Guides
One page per category. The ranking is the live composite. The notes are about the index, the tax treatment, and which tickers people pair for tax-loss harvesting.
23 guides across 6 sections.
US equity
Best total US stock-market ETFs
VTI, ITOT, SCHB, and the rest of the total-market group. Same ~3,500 US stocks, market-cap weighted. The usual core holding in a 3-fund portfolio.
Updated Sep 16, 2026
Best S&P 500 ETFs
VOO, IVV, and SPYM track the same 500 stocks at the same weights. The spread is fee, fund size, and which brokerage already has the ticker.
Updated Sep 16, 2026
Best small-cap ETFs
VB, IJR, IWM, AVUV. Small-cap is already inside VTI; a dedicated fund is a size overweight, and IWM costs several times what VB does for the same neighborhood.
Updated Sep 16, 2026
Best large-cap growth ETFs
SCHG, VUG, QQQ, IWF. Growth large-caps, which in this decade means a lot of the same megacap tech names already sitting at the top of VTI.
Updated Sep 16, 2026
Best US large-cap value ETFs
VTV, SCHV, VONV, SPYV, VLUE. "Value" is not one list: S&P currently has Apple at the top of SPYV, while VTV still leads with Berkshire.
Updated Sep 16, 2026
Best mid-cap ETFs
VO, IJH, SCHM, SPMD. Mid-cap is already inside VTI. The S&P 400, Morningstar, and Russell lists of "mid-cap" are not the same stocks.
Updated Sep 16, 2026
International equity
Best total international stock ETFs
VXUS, IXUS, and VEU put developed and emerging markets in one ticker. The international sleeve of a 3-fund, or VEA + VWO if you want the emerging weight under your control.
Updated Sep 16, 2026
Best emerging-markets ETFs
VWO, IEMG, SCHE. China, Taiwan, India, Brazil, and the rest of the emerging bucket. FTSE and MSCI still disagree about Korea.
Updated Sep 16, 2026
Best international developed-markets ETFs
VEA, IEFA, SCHF, SPDW. Europe, Japan, and the rest of developed ex-US. The Korea and Canada gap between FTSE and MSCI is the one holdings difference that actually shows up.
Updated Sep 16, 2026
Bonds
Best aggregate bond ETFs
BND, AGG, and SCHZ. Treasuries, agencies, corporates, and mortgages in one fund. The usual bond sleeve in a 3-fund.
Updated Sep 16, 2026
Best TIPS ETFs
TIPS funds: principal steps up with CPI. Useful inflation hedge in an IRA; phantom income in a taxable account.
Updated Sep 16, 2026
Best US Treasury ETFs
Treasury-only funds by duration: bills and 1–3 year notes, intermediate, and 20+ year. No corporate credit, so they tend to rally when stocks fall.
Updated Sep 16, 2026
Best municipal bond ETFs
VTEB, MUB, and the rest of the national muni table. Federal tax-exempt interest; the after-tax comparison with Treasuries depends on your bracket.
Updated Sep 16, 2026
Best investment-grade corporate bond ETFs
VCSH, VCIT, VCLT, VTC, LQD. Investment-grade company debt. The extra yield over Treasuries is credit risk, which shows up in the same years stocks fall.
Updated Sep 16, 2026
Best short-term Treasury ETFs
SGOV, BIL, VGSH, USFR. T-bills, 1–3 year notes, and floating-rate notes. Cash-adjacent, state-tax exempt, not the same as a money market fund.
Updated Sep 16, 2026
Best high-yield bond ETFs
SPHY, USHY, HYG, JNK. Junk corporates. Yields run 5.5–7%, and the losses tend to arrive in the same months as equity losses.
Updated Sep 16, 2026
Best long-term Treasury ETFs
VGLT, TLT, EDV, ZROZ. 10-to-30-year Treasuries. No credit risk, a lot of rate risk. TLT dropped about 30% in 2022. The long-bond sleeve in Permanent-style portfolios.
Updated Sep 16, 2026
Income & specialty
Best dividend ETFs
SCHD, VIG, DGRO, VYM. Yield screens and dividend-growth screens, not a total-market fund with extra income bolted on.
Updated Sep 16, 2026
Best REIT ETFs
VNQ, SCHH, USRT, XLRE. Listed US REITs. Most of the distribution is ordinary income, so the sleeve usually sits in an IRA.
Updated Sep 16, 2026
Best gold ETFs
GLDM, SGOL, IAU, GLD. Same vaulted bullion, different fees. Taxed as a collectible at 28% in a taxable account.
Updated Sep 16, 2026
Best covered-call ETFs
JEPI, JEPQ, QYLD, XYLD, TLTW. Call-writing funds that turn potential upside into a large monthly payout, taxed mostly as ordinary income.
Updated Sep 16, 2026
Sectors
All-in-one
The funds in each guide come from the live catalog. The notes around them are editorial and get revised when the category changes.
Unfamiliar with a term? The glossary defines the recurring vocabulary in plain language.
Looking for spot bitcoin or ether ETPs? They're outside the scored catalog — the crypto-ETP page explains why, with a fee comparison of the major trusts.