A three-way cage match over one basis point. That's what a VOO vs IVV vs SPLG expense ratio comparison really is, and I say that with affection.

The lineup: VOO from Vanguard at 0.03%, IVV from iShares at 0.03%, SPLG from SPDR at 0.02%. Same index. All enormous, all liquid. Performance differences between them are noise, a few basis points of tracking wobble in either direction each year. Your brokerage statement will never warn you about any of this, so the check has to be yours.

If there's a best S&P 500 ETF in this trio, it's whichever charges least the day you buy. Every best low cost S&P 500 ETF comparison reaches the same conclusion, because this is an ETF vs ETF comparison where the portfolios are identical and only the price tag moves. Pick the cheapest and stop thinking about it. One caveat: if you trade S&P 500 options, none of these is your vehicle. That's SPY's job, with its deeper options market.

Honestly? This comparison is a distraction from decisions that matter a hundred times more: your stock-to-bond mix, whether you invest every month. Perfecting a one-basis-point fee gap while sitting on 20% cash is rearranging deck chairs. I don't love saying that in an article about fee comparisons, but it's true.

If you want a tiebreaker that actually matters, look at securities lending practices and tracking error history. Those move real returns more than a basis point of fee. The cheapest fund that tracks sloppily is no bargain.

Still want the numbers on screen? ETFCompare runs the three-way comparison with overlap and returns attached. Start at etfcompare.fyi.