What does each fund cost per year?

Expense ratios from each provider's own page: FXAIX 0.015%, VFIAX 0.04%, SWPPX 0.02%, VOO 0.03%, IVV 0.03%, SPY 0.0945%. The ratio is taken from the fund's assets each year, so a 0.1% ratio costs about $10 a year per $10,000 held. Check the provider's page for the current figure.

How much do expense ratios matter over 30 years?

Replaying real S&P 500 total returns from 1996 to 2025 with $10,000 up front and $500 a month, FXAIX (the lowest fee) ends $20,474 ahead of SPY (the highest fee), which is 1.5% of its balance. Most of that gap comes from a few hundredths of a percentage point a year, and it is small next to the swings of the market itself. Tracking difference, trading costs and taxes are not included.

What is the difference between an index mutual fund and an ETF?

Both can track the same index. A mutual fund is bought and sold from the fund company at the end-of-day price, and some have a minimum initial investment. An ETF trades on an exchange through the day like a stock and is bought through a brokerage account. In this comparison, FXAIX, VFIAX, SWPPX, FNILX are mutual funds and VOO, IVV, SPY are ETFs. Which one costs less depends on the expense ratio and on your brokerage's fees, not on the structure alone.

Does FNILX track the S&P 500?

No. Fidelity states that FNILX (Fidelity ZERO Large Cap Index Fund) tracks the Fidelity U.S. Large Cap Index, not the S&P 500. The two overlap heavily because both hold large US companies, but they are different indexes, so FNILX is listed separately and left out of the S&P 500 fee comparison.

Are there minimum investments?

FXAIX: no minimum; VFIAX: $3,000; SWPPX: no minimum; VOO: the provider page does not list a minimum; IVV: the provider page does not list a minimum; SPY: the provider page does not list a minimum. Where the provider page does not list a minimum, we show it as unavailable instead of guessing. ETFs are bought by the share through a brokerage, which can have its own rules.

S&P 500 Index Funds Compared: Fees and Costs

S&P 500 index funds side by side

An S&P 500 index fund holds the stocks in the S&P 500 and aims to match its return, minus a yearly fee called the expense ratio. Some are mutual funds (FXAIX, VFIAX, SWPPX) and some are ETFs (VOO, IVV, SPY). They differ in structure, in minimums and in cost. On $10,000 plus $500 a month over the last 30 years of real returns, the gap between the cheapest and the most expensive fund here is $20,474.

How the comparison works

We take the real S&P 500 total returns for 1996 to 2025 and subtract each fund's expense ratio from every year's return. The same starting amount and monthly deposits go into each fund, so any difference in the ending balance comes from the fee alone. There is no assumed rate of return. Fund facts (expense ratio, minimum, structure, inception date and index) come from each provider's own page, with the link and retrieval date in the table.

Limits

Tracking difference (how far a fund's return drifts from the index) is not modeled.
Trading costs, taxes and brokerage fees are not modeled.
Facts can change. Check the provider's page before you act on a number.
Past returns do not predict future ones.

This page is educational. It is not investment advice and does not pick a fund for you. Sources and method: methodology.

Built and maintained by Oscar Gallego Ruiz. Historical data through 2025. Methodology and sources.

Disclaimer: Wealth Sim is an independent educational tool for financial simulation and is not affiliated with any financial institution, including Wealthsimple. All calculations are for educational purposes and do not constitute financial advice.

S&P 500 index funds compared

Fund facts as published by each provider, retrieved 2026-10-05
Ticker	Fund	Structure	Expense ratio	Minimum initial investment	Inception	Index tracked	Source
Track the S&P 500
FXAIX	Fidelity 500 Index Fund	Mutual fund	0.015%	None	1988-02-17	S&P 500 Index	Fidelity page
VFIAX	Vanguard 500 Index Fund Admiral Shares	Mutual fund	0.04%	$3,000	2000-11-13	S&P 500 Index (SPTR)	Vanguard page
SWPPX	Schwab S&P 500 Index Fund	Mutual fund	0.02%	None	1997-05-19	S&P 500® Index	Schwab Asset Management page
VOO	Vanguard S&P 500 ETF	ETF	0.03%	Unavailable	2010-09-07	S&P 500 Index (SPTR)	Vanguard page
IVV	iShares Core S&P 500 ETF	ETF	0.03%	Unavailable	2000-05-15	S&P 500 Index	iShares page
SPY	State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust	ETF	0.0945%	Unavailable	1993-01-22	S&P 500® Index	State Street page
Tracks a different index
FNILX	Fidelity ZERO Large Cap Index Fund	Mutual fund	0%	None	2018-09-13	Fidelity U.S. Large Cap Index	Fidelity page

FNILX tracks a different index, so it is excluded from the cost comparison below.

