Fees you won't pay at Vanguard
Account service fee
A fee that's deducted from your account to cover the cost of maintaining the account.
At Vanguard, these annual fees range from $15 to $25 depending on the type of account you own.
Electronic delivery (e-delivery)
Instead of waiting for your account documents to arrive in the mail, you can elect to receive an email from us whenever those documents become available for instant access on our secure website.
Minimums & account balances
No minimum initial investment requirement
You don't need thousands of dollars to start investing in an ETF. You can buy a Vanguard ETF for as little as $1.
No minimum account balance
You only need enough money in your settlement fund to cover the cost of the ETFs you want to buy.
Settlement fund
The holding place where you keep the money you need to pay for the ETF shares you want to buy and where we'll place the proceeds when you sell ETF shares.
Other costs associated with ETFs
Bid-ask spreads
The bid-ask spread is the difference between the bid price (the highest price a buyer is willing to pay for a specific ETF) and the ask price (the lowest price a seller is willing accept) at a specific time.
Spreads vary based on the ETF's supply and demand. For Vanguard ETFs®, spreads generally range from $0.01 to $0.25, although spreads may be wider in volatile markets.
Expense ratios
Every ETF has an expense ratio, but Vanguard's average is 80% less than the industry average.*
Bid, ask & the bid-ask spread
The "bid" price is the highest price a buyer is willing to pay for a specific ETF. This is generally the price a seller receives when placing a market order—although the price could be higher or lower based on the size of the order or any price improvement provided (see "What is 'price improvement'?" below).
The "ask" price is the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for a specific ETF. This is generally the price a buyer pays when placing a market order—although the price could be higher or lower based on the size of the order or any price improvement provided.
The "bid-ask spread" is the difference between the current bid and ask prices for a specific ETF at a specific time.
How wide is the spread?
Spreads vary based on the ETF's supply and demand, otherwise known as its "liquidity." For Vanguard ETFs®, spreads generally range from $0.01 to $0.25, although they may be wider in volatile markets.
What is "price improvement"?
Price improvement occurs when your trade is executed at a price that's better than the quoted market price at the time you enter your order.
Vanguard has processes in place to get you the best price possible every time you buy and sell any Vanguard ETF®.
Expense ratio
A reflection of how much a mutual fund or an ETF pays for portfolio management, administration, marketing, and distribution, among other expenses. You'll almost always see it expressed as a percentage of the fund's average net assets.
Amount you can save at Vanguard:
Compare Vanguard with the industry average and see how expense ratios affect your bottom line
This hypothetical illustration assumes a 6% return for all examples. Rate is not guaranteed. If the rate of return were altered, results would vary from those shown. The final balance shown is after costs. This example doesn't represent any particular investment and doesn't account for inflation. There may be other material differences between investment products that must be considered prior to investing.
All averages are asset-weighted. Industry averages exclude Vanguard. Sources: Vanguard and Morningstar, Inc., as of December 31, 2022.
- $50,000
- $250,000
- $500,000
- $50,000
- $250,000
- $500,000
Expense ratios affect your bottom line
This chart shows the potential impact Vanguard's low-cost ETFs can have on your savings over time compared with the industry average. Your savings have the potential to grow even more when you're invested for longer periods of time.
All examples assume an initial investment of $50,000 earning 6% each year.
At Vanguard you could save $1,669 over 10 years based on Vanguard's average ETF expense ratio of 0.05%, which results in a cost of $421 in this scenario, compared with the industry average expense ratio of 0.25%, which results in a cost of $2,090.
Over 20 years, you could save $5,891 based on costs of $1,506 at Vanguard compared with $7,397 at the industry average. Stay invested for 30 years and you could save $15,603 based on costs of $4,036 at Vanguard compared with $19,639 at the industry average.
*Vanguard average ETF expense ratio: 0.05%. Industry average ETF expense ratio: 0.25%. All averages are asset-weighted. Industry averages exclude Vanguard. Sources: Vanguard and Morningstar, Inc., as of December 31, 2022.
You must buy and sell Vanguard ETF Shares through Vanguard Brokerage Services (we offer them commission-free) or through another broker (which may charge commissions). See the Vanguard Brokerage Services commission and fee schedules for limits. Vanguard ETF Shares are not redeemable directly with the issuing fund other than in very large aggregations worth millions of dollars. ETFs are subject to market volatility. When buying or selling an ETF, you will pay or receive the current market price, which may be more or less than net asset value.
All investing is subject to risk, including the possible loss of the money you invest.