ETF Versus

VGT vs XLK

Vanguard Information Technology Index Fund ETF Shares vs State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF

Last updated: 2026-04-02

VGT

Vanguard Information Technology Index Fund ETF Shares (VGT) is an exchange-traded fund that provides exposure to us sector - technology securities. It charges a low expense ratio of 0.09%. The fund offers a modest dividend yield of 0.43%. Launched in 2004, the fund has a 22-year track record.

AUM: $102.6B ER: 0.09% Yield: 0.43% Since: Jan 26, 2004
XLK

State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK) is an exchange-traded fund that provides exposure to us sector - technology securities. It charges a low expense ratio of 0.08%. The fund offers a modest dividend yield of 0.57%. Launched in 1998, the fund has a 28-year track record.

AUM: $82.2B ER: 0.08% Yield: 0.57% Since: Dec 16, 1998

Quick Verdict

Both funds have nearly identical expense ratios (0.08% vs 0.09%), so fees are not a differentiator here. Both funds have delivered similar 1-year returns (29.2% vs 29.7%), tracking closely.

Key Metrics

Metric VGT XLK
Expense Ratio 0.09% 0.08%
Dividend Yield 0.4% 0.6%
Fund Family N/A N/A
Category US Sector - Technology US Sector - Technology

Performance Chart

Indexed to 100 at start (5-year comparison)

80 108 136 164 192 220 2021-04 2022-06 2023-09 2024-12 2026-04
VGT +89.7%
XLK +95.1%

Performance Comparison

Period VGT XLK Difference
1 Month -3.71% -3.32% -0.39%
3 Months -6.53% -6.51% -0.02%
6 Months -6.49% -5.23% -1.26%
YTD -6.53% -6.51% -0.02%
1 Year +29.20% +29.73% -0.53%
3 Years +83.56% +78.96% +4.60%
5 Years +89.73% +95.13% -5.40%

Fee Impact Over Time

Estimated fee cost difference assuming 8% annual returns

Investment Period VGT Fees XLK Fees You Save
$10.000 10 years $179 $159 $20
$10.000 20 years $771 $686 $85
$10.000 30 years $2.486 $2.212 $273
$50.000 10 years $896 $797 $99
$50.000 30 years $12.428 $11.061 $1.366
$100.000 30 years $24.855 $22.123 $2.732

Risk Metrics

Based on 5 years of daily returns

Metric VGT XLK
Annualized Volatility 25.1% 24.7%
Max Drawdown -35.5% -34.0%
Sharpe Ratio 0.46 0.49

Dividend Comparison

Metric VGT XLK
Annual Dividend (per share) $3.06 $0.77
Dividend Yield 0.43% 0.57%
Distribution Frequency Quarterly Quarterly

Top Holdings

10 of top 10 holdings overlap (100% overlap in top holdings)

VGT Top Holdings

NameWeight
NVIDIA CorporationNVDA18.07%
Apple Inc.AAPL15.84%
Microsoft CorporationMSFT10.39%
Broadcom Inc.AVGO4.34%
Micron Technology, Inc.MU2.37%
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.AMD1.65%
Cisco Systems, Inc.CSCO1.63%
Palantir Technologies Inc.PLTR1.57%
Applied Materials, Inc.AMAT1.54%
Lam Research CorporationLRCX1.53%

XLK Top Holdings

NameWeight
NVIDIA CorporationNVDA15.50%
Apple Inc.AAPL13.63%
Microsoft CorporationMSFT10.05%
Broadcom Inc.AVGO5.37%
Micron Technology, Inc.MU3.39%
Palantir Technologies Inc.PLTR2.98%
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.AMD2.95%
Cisco Systems, Inc.CSCO2.73%
Applied Materials, Inc.AMAT2.42%
Lam Research CorporationLRCX2.38%

Which One Should You Choose?

Either works if...

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

Related Comparisons