What is the expense ratio of MGC vs SPY?

MGC has an expense ratio of 0.05%, while SPY has an expense ratio of 0.09%.

MGC vs SPY

Vanguard Mega Cap Index Fund vs State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust

Last updated: 2026-04-02

Vanguard Mega Cap Index Fund (MGC) is an exchange-traded fund that provides exposure to large-cap U.S. equities across growth and value styles. It charges a very low expense ratio of 0.05%. The fund offers a moderate dividend yield of 1.01%. Launched in 2007, the fund has a 19-year track record.

AUM: $8.4B ER: 0.05% Yield: 1.01% Since: Dec 24, 2007

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

MGC has a slightly lower expense ratio (0.05% vs 0.09%), saving about $79 per $10,000 over 10 years. Both funds have delivered similar 1-year returns (17.8% vs 16.8%), tracking closely.

Key Metrics

Metric	MGC	SPY
Expense Ratio	0.05%	0.09%
Dividend Yield	1.0%	1.1%
Fund Family	N/A	State Street
Category	US Large Cap Blend	US Large Cap Blend

Performance Chart

Indexed to 100 at start (5-year comparison)

MGC +65.6%

SPY +61.2%

Performance Comparison

Period	MGC	SPY	Difference
1 Month	-4.37%	-4.54%	+0.17%
3 Months	-5.14%	-4.09%	-1.05%
6 Months	-2.78%	-2.09%	-0.69%
YTD	-5.14%	-4.09%	-1.05%
1 Year	+17.79%	+16.80%	+0.99%
3 Years	+65.68%	+59.45%	+6.23%
5 Years	+65.63%	+61.25%	+4.38%

Fee Impact Over Time

Estimated fee cost difference assuming 8% annual returns

Investment	Period	MGC Fees	SPY Fees	You Save
$10.000	10 years	$100	$179	$79
$10.000	20 years	$430	$771	$341
$10.000	30 years	$1.388	$2.486	$1.097
$50.000	10 years	$499	$896	$397
$50.000	30 years	$6.941	$12.428	$5.486
$100.000	30 years	$13.882	$24.855	$10.973

Risk Metrics

Based on 5 years of daily returns

Metric	MGC	SPY
Annualized Volatility	17.3%	17.1%
Max Drawdown	-26.6%	-25.4%
Sharpe Ratio	0.41	0.38

Dividend Comparison

Metric	MGC	SPY
Annual Dividend (per share)	$2.42	$7.38
Dividend Yield	1.01%	1.13%
Distribution Frequency	Quarterly	Quarterly

Top Holdings

8 of top 9 holdings overlap (89% overlap in top holdings)

MGC Top Holdings

Name	Weight
NVIDIA CorporationNVDA	8.53%
Apple Inc.AAPL	8.14%
Microsoft CorporationMSFT	6.09%
Amazon.com, Inc.AMZN	4.22%
Broadcom Inc.AVGO	3.15%
Alphabet Inc.GOOG	2.99%
Meta Platforms, Inc.META	2.95%
Tesla, Inc.TSLA	2.37%
Eli Lilly and CompanyLLY	1.87%

SPY Top Holdings

Name	Weight
NVIDIA CorporationNVDA	7.58%
Apple Inc.AAPL	6.66%
Microsoft CorporationMSFT	4.91%
Amazon.com, Inc.AMZN	3.64%
Broadcom Inc.AVGO	2.62%
Alphabet Inc.GOOG	2.40%
Meta Platforms, Inc.META	2.24%
Tesla, Inc.TSLA	1.87%
Berkshire Hathaway Inc.BRK.B	1.57%

Which One Should You Choose?

Choose MGC if...

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

Either works if...

you just need broad us large cap blend exposure. Both are solid options — pick whichever your brokerage offers commission-free.

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