An ETF overlap tool compares the holdings of two ETFs and shows how much of each fund's weight sits in stocks the other fund also owns. The free MarketXLS ETF Overlap Calculator does this for any two ETF tickers with no signup: it lists every shared stock with its weight in each fund and gives an overlap percentage for each side. High overlap means two funds are giving you much of the same exposure, so you are less diversified than the fund count suggests.
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A common case: if you hold SPY and VOO, you own the same index twice. If you hold QQQ alongside a tech or growth ETF like VGT or VUG, you add more weight to the same mega-cap tech names.
What is ETF overlap?
ETF overlap is the share of holdings that two or more ETFs in your portfolio have in common. It is common because many ETFs track broad indexes that contain the same large companies.
Approximate overlap for some common pairs (the exact figure depends on whether overlap is measured by stock count or by weight, and it changes as holdings change):
| ETF Pair | Approximate Overlap |
|---|---|
| SPY & VOO | ~99% (both track S&P 500) |
| QQQ & VGT | ~75% (tech-heavy overlap) |
| VTI & SPY | ~80% (S&P 500 is a subset of total market) |
| SCHD & VYM | ~40% (both dividend-focused) |
Use the overlap calculator for current numbers on any pair.
Why ETF portfolio overlap matters
Overlap matters because it hides concentration, makes a portfolio look more diversified than it is, and can complicate tax-loss harvesting.
Concentration risk
Overlap raises your exposure to the largest stocks when you combine a broad fund with a narrower fund that holds the same names at a bigger weight. If Apple is 7% of an S&P 500 fund and a much larger share of a tech sector fund, holding both lifts your total Apple weight above what either broad fund alone would give you. One company's bad earnings report then moves more of your portfolio.
False diversification
Owning five ETFs with 80% overlap is not much different from owning one. The number of funds goes up, but the number of distinct exposures does not.
Costs
Overlap does not double your fees, because each fund's expense ratio applies only to the money in that fund. It can still cost you: if a higher-fee fund mostly duplicates a cheaper one (for example 0.09% vs 0.03%), consolidating into the cheaper fund lowers your total cost, and the difference compounds over decades.
Tax-loss harvesting
Overlap matters when you harvest tax losses. The wash sale rule can disallow a loss if you buy a substantially identical security within 30 days before or after the sale, so swapping between two funds that track the same index needs care. Our ETF tax harvesting tool can help identify replacement funds. Confirm wash sale questions with a tax professional.
How to compare ETF holdings and find overlap
Finding overlap takes three steps: list the ETFs you own, run each pair through an overlap calculator, and read the percentage against a simple scale.
Step 1: Pick your ETFs
Start with the ETFs you currently own. Combinations that often create hidden overlap:
- S&P 500 + Total Market (SPY + VTI): high overlap because the S&P 500 makes up most of the total US market by weight
- Nasdaq 100 + Tech Sector (QQQ + VGT): high overlap since QQQ is already tech-dominated
- Multiple dividend ETFs (SCHD + VYM + DVY): partial overlap in large dividend payers
Step 2: Run the pair through the ETF overlap calculator
Comparing holdings by hand is slow because each ETF can hold hundreds or thousands of stocks. The MarketXLS ETF Overlap Calculator lets you:
- Compare any two ETFs from a database of 5,700+ funds
- See an overlap percentage for each fund: the sum of that fund's weights in stocks the other fund also holds
- View the overlapping stocks with their weight in each fund
- Spot concentration in the shared names
Enter two ticker symbols to get the result. No signup is required.
Step 3: Read the overlap percentage
A rough guide to interpreting the result:
- 0-20% overlap: The ETFs mostly complement each other.
- 20-50% overlap: Moderate. Worth reviewing, but may fit your strategy.
- 50-80% overlap: High. Much of the exposure is duplicated. Consider consolidating.
- 80%+ overlap: Close to the same fund. Keeping only the cheaper one usually loses little.
The two sides of the result can differ. A small fund can sit almost entirely inside a large one while the large fund overlaps the small one only a little. Our guide to reading the fund overlap percentage explains why a single percentage can hide which fund is redundant.
