If you’re building your first US stock portfolio, the VOO vs QQQM question shows up almost immediately. Should you buy the whole S&P 500, or focus on the Nasdaq-100 for potentially faster growth?
It’s an easy question to get wrong. Look at the last few years and QQQM seems like the obvious pick. But VOO and QQQM aren’t really a choice between a “safe” ETF and a “high-return” ETF. They’re two different ways to own mostly the same giant US companies, with very different amounts of concentration, risk and cost.
In this guide, we’ll compare VOO and QQQM on fees, holdings, returns, risk and dividends, using data as of October 2026. Then we’ll match each fund to different types of investors. At the end, we’ll introduce a third option, the momentum-based SPMO, for readers who want to explore a different strategy.
VOO vs QQQM: The Short Answer
VOO tracks the S&P 500: about 500 large US companies across all 11 sectors, for a 0.03% annual fee. QQQM tracks the Nasdaq-100: about 100 large non-financial Nasdaq companies, roughly 59% technology, for 0.15%. QQQM has delivered higher returns over the past decade but with deeper drops. For most beginners, VOO is the simpler core holding.
Key Takeaways
- Same giants, different mix. Nvidia, Apple and Microsoft are the top three holdings in both ETFs. The real difference is everything else: VOO adds banks, health care, energy and industrials, which QQQM barely holds.
- QQQM has earned more recently. Through September 30, 2026, QQQM returned 16.4% a year over five years vs. 13.8% for VOO. Over 10 years, the Nasdaq-100 (using QQQ as a proxy) returned 20.9% a year vs. 15.3% for VOO.
- It also fell harder. In 2022, QQQM lost 32.5% while VOO lost 18.2%.
- Owning both isn’t much extra diversification. Roughly 95% of the Nasdaq-100’s weight is also inside VOO, according to Morningstar.
- Neither is an income fund. VOO yields about 1.05% and QQQM about 0.44%.
- SPMO is a third, different strategy. It picks stocks by momentum, not size. It isn’t a middle ground between VOO and QQQM.
VOO vs QQQM at a Glance
VOO vs QQQM comparison (data as of October 20, 2026)
| Metric | VOO | QQQM |
|---|---|---|
| Fund provider | Vanguard | Invesco |
| Index tracked | S&P 500 | Nasdaq-100 |
| Approach | Broad US large caps, all sectors | Largest non-financial Nasdaq-listed companies |
| Expense ratio | 0.03% | 0.15% |
| Annual cost on $10,000 | About $3 | About $15 |
| Number of holdings | 518 | 106 |
| Top 10 holdings weight | 39.1% | 47.0% |
| Technology weight | About 40% (IT sector) | About 59% |
| Dividend yield (trailing 12 months) | 1.05% | 0.44% |
| Dividend frequency | Quarterly | Quarterly |
| Beta (market sensitivity) | 1.01 | 1.23 |
| Launch date | September 2010 | October 2020 |
| Share price (Oct 20, 2026) | About $707 | About $296 |
| Best suited for | A simple, diversified core holding | A deliberate tilt toward large growth/tech companies |
Sources: StockAnalysis.com fund data (Oct 20, 2026); S&P Dow Jones Indices sector dashboard (Sep 30, 2026); ChartRow Nasdaq-100 sector estimate (Oct 16, 2026).
The quick read: VOO is cheaper and broader. QQQM is more concentrated in technology and has been more volatile. Both pay small dividends every quarter, and both are dominated at the top by the same handful of mega-cap stocks.
What Is VOO?
VOO is the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF. It owns every company in the S&P 500, an index of about 500 of the largest US businesses, weighted by market value. Bigger companies get bigger slices.
What the S&P 500 Holds
The S&P 500 covers every major sector of the US economy, from Nvidia and Apple to JPMorgan, Johnson & Johnson, ExxonMobil and Costco. To join, a company generally needs a market value of at least about $22.7 billion, enough trading volume, and positive earnings, both in its latest quarter and over the past four quarters combined. Newly public companies usually wait about 12 months.
Here’s something many beginners miss: the S&P 500 is already tech-heavy. As of September 30, 2026, Information Technology made up about 39.9% of the index. Financials were 11.4%, Communication Services 9.7% and Health Care 9.3%.
