IEFA vs SPY: Which ETF Is Better in 2026?
A metric-by-metric comparison of iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF (IEFA) and State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) — both International Developed / US Large Cap Blend funds — using ETFValuer's daily-updated rankings.
Educational content — not financial advice. Data as of July 25, 2026. ~5 minute read.
The Verdict
IEFA (International Developed) and SPY (US Large Cap Blend) sit in different corners of the market, so this is less a head-to-head than a question of what role each would play. They can be complements rather than alternatives — the metrics below show how differently the two have actually behaved.
On ETFValuer's overall model — which blends return, risk-adjusted performance, cost, drawdown, size and volatility — SPY scores higher: 74.7 (Grade B) versus 71.3 for IEFA. That doesn't make IEFA a bad fund; it means SPY currently edges it out on this specific mix of factors. Read the metric-by-metric breakdown below before deciding which matters more for your own portfolio.
Head-to-Head: Every Metric
| IEFA | SPY | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | International Developed | US Large Cap Blend |
| Expense ratio | 0.07% | 0.09% |
| Fund size (AUM) | $186.5B | $781.2B |
| Dividend yield | 3.40% | 0.77% |
| 1-year return | +16.72% | +17.80% |
| 3-year return | +53.11% | +67.54% |
| Volatility | 15.55% | 12.68% |
| Max drawdown | -13.76% | -18.76% |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.75 | 1.01 |
| ETFValuer score | 71.3 | 74.7 |
| Grade | B | B |
| Overall rank | #94 | #53 |
Bold marks the better value in each row. "Better" is directional only (e.g. lower cost, higher return) — it isn't a recommendation by itself. See the full methodology.
Cost
On cost, the two are essentially tied — IEFA charges 0.07% a year versus SPY's 0.09%. A difference this small (about $2.45 a year on a $10,000 position) isn't a reason to choose one fund over the other.
What SPY's Fees Cost You
SPY charges an expense ratio of 0.09% a year, deducted automatically from the fund's value. Small percentages compound into real money — adjust the figures below to see the impact on your own numbers.
Assumes a constant gross return and no additional contributions — a simplification, but it isolates exactly what the expense ratio costs. Try the full fee calculator to model contributions and compare any two funds.
Performance & Risk
Over the trailing 3 years, SPY returned +67.54% versus +53.11% for IEFA — a gap of about 14.4 percentage points. On risk, IEFA has held up better historically, with a shallower max drawdown (-13.76% vs. -18.76%). SPY currently has the better risk-adjusted return (Sharpe ratio of 1.01 vs. 0.75), meaning it delivered more return per unit of volatility taken on.
How Closely Do They Track Each Other?
Over the last 3.0 years of daily returns (752 shared trading days), IEFA and SPY show a strong correlation of 0.763 — clearly related, with room to diverge. There is some genuine differentiation here, but not enough to call these complementary holdings. Pairing them mostly concentrates risk rather than spreading it.
| Measure | Value | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Daily return correlation | 0.763 | Strong — clearly related, with room to diverge |
| R-squared | 58.2% | 58.2% of IEFA's daily moves are explained by SPY's |
| Tracking error (annualised) | 10.54% | Typical yearly spread between the two funds' returns |
| Annualised return over 3.0y | IEFA +15.60% · SPY +19.12% | SPY ahead by 3.52 points a year |
Correlation alone understates how far these can drift. Across every rolling 12-month window in the period, IEFA finished as much as +20.9 points ahead of SPY at the best extreme and -24.1 points at the worst — a 45.0-point spread between the best and worst year of relative performance. Two funds can correlate tightly day to day and still deliver very different outcomes over any single year you happen to hold them.
Calculated from daily total returns over the trailing 3-year window, recomputed every day this site refreshes. Correlation of 1.00 means the two funds moved in lockstep; 0.00 means their daily moves were unrelated.
Which One Should You Pick?
Lean IEFA if…
- You want the lower running cost — 0.07% vs 0.09%, about $2 a year less on a $10,000 position
- Current income matters to you — it yields 3.40% against 0.77%
Lean SPY if…
- It has been the calmer ride (12.7% volatility vs 15.6%)
- You care about return per unit of risk — its Sharpe ratio of 1.01 beats 0.75
- You weight recent results heavily — it returned 67.5% over 3 years against 53.1%
- You want the deeper, more liquid market ($781B in assets vs $187B) and the tighter spread (0.047% vs 5.242%)
These two are not really substitutes, so "both, in some proportion" is often the right answer rather than picking one. Model the blend with the Portfolio Blender.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is IEFA or SPY better?
On ETFValuer's overall model — which blends return, risk-adjusted performance, cost, drawdown, size and volatility — SPY scores higher: 74.7 (Grade B) versus 71.3 for IEFA. That doesn't make IEFA a bad fund; it means SPY currently edges it out on this specific mix of factors. Read the metric-by-metric breakdown below before deciding which matters more for your own portfolio.
Which has the lower expense ratio, IEFA or SPY?
IEFA currently has the lower expense ratio (0.07% vs. 0.09%).
Can I hold both IEFA and SPY?
Yes, and it may be worth doing. IEFA and SPY correlate at only 0.76 over the past 3.0 years, so they behave differently enough that holding both is a genuine diversification decision rather than a redundant one. Size each to the role you want it to play.
Go deeper on either fund
Full daily-updated metrics, holdings context, and category peers.