Cheapest ETFs With Ultra-Low Expense Ratios and Fees
BNY Mellon made ETF history when it launched BKLC and BKAG — the first funds to carry a permanent expense ratio of zero without temporary waivers. That milestone underscored a broader industry trend: the relentless compression of ETF fees, where even a fraction of a basis point separates one fund from another.
An expense ratio is the annual cost of running a fund, expressed as a percentage of assets. You never pay it out of pocket — it’s deducted from the fund’s assets, which means it quietly reduces your returns over time. Because these costs compound just like returns, a seemingly small difference can translate into tens of thousands of dollars over decades.
Who leads on cost? The cheapest ETFs with ultra-low expense ratios tend to come from a handful of providers:
- Vanguard: Founded in 1975 with a client-owned structure, Vanguard offers nearly two dozen ETFs at 0.03%. Its downward pressure on industry fees is widely known as The Vanguard Effect®.
- iShares (BlackRock): The iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV) tracks the S&P 500 at an expense ratio of 0.03%.
- SPDR (State Street): SPAB provides broad U.S. investment-grade bond exposure — Treasurys, corporates, and mortgage-backed securities — at 0.03%.
- JPMorgan: The BetaBuilders U.S. Equity ETF (BBUS) charges just 0.02%, tracking U.S. large and mid-cap equities via the Morningstar US Target Market Exposure Index.
- BNY Mellon: BKLC (equity, 504 stocks) and BKAG (bonds, thousands of holdings) both carry a 0.00% expense ratio — permanently, not through temporary waivers.
A general rule applies: the more specialized a fund, the more it costs. Broad-market index ETFs are the cheapest, while sector-specific, leveraged, or inverse funds tend to charge significantly more. The same pattern holds on the bond side — aggregate bond ETFs are cheaper than those targeting niche areas like high-yield or emerging-market debt.
For a broader look at the ETF universe, see our complete list of ETFs or explore the largest ETFs by assets under management.
Regulated brokerThe table below ranks ETFs by their expense ratios, starting with the lowest fees available.
| Stock | Price | Change % | 52 Week Range |
|---|---|---|---|
 SoFi Select 500 ETF SFY | $152.37 | 0.04% | |
SoFi Next 500 ETF SFYX | $17.17 | 0.59% | |
 BNY Mellon US Large Cap Core Equity ETF BKLC | $49.23 | 0.04% | |
BNY Mellon Core Bond ETF BKAG | $41.37 | 0.04% | |
 Gabelli Love Our Planet & People ETF LOPP | $38.73 | 0.00% | |
 Gabelli Commercial Aerospace and Defense ETF GCAD | $56.92 | 0.05% | |
 Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund FBTC | $56.27 | 0.69% | |
WisdomTree Bitcoin Fund BTCW | $68.31 | 0.72% | |
SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 ETF SPLG | $80.00 | 1.06% | |
JPMorgan BetaBuilders U.S. Equity ETF BBUS | $139.13 | 0.07% | |
Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF BND | $72.40 | 0.06% | |
 iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF AGG | $97.62 | 0.04% | |
 Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF VTI | $380.68 | 0.04% | |
 iShares Core S&P 500 ETF IVV | $775.36 | 0.07% | |
Schwab U.S. Broad Market ETF SCHB | $29.81 | 0.02% | |
Schwab U.S. Large-Cap ETF SCHX | $30.42 | 0.00% | |
Schwab U.S. TIPS ETF SCHP | $25.93 | 0.02% | |
Schwab Short-Term U.S. Treasury ETF SCHO | $24.05 | 0.01% | |
Schwab Intermediate-Term U.S. Treasury ETF SCHR | $24.43 | 0.02% | |
Vanguard S&P 500 ETF VOO | $709.35 | 0.05% | |
iShares 0-5 Year TIPS Bond ETF STIP | $100.56 | 0.06% | |
Schwab U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF SCHZ | $22.82 | 0.02% | |
iShares Core S&P Total U.S. Stock Market ETF ITOT | $169.09 | 0.00% | |
SPDR Portfolio Aggregate Bond ETF SPAB | $25.16 | 0.00% | |
SPDR Portfolio Developed World ex-US ETF SPDW | $51.32 | 0.30% | |
SPDR Portfolio S&P 400 Mid Cap ETF SPMD | $67.63 | 0.41% | |
SPDR Portfolio S&P 600 Small Cap ETF SPSM | $58.08 | 0.67% | |
SPDR Portfolio Long Term Treasury ETF SPTL | $25.30 | 0.04% | |
SPDR Portfolio S&P 1500 Composite Stock Market ETF SPTM | $93.68 | 0.01% | |
SPDR Portfolio Short Term Treasury ETF SPTS | $28.90 | 0.02% | |
SPDR Portfolio Corporate Bond ETF SPBO | $28.53 | 0.04% | |
