VAS vs A200: Which Australian Shares ETF Is Right for You?

If you want to own the Australian share market, two tickers come up again and again: VAS from Vanguard and A200 from Betashares. They are both huge, both cheap, and both hold the same big names at the top. So which one should go in your portfolio?

The short answer is that the gap between them is small. The longer answer is worth knowing, because it helps you pick one with confidence and then stop worrying about it. Here is what actually separates them.

What each ETF holds

An ETF (exchange traded fund) is a basket of shares you can buy on the ASX in one trade. If you are new to them, The Ultimate Guide to ETFs covers the basics. Both of these baskets track an index, which is simply a rule-based list of companies.

VAS: the ASX 300

VAS tracks the S&P/ASX 300 Index, the 300 largest companies listed in Australia. Its fact sheet showed 308 holdings at 30 September 2026 (the fund can hold a few extra securities during index changes). It has been around since May 2009, which makes it one of the oldest and best-known ETFs in the country.

A200: the ASX 200

A200 tracks the Solactive Australia 200 Index, about 200 of the largest Australian companies. It launched in May 2018 and grew quickly, mostly because it undercut everyone on fees.

How much do they really differ?

Less than the names suggest. Australian indexes are market-cap weighted, which means bigger companies take up a bigger slice. BHP and Commonwealth Bank alone make up about a fifth of either fund. The extra 100 or so companies in VAS are small, so together they add only a few per cent of the fund. In practice the two ETFs move almost in lockstep.

VAS vs A200 side by side

Here are the key facts, using the latest figures available at the time of writing.

Fund sizes and returns are as at 30 September 2026, after fees, with distributions reinvested. Past performance is not a reliable guide to future returns, and these numbers move every month, so check each provider's own page before you invest.

A note on the returns: over the last five years A200 came out a little ahead. That is partly the lower fee and partly because smaller Australian companies (the ones VAS holds and A200 doesn't) lagged the big ones over that stretch. In a period when small companies do well, VAS could come out ahead instead. Neither result tells you much about the next five years.

Fees: does 0.03% matter?

A200 is cheaper by 0.03 percentage points a year. That sounds tiny, and on a normal balance it is. Here is what it means on $100,000:

Over decades, and as your balance grows, that gap compounds into a few thousand dollars. It is real money, but it is far less than you could lose by switching back and forth, paying brokerage, or selling during a crash. Fees are a good tie-breaker, not a reason to lose sleep.

It is also worth knowing that iShares' IOZ sits in the middle. It tracks the S&P/ASX 200 for 0.05% a year, so if you already hold it there is no strong reason to move.

Dividends and franking credits

Australian companies pay out a large share of their profits as dividends, and many of those dividends come with franking credits. A franking credit is a tax credit for company tax already paid, which you can use to reduce your own tax bill (or get back as a refund if your tax rate is low).

Because VAS and A200 hold almost the same companies, their dividend income and franking levels end up very similar. Both pay distributions four times a year, and both let you reinvest them automatically. VAS's fact sheet showed a franking level of around 80% for the 2026 financial year, and A200's is in the same range for the same reason.

So if income and franking are part of your plan, either fund does the job. You don't need to pick one over the other for tax reasons.

Size, trading and the things that don't matter much

Fund size

VAS is the larger fund by a wide margin, but both are well above the point where size matters to an everyday investor. A fund with billions in it is not at risk of closing, and both trade with tight buy and sell prices (the bid-ask spread) during normal market hours.

Provider

Some investors like keeping everything with one provider, for example pairing VAS with Vanguard's global fund VGS, or A200 with Betashares' BGBL. That makes your tax statements and records a little tidier, but it doesn't change your returns. Mixing providers is perfectly fine.

Tracking

Both ETFs have tracked their indexes closely over time, with the gap mostly explained by their fees. Neither is trying to beat the market, and that is the point.

Who each one might suit

There is no wrong answer here, but each fund has a natural fit.

VAS might suit you if

• You want the broadest slice of the Australian market, including some smaller companies.
• You like a long track record going back to 2009.
• You already hold it, and switching would mean selling and paying capital gains tax.

A200 might suit you if

• You are starting fresh and want the lowest fee available.
• You are happy with the 200 largest companies, which already cover most of the market's value.
• You are building a low-cost Betashares pairing, such as A200 with BGBL.

What about switching?

If you hold VAS with a gain, selling it to buy A200 can trigger capital gains tax (CGT), which can easily cost more than years of the fee saving. A simple approach many investors use is to keep what they have and direct new money to the fund they prefer. Your existing units keep growing, and you avoid the tax bill.

How they fit into a portfolio

Most Australian investors don't hold only Australian shares. Australia is about 2% of the world's share market, so a fund like VAS or A200 usually sits alongside a global shares ETF. A common split is about 30% Australian and 70% global:

These are examples to show how the pieces fit, not a recommendation. For more on choosing a split, see DIY Wealth: 3 Simple ASX Model Portfolios. If you would rather not manage the split at all, an all-in-one fund handles it for you, which is covered in VDHG vs DHHF.

Conclusion

VAS and A200 are close cousins. VAS gives you a slightly wider net and a longer history, and A200 gives you a slightly lower fee. Over the long run, the choice between them will matter far less than how much you invest, how long you stay invested, and whether you hold on when markets fall.

If you are deciding today, pick the one that fits your setup, set up regular automatic investments, and get back to living your life. If you already own one, there is usually no need to switch. Next in this series, we will look at the global side of the portfolio with VGS vs IVV.