What is the expense ratio of VONG vs VUG?

VONG has an expense ratio of 0.06%, while VUG has an expense ratio of 0.03%.

VONG vs VUG

Vanguard Russell 1000 Growth Index Fund ETF Shares vs Vanguard Growth Index Fund ETF Shares

Last updated: 2026-04-02

Vanguard Russell 1000 Growth Index Fund ETF Shares (VONG) is an exchange-traded fund that provides exposure to large-cap U.S. growth stocks with above-average earnings potential. It charges a low expense ratio of 0.06%. The fund offers a modest dividend yield of 0.50%. Launched in 2010, the fund has a 16-year track record.

AUM: $35.8B ER: 0.06% Yield: 0.50% Since: Sep 20, 2010

VUG Vanguard

Vanguard Growth Index Fund ETF Shares (VUG) is an exchange-traded fund issued by Vanguard that provides exposure to large-cap U.S. growth stocks with above-average earnings potential. It charges a very low expense ratio of 0.03%. The fund offers a modest dividend yield of 0.45%. Launched in 2004, the fund has a 22-year track record.

AUM: $179.8B ER: 0.03% Yield: 0.45% Since: Jan 26, 2004

Quick Verdict

VUG has a slightly lower expense ratio (0.03% vs 0.06%), saving about $60 per $10,000 over 10 years. Both funds have delivered similar 1-year returns (18.1% vs 18.0%), tracking closely.

Key Metrics

Metric	VONG	VUG
Expense Ratio	0.06%	0.03%
Dividend Yield	0.5%	0.5%
Fund Family	N/A	Vanguard
Category	US Large Cap Growth	US Large Cap Growth

Performance Chart

Indexed to 100 at start (5-year comparison)

VONG +71.4%

VUG +66.0%

Performance Comparison

Period	VONG	VUG	Difference
1 Month	-4.74%	-4.47%	-0.27%
3 Months	-8.85%	-9.18%	+0.33%
6 Months	-8.46%	-8.28%	-0.18%
YTD	-8.85%	-9.18%	+0.33%
1 Year	+18.14%	+18.01%	+0.13%
3 Years	+75.87%	+77.18%	-1.31%
5 Years	+71.39%	+66.01%	+5.38%

Fee Impact Over Time

Estimated fee cost difference assuming 8% annual returns

Investment	Period	VONG Fees	VUG Fees	You Save
$10.000	10 years	$120	$60	$60
$10.000	20 years	$515	$258	$257
$10.000	30 years	$1.664	$835	$828
$50.000	10 years	$598	$299	$299
$50.000	30 years	$8.318	$4.176	$4.142
$100.000	30 years	$16.637	$8.352	$8.285

Risk Metrics

Based on 5 years of daily returns

Metric	VONG	VUG
Annualized Volatility	21.3%	22.2%
Max Drawdown	-33.2%	-36.0%
Sharpe Ratio	0.40	0.37

Dividend Comparison

Metric	VONG	VUG
Annual Dividend (per share)	$0.56	$1.99
Dividend Yield	0.50%	0.45%
Distribution Frequency	Quarterly	Quarterly

Top Holdings

9 of top 9 holdings overlap (100% overlap in top holdings)

VONG Top Holdings

Name	Weight
NVIDIA CorporationNVDA	12.18%
Apple Inc.AAPL	11.35%
Microsoft CorporationMSFT	8.64%
Broadcom Inc.AVGO	4.59%
Amazon.com, Inc.AMZN	4.33%
Meta Platforms, Inc.META	3.76%
Tesla, Inc.TSLA	3.58%
Eli Lilly and CompanyLLY	2.94%
Alphabet Inc.GOOG	2.92%

VUG Top Holdings

Name	Weight
NVIDIA CorporationNVDA	12.82%
Apple Inc.AAPL	12.23%
Microsoft CorporationMSFT	9.15%
Alphabet Inc.GOOG	4.49%
Meta Platforms, Inc.META	4.44%
Amazon.com, Inc.AMZN	4.41%
Broadcom Inc.AVGO	3.95%
Tesla, Inc.TSLA	3.58%
Eli Lilly and CompanyLLY	2.82%

Which One Should You Choose?

Choose VUG 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 growth exposure. Both are solid options — pick whichever your brokerage offers commission-free.

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