VTSAX vs. FSKAX: Vanguard Total Stock Market or Fidelity Total Market Index Fund?
Figures last verified October 31, 2026
Vanguard's total-market fund against Fidelity's. The two are so similar that the comparison is mostly a Rorschach test for which brand you already trust.
| VTSAX | FSKAX | |
|---|---|---|
| Fund | Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund Admiral Shares | Fidelity Total Market Index Fund |
| Family | Vanguard | Fidelity |
| Category | Total US Market | Total US Market |
| Type | Index | Index |
| Expense ratio | 0.04% | 0.015% |
| Cost per $10k/yr | $4 | $1.50 |
| Minimum | $3,000 | $0 |
| Strategy | Tracks the CRSP US Total Market Index — roughly 3,600 stocks covering essentially the entire investable US equity market. | Tracks the Dow Jones US Total Stock Market Index — about 3,800 stocks across the full US market. |
FSKAX is cheaper (0.015% vs 0.04%) with no minimum, making it the better standalone pick — but the funds are functionally identical and the choice should follow your account location, not a basis-point spreadsheet.
About VTSAX
VTSAX is the default answer. If someone asks 'what fund should I buy and forget about,' this is the fund most Bogleheads will name before the question is finished. It owns essentially every publicly traded US company — Apple down to the micro-caps — weighted by size, for four hundredths of a percent a year. On a $100,000 balance, that's $40 annually. A single hour of a financial advisor's time costs more.
About FSKAX
FSKAX is Fidelity's answer to VTSAX, and the answer undercuts the question: the entire US stock market at 0.015% instead of 0.04%, with no minimum instead of $3,000. The index differs by name — Dow Jones US Total Market versus CRSP — but the portfolios overlap so completely that performance differences are statistical noise.
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.