VOO or QQQ: how the two best-known funds differ
VOO is the five hundred largest US companies from every industry. QQQ is the hundred largest companies on Nasdaq, mostly technology. The second grew faster and fell deeper.
- VOO is 500 companies across industries, QQQ is 100 companies, mostly technology.
- Over 10 years QQQ grew more, but in 2022 it fell 33% against VOO's 20%.
- Holding both amplifies technology rather than adding variety.
The main difference
| VOO | QQQ | |
|---|---|---|
| What it tracks | The S&P 500 index | The Nasdaq-100 index |
| Companies inside | About 500 | About 100 |
| Industries | All: technology, banks, health, energy | Mostly technology; no banks |
| Ten largest companies | 36% of the fund | 45% of the fund |
| Fee per year | About 0.03% | About 0.2% |
Weights are as of October 2026. Check the fee on the manager's site: it changes.
What is inside
The largest companies are the same in both funds: NVIDIA, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet. The difference is in the rest. In VOO they are followed by hundreds of companies from banking, medicine, oil and retail. In QQQ it is almost only technology and what sits next to it.
So buying both funds does not mean getting variety: to a large extent they are the same securities.
Growth and declines
| VOO | QQQ | |
|---|---|---|
| Price growth over 10 years | +266% | +538% |
| Per year on average | about 14% | about 20% |
| The year 2022 | −20% | −33% |
| The 2008 crisis | the S&P 500 lost about half | −50% |
The figures are by price, without dividends, as of October 2026. The last ten years were exceptionally good for technology; this describes the past and is not a forecast.
Who each suits
- VOO — a portfolio's core: a bit of every industry, the lowest fee, swings moderate for stocks.
- QQQ — a bet on technology. It fits as an addition for someone who understands the risk and can watch minus 30–50% without selling.
- Both at once — that amplifies technology rather than protects. If you hold both, count QQQ as part of the “risky” share.
Availability of both funds depends on the country: residents of Europe usually cannot buy US funds, and there are European equivalents — see the UCITS guide. What the S&P 500 is — in a separate guide.
Open each fund: full holdings with weights and a side-by-side comparison of two funds.
The QQQ fund in the Analyst →See how many of the same companies sit in your funds and what your portfolio's risk is.
My portfolio →This article is educational and is not investment advice. Past returns do not guarantee future ones.