VOO’s Fees, Holdings and Dividends
VOO charges just 0.03% a year, or about $3 on a $10,000 investment. It held 518 stocks as of October 20, 2026. Some companies, such as Alphabet, have two share classes. Its top 10 holdings made up 39.1% of the fund, led by Nvidia (8.4%), Apple (7.4%) and Microsoft (5.8%).
VOO pays dividends four times a year. Over the past 12 months it paid about $7.43 per share, a yield of roughly 1.05%.
Who VOO Suits
VOO fits investors who want a simple, low-cost, set-and-forget core holding. It gives you the whole US large-cap market without having to guess which sector will lead next.
The Engineer’s Analogy
Think of VOO as the whole power grid: generation, transmission and distribution. QQQM is the high-voltage transmission backbone. Most of the power flows through the same big lines either way, but QQQM leaves out much of the network, including banks, energy and most of health care.
What Is QQQM?
QQQM is the Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETF. It tracks the Nasdaq-100, an index of the 100 largest non-financial companies listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange.
What the Nasdaq-100 Holds (and Why It’s Not Just a Tech Index)
The Nasdaq-100 is often called a “tech index,” but that’s not quite right. It also holds consumer, health care, industrial and staples companies such as Costco, PepsiCo and Amgen. Banks and other financial companies are excluded by rule, and non-US companies listed on Nasdaq can qualify.
That said, technology dominates. Based on an October 16, 2026 estimate, technology made up about 58.9% of the index, communication services 12.5% and consumer discretionary 10.7%. QQQM’s top 10 holdings were 47.0% of the fund, led by Nvidia (8.2%), Apple (7.9%), Microsoft (6.2%), Micron (4.3%) and Amazon (4.3%).
QQQM charges 0.15% a year, about $15 on $10,000. It pays dividends quarterly, about $1.32 per share over the past 12 months, a yield of roughly 0.44%.
QQQM vs QQQ: Same Index, Lower Fee
You’ve probably heard of QQQ, the older and much larger Nasdaq-100 ETF. QQQ and QQQM track the same index and hold the same stocks. QQQ’s fee fell to 0.18% when it converted to a standard open-end ETF in December 2025, but QQQM is still cheaper at 0.15%. For a long-term buy-and-hold investor, QQQM is usually the more efficient choice. QQQ’s main advantage is deeper trading and options liquidity for active traders.
2026 Rule Change: “Fast Entry” and SpaceX
In 2026, Nasdaq changed how the index handles giant new listings. Since May 1, 2026, a newly public company that ranks among the 40 largest can be added after just 15 trading days. Its weight is limited by a cap tied to how many of its shares actually trade.
The first big test was SpaceX (SPCX). It went public on June 12, 2026 and joined the Nasdaq-100 on July 7, 2026. As of October 20, 2026, it was not among QQQM’s top 10 holdings, so its weight was below 3%. VOO doesn’t own SpaceX yet, because the S&P 500 requires seasoning and positive earnings. Expect more of this as other mega-IPOs come to market: QQQM will usually own them sooner, along with their early-stage volatility.
Who QQQM Suits
QQQM fits investors who deliberately want more exposure to large growth and technology companies, and who can stomach bigger swings to get it.
VOO vs QQQM: Which Has Better Returns?
Let’s look at the numbers. QQQM launched in October 2020, so it doesn’t have a 10-year record of its own. For longer periods, we use QQQ, which tracks the same index, as a clearly labeled proxy.
Total returns with dividends reinvested, through September 30, 2026
| Period | VOO | QQQM | SPMO |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year to date (2026) | 12.7% | 20.9% | 27.8% |
| 1 year | 15.8% | 23.9% | 26.3% |
| 3 years (per year) | 22.9% | 28.1% | 39.3% |
| 5 years (per year) | 13.8% | 16.4% | 21.6% |
| 10 years (per year) | 15.3% | 20.9% (QQQ proxy) | 20.2% |
InvestingEngineer calculations from Alpha Vantage monthly adjusted prices. Figures may differ slightly from issuer-reported NAV returns. QQQ is used as a proxy for the Nasdaq-100 before QQQM’s October 2020 launch.
Over almost every recent period, QQQM has come out ahead. Since QQQM’s launch (November 30, 2020 to September 30, 2026), $10,000 grew to about $25,690 in QQQM vs. about $22,921 in VOO.
