VSCSX or VCSH — which is better?

VCSH is the cheaper fund (0.03% vs 0.06% expense ratio). Over the last five years VCSH returned more (+13.23% vs +13.01%, total return). Their portfolios overlap by about 100% of weight. One Vanguard portfolio in two wrappers — VSCSX, the Admiral mutual fund shares priced once a day after the close, and VCSH, the ETF traded all day.

How much do VSCSX and VCSH overlap?

VSCSX and VCSH overlap by about 100% of portfolio weight, sharing 843 holdings (per each fund's latest SEC N-PORT filing, weights rolled forward to today).

Is ChartRow affiliated with any of these funds?

No. ChartRow is independent and not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by Vanguard. Comparisons are derived independently from public SEC filings and market data; not investment advice.

Share this page

VSCSX vs VCSH (2026)

VSCSX

▼

VCSH

▼

+ Add ticker

Vanguard Short-Term Corporate Bond Index Fund Admiral Shares and Vanguard Short-Term Corporate Bond ETF side by side. VSCSX and VCSH are share classes of one fund, Vanguard Short-Term Corporate Bond Index Fund: one portfolio, filed with the SEC as one, so the holdings, overlap and flows below are the fund's, the same for both. What differs is the fee, how each is bought (a mutual fund once a day at its closing price, an ETF on an exchange through the day) and the small gap in returns that follows. VCSH is the cheaper fund (0.03% vs 0.06% expense ratio). Over the last five years VCSH returned more (+13.23% vs +13.01%, total return). Their portfolios overlap by about 100% of weight. Not investment advice.

Fund facts#

Data provided bySource: Twelve Data

Returns as of market close, Oct 30, 2026. The charts run through the Oct 30 close.

	VSCSX	VCSH
Focus	Bond Funds	Corporate Bonds
Expense ratio	0.06%	0.03%
AUM	$51.7B	$44.1B
Distribution yield	—	4.57%
Holdings	843	843
1M total	+1.1%	+1.2%
YTD total	+1.0%	+1.0%
1Y total	+1.9%	+1.9%
3Y total	+17.7%	+18.0%
5Y total	+13.0%	+13.2%
10Y total	—	+30.0%
3Y total CAGR	+5.6%/yr	+5.7%/yr
5Y total CAGR	+2.5%/yr	+2.5%/yr
10Y total CAGR	—	+2.7%/yr
Issuer	Vanguard	Vanguard
Inception	—	2009-11-19

All returns are total returns (dividends reinvested), through the latest price during the session. CAGR = compound annual growth rate. '—' means the fund's history doesn't span the horizon. A mutual fund's AUM is its whole fund's, every share class together (its SEC filing); an ETF's is its own. Returns run to Oct 30, 2026, the last month-end, as fund companies report a mutual fund's: a fund that pays monthly books each month's income on its last business day, so a return to a later day would leave that month's income out.

Annualized returns (CAGR)#

Data provided bySource: Twelve Data

VSCSXVCSH

+1.6%+1.6%+4.0%+4.0%+5.6%+5.6%+2.5%+2.5%+2.7%+2.5%1Ysince 10/20/252Ysince 10/21/243Ysince 10/23/235Ysince 10/25/2110Ysince 10/24/1615Ysince 10/24/11

0%+1%+2%+3%+4%+5%+6%

Compound annual growth rate per holding period, total return, from weekly adjusted closes. Horizons a fund's history can't span show no bar; horizons no fund spans are omitted.

Performance, rebased#

Data provided bySource: Twelve Data

Total return, rebased to 0% · VSCSX vs VCSH

−0.5%0%+0.5%+1.0%+1.5%2026FebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNov

VSCSX+0.2%VCSH+0.6%

Nov 12, 2026

VSCSX+0.2%

VCSH+0.6%

Returns by year#

Data provided bySource: Twelve Data

Year	VSCSX	VCSH
2017	—	+2.2%
2018	—	+0.9%
2019	—	+7.0%
2020	+5.1%	+5.1%
2021	-0.4%	-0.6%
2022	-5.7%	-5.6%
2023	+6.1%	+6.2%
2024	+5.0%	+4.9%
2025	+6.7%	+6.8%
2026 YTD	+1.0%	+1.0%

Total returns (dividends reinvested), calendar years.

