Guide · Dividend
Best dividend ETFs
Some of these funds screen on current yield. Others screen on a history of raising the dividend. They get pitched as safer equity. They are equity with a sector and size tilt, and they distribute more, which costs more in a taxable account. SCHD's quality screen is why it dominates the Bogleheads threads; VYM is the high-yield end of the same table.
Published May 17, 2026 · Updated Sep 16, 2026 · Fund data as of Oct 24, 2026
Why the ranking looks like this
The composite marks this category down on tax efficiency (higher distributions) and concentration (sector tilts). That is the category, not a data error. Inside the table, cost and AUM do the ranking.
See the methodology for the full formula behind each sub-score.
The funds
This order is editorial. The composite on each card is live. The full score-ranked table is on the category page.
-
85
composite / 100
Schwab's dividend-growth-with-quality-screen fund. Tracks the Dow Jones US Dividend 100, which selects on a multi-step screen including dividend coverage and return on equity. The most-discussed dividend fund on r/Bogleheads; the quality screen is what separates it from the pure high-yield funds in the table.
- Expense
- 0.060%
- AUM
- $107.89B
- Issuer
- Schwab
- Detail
- SCHD page →
-
89
composite / 100
Vanguard's dividend-growers fund. Tracks the S&P U.S. Dividend Growers Index — companies with 10+ consecutive years of dividend increases. A purer "quality of dividend history" screen than SCHD; smaller current yield, broader sector spread.
- Expense
- 0.040%
- AUM
- $127.60B†
- Issuer
- Vanguard
- Detail
- VIG page →
-
88
composite / 100
iShares' dividend growth fund. Tracks the Morningstar US Dividend Growth Index. Sits between VIG and SCHD in screening philosophy: 5+ years of dividend growth plus a quality screen.
- Expense
- 0.080%
- AUM
- $41.89B
- Issuer
- iShares
- Detail
- DGRO page →
-
90
composite / 100
Vanguard high-dividend-yield fund. The highest current yield of the four; tracks the FTSE High Dividend Yield Index. Most exposed to financials and energy — sectors that historically pay high dividends and carry their own risks.
- Expense
- 0.040%
- AUM
- $95.75B†
- Issuer
- Vanguard
- Detail
- VYM page →
† Whole fund: this ETF is one share class of a fund that also sells mutual-fund shares, and the figure covers all of them. Our sources don't report the ETF class on its own.
Also in the category
Other funds in the same category, ranked by composite score.
Dividend funds vs total-market funds
A dividend fund and a total-market fund both deliver total return as "price appreciation plus dividend." The split between the two is largely a function of the screening rule, not the underlying business return. Investors sometimes prefer dividend funds for the psychological reason that distributions feel like income; the math is that you can replicate any desired cash-flow stream from a total-market fund via periodic sales without the tax-efficiency haircut.
Tax considerations
Higher distribution yield = more taxable events. Most dividends from these funds are qualified (long-term-cap-gains rate), but the absolute amount is larger than from a total-market fund, which compounds the tax drag in a taxable account. Holding a dividend fund in a Roth IRA neutralizes the issue entirely; in a taxable account the tax-efficiency sub-score reflects the real cost.
Funds are pulled from the live composite for this category. Notes are editorial and refresh with the catalog.
PlainIndex publishes data and editorial commentary — nothing here is personalized investment advice. Read the methodology for how the scores referenced here are computed.