If you’re looking to invest in the best Australian share ETF in 2026, you’re likely comparing VAS, A200, IOZ or STW. While these ETFs all track the Australian share market, there are important differences in fees, liquidity, size, index methodology and long-term performance.
Australian share ETFs remain one of the most popular ways to invest, thanks to their low costs, broad diversification and tax efficiency.
We compare five popular Australian share ETFs across size, fees, reported spreads, trading activity, returns and track record to help investors understand the key differences.
Best Australian share ETFs: at a glance
| Investors wanting | ETF ticker code |
| Stockspot’s verdict: best overall | VAS |
| Lowest management fee | A200 |
| Largest ETF by funds under management (FUM) | VAS |
| Highest monthly transacted value | VAS |
| Equal-weighted strategy | MVW |
All five ETFs provide exposure to Australian shares, but they differ in fees, index construction, trading activity and performance. Stockspot’s preferred option is VAS, based on its broader index coverage, scale, liquidity and long-term track record.
We review the top 5 Australian share ETFs and rank them based on:
ETFs are designed to track a market index rather than relying on active stock picking. As a result, they typically offer lower management fees than traditional active funds. They also provide transparency and can be more tax-efficient, with investors benefiting directly from capital gains, dividends, and franking credits generated by the underlying shares.
See our ETF Performance Comparison Tables to see all categories.
Size
| ASX code | ETF name | FUM at 30 September 2026 ($bn) | Quarter-on-quarter change ($m) |
| STW | SPDR S&P/ASX 200 ETF | $6.6 | +$72.3 (+1.1%) |
| VAS | Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF | $26.7 | +$1,298.1 (+5.1%) |
| IOZ | iShares Core S&P/ASX 200 ETF | $9.7 | +$617.3 (+6.8%) |
| MVW | VanEck Australian Equal Weight ETF | $3.3 | +$33.5 (+1.0%) |
| A200 | Betashares Australia 200 ETF | $11.1 | +982.0 (+9.7%) |
VAS remained the largest ETF in the group, with $26.7 billion in FUM at 30 September 2026. A200 was second at $11.1 billion, followed by IOZ at $9.7 billion, STW at $6.6 billion and MVW at $3.3 billion. All five funds recorded growth in FUM between the end of June and September 2026.
A200 recorded the largest percentage increase in FUM, rising by $982.0 million (9.7%). IOZ increased by $617.3 million (6.8%), while VAS had the largest dollar increase at $1.30 billion (5.1%). STW and MVW grew more slowly, by 1.1% and 1.0%, respectively.
FUM growth is not the same as net inflows: market performance also affects a fund’s reported assets. However the continued growth across the category highlights the increasing popularity of low-cost index investing among Australian investors.
Larger ETFs also benefit from stronger commercial sustainability, making them less likely to close or increase fees over time. Investors should compare fund size alongside fees, spreads, liquidity, index methodology and performance history.
As ETFs gather more assets, it becomes easier for them to cut their expense ratios (fees) to continue attracting more funds.
On the other hand, ETFs which haven’t achieved critical mass can be forced to shut down and return investor funds or increase their fees to cover their costs.
Costs
| ASX code | ETF name | MER (% p.a.) |
| STW | SPDR S&P/ASX 200 ETF | 0.05 |
| VAS | Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF | 0.07 |
| IOZ | iShares Core S&P/ASX 200 ETF | 0.05 |
| MVW | VanEck Australian Equal Weight ETF | 0.35 |
| A200 | Betashares Australia 200 ETF | 0.04 |
ETF expense ratios are becoming more competitive in Australia with the fee war expected to continue.
A200 remained the lowest-cost ETF in this comparison, with a management fee of 0.04% p.a. STW and IOZ charge 0.05% p.a., VAS charges 0.07% p.a. and MVW charges 0.35% p.a.
The 0.31 percentage-point gap between A200 and MVW reflects different index approaches as well as different fees. Fees are important, but they should be considered alongside index coverage, diversification, trading costs and performance, to provide a fuller picture.
