VOO vs URTH: which ETF won each year?
Yearly returns side by side, one winner per year — dividends included, priced as you'd actually buy them.
VOO
URTH
VOO tracks the S&P 500 IndexURTH tracks the MSCI World Index
What did the last 10 years do to $10,000?
You invest $10,000 at the start of the window and touch nothing — dividends reinvested, the running year not counted.
VOO vs URTH, year by year
Calendar-year total returns (dividends included) side by side, and who took the crown each year. A dash means the fund did not exist yet.
| Year | VOO | URTH | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (so far) | +12.73% | +11.76% | VOO |
| 2025 | +17.82% | +21.36% | URTH |
| 2024 | +24.98% | +18.66% | VOO |
| 2023 | +26.32% | +23.95% | VOO |
| 2022 | -18.17% | -17.97% | URTH |
| 2021 | +28.79% | +22.27% | VOO |
| 2020 | +18.32% | +15.78% | VOO |
| 2019 | +31.37% | +28.15% | VOO |
| 2018 | -4.50% | -8.56% | VOO |
| 2017 | +21.77% | +22.95% | URTH |
| 2016 | +12.17% | +7.31% | VOO |
| 2015 | +1.33% | -0.64% | VOO |
| 2014 | +12.93% | +4.37% | VOO |
| 2013 | +32.39% | +26.66% | VOO |
| 2012 | +15.99% | +14.71% | VOO |
| 2011 | +1.90% | — | — |
| 2010 | +14.78% | — | — |
VOO vs URTH in plain words
VOO tracks the S&P 500 Index while URTH follows the MSCI World Index, so they own different slices of the market and their years can look very different. VOO charges 0.03% a year in running costs and URTH charges 0.24% — VOO is the cheaper fund to hold.
Both funds distribute: dividends land in your account as cash instead of being reinvested automatically. Across the 15 calendar years both funds were trading, VOO finished the year ahead 12 times and URTH 3 times. $10,000 invested at the start of 2016 was worth $39,747 in VOO versus $32,044 in URTH by the end of 2025, dividends reinvested.
Fund facts: VOO vs URTH
| Fact | VOO | URTH |
|---|---|---|
| Fund | Vanguard S&P 500 ETF | iShares MSCI World ETF |
| Tracks | S&P 500 Index | MSCI World Index |
| Yearly cost (TER) | 0.03% | 0.24% |
| Dividends | Distributing — dividends paid out | Distributing — dividends paid out |
| Launched | 7 Sept 2010 | 10 Jan 2012 |
| $10,000 invested | What $10,000 in VOO became | What $10,000 in URTH became |
How bumpy the ride was: VOO vs URTH
These head-to-head figures use only the 3,704 trading days both funds were listed: 12 Jan 2012 to 6 Oct 2026, roughly 14.7 years.
VOO and URTH swung about equally: annualised volatility of 16.6% for VOO against 16.9% for URTH, with VOO moving 1% or more on 22.7% of trading days and URTH on 23.5%. Both had their worst day on 16 Mar 2020: VOO closed -11.74% and URTH -11.38%.
Both funds suffered a drawdown of about the same depth: VOO fell -33.99% from its peak on 19 Feb 2020 to a low on 23 Mar 2020, then closed back above the old peak on 10 Aug 2020, 4 months after the low; URTH fell -34.01% from its peak on 12 Feb 2020 to a low on 23 Mar 2020, then closed back above the old peak on 24 Aug 2020, 5 months after the low.
