Is my ETF expensive?
Updated October 9, 2026. Competitor details last checked August 24, 2026.
An ETF's price-to-earnings ratio is the weighted average of the P/E ratios of the stocks it holds, so on its own it tells you very little. To know whether a fund is expensive you need two comparisons: against other funds, and against its own past.
VOO trades at a P/E of 24.23 today. It has been more expensive than that 39% of the time over the last 9 years — which is the kind of answer a single number cannot give you.
What an ETF's P/E ratio actually is
A fund has no earnings of its own. Its P/E is built up from the companies it holds — each holding's price-to-earnings ratio, weighted by how much of the fund that holding represents. A fund whose largest positions are expensive technology companies carries a high multiple because those companies do, not because of anything the fund is doing. That is why the number only means something in comparison, and why one comparison is not enough.
The two comparisons, and what each one answers
- Against other funds — is this expensive next to funds holding similar things? Free on ETFdb, which prints a category average, and on Stock Analysis, which printed 27.51 for VOO when this page was last checked.
- Against its own past — is this expensive next to where the same fund has traded in the past? ETF Copilot charts it on every fund page.
They answer different questions and they often disagree. A fund can look ordinary against its category while sitting near the top of its own historical range, because a whole category can get expensive together. When the two disagree, that is the part worth knowing.
ETF Copilot's version of the first comparison is the Value score on every fund page — 0 to 10, higher meaning cheaper, ranked against the whole US equity ETF universe. How the scores are built.
What a high multiple does and does not mean
- It describes what you pay for current earnings
- A P/E of 27 means the fund's holdings collectively trade at 27 times their earnings. A measurement of today, not a claim about tomorrow.
- It reflects sector mix more than fund quality
- Comparing a technology fund to a utilities fund on P/E compares two sectors, not two funds. The comparison only informs between funds holding broadly similar things.
- It is not a rating or a forecast
- A high or low multiple carries no information about future returns, and nothing here says what to do about any fund.
- It varies by provider
- Trailing versus forward earnings, how loss-making companies are handled, harmonic versus arithmetic weighting, and the date of the holdings file all move the number.
Where do I find an ETF's P/E ratio?
Free and without an account on ETFdb, which prints a category average beside the fund's own figure, and on Stock Analysis, which prints the fund multiple outright. For the same figure through time — the second comparison on this page — ETF Copilot charts it on every fund page.
What is a good P/E ratio for an ETF?
There is no single good number, and any page offering one is describing a sector rather than a standard. The two comparisons above are what turn the figure into information.
Why do two S&P 500 ETFs show different P/E ratios?
Because providers calculate it differently: trailing versus forward earnings, whether loss-making companies are dropped, harmonic versus arithmetic weighted means, and holdings files dated differently. Two funds tracking the same index can show different multiples on the same day for those reasons alone.
Does a high P/E mean an ETF will underperform?
No. The ratio describes price relative to current earnings. It says nothing about what happens next, and treating it as a signal reads a forecast into a measurement.
How this is calculated
Each holding's price-to-earnings ratio, weighted by its share of the fund, across every holding. The monthly series uses the holdings held at each date, with loss-makers treated the same throughout. Trailing, not forward.
See any fund's valuation in context →
Nothing on this page is investment advice, a recommendation, or a forecast of returns.