ETF Versus

ITOT vs SPY

iShares Core S&P Total U.S. Stock Market ETF vs State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust

Last updated: 2026-04-10

ITOT iShares

iShares Core S&P Total U.S. Stock Market ETF (ITOT) is an exchange-traded fund issued by iShares that provides exposure to the total U.S. stock market across all capitalizations. It charges a very low expense ratio of 0.03%. The fund offers a moderate dividend yield of 1.08%. Launched in 2004, the fund has a 22-year track record.

AUM: $83.3B ER: 0.03% Yield: 1.08% Since: Jan 20, 2004
SPY SPDR

State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) is an exchange-traded fund issued by SPDR 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 1.09%. Launched in 1993, the fund has a 33-year track record.

AUM: $678.3B ER: 0.09% Yield: 1.09% Since: Jan 22, 1993

Quick Verdict

ITOT has a slightly lower expense ratio (0.03% vs 0.09%), saving about $119 per $10,000 over 10 years. Both funds have delivered similar 1-year returns (30.3% vs 29.6%), tracking closely.

Key Metrics

Metric ITOT SPY
Expense Ratio 0.03% 0.09%
Dividend Yield 1.1% 1.1%
Fund Family iShares SPDR
Category US Total Market US Large Cap Blend

Performance Chart

Indexed to 100 at start (5-year comparison)

80 98 116 134 152 170 2021-04 2022-07 2023-10 2025-01 2026-04
ITOT +56.7%
SPY +65.2%

Performance Comparison

Period ITOT SPY Difference
1 Month +0.76% +0.54% +0.22%
3 Months -2.14% -2.19% +0.05%
6 Months +2.54% +2.55% -0.01%
YTD -0.23% -0.47% +0.24%
1 Year +30.31% +29.62% +0.69%
3 Years +64.58% +65.95% -1.37%
5 Years +56.66% +65.18% -8.52%

Fee Impact Over Time

Estimated fee cost difference assuming 8% annual returns

Investment Period ITOT Fees SPY Fees You Save
$10,000 10 years $60 $179 $119
$10,000 20 years $258 $771 $512
$10,000 30 years $835 $2,486 $1,650
$50,000 10 years $299 $896 $597
$50,000 30 years $4,176 $12,428 $8,252
$100,000 30 years $8,352 $24,855 $16,503

Risk Metrics

Based on 5 years of daily returns

Metric ITOT SPY
Annualized Volatility 17.4% 17.1%
Max Drawdown -26.2% -25.4%
Sharpe Ratio 0.35 0.41

Dividend Comparison

Metric ITOT SPY
Annual Dividend (per share) $1.61 $7.38
Dividend Yield 1.08% 1.09%
Distribution Frequency Quarterly Quarterly

Top Holdings

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

ITOT Top Holdings

NameWeight
NVIDIA CorporationNVDA6.72%
Apple Inc.AAPL5.78%
Microsoft CorporationMSFT4.22%
Amazon.com, Inc.AMZN3.28%
Broadcom Inc.AVGO2.53%
Alphabet Inc.GOOG2.24%
Meta Platforms, Inc.META2.04%
Tesla, Inc.TSLA1.47%
Berkshire Hathaway Inc.BRK.B1.34%

SPY Top Holdings

NameWeight
NVIDIA CorporationNVDA7.61%
Apple Inc.AAPL6.54%
Microsoft CorporationMSFT4.78%
Amazon.com, Inc.AMZN3.72%
Broadcom Inc.AVGO2.86%
Alphabet Inc.GOOG2.53%
Meta Platforms, Inc.META2.31%
Tesla, Inc.TSLA1.66%
Berkshire Hathaway Inc.BRK.B1.51%

Which One Should You Choose?

Choose ITOT if...

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

Related Comparisons