The SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 ETF (SPLG) is State Street Global Advisors' direct answer to Vanguard's VOO and iShares' IVV. While State Street pioneered the ETF industry with the launch of SPY in 1993, SPY's 0.09% expense ratio became increasingly uncompetitive for retail buy-and-hold investors as Vanguard and iShares slashed fees.
Instead of lowering the fee on SPY—which would instantly sacrifice hundreds of millions in revenue from institutional traders who rely on SPY's unmatched options chain and liquidity—State Street repurposed SPLG to track the S&P 500 and slashed its expense ratio to a rock-bottom 0.02%.
At 0.02%, SPLG is technically the cheapest S&P 500 ETF on the market, undercutting both VOO and IVV (0.03%).
Head-to-Head Comparison: SPLG vs VOO vs SPY vs IVV
All four of these ETFs track the exact same index (the S&P 500). Therefore, the differences lie entirely in cost, size, and share price.
ETF
Issuer
Expense Ratio
AUM
Price
1Y Return
5Y Return
SPLG
State Street
0.02%
$97.33B
$80
14.98%
15.25%
VOO
Vanguard
0.03%
$1.51T
$612.5
16.95%
14.15%
IVV
iShares
0.03%
$750.65B
$668.95
16.96%
14.16%
SPY
State Street
0.09%
$698.27B
$666.06
16.87%
14.08%
Visualizing the Fee Difference
While a few basis points (0.02% vs 0.03% vs 0.09%) may seem microscopic, they compound over a lifetime of investing. This chart illustrates the impact of expense ratios on a hypothetical $100,000 initial investment over 30 years, assuming a gross 10% annualized return.
Top 10 Holdings
Because SPLG is a market-cap weighted index fund tracking the S&P 500, its top holdings are identical to VOO, SPY, and IVV. As of 2026, the S&P 500 is heavily concentrated in mega-cap technology stocks.
Ticker
Company Name
Weight
NVDA
NVIDIA Corp
7.38%
AAPL
Apple Inc
7.07%
MSFT
Microsoft Corp
6.25%
AMZN
Amazon.com Inc
3.87%
AVGO
Broadcom Inc
3.24%
GOOGL
Alphabet Inc Class A
3.18%
GOOG
Alphabet Inc Class C
2.55%
META
Meta Platforms Inc Class A
2.40%
TSLA
Tesla Inc
2.06%
BRK-B
Berkshire Hathaway Inc Class B
1.61%
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the SPLG expense ratio?
The expense ratio for the SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 ETF (SPLG) is 0.02% annually. This makes it one of the absolute lowest-cost S&P 500 ETFs available, translating to $2 in fees for every $10,000 invested.
Is SPLG better than VOO?
SPLG and VOO both track the S&P 500 index and hold the exact same 500 companies in the same proportions. The main difference is cost: SPLG charges a 0.02% expense ratio compared to VOO's 0.03%. For long-term, cost-conscious investors, SPLG offers a slight edge due to lower fees, though VOO is far larger by assets under management (AUM) and trades with higher liquidity.
What is the SPLG AUM (Assets Under Management)?
As of 2026, SPLG has an AUM of approximately $97.33B. While significantly smaller than SPY or VOO, it is more than large enough to offer excellent liquidity and tight bid-ask spreads for retail investors.
Why is SPLG so cheap compared to SPY?
State Street Global Advisors operates both SPY and SPLG. SPY is the oldest, most heavily traded ETF in the world, primarily used by institutional traders and hedge funds who value its immense options market and liquidity, happily paying its 0.09% fee. SPLG was introduced (and later rebranded) to capture buy-and-hold retail investors demanding ultra-low fees (0.02%) to compete with Vanguard's VOO and iShares' IVV.
Should I switch from SPY to SPLG?
If you are a long-term buy-and-hold investor, SPLG is mathematically superior to SPY due to its lower expense ratio (0.02% vs 0.09%). Over decades, that 0.07% difference compounds significantly. However, if switching would trigger massive capital gains taxes in a taxable account, the tax hit may outweigh the fee savings. If investing new money, SPLG is the better choice for most retail investors.
Methodology & Data Sources: ETF financial metrics, assets under management (AUM), performance history, and holdings data were sourced via the Yahoo Finance API for the tickers SPLG, VOO, SPY, and IVV. All metrics represent the latest available data at the time of publication in 2026. The fee projection chart assumes a gross annualized return of 10% over 30 years, deducting the respective expense ratios to calculate net ending value.