FXAIX vs. SWPPX: Fidelity 500 Index Fund or Schwab S&P 500 Index Fund?
Figures last verified October 31, 2026
Fidelity versus Schwab in the race to the cheapest S&P 500 fund. We're now arguing over fractions of a basis point, which tells you the war is essentially over and investors won.
| FXAIX | SWPPX | |
|---|---|---|
| Fund | Fidelity 500 Index Fund | Schwab S&P 500 Index Fund |
| Family | Fidelity | Schwab |
| Category | S&P 500 / Large Blend | S&P 500 / Large Blend |
| Type | Index | Index |
| Expense ratio | 0.015% | 0.02% |
| Cost per $10k/yr | $1.50 | $2 |
| Minimum | $0 | $0 |
| Strategy | Tracks the S&P 500 index of the 500 largest US companies. | Tracks the S&P 500 index of 500 large US companies. |
SWPPX (0.02%) and FXAIX (0.015%) are interchangeable. The 'better' fund is whichever your money already sits next to. Genuinely — flip a coin and go fund your account.
About FXAIX
FXAIX is what happens when index investing becomes a commodity and price wars do their work: the S&P 500, tracked with surgical precision, for 0.015% — a dollar fifty per year on a $10,000 balance — with no minimum investment. There is no catch in the fund itself. Fidelity loses money or close to it here and earns it back when you eventually use their other services.
About SWPPX
Two basis points, no minimum, the S&P 500. SWPPX has quietly been one of the cheapest S&P 500 funds in existence for years, and it's a fine illustration of how completely the index price war has been won on behalf of ordinary savers: a fee this size on $100,000 is twenty dollars a year, less than the gas to drive to a financial advisor's office.
Whichever you pick, the principle is the same one that runs through this whole site: minimize cost, hold for decades, ignore the noise. See how both stack up against the field in our best index funds by category, or run the numbers yourself with the expense ratio calculator.
Expense ratios and minimums drawn from fund provider documentation; last verified October 31, 2026. Editorial opinion, not investment advice. Confirm figures against the official prospectus before investing.