VEA vs VXUS: Fees, Returns & Holdings Compared

	Expense ratio	Net assets	Yield (TTM)	Overlap	1 yr	5 yr*
VEA	0.03%	$316.42B	2.46%	at least 56%	+16.8%	+9.2%
VXUS	0.05%	$645.86B	2.42%		+12.9%	+8.1%

At a glance

At least 56% of VEA’s and VXUS’s holdings overlap by weight. VEA costs less: 0.03% a year against 0.05% for VXUS, or $30 against $50 on every $100,000. VEA has $316.42B in assets (all share classes) and VXUS $645.86B (all share classes); over the past 12 months VEA paid out 2.46% of its price and VXUS 2.42%, both quarterly. Over the past year VEA returned +16.8% and VXUS +12.9% with distributions reinvested; over five years, +9.2% and +8.1% a year. In the 2022 bear market VEA fell 28.8% at its worst and VXUS 28.4%; VEA was back at its earlier high 17 months after the low, VXUS 18 months.

Key differences

	VEA	VXUS
Fund	Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF	Vanguard Total International Stock ETF
Issuer	Vanguard	Vanguard
Structure	ETF share class	ETF share class
Type	Developed markets	Developed and emerging markets
Launched	Jul 20, 2007	Jan 26, 2011
Expense ratio	0.03%	0.05%
Cost a year on $100,000	$30	$50
Net assets	$316.42B *	$645.86B *
Holdings	3,870	8,779
Ten largest positions	13.1%	13.2%
Yield (12 months)	2.46%	2.42%
Pays	quarterly	quarterly
Portfolio turnover	4% a year	4% a year
Price data from	Jun 2, 2020	Jan 28, 2011

* VEA’s net assets are those of Vanguard Developed Markets Index Fund, all share classes; VXUS’s net assets are those of Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund, all share classes.

Holdings and overlap

Overlap by weightat least 56%the share of each fund in holdings both own

Securities in commonat least 463VEA 3,870 · VXUS 8,779 in all

Ten largest positions13.1% / 13.2%of assets, VEA / VXUS

Overlap adds up, for every security both funds own, the smaller of its two weights: 100% would mean identical portfolios. The holdings reports list VEA and VXUS beyond their 600 largest positions only (82% of VEA, 71% of VXUS), so the figures are floors.

Largest holdings

Holding	VEA	VXUS
Samsung Electronics Co Ltd	3.17%	1.83%
SK hynix Inc	3.02%	1.43%
ASML Holding NV	2.36%	1.45%
Novartis AG	0.90%	0.66%
Royal Bank of Canada	0.90%	0.67%
Tencent Holdings Ltd	—	0.87%

The biggest differences in weight: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (0.0% in VEA, 4.1% in VXUS); SK hynix Inc (3.0% in VEA, 1.4% in VXUS); Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (3.2% in VEA, 1.8% in VXUS).

Source: N-PORT holdings reports as of Jun 30, 2026 (VEA) and Jul 31, 2026 (VXUS).

Returns

VEA VXUS · $10,000 in each on Jun 30, 2020, distributions reinvested.

$10,000 put into VEA on Jun 30, 2020 was worth $21,528 on Oct 30, 2026, and in VXUS $20,165 (+12.9% and +11.7% a year). That is as far back as the price data for both goes.

	1 yr	3 yr	5 yr	10 yr
VEA price data to Oct 30, 2026	+16.8%	+21.7%	+9.2%	—
VEA official prospectus, to Dec 31, 2025	+35.15%	—	+9.14%	+8.74%
VXUS price data to Oct 30, 2026	+12.9%	+20.3%	+8.1%	+9.1%
VXUS official prospectus, to Dec 31, 2025	+32.23%	—	+7.98%	+8.55%

Multi-year figures are annualized total returns with distributions reinvested. "Official" rows are the SEC-standard returns from each fund's prospectus, to the end of the last calendar year; they reach back further where the price data starts late. VEA: Price data starts 2020-06-02, after the fund's launch on 2007-07-20; figures "since start" cover the available history only.

Calendar years

Year	VEA	VXUS	Difference
2026	+12.2% *	+10.0% *	VEA +2.2
2025	+35.2%	+32.4%	VEA +2.8
2024	+3.1%	+5.1%	VXUS +1.9
2023	+17.9%	+15.9%	VEA +2.0
2022	-15.4%	-16.1%	VEA +0.7
2021	+11.7%	+9.0%	VEA +2.7
2020	+10.29% †	+10.7%
2019	+22.08% †	+21.8%
2018	-14.47% †	-14.4%
2017	—	+27.5%

Total returns from price data; † from the fund’s prospectus where the price data starts later; * year to Oct 30, 2026.

Downturns and recovery

	VEA	VXUS
2008 financial crisis stocks fell Oct 9, 2007 – Mar 9, 2009	Not in the price data (starts Jun 2, 2020)	Before it launched
2020 COVID crash stocks fell Feb 19, 2020 – Mar 23, 2020	Not in the price data (starts Jun 2, 2020)	−33.3% at the worst; back at its high 8 months after the low
2022 bear market stocks fell Jan 3, 2022 – Oct 12, 2022	−28.8% at the worst; back at its high 17 months after the low	−28.4% at the worst; back at its high 18 months after the low
Worst fall in the price data	−29.7% (Sep 3, 2021 – Sep 27, 2022)	−36% (Jan 26, 2018 – Mar 23, 2020)

The deepest drop from a high to a low during each stretch when stocks fell, and how long the fund took to get back to its earlier high, with distributions reinvested. The price data starts Jun 2, 2020 for VEA and Jan 28, 2011 for VXUS.

Income

VEA yield (12 months)2.46%paid quarterly

VXUS yield (12 months)2.42%paid quarterly

Year	VEA	VXUS
2025	$420	$407
2024	$334	$340
2023	$360	$365
2022	$239	$252
2021	$341	$327

Distributions paid during each calendar year on $10,000 of shares bought at the previous year-end close, adjusted for share splits. Before taxes.

Costs

VEA charges 0.03% a year and VXUS 0.05%: on $100,000 that is $20 a year less with VEA ($100 on $500,000). The fee comes out of each fund's assets, so it is already in the returns above.

Cost of $10,000 (SEC example)	1 yr	3 yrs	5 yrs	10 yrs
VEA	$3	$10	$17	$39
VXUS	$5	$16	$28	$64

From each fund's prospectus: the total costs on $10,000 invested, at a 5% yearly return, with the shares sold at the end of each period.

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