Day to day the two usually move together: the correlation of their daily returns is 0.89, and they closed in opposite directions on 11.5% of the 3,703 days measured. The widest single-day gap came on 12 Jun 2013, when VOO moved -0.78% and URTH +4.18%.
| Measure | VOO | URTH |
|---|---|---|
| Annualised volatility | 16.6% | 16.9% |
| Worst day | -11.74% on 16 Mar 2020 | -11.38% on 16 Mar 2020 |
| Best day | +9.54% on 24 Mar 2020 | +9.10% on 24 Mar 2020 |
| Days moving 1% or more | 22.7% of days | 23.5% of days |
| Deepest drawdown | -33.99% | -34.01% |
| Peak to trough | 19 Feb 2020 → 23 Mar 2020 | 12 Feb 2020 → 23 Mar 2020 |
| Back above the old peak | 10 Aug 2020 · 4 months | 24 Aug 2020 · 5 months |
Years VOO and URTH parted ways
In 4 of the 14 completed calendar years both funds were trading, the two returns ended more than 5 points apart. The widest split was 2014: VOO returned +12.93% and URTH +4.37%, a gap of 8.6 points. They rose together in 11 years, fell together in 2 years and went opposite ways in 1 year.
| Year | VOO | URTH | Gap (VOO − URTH) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | +24.98% | +18.66% | +6.3 pts |
| 2021 | +28.79% | +22.27% | +6.5 pts |
| 2014 | +12.93% | +4.37% | +8.6 pts |
| 2013 | +32.39% | +26.66% | +5.7 pts |
How often VOO beat URTH over any 12 months
Across the 165 rolling 12-month windows since January 2012, measured month-end to month-end, VOO finished ahead in 80.6% of them (133) and URTH in 19.4% (32).
$200 a month into each, 2013–2025
Putting $200 into each fund at the start of every month from January 2013 to December 2025 (156 payments, $31,200 in total) would have grown to $86,732 in VOO and $72,749 in URTH, leaving VOO $13,982 ahead.
| Outcome | VOO | URTH |
|---|---|---|
| Paid in | $31,200 | $31,200 |
| Value at the end of 2025 | $86,732 | $72,749 |
| Gain on the money paid in | +$55,532 | +$41,549 |
| Gain in % | +177.99% | +133.17% |
Each payment rides the return of the month it lands in, dividends reinvested. Only calendar years with all twelve months of data for both funds count, so the plan may start later than the shared history.
Frequently asked
Is VOO or URTH better?
Across the 15 calendar years both funds were trading, VOO finished the year ahead 12 times and URTH 3 times. $10,000 invested at the start of 2016 was worth $39,747 in VOO versus $32,044 in URTH by the end of 2025, dividends reinvested. Past returns don't promise future ones — but this is what actually happened.
What is the difference between VOO and URTH?
VOO tracks the S&P 500 Index while URTH follows the MSCI World Index, so they own different slices of the market and their years can look very different. VOO charges 0.03% a year in running costs and URTH charges 0.24% — VOO is the cheaper fund to hold. Both funds distribute: dividends land in your account as cash instead of being reinvested automatically.
Which is more volatile, VOO or URTH?
VOO and URTH swung about equally: annualised volatility of 16.6% for VOO against 16.9% for URTH, with VOO moving 1% or more on 22.7% of trading days and URTH on 23.5%. Both had their worst day on 16 Mar 2020: VOO closed -11.74% and URTH -11.38%.
Which had the deeper drawdown, VOO or URTH?
Both funds suffered a drawdown of about the same depth: VOO fell -33.99% from its peak on 19 Feb 2020 to a low on 23 Mar 2020, then closed back above the old peak on 10 Aug 2020, 4 months after the low; URTH fell -34.01% from its peak on 12 Feb 2020 to a low on 23 Mar 2020, then closed back above the old peak on 24 Aug 2020, 5 months after the low.
How often did VOO beat URTH over a 12-month period?
Across the 165 rolling 12-month windows since January 2012, measured month-end to month-end, VOO finished ahead in 80.6% of them (133) and URTH in 19.4% (32).
What would $10,000 in VOO have become?
$10,000 invested in VOO at the start of 2016 grew to $39,747 by the end of 2025, with dividends reinvested — an average of 14.8% per year.
Source: Yahoo Finance daily adjusted closes for the US primary listings, dividends reinvested. Prices through · refreshed 7 Oct 2026, 08:49 UTC. How every number is calculated.