⚖️ AVUV vs VB Comparison · Free & No Signup

AVUV vs VB: A Factor Bet and a Market Slice, Priced Accordingly

Name: AVUV vs VB: expense ratio, index, holdings and returns
Creator: ETF BFF
License: https://etfbff.com/about/

Both funds live in US small-caps and that is where the similarity stops. VB owns the whole small-cap market at near-zero cost. AVUV screens it down to profitable value names and charges five times as much for the privilege.

💰 VB is cheaper 🔬 Compare top 10 holdings → 💡 Plain-English verdict

🤝 BFF Take

VB Is the Cheap Whole Slice; AVUV Is a Deliberate Value Tilt

VB (Vanguard Small-Cap ETF) holds roughly 1,400 US small-cap stocks at market weight for 0.05%. It makes no judgment about which of them are cheap or profitable; it simply owns the segment. AVUV (Avantis US Small Cap Value ETF) starts from a similar universe and actively screens it down to about 700 names, overweighting stocks that look cheap on book value and screen as profitable, for 0.25%. The 20 basis point gap is not a rounding error, it is the price of the strategy. AVUV is not a better version of VB and it is not more diversified; it holds half as many stocks on purpose. It is a bet that the small-cap value premium documented in academic research shows up in your holding period. VB is a bet that owning the whole segment cheaply is enough. Investors who want both commonly hold VB as the base and size AVUV as a tilt on top.

📋 Quick Takeaways

💰VB costs 0.05% and AVUV costs 0.25%, so the tilt runs five times the price of the plain slice

🔍AVUV holds about 700 screened names vs VB's roughly 1,400, so it is more concentrated by design, not more diversified

⚖️AVUV is an active factor strategy with a value and profitability screen; VB simply owns the small-cap market at weight

📊 Data-Based Take: VB has the lower fee

Whether the lower-cost fund suits your situation depends on your existing holdings, account type, tax situation, and how you use each fund. This is a cost comparison, not a personalized recommendation.

Both funds trade commission-free at every major brokerage. Where to buy them →

✓ ETF BFF Editorial Team · Data as of Sep 22, 2026 · Educational only, not financial advice

AVUV

Avantis US Small Cap Value ETF

Expense Ratio

0.25%

1-Year Return

+20.8%

AUM

$31.2B

Holdings

700

Vanguard Morningstar Small-Cap ETF

Expense Ratio

0.05% ✓

1-Year Return

+12.3%

AUM

$185.3B

Holdings

1,400

📋 AVUV vs VB: Key Facts Side by Side

Metric	AVUV	VB
Fund Name	Avantis US Small Cap Value ETF	Vanguard Morningstar Small-Cap ETF
Issuer	Avantis	Vanguard
Tracks Index	Actively managed, value and profitability screened	CRSP US Small Cap
Expense Ratio	0.25%	0.05% ✓
Cost per $10K/yr	$25.00	$5.00
AUM	$31.2B	$185.3B
Holdings	700	1,400
Inception	2019	2004
1-Year Return	+20.80%	+12.30%
3-Year Return	+17.64%	+15.73%
5-Year Return	+12.39%	+6.93%
Dividend Yield	1.25%	1.21%
Holdings Overlap	See holdings overlap →
Avg Bid-Ask Spread	0.03%	0.01%

Expense ratio, AUM, and returns updated Sep 22, 2026 from ETF BFF database. Returns are annualised. Not investment advice.

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📊 AVUV vs VB: Annualised Returns

Annualised returns (trailing, price-based). Past performance does not guarantee future results.

🎯 Which Fund Fits Which Investor?

Often fits investors who...

AVUV

already use Avantis and prefer staying within one fund family

Often fits investors who...

want the lowest fees: saves ~$20/yr per $10K vs AVUV
want broader diversification (1,400 holdings vs 700)

💰 What the Fee Difference Actually Costs

Adjust the numbers for your situation. This models each fund's expense ratio compounding against your balance over time.

Investment amount$ Years held Expected annual return%

Assumes a constant annual return reinvested, with each fund's expense ratio deducted yearly. Illustrative only; actual returns vary. Past performance does not guarantee future results.

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❓ AVUV vs VB: Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between AVUV and VB?

VB owns roughly 1,400 US small-cap stocks at market-cap weight for 0.05%, with no screening at all. AVUV actively selects about 700 small-cap stocks that screen as cheap on valuation and profitable on earnings, then overweights them, for 0.25%. VB gives you the small-cap segment; AVUV gives you a specific slice of it chosen by rules. They overlap heavily in holdings but weight those holdings very differently.

Is AVUV worth the higher fee?

That depends entirely on whether the small-cap value premium shows up during your holding period, which nobody can know in advance. The fee difference is 20 basis points, or $20 a year per $10,000. AVUV has outperformed VB over the three and five year windows shown here, which is the argument for it. The counter-argument is that value underperformed growth for most of the 2010s, and a fund built to tilt toward value cannot escape that if it happens again. Past performance does not guarantee future results.

Can I hold both AVUV and VB?

Yes, and it is a common construction. VB serves as broad small-cap exposure at 0.05%, and AVUV is layered on top as a deliberate value tilt. Because AVUV holds a subset of the same market, the combination reduces the blended fee compared with holding AVUV alone while keeping some factor exposure. The two funds do overlap substantially in names, so the combination is a weighting decision rather than added diversification.

Is AVUV more diversified than VB?

No, the opposite. AVUV holds about 700 stocks and VB holds about 1,400, so VB covers roughly twice as many companies. AVUV is concentrated on purpose: the screening that creates its value and profitability tilt necessarily excludes the stocks that fail those screens. More holdings is not automatically better, but if breadth of coverage is the goal, VB provides more of it at a fifth of the cost.

How does AVUV compare to VBR?

Both target small-cap value. VBR is Vanguard's index-based small-cap value fund at a lower fee; AVUV is actively managed by Avantis with an additional profitability screen that VBR does not apply. The profitability filter is the main structural difference and the reason AVUV charges more. Investors choosing between them are generally deciding whether the profitability screen justifies the extra cost over a plain index value fund.

New to ETF investing? See answers to the most common ETF questions →

📄 AVUV & VB Fact Sheets

AVUV Fact Sheet→ VB Fact Sheet→

ℹ️ Data shown is for educational purposes and may not reflect the most current figures. Returns are trailing price-based and exclude dividend reinvestment. Past performance does not guarantee future results. ETF BFF is not a licensed financial advisor. This is not personalized financial advice.