Guides
Category-by-category walkthroughs of the funds passive investors actually pick from. The leaderboard inside each guide is the live PlainIndex composite; the editorial commentary is hand-written and reflects how the funds differ in practice — not in fee terms alone.
Best total US stock-market ETFs
Total-market funds covering the entire investable US equity universe — every cap, every sector, weighted by market value. The plain-vanilla core of a 3-fund portfolio.
Best S&P 500 ETFs
The three near-identical S&P 500 index funds passive investors actually use. Differences come down to fee, fund size, and which brokerage you sit at.
Best total international stock ETFs
Single-fund total ex-US exposure — developed and emerging markets in one ticker. The international leg of a 3-fund portfolio.
Best aggregate bond ETFs
Single-fund US investment-grade bond exposure — Treasuries, agencies, corporates, mortgages, all of investment grade weighted by market value.
Best dividend ETFs
Funds screening for dividend yield or dividend growth. Not the same as a total-market fund, and not a substitute for one — they hold a different set of names with different risk and tax profiles.
Best TIPS ETFs
Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities funds — bonds whose principal adjusts with CPI so the real (after-inflation) return is locked in. Standard inflation-hedge sleeve in a tax-advantaged account.
Best REIT ETFs
US real-estate investment trusts in fund form — equity stakes in commercial property operators, apartment landlords, and storage / cell-tower / data-center operators. A real-estate sleeve at modest fund cost.
Best US Treasury ETFs
Treasury-only bond funds across short, intermediate, and long duration buckets. The pure-credit-free alternative to broad aggregate funds for investors who want bonds specifically to diversify equity risk.
Best municipal bond ETFs
Tax-exempt state and local government bonds in fund form. The only US asset class where the tax wrapper materially changes whether the fund belongs in a taxable account at all.
Best small-cap ETFs
Funds holding US small-cap stocks ($300M–$2B market cap range, depending on index). Used as a deliberate "size factor" tilt over a total-market core.
Best gold ETFs
Physical-gold-backed exchange-traded funds. Direct exposure to spot gold without the complications of storage or futures rolls. Tax-treated as a collectible.
Best large-cap growth ETFs
Funds holding US large-cap stocks selected for growth characteristics — high revenue and earnings growth, often lower current dividend yield. Includes the most-traded ETF on US exchanges (QQQ).
Best emerging-markets ETFs
Funds covering equity markets outside the developed-country bucket — China, Taiwan, India, Brazil, South Korea (depending on index), and dozens of smaller markets. Used to dial up the emerging weight beyond what a total-international fund provides.
These guides are editorial. The funds shown are pulled from the live scored catalog; the prose around them is hand-written commentary. Both pieces are updated as the catalog grows.
Unfamiliar with a term? The glossary defines the recurring vocabulary in plain language.