But averages hide the year-by-year story. The Nasdaq-100 did not win every year:
Calendar-year total returns, 2016–2025
| Year | VOO | Nasdaq-100 (QQQ to 2020, QQQM from 2021) | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 12.2% | 7.1% | VOO |
| 2017 | 21.8% | 32.7% | Nasdaq-100 |
| 2018 | −4.5% | −0.1% | Nasdaq-100 |
| 2019 | 31.4% | 39.0% | Nasdaq-100 |
| 2020 | 18.3% | 48.6% | Nasdaq-100 |
| 2021 | 28.8% | 27.4% | VOO |
| 2022 | −18.2% | −32.5% | VOO |
| 2023 | 26.3% | 55.0% | Nasdaq-100 |
| 2024 | 25.0% | 25.7% | Nasdaq-100 (barely) |
| 2025 | 17.8% | 20.8% | Nasdaq-100 |
InvestingEngineer calculations from Alpha Vantage monthly adjusted prices.
Why Past Winners May Not Keep Winning
The last decade was unusually good for big technology companies. Different eras have looked very different. From early 2000 to late 2002, the Nasdaq-100 lost about 81% (based on month-end QQQ total returns). It didn’t get back to its early-2000 level until around 2014.
Rates matter too. Growth stocks are valued largely on profits expected far in the future, so rising interest rates tend to hit them harder. We saw this in October 2026. With the 10-year Treasury yield near a 24-year high and fresh inflation worries, VOO was up about 0.5% month-to-date through October 19, while QQQM was down about 2.9%.
None of this means QQQM will underperform from here. It means recent returns are a poor guide to the next 10 years.
VOO vs QQQM: Which ETF Has More Risk?
Volatility and Drawdowns
Risk comparison (month-end data)
| Measure | VOO | QQQM |
|---|---|---|
| Annualized volatility, Nov 2020–Sep 2026 | 15.0% | 19.9% |
| Worst peak-to-trough decline since Nov 2020 | −23.9% (2022) | −32.5% (2022) |
| Worst single month since Nov 2020 | −9.2% | −13.4% |
| Beta | 1.01 | 1.23 |
InvestingEngineer calculations from Alpha Vantage monthly prices; beta from StockAnalysis.com. Month-end figures understate intra-month lows.
Volatility measures how much returns bounce around. Drawdown is how far a fund falls from its high before recovering. On both measures, QQQM has been noticeably bumpier. A 32% decline means a $10,000 investment temporarily shrinking to about $6,800. That’s hard to watch, and many investors sell at exactly the wrong time.
Concentration: Top 10 and Sectors
More holdings don’t automatically mean more safety. VOO’s top 10 stocks are still 39% of the fund, and QQQM’s are 47%. VOO’s real advantage is sector breadth. It includes financials, health care, industrials and energy, which often hold up when technology stumbles.
Overlap: Why Owning Both Isn’t True Diversification
Here’s a concrete example. Nvidia is about 8.4% of VOO and 8.2% of QQQM. If you split $10,000 evenly between the two funds, about $827 ends up in Nvidia. That’s essentially the same as if you’d put all $10,000 in either fund alone.
Apple, Microsoft and Nvidia together make up about 21.6% of VOO and 22.3% of QQQM. Morningstar found that roughly 95% of the Nasdaq-100’s weight also sits inside VOO, and since late 2020 the two funds’ monthly returns have had a 0.91 correlation. Adding QQQM to VOO mostly increases your tech exposure; it doesn’t spread your risk.
Know the businesses behind your ETF
Whether you pick VOO, QQQM or both, about a fifth of your money ends up in just three companies: Nvidia, Apple and Microsoft. If you want to look at those businesses on their own numbers, ValueScreener shows each key figure against its peers and against the company’s own filed years.
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Interest-Rate Sensitivity
As the October 2026 example showed, QQQM tends to react more strongly to rate and inflation surprises. If you’re investing during a period of rising rates, expect QQQM to swing harder in both directions. For background on the rate outlook, see our guide to the Fed under Kevin Warsh [internal link].
VOO vs QQQM: Which Pays More Dividends?