Starting with $10,000 and adding $500 a month, you would contribute $70,000 over 10 years, $130,000 over 20 years, $190,000 over 30 years.

Ending balance by fund, lowest expense ratio first
Fund	Expense ratio	10 years (2016–2025)	20 years (2006–2025)	30 years (1996–2025)
FXAIXFidelity 500 Index Fund	0.015%	$172,583	$607,794	$1,331,311
SWPPXSchwab S&P 500 Index Fund	0.02%	$172,530	$607,410	$1,330,013
VOOVanguard S&P 500 ETF	0.03%	$172,424	$606,644	$1,327,421
IVViShares Core S&P 500 ETF	0.03%	$172,424	$606,644	$1,327,421
VFIAXVanguard 500 Index Fund Admiral Shares	0.04%	$172,318	$605,878	$1,324,835
SPYState Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust	0.0945%	$171,742	$601,724	$1,310,836

Cheapest vs most expensive: $841 (0.49%) over 10 years (2016–2025)
Cheapest vs most expensive: $6,070 (1.00%) over 20 years (2006–2025)
Cheapest vs most expensive: $20,474 (1.54%) over 30 years (1996–2025)

Uses real S&P 500 total returns minus each fund's expense ratio. Tracking difference, trading costs and taxes are not modeled.

Source: Damodaran (NYU Stern) and FRED, data through 2025. How the numbers are calculated

S&P 500 index funds side by side

S&P 500 index funds compared

Fund facts as published by each provider, retrieved 2026-10-05
Ticker	Fund	Structure	Expense ratio	Minimum initial investment	Inception	Index tracked	Source
Track the S&P 500
FXAIX	Fidelity 500 Index Fund	Mutual fund	0.015%	None	1988-02-17	S&P 500 Index	Fidelity page
VFIAX	Vanguard 500 Index Fund Admiral Shares	Mutual fund	0.04%	$3,000	2000-11-13	S&P 500 Index (SPTR)	Vanguard page
SWPPX	Schwab S&P 500 Index Fund	Mutual fund	0.02%	None	1997-05-19	S&P 500® Index	Schwab Asset Management page
VOO	Vanguard S&P 500 ETF	ETF	0.03%	Unavailable	2010-09-07	S&P 500 Index (SPTR)	Vanguard page
IVV	iShares Core S&P 500 ETF	ETF	0.03%	Unavailable	2000-05-15	S&P 500 Index	iShares page
SPY	State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust	ETF	0.0945%	Unavailable	1993-01-22	S&P 500® Index	State Street page
Tracks a different index
FNILX	Fidelity ZERO Large Cap Index Fund	Mutual fund	0%	None	2018-09-13	Fidelity U.S. Large Cap Index	Fidelity page

FNILX tracks a different index, so it is excluded from the cost comparison below.

Starting with $10,000 and adding $500 a month, you would contribute $70,000 over 10 years, $130,000 over 20 years, $190,000 over 30 years.

Ending balance by fund, lowest expense ratio first
Fund	Expense ratio	10 years (2016–2025)	20 years (2006–2025)	30 years (1996–2025)
FXAIXFidelity 500 Index Fund	0.015%	$172,583	$607,794	$1,331,311
SWPPXSchwab S&P 500 Index Fund	0.02%	$172,530	$607,410	$1,330,013
VOOVanguard S&P 500 ETF	0.03%	$172,424	$606,644	$1,327,421
IVViShares Core S&P 500 ETF	0.03%	$172,424	$606,644	$1,327,421
VFIAXVanguard 500 Index Fund Admiral Shares	0.04%	$172,318	$605,878	$1,324,835
SPYState Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust	0.0945%	$171,742	$601,724	$1,310,836

Cheapest vs most expensive: $841 (0.49%) over 10 years (2016–2025)
Cheapest vs most expensive: $6,070 (1.00%) over 20 years (2006–2025)
Cheapest vs most expensive: $20,474 (1.54%) over 30 years (1996–2025)

Uses real S&P 500 total returns minus each fund's expense ratio. Tracking difference, trading costs and taxes are not modeled.

Source: Damodaran (NYU Stern) and FRED, data through 2025. How the numbers are calculated

S&P 500 Index Funds Compared: FXAIX, VFIAX, SWPPX, VOO

S&P 500 index funds side by side

How the comparison works

Limits

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S&P 500 Index Funds Compared: FXAIX, VFIAX, SWPPX, VOO