Both funds hold thousands of stocks across developed and emerging markets outside the US, including Canada, Korea and small companies. The differences are the index provider, a 0.02-point fee gap and how many tiny companies each holds.
Market risk reading, cross‑asset context and an events calendar: see Exent Market intel →
Neither is meaningfully better: if you want one fund for all stocks outside the US, either works, and the cheaper fee gives VXUS a slight edge. Whichever your broker trades without commission is a reasonable pick, and switching between them later rarely pays.
Scope: total-international stock ETFs as the non-US part of a US retirement portfolio. Excluded: developed-only funds (see VEA vs IEFA vs SCHF), emerging-only funds, currency-hedged and dividend-focused international funds, and how much to hold abroad, covered in do I need international ETFs. Education, not advice for your situation.
| Your situation | Reasonable choice | Why |
|---|---|---|
| New international position, any broker | VXUS or IXUS | Same coverage; VXUS 0.02 points cheaper |
| You use iShares Core funds elsewhere | IXUS | Matches MSCI-based funds you may add later |
| You use Vanguard funds elsewhere | VXUS | Matches FTSE-based funds like VEA and VWO |
| You already hold VT or a target-date fund | Maybe neither | Both already include these stocks |
| You hold one of them in taxable with gains | Keeping it usually wins | Tax on the gain outweighs $20 a year per $100,000 |
Index, fund facts and trailing NAV returns (to Sep 30, 2026) from Vanguard and iShares (IXUS holdings Oct 23, 2026); top-10 weights, distribution yields, calendar-year returns and the COVID drop from Exent market data (daily total return).
| VXUS | IXUS | |
|---|---|---|
| Index | FTSE Global All Cap ex US Index | MSCI ACWI ex USA IMI Index |
| Expense ratio | 0.05% | 0.07% |
| Stocks held | 8,901 | 4,580 |
| Assets | $163.2B ETF / $649.3B whole fund | $57.0B |
| Distributions | Quarterly | Semi-annual |
| Top 10 holdings, share of fund (Oct 20) | 13.5% | 13.4% |
| Japan / Taiwan / UK | 16.1% / 9.3% / 8.1% | 15.7% / 9.1% / 8.2% |
| Canada / China / South Korea | 7.9% / 6.9% / 6.7% | 8.6% / 5.8% / 5.7% |
| Distribution yield, trailing 12 months (to Sep 30) | 2.34% | 2.95% |
| 10-year return, per year | 9.20% | 9.27% |
| 5-year return, per year | 9.35% | 9.36% |
| 2022 / 2025 calendar-year return | −16.1% / 32.3% | −16.5% / 32.4% |
| 2020 COVID drop, Feb 19–Mar 23 peak to trough | −33.4% | −33.7% |
| Correlation with the S&P 500, 60 months (Exent calculation) | 0.80 | 0.80 |
Vanguard’s fact sheet puts VXUS’s 10-year NAV return at 9.20% a year against 9.30% for its benchmark, a gap of about twice its fee. The trailing yields differ partly because IXUS pays twice a year and VXUS four times, so a 12-month window can catch different payouts; iShares’ 30-day SEC yield for IXUS was 2.13% on Sep 30, 2026. Yield is not return, and both funds’ total returns were close.
Mostly how deep into small companies they go and how each provider labels a few countries. Vanguard says the FTSE Global All Cap ex US Index “covers 98% of the world’s non-U.S. markets,” across Europe, the Pacific, emerging markets and Canada (Vanguard). iShares describes IXUS’s MSCI index as “large-, mid-, and small-cap non-U.S. equities from developed and emerging markets” (iShares).
VXUS holds about 4,300 more stocks, but they are very small: the top 10 weigh about the same in both funds, and returns tracked within a fraction of a point. The country labels matter less than people think here. FTSE counts South Korea as a developed market and MSCI as emerging (MSCI kept it emerging in its Jun 23, 2026 review), but a total-international fund holds both groups, so Korea is in either fund. Where the label bites is when you build international from two funds; that is covered in VEA vs IEFA vs SCHF.
In a taxable account, the foreign taxes the fund pays on its dividends usually show up on your Form 1099-DIV and can be claimed as a credit against US tax. The IRS lets you claim it without Form 1116 if your only foreign income is passive, it is reported on a payee statement such as a 1099-DIV, and your qualified foreign taxes are not more than $300, or $600 on a joint return (IRS). The rule is the same for both funds.
Inside an IRA or 401(k) the dividends are not taxed each year, so there is no US tax for a credit to offset and the foreign tax is simply part of the cost. That is one reason some investors with both account types place international funds in taxable and bonds in tax-deferred accounts; see tax-efficient ETFs for a taxable account.