Dividend comparison
| Measure | VOO | QQQM |
|---|---|---|
| Trailing 12-month dividends per share | $7.43 | About $1.32 |
| Trailing yield (Oct 20, 2026) | 1.05% | 0.44% |
| Frequency | Quarterly | Quarterly |
| 2021 total payout per share | $5.44 | $0.65 |
| 2025 total payout per share | $7.07 | $1.26 |
| Payout growth, 2021–2025 (per year) | About 6.8% | About 17.8% |
StockAnalysis.com; Alpha Vantage dividend history; InvestingEngineer calculations.
VOO pays more income today. QQQM’s payouts have grown faster, but from a much smaller base. Remember that yield moves with price: when a fund’s price rises, its yield falls even if the dividend stays the same.
Neither fund is built for income. If steady cash flow is your main goal, look at dedicated dividend-focused ETFs like SCHD and VYM [internal link] instead.
A Note for International Investors
If you live outside the US (for example, in the Philippines), dividends from US-listed ETFs are generally subject to US withholding tax, 25% for Philippine residents with a W-8BEN form under the tax treaty, otherwise 30%. US-listed ETFs can also be exposed to US estate tax above US$60,000 for non-resident aliens. Check with a tax professional before investing.
Should You Buy VOO, QQQM, or Both?
There’s no universal answer, but here’s how the trade-offs look for different types of investors. These are illustrations, not personal recommendations.
The Beginner Building a First Portfolio
If you want one simple, long-term investment in large US companies, VOO is hard to beat. It’s diversified across sectors, costs almost nothing, and has historically had smaller drawdowns, which makes it easier to stick with through bad markets. Sticking with it matters more than picking the “perfect” fund.
The Growth-Focused Investor
If you believe large tech and growth companies will keep leading, and you can handle 30%+ declines without selling, QQQM gives you a concentrated way to express that view. Just be honest with yourself: this is a bet on one corner of the market, not a neutral choice.
The Investor Who Wants Both
Holding both is perfectly reasonable. Many investors use VOO as a core and add QQQM as a growth tilt. Just understand what you’re building: a slightly more tech-heavy S&P 500.
Illustrative VOO + QQQM mixes (Nov 2020–Sep 2026, monthly rebalanced)
| Mix | Annual return | Volatility | Worst decline |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100% VOO | 15.3% | 15.0% | −23.9% |
| 50% VOO / 50% QQQM | 16.5% | 17.0% | −28.2% |
| 100% QQQM | 17.6% | 19.9% | −32.5% |
InvestingEngineer calculations from Alpha Vantage monthly adjusted prices. Past results; not a forecast.
Notice that the 50/50 mix lands neatly in the middle on every measure. There’s no “diversification free lunch” here, just a dial between more tech and less.
The Dividend-Focused Investor
If you want income, neither fund is the best tool. VOO pays more than QQQM, but at about 1% it’s still modest. A dedicated dividend ETF will serve this goal better.
Prefer to choose individual dividend payers yourself? ValueScreener lets you screen for companies that pass your own value tests, shows you why each one passed, and keeps a written thesis for every stock you own, with its numbers re-tested every night. (I earn a commission if you subscribe to ValueScreener through this link.)
The Momentum-Curious Investor
If you’re intrigued by funds that follow what’s been rising, a rules-based momentum ETF could complement or replace part of an index allocation. That’s where SPMO comes in.
What About SPMO?
The Invesco S&P 500 Momentum ETF (SPMO) takes a different approach from both VOO and QQQM. Instead of weighting stocks by size alone, it chooses them by momentum: how strongly their prices have been rising.
How SPMO Works in 3 Steps
1) Score every S&P 500 stock on its 12-month price gain (skipping the most recent month), adjusted for volatility. 2) Keep the top fifth, about 100 stocks. 3) Weight them by market value × momentum score, capped at 9% per company, and repeat every March and September.
SPMO charges 0.13% a year. Its recent record is striking: 39.3% a year over three years through September 30, 2026, ahead of both VOO and QQQM. Over 10 years, though, its 20.2% a year roughly matched the Nasdaq-100 proxy’s 20.9%.
SPMO isn’t simply a middle ground between VOO and QQQM. Its holdings can change dramatically at each rebalance. In September 2026, it swapped out 54 positions and dropped Nvidia entirely. Its current top 10 includes Johnson & Johnson and ExxonMobil alongside Apple and Micron. Momentum can also reverse quickly: SPMO fell 11.0% in July 2026 and was down about 6.3% in October through the 19th.