VAS is one of the largest Australian share ETFs by funds under management, generating an estimated $18.7 million in annual management fee revenue based on its September 2026 FUM and 0.07% management fee. Its substantial scale and low fee structure demonstrate how a large index ETF can generate significant revenue while keeping costs low for investors.
On the other hand, the more recently launched A200, Australia’s second-largest Australian share ETF by FUM in this comparison, generates an estimated $4.0 million in annual management fee revenue based on its $10.1 billion in funds under management and 0.04% management fee. MVW, despite having a smaller asset base, generates higher estimated annual management fee revenue due to its higher management fee.
A200, STW and IOZ have management fees of 0.04% to 0.05% p.a., a narrow difference of 0.01 percentage points. Fees are one of the few investment costs investors can compare directly, although that said costs have converged to the point where investors need to carefully consider other factors including the funds’ commercial viability, liquidity and track record.
Read more here about how Stockspot takes the guesswork out of choosing ETFs and builds you a diversified portfolio online.
Slippage
| ASX code | ETF name | % Spread |
| STW | SPDR S&P/ASX 200 ETF | 0.03 |
| VAS | Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF | 0.02 |
| IOZ | iShares Core S&P/ASX 200 ETF | 0.04 |
| MVW | VanEck Australian Equal Weight ETF | 0.05 |
| A200 | Betashares Australia 200 ETF | 0.02 |
The bid-ask spread is the difference between the best available buying price and selling price for an ETF, expressed as a percentage of the mid price. Slippage refers to how much you lose by crossing the spread. A wider spread can increase the cost of buying or selling at a given moment.
An ETFs spread has more of an impact if you’re trading or making regular contributions because you’ll need to cross the spread more often to get invested.
VAS and A200 had the narrowest reported spreads at 0.02%, followed by STW at 0.03%, IOZ at 0.04% and MVW at 0.05%.
Liquidity
| ASX code | ETF name | Daily Transacted Value ($m) |
| STW | SPDR S&P/ASX 200 ETF | $9.0m |
| VAS | Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF | $47.1m |
| IOZ | iShares Core S&P/ASX 200 ETF | $29.5m |
| MVW | VanEck Australian Equal Weight ETF | $6.2m |
| A200 | Betashares Australia 200 ETF | $31.8m |
Liquidity describes how readily an ETF can typically be bought or sold without materially affecting its price. Trading activity and bid-ask spreads can help assess liquidity.
Trading volume reflects observed market activity and investor interest, which makes it a reasonable estimate of liquidity.
It’s worth mentioning that it may not reflect liquidity in the underlying stocks which is typically much deeper for broad Australian share ETFs.
However in times of crisis investors may not be able to rely exclusively on market makers for liquidity so daily volume is a relevant figure.
VAS had the highest estimated daily transacted value at $47.1 million. A200 followed at $31.8 million, then IOZ at $29.5 million, STW at $9.0 million and MVW at $6.2 million. These estimates are useful for comparing recent trading activity and indicative liquidity.
Returns
| ASX code | ETF name | 1-year total return (30 Sep 2026) | 3-year total return p.a. (30 Sep 2026) | 5-year total return p.a. (30 Sep 2026) |
| STW | SPDR S&P/ASX 200 ETF | 3.8% | 12.5% | 9.1% |
| VAS | Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF | 3.2% | 12.4% | 8.7% |
| IOZ | iShares Core S&P/ASX 200 ETF | 3.7% | 12.5% | 9.2% |
| MVW | VanEck Australian Equal Weight ETF | 1.3% | 9.6% | 7.4% |
| A200 | Betashares Australia 200 ETF | 4.0% | 12.7% | 9.4% |
STW, VAS, IOZ and A200 use market-cap-weighted approaches, while MVW uses an equal-weight approach. This means MVW gives relatively less weight to the largest companies and more weight to smaller constituents than a market-cap-weighted index.
A200 had the highest five-year return among the five ETFs at 9.4% p.a., followed by IOZ at 9.2%, STW at 9.1%, VAS at 8.7% and MVW at 7.4%. The four market-cap-weighted funds returned between 8.7% and 9.4% p.a., while MVW lagged by around 1.9 percentage points per year.
