ETF Versus

IJR vs SPY

iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF vs State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust

Last updated: 2026-04-02

IJR iShares

iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF (IJR) is an exchange-traded fund issued by iShares that provides exposure to small-cap U.S. equities with higher growth potential and volatility. It charges a low expense ratio of 0.06%. The fund offers a moderate dividend yield of 1.28%. Launched in 2000, the fund has a 26-year track record.

AUM: $90.2B ER: 0.06% Yield: 1.28% Since: May 22, 2000
SPY State Street

State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) is an exchange-traded fund issued by State Street that provides exposure to large-cap U.S. equities across growth and value styles. It charges a low expense ratio of 0.09%. The fund offers a moderate dividend yield of 1.13%. Launched in 1993, the fund has a 33-year track record.

AUM: $636.7B ER: 0.09% Yield: 1.13% Since: Jan 22, 1993

Quick Verdict

IJR has a slightly lower expense ratio (0.06% vs 0.09%), saving about $60 per $10,000 over 10 years. IJR has edged ahead over the past year (19.2% vs 16.8%).

Key Metrics

Metric IJR SPY
Expense Ratio 0.06% 0.09%
Dividend Yield 1.3% 1.1%
Fund Family iShares State Street
Category US Small Cap US Large Cap Blend

Performance Chart

Indexed to 100 at start (5-year comparison)

75 95 115 135 155 175 2021-04 2022-06 2023-09 2024-12 2026-04
IJR +13.0%
SPY +61.2%

Performance Comparison

Period IJR SPY Difference
1 Month -4.33% -4.54% +0.21%
3 Months +2.92% -4.09% +7.01%
6 Months +4.03% -2.09% +6.12%
YTD +2.92% -4.09% +7.01%
1 Year +19.20% +16.80% +2.40%
3 Years +29.06% +59.45% -30.39%
5 Years +12.98% +61.25% -48.27%

Fee Impact Over Time

Estimated fee cost difference assuming 8% annual returns

Investment Period IJR Fees SPY Fees You Save
$10.000 10 years $120 $179 $60
$10.000 20 years $515 $771 $256
$10.000 30 years $1.664 $2.486 $822
$50.000 10 years $598 $896 $298
$50.000 30 years $8.318 $12.428 $4.109
$100.000 30 years $16.637 $24.855 $8.218

Risk Metrics

Based on 5 years of daily returns

Metric IJR SPY
Annualized Volatility 21.6% 17.1%
Max Drawdown -28.9% -25.4%
Sharpe Ratio 0.01 0.38

Dividend Comparison

Metric IJR SPY
Annual Dividend (per share) $1.60 $7.38
Dividend Yield 1.28% 1.13%
Distribution Frequency Quarterly Quarterly

Top Holdings

0 of top 9 holdings overlap (0% overlap in top holdings)

IJR Top Holdings

NameWeight
BLK CSH FND TREASURY SL AGENCYXTSLA1.37%
Eastman Chemical CompanyEMN0.54%
Viavi Solutions Inc.VIAV0.53%
Argan, Inc.AGX0.52%
Primoris Services CorporationPRIM0.52%
FormFactor, Inc.FORM0.51%
Element Solutions IncESI0.51%
LKQ CorporationLKQ0.50%
SM Energy CompanySM0.49%
ESCO Technologies Inc.ESE0.48%

SPY Top Holdings

NameWeight
NVIDIA CorporationNVDA7.58%
Apple Inc.AAPL6.66%
Microsoft CorporationMSFT4.91%
Amazon.com, Inc.AMZN3.64%
Broadcom Inc.AVGO2.62%
Alphabet Inc.GOOG2.40%
Meta Platforms, Inc.META2.24%
Tesla, Inc.TSLA1.87%
Berkshire Hathaway Inc.BRK.B1.57%

Which One Should You Choose?

Choose IJR if...

you want the lowest fees and plan to buy and hold long-term. Over decades, the expense ratio difference compounds significantly.

Choose IJR if...

recent performance momentum matters to your strategy. Note that past performance doesn't guarantee future results.

Related Comparisons

AGG vs IJR AGG vs SPY ARKK vs SPY BND vs IJR BND vs SPY BNDX vs IJR BNDX vs SPY COWZ vs SPY