Momentum doesn’t automatically deliver superior returns. It’s a distinct strategy with its own risks. We’ll dig into the full performance, methodology and portfolio-allocation comparison in a separate article.
In the meantime, see our SPMO vs QQQM comparison and our look at how momentum ETFs compare.
Final Verdict: VOO or QQQM?
The VOO vs QQQM decision isn’t about which fund is “best.” It’s about which fund matches your goals, risk tolerance, time horizon and existing portfolio.
- Choose VOO if you want a simple, low-cost, diversified core you can hold for decades.
- Choose QQQM if you deliberately want a growth/tech tilt and can tolerate deeper drops.
- Combine them if you want a modest tech overweight, but don’t mistake that for diversification.
- Choose neither for income. Look at dividend-focused ETFs instead.
- Study SPMO if momentum interests you, as a separate strategy rather than a shortcut to higher returns.
Don’t pick QQQM just because it won the last few years. The most important thing is to understand what you own, why you own it, and what risks you’re accepting.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Is VOO better than QQQM for beginners?
For most beginners, VOO is the simpler starting point. It holds about 500 companies across all 11 sectors, charges just 0.03% a year, and has historically had smaller declines. QQQM can suit beginners who specifically want more growth and tech exposure and are prepared for bigger swings.
Is QQQM riskier than VOO?
Historically, yes. Since QQQM’s 2020 launch, its annualized volatility was about 19.9% vs. 15.0% for VOO, and its worst decline was −32.5% vs. −23.9% (both in 2022, month-end). QQQM is also more concentrated in technology and more sensitive to interest rates.
Which ETF has historically delivered higher returns, VOO or QQQM?
QQQM, over most recent periods. Through September 30, 2026, QQQM returned 16.4% a year over five years vs. 13.8% for VOO. Over 10 years, the Nasdaq-100 (QQQ proxy) returned 20.9% a year vs. 15.3%. VOO still won in 2016, 2021 and 2022.
Can I invest in both VOO and QQQM?
Yes. Many investors hold VOO as a core and QQQM as a growth tilt. Just know that most of QQQM’s holdings, by weight, are already inside VOO. Owning both mainly increases your technology exposure.
Does owning VOO and QQQM provide better diversification?
Only slightly. Roughly 95% of the Nasdaq-100’s weight overlaps with VOO, and the funds’ monthly returns have had about a 0.91 correlation since late 2020. For real diversification, consider adding asset types they don’t cover, such as international stocks, small caps or bonds.
Which ETF pays higher dividends, VOO or QQQM?
VOO. As of October 20, 2026, VOO’s trailing yield was about 1.05% vs. about 0.44% for QQQM. Both pay quarterly. QQQM’s payouts have grown faster since 2021, but neither fund is designed for income.
Is QQQM a good ETF to hold for 10 years?
It can be, if you’re comfortable with higher volatility and heavy tech concentration. The Nasdaq-100 returned about 20.9% a year over the past decade (QQQ proxy). But after 2000, it took roughly 14 years to recover. Past returns don’t guarantee future results.
How much money do I need to invest in VOO or QQQM?
As of October 20, 2026, one share cost about $707 for VOO and about $296 for QQQM. ETFs have no fund minimum, and many brokers offer fractional shares, so you can often start with just a few dollars.
Should I invest in VOO or QQQM every month?
Investing a fixed amount every month, called dollar-cost averaging, is a sensible habit for beginners. It removes the pressure of timing the market and smooths out your purchase price during volatile periods like October 2026. Consistency matters more than perfect timing.
Is SPMO better than VOO or QQQM?
Not universally. SPMO follows a momentum strategy and changes its holdings every March and September. It beat both funds over three and five years through September 2026, but over 10 years it roughly matched the Nasdaq-100 proxy, and it fell harder in July 2026. It suits a different goal.
If you’d rather build your own stock list, ValueScreener lets you screen companies against your own value tests, compare each key figure with its peers, and re-test your investment theses every night. (I earn a commission if you subscribe to ValueScreener through this link.)
Disclosure: The content on this page was produced with AI writing assistance under the editorial direction of a licensed Electrical Engineering practitioner and certified investor in different markets with over a decade of experience. All articles are reviewed and approved by the author before publication.