VOO vs QQQ: Vanguard S&P 500 ETF and Invesco QQQ Trust compared

Over the past five years, $10,000 in QQQ grew to $19,886, against $18,505 in VOO. It asked more of you on the way: a −35% worst fall, against −24%.

etf head-to-headdividends reinvesteddata through Sep 2026

growth of $10,000
as of Sep 2026VOO $18,505QQQ $19,886

the gap between themQQQ ahead by $1,380

VOO solid · QQQ dashed · weekly closes, dividends reinvested

who comes out aheadVOO 3 · 1 QQQ

VOO wins 3 of 4. Which matters depends on what you need it for.

  • Grew more over five yearsVOO +85% · QQQ +99%Invesco QQQ Trust logoQQQ
  • Fell less at its worstVOO −24% · QQQ −35%Vanguard S&P 500 ETF logoVOO
  • Calmer rideVOO 16% vol · QQQ 21% volVanguard S&P 500 ETF logoVOO
  • Cheaper to holdVOO 0.03% a year · QQQ 0.18% a yearVanguard S&P 500 ETF logoVOO

move together · correlation 0.95

01The numbers

Side by side, line by line

head to head11 lines
VOO and QQQ compared on price, size, returns, risk and cost
MetricVanguard S&P 500 ETF logoVOOInvesco QQQ Trust logoQQQ
Price$701.78$721.45
Fund size$1.76T$488.98B
1-year return+16.1%+21.0% (ahead)
3-year return, a year+21.3%+25.6% (ahead)
5-year return, a year+13.1%+14.7% (ahead)
Volatility, a year16% (ahead)21%
Worst drawdown−24% (ahead)−35%
Worst week−8.9% (ahead)Mar 2025−9.9%Mar 2025
Beta1.001.26
Dividend yield1.04%0.42%
Expense ratio0.03% (ahead)0.18%
marks the side ahead on lines with a direction: higher return, lower volatility, shallower fall, lower fee
02Together

Do VOO and QQQ move together?

correlationmove together
0.95Move together: most weeks they go the same way. Owning both spreads company risk, not market risk.

Correlation compares VOO’s and QQQ’s weekly returns from Sep 2021 to Sep 2026. Two holdings near +1 fall on the same weeks, so owning both doesn’t cushion anything. Your portfolio has more than two lines, and Portfolio Terminal runs this check across every pair you hold.

Pearson correlation of weekly returns|+1 always together, 0 unrelated, −1 always opposite
03Drawdowns

How far each one fell

drawdownsbelow each one’s previous high
as of Sep 2026VOO −1.7%QQQ −2.5%

VOO

−24%

From its Dec 2021 high to Sep 2022. Back at that high by Dec 2023.

QQQ

−35%

From its Nov 2021 high to Oct 2022. Back at that high by Dec 2023.

Worst peak-to-trough fall on weekly closes · dividends reinvested

04Holdings

How much of it is the same money

overlaptop 10 holdings of each fund
36%of each fund’s money is in the same 9 companies, counting only their ten largest positions.
held by bothVOOQQQ
NVDANVIDIA Corp8.1%8.5%
AAPLApple Inc7.0%7.4%
MSFTMicrosoft Corp5.7%6.0%
AMZNAmazon.com Inc3.8%4.4%
MUMicron Technology Inc1.6%4.8%
GOOGLAlphabet Inc Class A3.0%3.1%
AVGOBroadcom Inc2.7%2.8%
GOOGAlphabet Inc Class C2.4%2.9%
Sum of the smaller weight in each shared holding
05Questions

VOO vs QQQ: what people ask

questions6 answered

Is VOO better than QQQ?

Over the past five years, QQQ delivered the higher return: +14.7% a year against +13.1% for VOO, dividends reinvested. It also fell further at its worst (−35% against −24%), so the extra return came with a rougher ride. Which is better depends on the job it does in your portfolio, and past returns don’t predict future ones.

What is the difference between VOO and QQQ?

VOO is Vanguard S&P 500 ETF, a fund with $1.76T in assets. QQQ is Invesco QQQ Trust, a fund with $488.98B in assets. VOO charges 0.03% a year and QQQ 0.18%. Counting only each fund’s ten largest positions, 36% of their money sits in the same companies.

Should I own both VOO and QQQ?

Their weekly returns had a correlation of 0.95 over the past five years. Most weeks they go the same way. Owning both spreads company risk, not market risk. Whether that suits you depends on everything else you hold, which is the check Portfolio Terminal runs across a whole portfolio.

Which is riskier, VOO or QQQ?

QQQ swung more: 21% annual volatility against 16% for VOO. At their worst, VOO fell 24% and QQQ 35% from a previous high. Against the broad market, their betas are 1.00 and 1.26.

Which pays a higher dividend, VOO or QQQ?

VOO currently yields 1.04%, against 0.42% for QQQ. Yields move with price, so a higher yield can also mean a falling price.

Which is cheaper to hold, VOO or QQQ?

VOO charges 0.03% a year and QQQ 0.18%. On $10,000, that is $15.00 a year in favor of VOO.

Compare something else

Any two stocks or ETFs. Keep VOO or swap both.

Vanguard S&P 500 ETF logo
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Returns use weekly closes adjusted for dividends and splits, from Sep 2021 to Sep 2026. Quotes, fees and holdings come from public market data and refresh hourly. This page describes what happened; it is not investment advice, and past performance doesn’t predict future returns.