VOX vs XLC: Which ETF Is Better in 2026?
A metric-by-metric comparison of Vanguard Communication Services Index Fund ETF Shares (VOX) and State Street Communication Services Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLC) — both Communication Services funds — using ETFValuer's daily-updated rankings.
Educational content — not financial advice. Data as of July 25, 2026. ~5 minute read.
The Verdict
VOX and XLC compete directly — both are Communication Services funds chasing the same job in a portfolio. That makes this a genuine either/or: the index each tracks, what it costs, and how it has handled drawdowns are what separate them, not the broad exposure they give you.
VOX and XLC score almost identically on ETFValuer's model (54.1 vs. 54.1) — the honest answer is that either is a reasonable choice, and the decision comes down to the secondary factors below rather than the headline grade.
Head-to-Head: Every Metric
| VOX | XLC | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Communication Services | Communication Services |
| Expense ratio | 0.09% | 0.08% |
| Fund size (AUM) | $5.9B | $22.3B |
| Dividend yield | 0.50% | 1.33% |
| 1-year return | +4.64% | -0.75% |
| 3-year return | +64.92% | +59.84% |
| Volatility | 16.79% | 14.36% |
| Max drawdown | -21.15% | -17.97% |
| Sharpe ratio | -0.02 | -0.40 |
| ETFValuer score | 54.1 | 54.1 |
| Grade | C | C |
| Overall rank | #345 | #344 |
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 — VOX charges 0.09% a year versus XLC's 0.08%. A difference this small (about $1.00 a year on a $10,000 position) isn't a reason to choose one fund over the other.
What VOX's Fees Cost You
VOX 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, VOX returned +64.92% versus +59.84% for XLC — a gap of about 5.1 percentage points. On risk, XLC has held up better historically, with a shallower max drawdown (-17.97% vs. -21.15%). VOX currently has the better risk-adjusted return (Sharpe ratio of -0.02 vs. -0.40), 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), VOX and XLC show a extremely high correlation of 0.970 — very close substitutes. Holding both would add very little diversification: when one falls, the other almost always falls with it. Treat these as alternatives to each other, not as complements in the same portfolio.
| Measure | Value | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Daily return correlation | 0.970 | Extremely high — very close substitutes |
| R-squared | 94.1% | 94.1% of VOX's daily moves are explained by XLC's |
| Tracking error (annualised) | 4.51% | Typical yearly spread between the two funds' returns |
| Annualised return over 3.0y | VOX +20.16% · XLC +18.70% | VOX ahead by 1.47 points a year |
Correlation alone understates how far these can drift. Across every rolling 12-month window in the period, VOX finished as much as +11.9 points ahead of XLC at the best extreme and -6.5 points at the worst — a 18.4-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.
Holdings Overlap
VOX and XLC hold 8 of the same companies among their top 10 positions. Those shared names make up 69.7% of VOX and 66.9% of XLC. That's heavy duplication — owning both largely doubles down on the same companies rather than spreading risk. Most investors should pick one.
| Shared Holding | VOX Weight | XLC Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Alphabet Inc | 23.96% | 19.19% |
| Meta Platforms Inc | 23.21% | 18.20% |
| Netflix Inc | 3.67% | 5.91% |
| AT&T Inc | 4.32% | 5.05% |
| Verizon Communications Inc | 4.64% | 4.68% |
| Walt Disney Co/The | 3.97% | 4.52% |
| Warner Bros Discovery Inc | 3.06% | 4.67% |
| T-Mobile US Inc | 2.83% | 4.65% |
Compares the top 10 reported holdings from each fund's most recent SEC N-PORT-P filing, so it understates total overlap — funds tracking similar indexes overlap far more deeply than the top 10 alone can show. Search any company across all tracked funds with the Stock Overlap tool.
Which One Should You Pick?
Lean VOX if…
- You care about return per unit of risk — its Sharpe ratio of -0.02 beats -0.40
- You weight recent results heavily — it returned 64.9% over 3 years against 59.8%
Lean XLC if…
- You want the lower running cost — 0.08% vs 0.09%, about $1 a year less on a $10,000 position
- Current income matters to you — it yields 1.33% against 0.50%
- It has been the calmer ride (14.4% volatility vs 16.8%) with a shallower worst-case fall (-18.0% vs -21.1%)
- You want the deeper, more liquid market ($22B in assets vs $6B)
Whichever you pick, holding both at full weight is usually the wrong answer — see the overlap and correlation sections above.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is VOX or XLC better?
They're rated almost identically by ETFValuer's model — check the cost and risk sections above for the deciding factor that matters most to you.
Which has the lower expense ratio, VOX or XLC?
XLC currently has the lower expense ratio (0.08% vs. 0.09%).
Can I hold both VOX and XLC?
You can, but there's little point. VOX and XLC have a daily return correlation of 0.97 over the past 3.0 years, meaning they move almost in lockstep. Holding both roughly doubles a single bet rather than spreading it — pick whichever wins on cost and liquidity and put the money in one place.
Go deeper on either fund
Full daily-updated metrics, holdings context, and category peers.