VGT vs XLK
Vanguard Information Technology ETF against Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund.
The short answer
XLK is the technology sector of the S&P 500, 74 positions; VGT is the same sector across the whole US market, 319. Every XLK company is in VGT, and the 246 that are only in VGT weigh 12.2%. Their weekly returns correlated at 0.99.
The two funds
- Last close, 2026-09-04
- $121.27 +0.32%
- Cost per year
- 0.09%
- Return, 1 year
- 39.4%
- Return, 3 years
- 126.2%higher
- Worst fall, 3 years
- -25.6%
- Volatility
- 23.4%calmer
- Positions
- 319
- Top 10 weight
- 62.5%
- Last close, 2026-09-04
- $187.28 +0.70%
- Cost per year
- 0.08%cheaper
- Return, 1 year
- 43.2%higher
- Return, 3 years
- 121.1%
- Worst fall, 3 years
- -24.0%shallower
- Volatility
- 23.9%
- Positions
- 74
- Top 10 weight
- 61.4%
VGT and XLK, prices through 2026-09-04. How the badges are decided.
Holdings overlap
73 companies sit in both funds. That is 87.8% of VGT's own weight and 100.0% of XLK's.
Side by side
Issuer files, VGT 31 Jul 2026, XLK 3 Sep 2026
What the numbers say
One sector, two universes
Both funds hold the information technology sector and nothing else. XLK draws it from the S&P 500, which gives 74 positions; VGT draws it from an index that also covers mid and small caps, which gives 319. All 73 of XLK's companies are in VGT, so 100.0% of XLK's weight is shared, and 87.8% of VGT's.
What the 246 extra companies weigh
Snowflake, Cloudflare, Astera Labs, Credo, Okta, Twilio and MongoDB are the largest positions VGT holds that XLK does not, and with the rest of the small-cap tail they come to 12.2% of VGT. The gap between 81.3% and full overlap is 18.7% of weight; the tail accounts for 12.2% of it and weighting for the rest, since Nvidia and Apple are heavier in VGT than in XLK. The ten largest positions are 62.5% of VGT and 61.4% of XLK.
Returns that differ by window, risk that does not
Over the past year XLK returned 43.2% against 39.4% for VGT; over three years VGT led at 126.2% against 121.1%; over five years XLK led again at 148.3% against 138.3%. Volatility was 23.4% against 23.9% and the worst falls -25.6% against -24.0%, with betas of 1.49 and 1.5 against the S&P 500. XLK charges 0.08% against 0.09%, $1 a year on $10,000.
Correlated at 0.99
Weekly returns correlated at 0.99 over three years and 0.99 over five, about as close to one as two different funds get. XLK yields 0.43% against 0.36%. Owning both is one technology position of 320 companies, with the small caps at half the weight VGT alone would give them.
Where they hold the same companies
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Overlap by weight | 81.3% |
| Share of VGT held in common with XLK | 87.8% |
| Share of XLK held in common with VGT | 100.0% |
| Companies in both | 73 |
| Positions in VGT / XLK | 319 / 74 |
VGT holdings as published 2026-07-31, XLK 2026-09-03.
Largest positions held by both
| Rank | Company | In VGT | In XLK | Weight in each | Overlap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | NVDA NVIDIA Corp. | 17.21% | 14.9% | 14.9% | |
| 2 | AAPL Apple Inc. | 16.29% | 12.99% | 12.99% | |
| 3 | MSFT Microsoft Corp. | 10.99% | 10.21% | 10.21% | |
| 4 | AVGO Broadcom Inc. | 4.22% | 4.56% | 4.22% | |
| 5 | MU Micron Technology Inc. | 3.83% | 4.01% | 3.83% | |
| 6 | AMD Advanced Micro Devices Inc. | 3.18% | 3.82% | 3.18% | |
| 7 | CSCO Cisco Systems Inc. | 1.92% | 2.82% | 1.92% | |
| 8 | AMAT Applied Materials Inc. | 1.69% | 2.28% | 1.69% | |
| 9 | INTC Intel Corp. | 1.66% | 2.98% | 1.66% | |
| 10 | LRCX Lam Research Corp. | 1.54% | 2.41% | 1.54% | |
| 11 | PANW Palo Alto Networks Inc. | 1.16% | 1.77% | 1.16% | |
| 12 | PLTR Palantir Technologies Inc. Class A | 1.14% | 2.76% | 1.14% | |
| 13 | TXN Texas Instruments Inc. | 1.07% | 1.52% | 1.07% | |
| 14 | KLAC KLA Corp. | 1.02% | 1.49% | 1.02% | |
| 15 | ORCL Oracle Corp. | 0.9% | 1.72% | 0.9% |
Held by only one of them
| In VGT only | Weight | In XLK only | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| SNOW Snowflake Inc. | 0.44% | IXTU6 Xak Technology Sep26 | -0.0% |
| NET Cloudflare Inc. Class A | 0.42% | ||
| ALAB Astera Labs Inc. | 0.24% | ||
| CRDO Credo Technology Group Holding Ltd. | 0.2% | ||
| OKTA Okta Inc. | 0.18% | ||
| TWLO Twilio Inc. Class A | 0.17% | ||
| MDB MongoDB Inc. | 0.16% | ||
| P Pure Storage Inc. Class A | 0.15% | ||
| ZM Zoom Video Communications Inc. Class A | 0.14% | ||
| MKSI MKS Instruments Inc. | 0.13% |
Covariance and correlation
Covariance, annualised (%2)
| VGT | XLK | |
|---|---|---|
| VGT | 548 | 554.8 |
| XLK | 554.8 | 571 |
Percent squared per year, three years of weekly returns
Correlation, 3 years
| VGT | XLK | |
|---|---|---|
| VGT | 1.00 | 0.99almost always in step |
| XLK | 0.99almost always in step | 1.00 |
Weekly total returns, what the bands mean
Check it: 554.8 divided by (23.4 × 23.9) is 0.99, the correlation in the second matrix.
One year, side by side
Cost, returns and risk
| Measure | VGT | XLK |
|---|---|---|
| Expense ratio | 0.09% | 0.08% |
| Dividend yield | 0.36% | 0.43% |
| Total return, 1 year | 39.4% | 43.2% |
| Total return, 3 years cumulative | 126.2% | 121.1% |
| Total return, 5 years cumulative | 138.3% | 148.3% |
| Volatility, annualised on 3 years of weekly returns | 23.4% | 23.9% |
| Worst fall in 3 years, peak to trough, weekly closes | -25.6% | -24.0% |
| Beta against the S&P 500 | 1.49 | 1.5 |
| Positions held | 319 | 74 |
| Weight in the ten largest positions | 62.5% | 61.4% |
| Weight in the single largest position | 17.2% | 14.9% |
| Assets (Vanguard: whole fund, all share classes) | $169.4B | $121.4B |
Prices through 2026-09-04.
Year by year
| Year | VGT | XLK |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 29.0% | 30.4% |
| 2025 | 21.8% | 24.6% |
| 2024 | 29.3% | 21.6% |
| 2023 | 52.7% | 56.0% |
| 2022 | -29.7% | -27.7% |
Do they move together
| Window | Correlation of weekly returns |
|---|---|
| 1 year | 0.99 |
| 3 years | 0.99 |
| 5 years | 0.99 |
Where to go next
- VGT, the full page: every holding, and what else it duplicates
- XLK, the full page
- VOO vs VTI
- QQQ vs VGT
- SCHD vs SCHG
- Run the x-ray on your whole portfolio, this pair included
- Check any other pair in the overlap calculator
How these numbers are produced · Ask the same questions from your assistant