SPDR Portfolio Intermediate Term Treasury ETF SPTI | $28.11 | 0.07% | |
Schwab 5-10 Year Corporate Bond ETF SCHI | $22.30 | 0.13% | |
Schwab 1-5 Year Corporate Bond ETF SCHJ | $24.50 | 0.06% | |
Schwab Long-Term U.S. Treasury ETF SCHQ | $30.18 | 0.10% | |
iShares Morningstar U.S. Equity ETF ILCB | $106.95 | 0.12% | |
 Franklin U.S. Equity Index ETF USPX | $67.30 | 0.16% | |
 BondBloxx Bloomberg Six Month Target Duration US Treasury ETF XHLF | $50.18 | 0.01% | |
BondBloxx Bloomberg One Year Target Duration US Treasury ETF XONE | $49.26 | 0.01% | |
Schwab Municipal Bond ETF SCMB | $25.35 | 0.06% | |
JPMorgan BetaBuilders U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF BBAG | $45.26 | 0.01% | |
Schwab High Yield Bond ETF SCYB | $25.98 | 0.06% | |
 iShares MBS ETF MBB | $93.26 | 0.04% | |
Vanguard Intermediate-Term Bond ETF BIV | $75.70 | 0.06% | |
Vanguard Large Cap ETF VV | $355.20 | 0.00% | |
Vanguard Growth ETF VUG | $89.03 | 0.07% | |
Vanguard Value ETF VTV | $224.28 | 0.18% | |
Vanguard Long-Term Bond ETF BLV | $66.50 | 0.01% | |
Vanguard Mid-Cap ETF VO | $82.73 | 0.20% | |
Vanguard Short-Term Bond ETF BSV | $77.51 | 0.04% | |
Schwab U.S. Small-Cap ETF SCHA | $34.87 | 0.51% | |
Vanguard Short-Term Treasury ETF VGSH | $58.02 | 0.02% | |
Vanguard Intermediate-Term Treasury ETF VGIT | $58.40 | 0.05% | |
Vanguard Long-Term Treasury ETF VGLT | $53.19 | 0.05% | |
Vanguard Short-Term Corporate Bond ETF VCSH | $78.56 | 0.04% | |
Vanguard Intermediate-Term Corporate Bond ETF VCIT | $81.46 | 0.08% | |
Vanguard Long-Term Corporate Bond ETF VCLT | $72.59 | 0.01% | |
Vanguard Mortgage-Backed Securities ETF VMBS | $46.19 | 0.14% | |
Schwab U.S. Large-Cap Growth ETF SCHG | $35.51 | 0.04% | |
Schwab U.S. Large-Cap Value ETF SCHV | $34.93 | 0.09% | |
SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 Value ETF SPYV | $63.00 | 0.18% | |
SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 Growth ETF SPYG | $122.82 | 0.25% | |
Schwab US Mid-Cap ETF SCHM | $36.04 | 0.19% | |
Vanguard Short-Term Inflation-Protected Securities ETF VTIP | $49.62 | 0.06% | |
iShares Core S&P U.S. Growth ETF IUSG | $193.68 | 0.21% | |
iShares Core S&P U.S. Value ETF IUSV | $114.06 | 0.17% | |
iShares Core MSCI International Developed Markets ETF IDEV | $92.39 | 0.40% | |
 Invesco MSCI USA ETF PBUS | $77.32 | 0.03% | |
SPDR Portfolio Intermediate Term Corporate Bond ETF SPIB | $33.16 | 0.03% | |
SPDR Portfolio Long Term Corporate Bond ETF SPLB | $21.60 | 0.02% | |
SPDR Portfolio Short Term Corporate Bond ETF SPSB | $29.90 | 0.02% | |
Vanguard Total Corporate Bond ETF VTC | $75.49 | 0.05% | |
iShares 5-10 Year Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF IGIB | $52.40 | 0.05% | |
iShares 10+ Year Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF IGLB | $48.35 | 0.01% | |
iShares 1-5 Year Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF IGSB | $52.10 | 0.05% | |
iShares Broad USD Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF USIG | $50.44 | 0.01% | |
SPDR Portfolio Mortgage Backed Bond ETF SPMB | $22.01 | 0.07% | |
BNY Mellon US Mid Cap Core Equity ETF BKMC | $41.34 | 0.33% | |
BNY Mellon US Small Cap Core Equity ETF BKSE | $45.51 | 0.07% | |
BNY Mellon International Equity ETF BKIE | $34.54 | 0.29% | |
iShares Morningstar Growth ETF ILCG | $117.50 | 0.26% | |
iShares Morningstar Value ETF ILCV | $107.08 | 0.37% | |
iShares Morningstar Mid-Cap ETF IMCB | $99.24 | 0.28% | |
iShares Morningstar Small-Cap ETF ISCB | $76.53 | 0.41% | |
iShares Core S&P Mid-Cap ETF IJH | $77.17 | 0.40% | |
iShares National Muni Bond ETF MUB | $105.79 | 0.02% | |
Vanguard Small Cap ETF VB | $304.03 | 0.50% | |
iShares U.S. Treasury Bond ETF GOVT | $22.49 | 0.00% | |
Vanguard Tax-Exempt Bond ETF VTEB | $49.67 | 0.01% | |
 Xtrackers USD High Yield Corporate Bond ETF HYLB | $36.26 | 0.10% | |
Schwab 1000 Index ETF SCHK | $37.19 | 0.02% | |
 iShares Core Dividend ETF DIVB | $66.61 | 0.62% | |
Vanguard Total World Bond ETF BNDW | $67.71 | 0.04% | |
JPMorgan BetaBuilders 1-5 Year BBSA | $48.27 | 0.04% | |
SPDR Portfolio High Yield Bond ETF SPHY | $23.25 | 0.11% | |
TCW Transform 500 ETF VOTE | $90.89 | 0.02% | |
BondBloxx Bloomberg Five Year Target Duration US Treasury ETF XFIV | $48.15 | 0.08% |