General information only. Not financial advice. Always read the relevant PDS and consider speaking with a licensed financial adviser before making investment decisions.
VGS and BGBL are probably the most compared pair of ETFs in Australian investing right now. They do essentially the same job: give you exposure to roughly 1,300 global companies outside Australia, but one costs more than twice as much as the other. If you are choosing between them for the first time, or wondering whether to switch, here is everything you need to know.
The short version
- BGBL charges 0.08% per year. VGS charges 0.18% per year. That is a 0.10% annual difference.
- Both track global developed market shares outside Australia: the US, Japan, Europe, Canada, the UK. The composition is nearly identical.
- VGS is much larger ($14.6 billion vs $3.9 billion), has been running since 2014, and has a tighter bid-ask spread.
- BGBL launched in May 2023 and has grown quickly, but has only two years of live history.
- BGBL pays distributions once a year. VGS pays quarterly.
- If you already hold VGS with capital gains, selling to switch triggers CGT. The fee saving may take many years to recover that tax cost.
Side by side comparison
| Feature | VGS | BGBL |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | Vanguard | Betashares |
| Annual fee | 0.18% p.a. | 0.08% p.a. |
| Fee on $100,000 | $180/yr | $80/yr |
| Index | MSCI World ex-Australia | Solactive GBS Developed Markets ex-AU |
| Holdings | ~1,275 | ~1,327 |
| Fund size | $14.6 billion | $3.9 billion |
| Distributions | Quarterly | Annually |
| Hedged | No | No |
| ASX listed since | 2014 | 2023 |
| 1-year return to Mar 2026 | 8.18% p.a. | 8.58% p.a. |
What is actually the same
More than most investors realise. Both ETFs give you exposure to roughly 1,300 large and mid-cap companies across developed markets outside Australia. Both are unhedged, so your AUD returns move with the exchange rate. Both are Australian-domiciled, with no US estate tax complications, no W-8BEN forms. The US makes up about 70-73% of each fund. The top holdings are almost identical: Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon. If you swapped between VGS and BGBL tomorrow, the underlying companies you owned would be nearly the same.
The fee gap in real dollars
On a $10,000 investment, here is what each fund costs per year:
That is a $10 annual difference on $10,000. On $100,000 it is $100 a year. Fees compound the same way returns do: they reduce your balance every single year, and the drag grows as your portfolio grows. On a $100,000 lump sum at 8% assumed return, the 0.10% fee difference amounts to approximately $8,800 more in your pocket after 20 years. You can run your own numbers in the ETFLens Fee Calculator.
The indexes are different. Does it matter?
VGS tracks the MSCI World ex-Australia Index. BGBL tracks the Solactive GBS Developed Markets ex Australia Large and Mid Cap Index. Two different commercial benchmarks, built by two different index providers, but designed to measure the same thing. In practice they behave almost identically: both market-cap weighted, both roughly 70% US, both dominated by the same global companies. Part of the reason BGBL is cheaper is that Solactive charges lower licensing fees than MSCI, which is how Betashares can price the fund at 0.08%.
Where VGS has genuine advantages
Track record. VGS has been running since 2014, over 10 years of live performance through the 2020 crash, the 2022 rate shock, multiple periods of AUD movement. BGBL launched in May 2023 and has two years of live history. Investors who want to see how a fund behaves through genuinely difficult markets cannot yet do that with BGBL's own data.
Tighter bid-ask spread. VGS is one of the most liquid ETFs on the ASX, with a bid-ask spread of around 0.03%. BGBL's spread is wider. For long-term investors making occasional lump sum purchases this is a minor consideration. For investors making frequent contributions or trading in large amounts, it adds friction.
Securities lending income. Vanguard lends VGS securities to short sellers and keeps that income inside the fund, partially offsetting the 0.18% headline fee. Betashares does not provide equivalent public disclosure for BGBL. The true net cost comparison between the two is difficult to verify from public data alone.
Quarterly distributions. VGS pays income four times a year. BGBL pays once annually. For investors who rely on distributions or prefer more frequent reinvestment, VGS fits that better.
Already hold VGS? The CGT trap
This is the question that matters most for most investors asking about VGS vs BGBL. If you have held VGS for a few years and it has grown, selling triggers Capital Gains Tax. The size of that tax bill depends on your capital gain, your marginal tax rate, and whether you have held for more than 12 months, which qualifies individual investors for the 50% CGT discount.
The 0.10% annual fee saving only recovers the switch cost if you hold the new position for long enough. In many cases the break-even is years or decades away. In some cases, where capital gains are large relative to portfolio size, the maths never works out.
Example (illustrative only): VGS position with a $30,000 capital gain, 37% marginal rate, 50% CGT discount applied, which comes to approximately $5,550 in tax to switch. On a $60,000 position, the annual fee saving with BGBL is $60. That is a 92-year break-even before considering the new CGT clock starting from zero. Speak to a registered tax agent about your specific situation before making any switching decision.
Calculate your personal CGT break-even before considering a switch from VGS to BGBL.
Open the ETF Comparison Calculator →Should you hold both?
There is rarely a reason to. The holdings overlap between VGS and BGBL is very high, you would pay two sets of management fees for almost identical exposure, with no meaningful diversification benefit. You can see the exact overlap in the ETFLens compare tool. Most investors choose one for their entire global developed market allocation.
The hedged versions
Both ETFs have hedged counterparts if you want to remove AUD/USD currency risk. VGAD (0.21% p.a.) is Vanguard's hedged version of VGS. HGBL is Betashares' hedged version of BGBL. The hedged vs unhedged decision is separate from the VGS vs BGBL question and worth thinking through based on your time horizon and views on the Australian dollar.
The bottom line
VGS and BGBL are more similar than they are different. Both give you broad exposure to global developed markets outside Australia. Both are unhedged and Australian-domiciled. Both are dominated by the same large US companies. Day to day, they behave almost identically.
The factual differences: BGBL's fee is 0.10% lower each year. VGS has a 10-year track record versus BGBL's two. VGS is significantly more liquid with a tighter bid-ask spread. VGS pays quarterly distributions where BGBL pays annually.
For investors starting fresh, putting new money to work without an existing position, BGBL's lower fee means lower ongoing costs with near-identical exposure. For investors already holding VGS with capital gains, the question is whether the annual fee saving justifies the immediate tax cost of switching. That calculation is individual and a registered tax agent can help you work through the numbers for your specific situation.
General information only. Not financial advice. Past performance is not indicative of future performance. Holdings data verified quarterly. Fee and return data sourced from fund manager PDS documents and factsheets, updated March 2026. Always read the relevant PDS and consider seeking advice from a licensed financial adviser and registered tax agent before making any investment or switching decision.