VWRL vs VUSA: key differences and performance data (2026)

This article compares two of the most widely held Vanguard ETFs in Europe: VWRL and VUSA. We go through what each one holds, what it has returned, what it costs and who it suits.

In short, VUSA tracks the US market through the S&P 500, while VWRL tracks the world through the FTSE All-World index.

We look at portfolio composition, returns, risk and the ongoing charges figure, and because both are distributing share classes, we also cover the dividend policy.

All the figures below come from the Vanguard factsheets dated 31 July 2026, so you can check every one of them against the source.

Key data

VWRL vs VUSA at a glance

One line to keep in mind before the detail: these are not opposites. VWRL already has 61.6% of its money in the United States, so the real question is not America versus the world, but whether you want the other 38% as well.

Comparison: VWRL vs VUSA

We compare the two funds on:

• Performance
• Ongoing charges
• Portfolio structure
• Risk
• Dividend policy

Performance

Both funds launched on 22 May 2012, so the record since inception covers more than fourteen years and two full market cycles.

Compounded over the full period, 14.71% a year turns $10,000 into roughly $70,000, while 11.65% turns the same amount into about $48,000. That gap is the entire argument for the US-only fund, and it is a real one.

There are two caveats worth stating plainly. The first is that the gap comes from a period in which US equities beat the rest of the world by an unusually wide margin, and nothing guarantees a repeat. The second is visible in the table above: over the last twelve months VWRL actually returned more than VUSA, 22.05% against 19.28%, the first stretch in years where the rest of the world pulled ahead.

Ongoing charges (OCF)

The ongoing charges figure covers almost all the costs of running the fund, excluding transaction costs, so the lower it is the more of the index return you keep.

VUSA charges 0.07% a year and VWRL charges 0.14%, exactly double. On a €10,000 holding that is €7 a year against €14, which is not what will decide your outcome, and on €100,000 it is €70 against €140.

Put differently, the cost difference is 0.07 percentage points a year. The difference in annualised return between the two funds over the last decade was more than 2 percentage points. Fees matter, but in this particular comparison they are the small number.

Portfolio structure

Different benchmarks mean different portfolios. VUSA holds 504 large US companies. VWRL holds 3,782 large and mid-cap companies from developed and emerging markets, sampled from an index of 4,264.

The top ten holdings overlap almost completely, and both funds are led by the same handful of American technology companies. The difference is how much of your money sits in them: 39.1% of VUSA against 24.6% of VWRL.

VWRL trades on lower multiples, at 21.1 times earnings against 25.1, and on a lower price to book. That is often presented as more room to grow, which is not quite right. Lower multiples mean the market expects less, which can work in your favour or against it. The cleaner reading is that VUSA owns more profitable companies, with a return on equity of 29.0% against 18.7%, and you pay more for them.

Risk

Both funds carry the same summary risk indicator, 4 out of 7, which is the standard rating for a broad equity fund.

The meaningful difference is concentration. VUSA holds one country, one currency bloc and 504 companies, with almost 40% of the fund in ten of them and more than a third in a single sector. VWRL spreads the same money across around 3,800 companies and dozens of markets: after the United States come Japan at 6.0%, the United Kingdom at 3.3%, Taiwan at 3.2% and Canada at 3.0%.

Historically that extra diversification has not reduced volatility by much, because the US weight drives most of the movement either way. What it does is remove the risk of being wrong about one country for a decade.

Dividend policy

Both are distributing share classes and both pay quarterly, in March, June, September and December.

The yield of the underlying holdings is 1.5% for VWRL and 1.1% for VUSA. The gap is not a quirk of the funds: it reflects the fact that US companies return more cash through buybacks and less through dividends than companies in Europe, Japan or emerging markets.

Two points worth knowing. The yield quoted on a factsheet applies to the underlying holdings rather than to the ETF itself, and in most European countries a distributed dividend is taxed when it lands, while an accumulating share class defers that. If you do not need the income, Vanguard offers accumulating versions of both funds, VUAA and VWCE, with the same portfolios and the same charges.

What is VWRL?

VWRL is the distributing share class of the Vanguard FTSE All-World UCITS ETF, domiciled in Ireland and managed by Vanguard Group (Ireland) Limited. It tracks the FTSE All-World index by physical replication, holding a representative sample of the index rather than every constituent, and pays dividends quarterly.

It is listed in several currencies and venues, which is why the ticker changes: VWRL on the London Stock Exchange in pounds, on the SIX Swiss Exchange in francs, on Euronext Amsterdam and Borsa Italiana in euros, VWRD in dollars in London, and VGWL on Deutsche Börse.

