7 Cheap ETFs to Buy Today

With more than 4,700 U.S.-listed exchange-traded funds (ETFs) available according to ETF Central’s screening tool, competition in the industry is intense. This is especially true for boutique asset managers launching new strategies and trying to stand out against giants like Vanguard and iShares.

Large ETF providers benefit from economies of scale, and with the market saturated across every asset class, geography and strategy, the simplest way for these firms to compete is by lowering what they can afford to give up: fees. This creates an uphill battle for boutique issuers, but an opportunity for investors.

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For investors, choosing between funds is not always easy. Past performance is unreliable because yesterday’s winners rarely stay on top. Fees, in contrast, are stable. They do not depend on market cycles, index revisions or star managers, yet they remain one of the clearest drivers of long-term net returns.

This is why fee compression has remained one of the longest-running trends in the ETF industry. This refers to the phenomenon of asset managers steadily lowering expense ratios to attract new assets. It is common for one major firm to reduce fees across a product lineup, only for another to match those cuts a few months later, inciting a race to the bottom.

The expectation is that inflows will grow enough to offset the lost revenue. Regardless of whether that strategy pays off for the issuer, it directly benefits investors.

Here are seven cheap ETFs available today based on expense ratios:

BNY Mellon US Large Cap Core Equity ETF (BKLC)

Fidelity Investments has dominated the zero-fee mutual fund segment with its proprietary Zero lineup. BNY Mellon is attempting something similar in the ETF space. Its flagship product is BKLC, which tracks the Solactive GBS United States 500 Index at a true 0% expense ratio. The index is very similar to the S&P 500 in terms of holdings and weightings, although the rule set is technically different.

Despite having more than $4.6 billion in assets under management (AUM), BKLC is often overlooked in favor of brand-name S&P 500 ETFs. However, its performance record shows it deserves more attention. Over the past five years, BKLC has delivered a 17.8% annualized total return, slightly ahead of the more expensive and popular SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY), which returned 17.5% over the same period.

State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 ETF (SPYM)

If brand-name exposure to the S&P 500 index is important, the lowest-cost option is SPYM, with a 0.02% expense ratio. State Street created SPYM after receiving feedback on SPY, which remains far pricier at a 0.0945% expense ratio despite its size and popularity. Despite this, SPY remains the preferred choice for active traders because of its deep options chain with daily expirations and high volume.

For buy-and-hold investors, SPYM is the more cost-efficient choice. It also differs structurally from SPY. SPY is organized as a unit investment trust, which prevents it from reinvesting cash dividends between quarterly distribution dates and creates a small performance drag. SPYM is a modern ETF regulated under the Investment Company Act of 1940 and does not face this limitation.

BNY Mellon Core Bond ETF (BKAG)

The Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index is the primary benchmark for the U.S. fixed-income market. It covers Treasury securities, agency mortgage-backed securities and investment-grade corporates. The index includes thousands of individual securities averaging out to an intermediate maturity. It is a popular choice for the bond segment of the classic “60/40” balanced portfolio.

The largest ETFs following this benchmark are the iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF (AGG) and the Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF (BND). Both provide nearly identical exposure at a 0.03% expense ratio, but they are not the cheapest options. That distinction goes to BNY Mellon with BKAG, which undercuts both AGG and BND at a 0% expense ratio. The ETF currently pays a 4.3% 30-day SEC yield.

Xtrackers USD High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (HYLB)

A leading example of ongoing fee compression in the high-yield bond ETF segment is HYLB. The fund tracks the Solactive USD High Yield Corporates Total Market Index and charges a minimal 0.05% expense ratio. For comparison, competitors from State Street and iShares charge 0.4% and 0.49%. Lower fees help more income stay with investors, and HYLB currently pays a 6.8% 30-day SEC yield.

With more than 1,250 holdings, HYLB maintains broad diversification and has grown into one of Xtrackers’ most popular products, managing $4 billion in AUM. Unlike some high-yield bond funds, HYLB avoids sector concentration. The ETF also limits exposure to the riskiest part of the high-yield market, which are B- and CCC-rated bonds that carry significantly higher default risk.

[Read: 9 of the Best Bond ETFs to Buy Now.]

Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund ETF (VXUS)

Before ETFs became common, international investing was often expensive. Investors were limited to a smaller group of American depositary receipts and paid commissions on each purchase. Buying foreign stocks directly, if a broker allowed it, required converting currency and accepting foreign-exchange spreads. International ETFs help solve these issues, and VXUS is a clear example.

VXUS tracks the FTSE Global All Cap ex US Index, which includes more than 8,600 large-, mid- and small-cap stocks from developed and emerging markets outside the U.S. The index uses market-capitalization weighting, which keeps turnover and trading costs low. The ETF’s 0.05% expense ratio means a $10,000 investment would create only a $5 annual fee drag.

BondBloxx Bloomberg Seven Year Target Duration US Treasury ETF (XSVN)

BondBloxx is a dedicated fixed-income asset manager with a low-cost lineup of Treasury ETFs. This currently includes eight options spanning various maturities along the yield curve, ranging from six months to 20 years. These ETFs can help investors build bond ladders with the same mechanics as trading stocks in a brokerage account, thus avoiding TreasuryDirect’s clunky user interface.

“Investors anticipating declining interest rates in 2026 can consider lengthening the duration of their portfolios,” says JoAnne Bianco, partner and senior investment strategist at BondBloxx. “Our seven-year U.S. Treasury fund, XSVN, would benefit in a declining interest rate environment from its attractive yield and price appreciation.” XSVN pays a 3.9% 30-day SEC yield and charges a 0.05% expense ratio.

Invesco Dow Jones Industrial Average Dividend ETF (DJD)

Dividend ETFs have seen fee compression as well, and DJD is an example. The fund applies a dividend-focused twist to the Dow Jones Industrial Average at a modest 0.07% expense ratio. Instead of weighting companies by price, DJD weights each Dow component by its dividend yield over the prior 12 months. This approach produces a 2.8% 30-day SEC yield with quarterly payouts.

“The weighting by dividend yield creates a value tilt and can be thought of as a surrogate ‘Dogs of the Dow’ strategy,” explains Nick Kalivas, head of factor and core equity ETF product strategy at Invesco. The Dogs of the Dow strategy simply selects the 10 highest-yielding Dow stocks each year. As an ETF, DJD makes this idea more efficient by seamlessly automating the rebalancing process internally.”

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7 Cheap ETFs to Buy Today originally appeared on usnews.com

Update 11/24/25: This story was published at an earlier date and has been updated with new information.

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