VTI holds ~3,500-4,000 stocks
The CRSP US Total Market Index includes essentially every investable US stock — large, mid, and small-cap. By construction, every S&P 500 name is inside VTI.
Guardfolio Research · ETF Overlap
VTI and VOO share all 10 of their top holdings, in the same order: Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, Amazon, Meta, Alphabet Class A, Broadcom, Alphabet Class C, Tesla, and Berkshire Hathaway. The minimum-weight overlap is 28.8%, but the full-fund overlap is closer to 80% because the S&P 500 sits inside VTI by construction. Holding both is duplication, not diversification.
VTI is VOO plus a thin tail of small- and mid-caps. Owning both is owning the S&P 500 twice.
The Data
The table below shows the 10 holdings that appear in both funds' top 10 — every single one — with each fund's weight. The combined effective weight in a 50/50 portfolio is shown in the final column.
| Stock | VTI weight | VOO weight | 50/50 combined |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apple (AAPL) | 6.0% | 7.0% | 6.5% |
| Microsoft (MSFT) | 5.5% | 6.5% | 6.0% |
| Nvidia (NVDA) | 5.0% | 6.0% | 5.5% |
| Amazon (AMZN) | 3.1% | 3.7% | 3.4% |
| Meta (META) | 2.1% | 2.5% | 2.3% |
| Alphabet Class A (GOOGL) | 1.7% | 2.0% | 1.9% |
| Broadcom (AVGO) | 1.5% | 1.8% | 1.7% |
| Alphabet Class C (GOOG) | 1.4% | 1.7% | 1.6% |
| Tesla (TSLA) | 1.3% | 1.5% | 1.4% |
| Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B) | 1.2% | 1.4% | 1.3% |
| Total top-10 weight | 28.8% | 34.1% | 31.5% |
Weights are approximate, sourced from public issuer fact sheets and refreshed quarterly. The 28.8% overlap figure is the minimum shared weight (taking the lesser of each fund's weight per holding). Notice that the holdings are not just shared — they appear in identical rank order in both funds.
The Bigger Number
The 28.8% figure above only counts top-10 holdings. The real overlap between VTI and VOO is much higher because the S&P 500 is contained inside VTI by construction:
The CRSP US Total Market Index includes essentially every investable US stock — large, mid, and small-cap. By construction, every S&P 500 name is inside VTI.
Because VTI is market-cap weighted and US large-caps dominate the market, the same 500 names VOO holds make up roughly 82% of VTI's weight. Add in mid-caps (~12%) and small-caps (~6%).
A 50/50 VTI + VOO portfolio is effectively ~91% S&P 500 by weight. The "diversification" added by VTI's extra 3,000 small- and mid-cap names contributes about 9% of the combined portfolio.
Sector Comparison
The sector profiles are nearly identical. The 18% small/mid-cap tail in VTI shifts the weights only marginally compared to VOO:
| Sector | VTI | VOO | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Technology | 30.0% | 31.5% | -1.5pp |
| Financial Services | 13.0% | 13.5% | -0.5pp |
| Healthcare | 11.5% | 11.0% | +0.5pp |
| Consumer Discretionary | 11.0% | 10.5% | +0.5pp |
| Communication Services | 9.0% | 9.5% | -0.5pp |
| Industrials | 9.0% | 8.0% | +1.0pp |
| Real Estate | 3.0% | 2.0% | +1.0pp |
No sector differs by more than 1.5 percentage points. The largest VTI tilt is toward Industrials, Real Estate, and Healthcare — sectors where small- and mid-caps are slightly more represented. Tech and Communication Services together: VTI 39%, VOO 41%. A negligible "diversification" effect.
Key Distinction
| VTI | VOO | |
|---|---|---|
| Index tracked | CRSP US Total Market | S&P 500 |
| Number of holdings | ~3,500-4,000 | ~500 |
| Includes small/mid-cap | Yes (~18% by weight) | No |
| Top-10 weight | ~28.8% | ~34.1% |
| Expense ratio | 0.03% | 0.03% |
| Tech + Comms weight | ~39% | ~41% |
| Main use case | Total US market core | S&P 500 large-cap core |
The honest summary: VTI is "VOO plus 18% of small- and mid-cap stocks." Same fee, same top-10 holdings, same sector profile within a percentage point or two. Either is a fine single-fund US equity core; pick one, not both.
Practical Implications
Adding VOO contributes almost no new exposure. You're paying nothing extra in fees (both 0.03%), but you're also gaining nothing meaningful in diversification. The decision is effectively neutral, not additive.
Adding VTI adds roughly 18% of small- and mid-cap exposure to that portion of your portfolio. Useful if you want broader market coverage, but a dedicated small-cap ETF gives you that more efficiently.
VTI and VOO are similar enough that the IRS wash sale rules may apply when swapping between them. Many investors use them as a tax-loss harvesting pair, but the substantial similarity is a real risk — confirm with your tax advisor.
Holding both creates extra rebalancing friction with no real benefit. A single fund (either one) plus a separate small-cap allocation is cleaner and gives you explicit control over small-cap weight.
Alternatives
If you want to extend your US large-cap core with genuinely independent exposure, these pairings work better than doubling up on VTI + VOO:
IWM tracks the Russell 2000 small-caps. Zero top-10 holdings overlap with VOO. True diversification across market-cap bands — and a cleaner expression of small-cap exposure than VTI's diluted version.
Small-cap value funds add a different factor exposure entirely. Historically low correlation with mega-cap growth, near-zero top-10 overlap with VOO.
VXUS is Vanguard's all-cap international ETF — covers developed and emerging markets ex-US. Near-zero overlap with VTI, and the classic "complete the market" pairing.
SCHD's dividend screen filters out most mega-cap growth names. Very low overlap with VOO, different factor exposure (value + quality), different rate sensitivity.
Free Tool
The Guardfolio ETF overlap checker lets you compare VTI and VOO side by side — and see any other pair from the 22-ETF dataset. No signup needed for the two-fund comparison.
The free tool compares two ETFs using top-10 holdings data. Full portfolio analysis (all your ETFs weighted by your actual allocation) requires a free Guardfolio account with brokerage connection.
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