A200 also led over three years, returning 12.7% p.a., followed closely by STW and IOZ at 12.5% p.a. each and VAS at 12.4% p.a. MVW was lowest over this period at 9.6% p.a. The gap between the market-cap-weighted ETFs was small, while MVW’s lower returns point to a different outcome from its equal-weight approach over these periods.
The one-year rolling return fell for all five ETFs between June and September 2026. A200 remained the strongest over the year at 4.0%, while VAS was lowest at 3.2%. VAS had the largest decrease between quarters, down about 4.0 percentage points; MVW had the smallest decrease, although its one-year return remained the lowest at 1.3%.
Track record
A longer live track record can help investors assess how an ETF and its benchmark have behaved across different market conditions.
The longer the track record of an ETF and the index it mirrors, the better understanding you have of how an index reacts to different market conditions as well as how closely the ETF is tracking its index.
Most of the broad Australian share indices like the S&P/ASX 200 and S&P/ASX 300 have existed for some time, so you can see how they performed through boom times like 2003-2007 as well as periods of market stress like 2008.
Also important is the ‘tracking error’ which measures how well an ETF has done at mirroring its index. Tracking error is rarely zero because there are various factors that prevent an ETF from perfectly mirroring its index including fees.
| ASX code | ETF name | Index history |
| STW | SPDR S&P/ASX 200 ETF | 26 years Inception: 3 April 3, 2000 |
| VAS | Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF | 26 years Inception: 3 April 2000 |
| IOZ | iShares Core S&P/ASX 200 ETF | 26 years Inception: 3 April 2000 |
| MVW | VanEck Australian Equal Weight ETF | 22 years Inception: 29 November 2013 |
| A200 | Betashares Australia 200 ETF | 15 years Inception: 17 September 2010 |
Stockspot’s verdict
Since 2014, we’ve invested on behalf of our clients into the Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF (VAS).
What we originally liked about this fund was its low costs, as well as Vanguard’s consistent track record of lowering its fees – not just in response to competitors, but simply because it can.
We continue to favour VAS for a few reasons:
- VAS’ low expense ratio (0.07% p.a.) and global track record of reducing costs. By comparison, STW waited 7 years before it lowered its costs from 0.29% to 0.19% in December 2015 and then another 5 years to reduce to 0.13%. It is not surprising that VAS overtook STW in July 2019 as the largest Australian share ETF.
- VAS provides broader S&P/ASX 300 exposure than STW and IOZ, which track the S&P/ASX 200.
- VAS had the largest FUM at $26.68 billion at 30 September 2026 and the highest estimated daily transacted value at $47.1 million.
- VAS’ low tracking error and slippage
- VAS’ consistent return history and the 26 year track record of the S&P/ASX 300 index
MVW’s equal-weight approach can perform differently from market-cap-weighted ETFs. While MVW can go through some periods of good relative performance, we aren’t compelled by the equal-weight strategy or other non-market cap weighted strategies for reasons we explained in our article ‘Should you buy into smart beta ETFs?‘.
For clients seeking greater exposure to smaller Australian companies, VSO is one possible small-company ETF exposure. Vanguard MSCI Australian Small Companies Index ETF (VSO) is available as a Stockspot Theme.
VSO had a management fee of 0.30% p.a. and a five-year annualised total return of 6.5% p.a. at 30 September 2026.
Stockspot’s preference for VAS reflects its size, liquidity, index coverage and track record.
As a final note, it’s great to see the original Australian share ETF (STW) as well as global ETF giants (VAS and IOZ), different index strategies (MVW) and local disruptors (A200) all have broad Australian share ETFs available.
The Australian ETF ecosystem continues to grow at a rapid pace which is fantastic news for investors.
With the ETF market changing regularly, it can be difficult to know which investments belong in a diversified portfolio.
Choosing an ETF is only one part of building a successful investment portfolio. Diversification across Australian shares, international shares, bonds, gold and other asset classes matters just as much. Stockspot builds globally diversified ETF portfolios tailored to your goals and automatically manages them over time, so you don’t have to.
Find out more about what’s in our portfolios or take our quiz and see which portfolio we’d recommend for your risk tolerance and investment timeframe.
