ETFs [3][4][5]. Its trading volume, more than six times that of VOO or IVV from April 29 to October 19, 2026, keeps it in use despite the higher cost [2].
Sources & References
- [1] DataPorium ETF Analytics: Holdings, Flows and Performance
- [2] DataPorium Stock Market (daily prices, trading volume and dividends of US stocks, ETFs and the S&P 500 index)
- [3] State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) Fact Sheet as of June 30, 2026
- [4] Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) Fact Sheet as of June 30, 2026
- [5] iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV) Fact Sheet as of June 30, 2026
- [6] State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) fund page and performance