The Lowest-Cost ETF in Every Category

The cheapest ETF in every category

Every expense ratio below comes straight from our fund data. Click any ticker for the full factsheet. "Cost / $10k/yr" is what the fund quietly deducts each year on a $10,000 position.

Ties show the two cheapest near-identical options. Expense ratios current as of June 2026 and can change; the factsheet always shows the live number.

Core building blocks

For most portfolios, three of these rows do almost all the work: a total U.S. market fund (VTI at 0.03%), a total bond fund (BND at 0.03%), and a total international fund (VXUS at 0.07%). That is the entire three-fund portfolio, and you can build it for a blended cost under 0.05% a year.

If you specifically want the S&P 500 rather than the total market, SPYM at 0.02% is the cheapest on the market, a basis point under VOO and IVV at 0.03%. On $10,000 the difference is one dollar a year, so for a long-term holder the deciding factor is usually which fund your brokerage offers commission-free, not the fee.

Dividend and income

In dividend funds, SCHD and VYM tie at 0.06%. They are not the same fund: SCHD screens harder for dividend quality and holds about 100 stocks, while VYM casts a wider net across roughly 440. Both are cost-efficient for what they do. The fee is not the thing to agonize over here. The holdings are. See the full breakdown in our dividend ETF guide.

International and world

Developed-markets exposure is cheapest through VEA at 0.05%. For all non-U.S. stocks in one fund, VXUS at 0.07% covers developed and emerging together. If you want a single fund holding the entire global market, U.S. included, VT at 0.07% does it in one ticker. Emerging markets alone are cheapest through VWO at 0.08%, which is roughly nine times cheaper than the better-known EEM at 0.70%.

Bonds, REITs, and specialty

Broad bond exposure is as cheap as stocks: BND and AGG at 0.03%. For tax-exempt income in a taxable account, VTEB at 0.05% is the lowest-cost broad municipal bond fund. REITs are cheapest through SCHH at 0.07%, a touch under VNQ at 0.12%, though the two hold slightly different baskets. For gold, GLDM at 0.10% is the low-cost choice, well under the famous GLD at 0.40%. Sector bets are cheapest through the SPDR sector funds at 0.09%.

When the cheapest is not the right pick

For broad index funds, the cheapest option is almost always the right one. Two funds tracking the same index hold nearly identical stocks, so the lower fee is free money. But there are real exceptions, and they are specific:

• Liquidity for active traders. SPY at 0.0945% is pricier than SPYM, but its enormous trading volume gives it the tightest bid-ask spreads and the deepest options market. If you trade options on the S&P 500, SPY can be worth the extra fee. If you buy and hold, it is not.
• The index is not identical. SCHH and VNQ are both "REIT" funds, but they track different indexes and hold different baskets. The cheaper one is not automatically the closer match to what you want.
• Share-class twins. QQQM at 0.15% tracks the exact same Nasdaq-100 as QQQ at 0.20%. For a long-term holder, QQQM is simply the cheaper version of the same fund. QQQ only makes sense if you need its trading liquidity.

The rule: default to the lowest fee in the category. Override it only when you can name the specific reason, like liquidity or a holdings difference you actually care about. If you cannot name the exception, the cheapest fund is your answer.

Frequently asked questions

What is the lowest-cost ETF?

For the S&P 500, SPYM and SPLG are the cheapest at 0.02%. For the whole U.S. market, VTI and SCHB sit at 0.03%. There is no single lowest-cost ETF across every category, because the cheapest fund depends on what you are buying.

What is the best low-cost ETF?

There is no single best, because it depends on what exposure you want. For a broad U.S. core held for the long term, VTI at 0.03% is the most cost-efficient option for most investors. For the S&P 500 specifically, SPYM at 0.02% is a basis point cheaper. Match the fund to the job, then pick the lowest fee in that category.

Does a lower expense ratio always mean a better fund?

No. Within the same category, two index funds usually hold nearly identical things, so the cheaper one wins on cost with no downside. But the absolute cheapest is not always the right pick. Liquidity for active traders, tax placement, and small differences in the underlying index can matter more than a one or two basis point fee gap.

How much does a 0.10% difference in expense ratio cost?

0.10% is $10 per year for every $10,000 invested, or $100 a year on $100,000. The damage is in the compounding: left invested over decades, the gap quietly grows into thousands of dollars of your own money. Run your exact numbers through the fee calculator.

Are Vanguard, Schwab, and iShares low-cost funds basically the same?

For broad index categories, yes. VTI, SCHB, and ITOT all track nearly the entire U.S. market within a basis point or two of each other. Pick on expense ratio and which fund family is easiest to hold commission-free at your brokerage.