Returns by year, charted#

VSCSXVCSH

+2.2%+0.9%+7.0%+5.1%+5.1%-0.4%-0.6%-5.7%-5.6%+6.1%+6.2%+5.0%+4.9%+6.7%+6.8%+1.0%+1.0%2017201820192020202120222023202420252026 YTD

−6%−4%−2%0%+2%+4%+6%+8%

Holdings overlap#

VSCSX and VCSH overlap by about 100% of portfolio weight — 843 shared holdings out of 843 in VSCSX and 843 in VCSH, from each fund's latest SEC filing (Aug 31, 2026 / Aug 31, 2026).

Only in VSCSX

None — every VSCSX holding is also in the other fund.

Only in VCSH

None — every VCSH holding is also in the other fund.

Top 10 holdings, side by side#

VSCSXVCSH

2.8%2.8%2.7%2.7%2.4%2.4%2.0%2.0%1.5%1.5%1.3%1.3%1.2%1.2%1.2%1.2%1.0%1.0%0.9%0.9%JPMorgan Chase & CoMorgan StanleyBank of America CorpGoldman Sachs Group…HSBC Holdings PLCWells Fargo & CoAmazon.com IncCitigroup IncBarclays PLCGeneral Motors Fina…

0%0.5%1.0%1.5%2.0%2.5%3.0%

Merged top 10 across the funds — each column is the holding's % of that fund.

Growth from any starting date#

Data provided bySource: Twelve Data

Hover to move the starting point — every fund rebases to 1× at that date, so the comparison holds from any entry point back to 2019 (the earliest date all 2 funds existed). Log scale, weekly total returns.

0.5×1×2×rebased: Jul 2019

VSCSX1.2×VCSH1.2×

Rebase at

Hover anywhere to rebase every line to 1× at that date and compare growth from that point — or pick a year above, which is the same thing with an address. Log scale.

Fund flows#

Period	VSCSX	VCSH
Aug 2026	−$213.8M	−$213.8M
Jul 2026	+$467.4M	+$467.4M
Jun 2026	+$1.7B	+$1.7B
May 2026	—	+$1.1B
Apr 2026	—	+$679.1M
Mar 2026	—	+$784.9M

Net creations minus redemptions, derived from consecutive SEC N-PORT filings. The form only exists since mid-2019.

Fund flows, charted#

VSCSXVCSH

+$1.4B+$10.4B+$7.7B+$1.9B−$6.7B−$981.6M+$5B+$1.9B+$5.5B20192020202120222023202420252026 YTD

−$10B−$5B$0$5B$10B$15B

Methodology#

Returns are total returns (dividends reinvested) from daily adjusted closes. Holdings, overlap, sector weights and flows derive from each fund's public SEC filings (Form N-PORT), anchored on the latest filing and rolled forward daily by price moves. Overlap is the sum of the smaller weight across shared holdings. See each fund's full holdings: VSCSX holdings · VCSH holdings. Past performance does not predict future returns; not investment advice.

FAQ#

VSCSX or VCSH — which is better?: VCSH is the cheaper fund (0.03% vs 0.06% expense ratio). Over the last five years VCSH returned more (+13.23% vs +13.01%, total return). Their portfolios overlap by about 100% of weight. One Vanguard portfolio in two wrappers — VSCSX, the Admiral mutual fund shares priced once a day after the close, and VCSH, the ETF traded all day.
How much do VSCSX and VCSH overlap?: VSCSX and VCSH overlap by about 100% of portfolio weight, sharing 843 holdings (per each fund's latest SEC N-PORT filing, weights rolled forward to today).
Is ChartRow affiliated with any of these funds?: No. ChartRow is independent and not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by Vanguard. Comparisons are derived independently from public SEC filings and market data; not investment advice.