Is VSS or DGRO a better dividend investment in 2026?

VSS currently yields 3.35% with a 5% 5-year dividend growth rate. DGRO yields 2.13% with 9.5% growth. The better choice depends on your goal: VSS offers higher current income.

What is the dividend yield difference between VSS and DGRO?

VSS has a forward dividend yield of 3.35% ($4.86/share annually). DGRO yields 2.13% ($1.47/share annually). The yield gap is 1.22 percentage points.

Home › Compare › VSS vs DGRO

VSS vs DGRO: Dividend Comparison 2026

VSS yields 3.35% · DGRO yields 2.13%● Live data

vsPost on X →

After 10 years · $10,000 invested · DRIP enabled

🏆 DGRO wins by $6.8K in total portfolio value

INVESTMENT

TIME HORIZON10 years

VSS

● Live price

3.35%

Share price

$145.24

Annual div

$4.86

5Y div CAGR

Payout ratio

50%

After 10 yrs · $10,000 · DRIP

Portfolio value

$24.8K

Annual income

$414.87

Full VSS calculator →

DGRO

iShares Core Dividend Growth ETF

● Live price

2.13%

Share price

$68.98

Annual div

$1.47

5Y div CAGR

Payout ratio

50%

After 10 yrs · $10,000 · DRIP

Portfolio value

$31.6K

Annual income

$239.96

Full DGRO calculator →

Portfolio growth — VSS vs DGRO

📍 DGRO pulled ahead of the other in Year 1

Annual dividend income

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Recession Test — Did They Cut Dividends?

How each stock treated shareholders during the 3 biggest crises of the last 20 years

Crisis Period	VSS	DGRO
2008–2009 GFC	— No data	— No data
2020 Q1–Q2 COVID	— No data	— No data
2022 Q4 Rate Hike	— No data	— No data

Based on dividend payment history. "Increased" = dividend grew during crisis. "Maintained" = held within 3%. "Cut" = reduced by more than 3%.

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Dividend Calendar Overlap

Combined, VSS + DGRO cover 0 of 12 months — good coverage

Jan

—

Feb

—

Mar

—

Apr

—

May

—

Jun

—

Jul

—

Aug

—

Sep

—

Oct

—

Nov

—

Dec

—

VSS pays

DGRO pays

Both pay

Neither

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Tax Bracket Optimizer

Which stock is actually better after tax? Adjust your rate to find out.

VSS

Annual income on $10K today (after 15% tax)

$284.34/yr

After 10yr DRIP, annual income (after tax)

$352.64/yr

DGRO

Annual income on $10K today (after 15% tax)

$181.24/yr

After 10yr DRIP, annual income (after tax)

$203.97/yr

At 15% tax rate, VSS beats the other by $148.67/year in after-tax income after 10 years on $10,000

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Lazy Portfolio Split Optimizer

What's the optimal mix of VSS + DGRO for your $10,000?

VSS: 50%DGRO: 50%

100% DGRO50/50100% VSS

Portfolio after 10yr

$28.2K

Annual income

$327.41/yr

Blended yield

1.16%

🏛️

Copy Congress — What Are Politicians Buying?

Senate & House STOCK Act disclosures (last 90 days)

VSS buys

DGRO buys

No recent congressional trades found for VSS or DGRO in the last 90 days.

STOCK Act mandates disclosure within 45 days of transaction. Data via FMP.Full tracker →

MetricVSSDGRO

Forward yield	3.35% ✓	2.13%
Annual dividend / share	$4.86 ✓	$1.47
Payout ratio	50%	50%
1-year div growth	0%	0%
5-year div CAGR	0%	0%
Portfolio after 10y	$24.8K	$31.6K ✓
Annual income after 10y	$414.87 ✓	$239.96
Total dividends collected	$3.8K ✓	$2.3K
Payment frequency	quarterly	quarterly
Sector	Stock	ETF

Year-by-year: VSS vs DGRO ($10,000, DRIP)

Year	VSS Portfolio	VSS Income/yr	DGRO Portfolio	DGRO Income/yr	Gap
1← crossover	$11,035	$334.52	$11,293	$213.22	$258.00 → DGRO
2	$12,152	$344.97	$12,730	$217.32	$578.00 → DGRO
3	$13,358	$355.05	$14,326	$221.10	$968.00 → DGRO
4	$14,657	$364.75	$16,098	$224.56	$1.4K → DGRO
5	$16,057	$374.06	$18,064	$227.74	$2.0K → DGRO
6	$17,564	$382.98	$20,246	$230.65	$2.7K → DGRO
7	$19,185	$391.51	$22,666	$233.30	$3.5K → DGRO
8	$20,928	$399.67	$25,349	$235.73	$4.4K → DGRO
9	$22,801	$407.45	$28,325	$237.94	$5.5K → DGRO
10	$24,811	$414.87	$31,624	$239.96	$6.8K → DGRO

VSS vs DGRO: Complete Analysis 2026

VSS — Stock

Attempts to track the performance of the FTSE Global Small Cap ex US Index. Provides a convenient way to get broad exposure across developed and emerging non-U.S. small-cap equity markets around the world. Passively managed, using index sampling.

Full VSS Calculator →

DGRO — ETF

The iShares Core Dividend Growth ETF seeks to track the investment results of an index composed of U.S. equities with a history of consistently growing dividends.

Full DGRO Calculator →

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⚠️ Educational purposes only. Not financial advice. Congressional trades sourced from SEC STOCK Act filings via FMP. Past performance does not guarantee future results.