Summit Showdown|
4 min
Updated December 2025
AGG vs BND: Best Total Bond Market ETF for 2026?
Comparing iShares Core US Aggregate Bond vs Vanguard Total Bond Market for your fixed income allocation.
Head-to-Head Comparison
Metric
AGG
BND
Expense Ratio
0.03%
0.03%
Dividend Yield
4.40%
4.45%
5Y Total Return
-0.3%
-0.2%
Volatility
6.9%
6.8%
Distribution
Monthly
Monthly
Tax Efficiency
Low
Low
The Verdict by Scenario
Scenario
iShares ecosystem
AGG
AGG fits seamlessly with other iShares ETFs and is the default bond choice in many model portfolios.
Scenario
Vanguard ecosystem
BND
BND offers Vanguard's unique tax efficiency through its ETF share class structure.
Scenario
Performance comparison
🤝Tie
Identical expense ratios, nearly identical holdings, and returns within basis points. Functionally the same ETF.
In This Showdown
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LaunchSection 1Interchangeable Bond Funds
AGG and BND both track the Bloomberg US Aggregate Bond Index, the benchmark for US investment-grade bonds. Both have 0.03% expense ratios and hold thousands of Treasuries, corporates, and mortgage-backed securities. Like VOO vs IVV, this is an ecosystem choice, not a performance choice.
Section 2AGG: The iShares Standard
AGG is BlackRock's flagship bond ETF with $100B+ in assets. It's the default bond allocation in many robo-advisors and model portfolios. Slightly higher trading volume than BND, though both are extremely liquid. Choose AGG if you're building an all-iShares portfolio.
Section 3BND: The Vanguard Way
BND shares Vanguard's unique mutual-fund-to-ETF structure, providing slight tax advantages for taxable accounts. For Vanguard account holders, BND integrates seamlessly. Vanguard's investor-owned structure means lower costs benefit shareholders directly.
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Updated December 2025