ETF Versus

VXUS vs XLK

Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund ETF Shares vs State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF

Last updated: 2026-04-02

VXUS Vanguard

Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund ETF Shares (VXUS) is an exchange-traded fund issued by Vanguard that provides exposure to international stocks across both developed and emerging markets. It charges a very low expense ratio of 0.05%. The fund offers an attractive dividend yield of 2.93%. Launched in 2011, the fund has a 15-year track record.

AUM: $129.4B ER: 0.05% Yield: 2.93% Since: Jan 26, 2011
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

VXUS has a slightly lower expense ratio (0.05% vs 0.08%), saving about $60 per $10,000 over 10 years. XLK has edged ahead over the past year (29.7% vs 25.3%). Income investors may prefer VXUS for its higher yield (2.9% vs 0.6%).

Key Metrics

Metric VXUS XLK
Expense Ratio 0.05% 0.08%
Dividend Yield 2.9% 0.6%
Fund Family Vanguard N/A
Category International Equity US Sector - Technology

Performance Chart

Indexed to 100 at start (5-year comparison)

70 100 130 160 190 220 2021-04 2022-06 2023-09 2024-12 2026-04
VXUS +21.4%
XLK +95.1%

Performance Comparison

Period VXUS XLK Difference
1 Month -5.33% -3.32% -2.01%
3 Months +1.92% -6.51% +8.43%
6 Months +4.49% -5.23% +9.72%
YTD +1.92% -6.51% +8.43%
1 Year +25.26% +29.73% -4.47%
3 Years +40.28% +78.96% -38.68%
5 Years +21.42% +95.13% -73.71%

Fee Impact Over Time

Estimated fee cost difference assuming 8% annual returns

Investment Period VXUS Fees XLK Fees You Save
$10.000 10 years $100 $159 $60
$10.000 20 years $430 $686 $256
$10.000 30 years $1.388 $2.212 $824
$50.000 10 years $499 $797 $298
$50.000 30 years $6.941 $11.061 $4.120
$100.000 30 years $13.882 $22.123 $8.240

Risk Metrics

Based on 5 years of daily returns

Metric VXUS XLK
Annualized Volatility 15.9% 24.7%
Max Drawdown -32.7% -34.0%
Sharpe Ratio 0.04 0.49

Dividend Comparison

Metric VXUS XLK
Annual Dividend (per share) $2.29 $0.77
Dividend Yield 2.93% 0.57%
Distribution Frequency Quarterly Quarterly

Top Holdings

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

VXUS Top Holdings

NameWeight
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited!tpe/23303.43%
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.!krx/0059301.59%
ASML Holding N.V.!ams/ASML1.29%
Tencent Holdings Limited!hkg/07000.92%
SK hynix Inc.!krx/0006600.91%
Roche Holding AGROC1.L0.76%
Alibaba Group Holding Limited!hkg/99880.73%
Novartis AG!swx/NOVN0.73%
HSBC Holdings plc!lon/HSBA0.73%

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?

Choose VXUS if...

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

Choose XLK if...

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

Choose VXUS if...

you prioritize dividend income and want higher regular distributions from your portfolio.

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