ETF comparison
IEFA vs VSS
Both International Developed.
iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF · Vanguard FTSE All-World ex-US Small-Cap Index Fund ETF Shares
Holdings overlap
1,241 positions appear in both funds. Buying equal dollars of IEFA and VSS would leave roughly 6.8% of each dollar exposed to the same underlying securities.
Unmatched is the part of a fund's weight the other fund doesn't match: names only it holds, plus any extra weight it puts in names both funds hold.
Side by side
Vanguard FTSE All-World ex-US Small-Cap Index Fund ETF Shares
Vanguard · International Developed
Sub-score comparison
Tracking quality isn't part of the composite — see what we don't score for why.
Cost difference
VSS is 1 bps cheaper than IEFA. On a $100,000 position that's about $10/yr more in fees for IEFA.
Fee figure is the annual expense charged on $100,000. To see how the gap compounds over a multi-decade holding period, open the cost calculator pre-filled with IEFA vs VSS.
Top shared holdings
1,241 shared in total| # | Holding | In IEFA | In VSS | Overlap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | STOREBRAND ASA | 0.03% | 0.24% | 0.03% |
| 2 | Accelleron Industries AG | 0.03% | 0.24% | 0.03% |
| 3 | GAZTRANSPORT ET TECHNIGAZ SA | 0.03% | 0.23% | 0.03% |
| 4 | Games Workshop Group PLC | 0.03% | 0.24% | 0.03% |
| 5 | Subsea 7 S.A. | 0.03% | 0.21% | 0.03% |
| 6 | RINGKJOEBING LANDBOBANK. AKTIESELSKAB | 0.03% | 0.19% | 0.03% |
| 7 | NKT A/S | 0.03% | 0.20% | 0.03% |
| 8 | AEDIFICA NV | 0.03% | 0.21% | 0.03% |
| 9 | thyssenkrupp AG | 0.03% | 0.19% | 0.03% |
| 10 | IG GROUP HOLDINGS PLC | 0.03% | 0.18% | 0.03% |
| 11 | LOTTOMATICA GROUP S.P.A. | 0.03% | 0.18% | 0.03% |
| 12 | JYSKE BANK A/S | 0.03% | 0.18% | 0.03% |
Only in IEFA
1,372 total- ASML Holding N.V. 2.50%
- HSBC HOLDINGS PLC 1.42%
- Roche Holding AG 1.20%
- Novartis AG 1.12%
- Nestle S.A. 1.00%
- ASTRAZENECA PLC 1.00%
- SHELL PLC 1.00%
- Siemens Aktiengesellschaft 0.95%
- Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. 0.93%
- BHP GROUP LIMITED 0.83%
Only in VSS
3,577 total- Hudbay Minerals Inc 0.27%
- Aritzia Inc 0.27%
- Finning International Inc 0.24%
- Taiwan Union Technology Corp 0.24%
- South Bow Corp 0.22%
- DPM Metals Inc 0.21%
- Capital Power Corp 0.21%
- Eldorado Gold Corp 0.20%
- Capstone Copper Corp 0.18%
- Kinsus Interconnect Technology Corp 0.18%
Related comparisons
More comparisons with IEFA
- IEFA vs SCHC · Schwab International Small-Cap Equity ETF 6.8%
- IEFA vs EWA · iShares MSCI Australia ETF 5.7%
- IEFA vs DISV · Dimensional International Small Cap Value ETF 5.4%
- IEFA vs AVDV · Avantis International Small Cap Value ETF 5.1%
- IEFA vs DLS · WisdomTree International SmallCap Dividend Fund 3.6%
- IEFA vs EWP · iShares MSCI Spain ETF 3.5%
More comparisons with VSS
- VSS vs IEMG · iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF 6.6%
- VSS vs IPAC · iShares Core MSCI Pacific ETF 6.2%
- VSS vs SPDW · State Street SPDR Portfolio Developed World ex-US ETF 5.4%
- VSS vs AVIV · Avantis International Large Cap Value ETF 5.1%
- VSS vs DXJ · WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund 4.3%
- VSS vs VT · Vanguard Total World Stock Index Fund ETF Shares 3.0%
Percentages are holdings overlap with the named fund.
Open IEFA or VSS at a brokerage
Both funds trade commission-free at major US brokerages.
Affiliate links — opening an account through these earns PlainIndex a one-time referral. Scoring is computed before any affiliate consideration; see our methodology and funding disclosure.
Holdings overlap is the sum of min(weight_a, weight_b) over positions
matched on ISIN (CUSIP fallback). Methodology: see
/methodology/.
Comparing two funds doesn't endorse swapping one for the other. Tax-lot history, account type, and personal goals matter — PlainIndex publishes data and methodology, not investment advice.