Example: auditing a 4-ETF portfolio
Take this common portfolio:
- VOO (Vanguard S&P 500): 40%
- QQQ (Nasdaq 100): 25%
- VGT (Vanguard Info Tech): 20%
- VTI (Vanguard Total Market): 15%
Running the pairs through the ETF overlap calculator typically shows:
- VOO vs VTI: high overlap. VTI contains all of VOO plus small and mid-caps.
- QQQ vs VGT: high overlap. Both are dominated by Apple, Microsoft, and Nvidia.
- VOO vs QQQ: moderate overlap. The top QQQ holdings are also top S&P 500 holdings.
The result: the "4-fund portfolio" is a tech-heavy bet on the same group of mega-cap stocks, which appear in all four funds.
One way to fix it: drop VGT (it largely duplicates QQQ), keep either VOO or VTI rather than both, and add an asset with different holdings, such as international stocks (VXUS), bonds (BND), or a small-cap value fund (VBR). This is an example for education, not investment advice.
Common ETF pairs and their overlap
The pairs below are grouped by typical overlap level.
Nearly identical (80%+)
- SPY vs VOO vs IVV: All track the S&P 500. VOO has a 0.03% expense ratio.
- QQQ vs QQQM: Same index, QQQM is cheaper. Holding both adds nothing.
High overlap (50-80%)
- VTI vs VOO: Total market includes the S&P 500. VTI adds small and mid-cap exposure.
- QQQ vs VGT: Heavy tech overlap. QQQ adds consumer discretionary names (Amazon, Tesla).
Moderate overlap (20-50%)
- SPY vs SCHD: Some overlap in large-cap dividend payers, but different strategies.
- QQQ vs ARKK: Some growth overlap, but ARKK is more speculative.
Low overlap (under 20%)
- SPY vs VXUS: Domestic vs international, minimal overlap.
- QQQ vs BND: Equities vs bonds, no overlap.
To check a specific pair, use the ETF overlap tool.
Comparing ETFs head-to-head after you find overlap
After you find two overlapping funds, compare expense ratios, returns, volatility, and holdings weights to decide which to keep.
The ETF comparison tool compares any two ETFs side by side on these metrics. For example, SPY vs QQQ shows where they differ beyond holdings overlap.
To find candidate funds, start with the ETF screener and filter 5,700+ ETFs by category, expense ratio, returns, and more.
Overlap between mutual funds and ETFs
Overlap applies to mutual funds too, because many mutual funds track the same indexes as popular ETFs. For example, VFIAX (Vanguard 500 Index Admiral) holds the same stocks as VOO. If you own both in different accounts, you have near-total overlap.
Use the Mutual Fund Overlap Calculator to check overlap between mutual funds, or between a mutual fund and an ETF.
How to fix ETF portfolio overlap
Fixing overlap comes down to four steps.
1. Consolidate duplicate positions
If two ETFs overlap by 80% or more, consider keeping the one with the lower expense ratio. Check the tax cost of selling in a taxable account first.
2. Replace overlapping funds with complements
Instead of holding three US large-cap funds, swap one for international (VXUS), bonds (BND), or REITs (VNQ).
3. Use a core-satellite approach
Hold one broad market ETF as your core (VTI or VOO), then add satellite positions in different asset classes or strategies.
4. Recheck quarterly
Index membership and weights change. Rerun the ETF overlap calculator each quarter.
Explore more FundXLS tools
- ETF Comparison Tool: compare any two ETFs side by side on returns, fees, holdings, and risk metrics
- Mutual Fund Comparison Tool: check overlap and compare mutual funds the same way
- Fund Overlap Calculator: works for both ETFs and mutual funds
- Mutual Fund Screener: filter mutual funds by performance, fees, category, and more
Check your portfolio for overlap
ETF overlap is easy to fix once you can see it.
Try the free ETF Overlap Calculator →
Enter any two ETF tickers to see shared holdings and the overlap percentage for each fund. No signup, no cost.