A little, and the account type matters more than the ticker. Exent calculation, illustrative: a $200,000 international sleeve, a constant 7% yearly return before fees, 20 years; foreign tax assumed at 0.2% of assets a year (an assumption for the example, not a fund figure).
| Item | VXUS | IXUS |
|---|---|---|
| First-year fund fee | $100 (0.05%) | $140 (0.07%) |
| Value after 20 years: 200,000 × (1.07 − fee)^20 | $766,736 | $763,873 |
| Difference after 20 years | — | −$2,863 |
| Assumed first-year foreign tax (0.2% of $200,000) | $400 | $400 |
| Held in taxable, joint filer, passive income only | May claim $400 credit without Form 1116 | Same |
| Held in an IRA | No credit; $400 is a cost | Same |
The fee gap is about 0.4% of the ending balance after two decades. The foreign tax, in this example, is twice the size of VXUS’s whole yearly fee, and whether you can recover it depends on the account, not the fund.
| Fund | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|
| VXUS | 0.05% fee; 8,901 stocks covering 98% of non-US markets; part of a $649 billion fund; quarterly payouts. | FTSE country labels differ from MSCI, which complicates mixing with iShares funds; the extra small stocks add holdings, not much diversification. |
| IXUS | Large, mid and small caps in developed and emerging markets; MSCI index used by many institutions; pairs cleanly with iShares MSCI funds. | 0.07% fee, 0.02 points more than VXUS; fewer holdings; semi-annual payouts make cash flow lumpier for income investors. |
Other ways to hold stocks outside the US; expense ratios and holdings from the issuers (Vanguard Sep 30, iShares Oct 23, 2026):
| Option | What it holds | Expense ratio | Holdings | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| VEU (Vanguard) | Non-US stocks, FTSE All-World ex US Index | 0.04% | 3,810 | Large and mid caps; no small caps, unlike VXUS |
| VT (Vanguard) | Whole world including the US | 0.06% | 10,185 | One fund; about 62% US (Exent market data, Oct 2026) |
| VEA + VWO | Vanguard developed + Vanguard emerging | 0.03% / 0.06% | 3,903 / 6,507 | Lets you set the emerging share yourself |
| IEFA + IEMG | MSCI EAFE IMI + iShares emerging | 0.07% / 0.09% | 2,625 / 2,853 | No Canada in IEFA; add a Canada fund or accept the gap |
| IDEV + IEMG | MSCI World ex USA IMI + iShares emerging | 0.04% / 0.09% | 2,314 / 2,853 | Includes Canada; Korea sits in IEMG |
If you want US and international in one fund, see VT vs VTI and VXUS and one-ETF retirement portfolios. If you split international in two, the emerging half is compared in VWO vs IEMG.
When you already own international stocks without noticing. Counterexample: a saver whose 401(k) is in a target-date fund adds VXUS in an IRA “for diversification.” Vanguard’s target-date funds already hold 60% US and 40% international stocks in their stock portion (Vanguard), so the extra fund may push the international share well past what the saver intended. Vanguard also says 30% to 40% abroad has provided more than 95% of the benefit of full global diversification, so more is not automatically safer.
The other mistake is expecting international stocks to cushion a US crash. Their 60-month correlation with the S&P 500 was 0.80 (Exent calculation), and both funds fell about 33% to 34% in the 2020 COVID drop, close to the S&P 500’s 34% (Exent market data). How much to hold abroad, and why, is covered in international ETFs for retirement. They diversify country risk, not stock-market risk; see US vs international returns, decade by decade.
With one total-international fund the ticker question is settled; the harder part is holding a fixed share abroad through years when foreign stocks lag the US.
They are close substitutes. VXUS costs 0.05% and holds 8,901 stocks; IXUS costs 0.07% and holds 4,580. Over the 10 years to Sep 30, 2026 they returned 9.20% and 9.27% a year (issuer NAV).
Yes. Canada was 7.9% of VXUS on Sep 30, 2026, per Vanguard. IXUS also includes Canada, at 8.6% on Oct 22, 2026.
Yes, at 5.7% on Oct 22, 2026. MSCI classifies Korea as an emerging market, and IXUS holds both developed and emerging markets, so Korea is included. VXUS held 6.7%.
Yes. Both indexes include large, mid and small companies. VXUS reaches further into very small companies, which is why it holds about 4,300 more stocks.
No. The credit offsets US tax on the foreign income, and income in a Roth IRA is not taxed each year. In a taxable account you can usually claim it, without Form 1116 up to $300, or $600 joint.
Trailing 12-month distribution yields were 2.95% vs 2.34% to Sep 30, 2026 (Exent market data), partly because IXUS pays twice a year and VXUS quarterly, so the windows catch different payouts. Total returns were nearly the same.
There is no single answer. Vanguard’s target-date funds hold 60% US and 40% international in their stock portion, and Vanguard says 30% to 40% abroad gave more than 95% of the full diversification benefit.
VEU tracks the FTSE All-World ex US Index of large and mid caps and held 3,810 stocks for 0.04%. VXUS tracks a broader all-cap index that adds small companies and held 8,901 stocks for 0.05% (Vanguard, Sep 30, 2026).
Market intel provides a Risk ON / Neutral / Risk OFF reading from four pillars, cross-asset analysis, an events calendar and regular written notes. Context for reviewing a plan, not a crash forecast.
Educational content, not investment advice. Examples are illustrative; past performance does not guarantee future results.