Since inception in May 2012 the fund has returned 11.65% a year net of fees, which compounds to roughly +378% over the period.

About the index

The benchmark is the FTSE All-World index, made up of large and mid-cap companies from developed and emerging markets, which together represent the bulk of the world’s investable market capitalisation. The index held 4,264 stocks at the end of July 2026, and the fund tracked it with 3,782.

Over the year to 31 July 2026 the fund returned 22.05% against 22.03% for the index, which is as close as tracking gets.

Portfolio sample

Through VWRL you own companies such as NVIDIA (4.5%), Apple (4.3%), Alphabet (3.6%), Microsoft (3.3%), Amazon (2.5%), TSMC (1.7%), Broadcom (1.7%), Meta (1.2%), Samsung Electronics (0.9%) and JPMorgan Chase (0.9%). The ten together are 24.6% of the fund.

By sector, technology leads at 33.4%, followed by financials at 15.7% and industrials at 12.6%.

By geography the United States dominates with 61.6%, followed by Japan (6.0%), the United Kingdom (3.3%), Taiwan (3.2%), Canada (3.0%) and China (2.8%).

What is VUSA?

VUSA is the distributing share class of the Vanguard S&P 500 UCITS ETF, also domiciled in Ireland. It tracks the S&P 500 by physical replication, holding all or substantially all of the index constituents in the same proportion, and pays dividends quarterly.

It trades as VUSA in pounds, euros and francs across London, Amsterdam, Milan, Frankfurt and Zurich, and as VUSD in dollars in London.

Since inception in May 2012 the fund has returned 14.71% a year net of fees, which compounds to roughly +600% over the period.

About the index

The benchmark is the S&P 500, run by S&P Dow Jones Indices, made up of 500 large US companies and covering the large majority of the American market by value. It was launched in its current form in 1957.

One technical detail with real consequences: the fund is measured against the S&P 500 Net Total Return index, which assumes dividends are reinvested after a 30% withholding tax. That withholding is the reason an Irish-domiciled fund tracking the S&P 500 does not capture the full gross dividend, and it applies to VWRL’s US holdings too.

Over the year to 31 July 2026 the fund returned 19.28% against 19.14% for that benchmark.

Portfolio sample

Through VUSA you own NVIDIA (7.6%), Apple (7.1%), Alphabet (5.9%), Microsoft (5.4%), Amazon (4.1%), Broadcom (2.9%), Meta (1.9%), JPMorgan Chase (1.5%), Berkshire Hathaway (1.5%) and Micron (1.4%). The ten together are 39.1% of the fund.

Information technology is the largest sector at 36.6%, followed by financials at 12.5% and communication services at 9.9%.

Because the index is exclusively American, the geographic allocation is 100% United States. Note that this is where the companies are listed, not where they earn their money: the revenue of the S&P 500 is substantially international.

About the investment manager

Both funds are managed by Vanguard, which has more than 20,000 employees and over $10 trillion in assets under management, making it the second-largest asset manager in the world after BlackRock.

Its structure is unusual and relevant here: Vanguard is owned by its own funds, which are owned by their investors, and that is the reason its charges have fallen consistently for decades. The European funds are issued by Vanguard Funds plc and authorised by the Central Bank of Ireland.

Where to buy VWRL and VUSA

Both ETFs are available at most European brokers. These are the cheapest options we track:

One cost the table does not show matters more than the commission for these two funds: the listing you buy. Both are quoted in several currencies, so buying the euro listing with a euro account avoids a conversion charge on every purchase. The fund’s own currency exposure is unchanged either way, because it holds US and global shares whatever the listing says.

Which one should you pick?

On the numbers alone, VUSA has the better record: more return over one, three, five and ten years, half the cost and a portfolio of more profitable companies.

VWRL answers with the thing the numbers cannot show in advance. It spreads the same money across around 3,800 companies and dozens of countries, it pays a higher yield, and it does not require you to be right about one market for the next twenty years. It also beat VUSA over the last twelve months, which is a useful reminder of how these things turn.

A simple way to decide:

• You want one fund and no decisions: VWRL, which already includes the S&P 500 as its largest block;
• You are comfortable holding only the US market and want the lowest cost: VUSA;
• You want the income: VWRL, with the higher underlying yield;
• You do not need the income: look at the accumulating versions, VWCE and VUAA, which avoid the tax drag of receiving dividends you will only reinvest.

We rely on objective criteria and published figures, but the final decision is always yours.