The 4 cheapest ETFs on the US market
Index investing celebrates 50 years this year, and the battle for the lowest fee has reached mere hundredths of a percent. The largest US equity funds now charge $2 to $3 per year to manage $10,000. But the cheapest ETFs are not as interchangeable as they seem at first glance. They differ in tracked index, liquidity, history, and whether a Czech investor can even buy them. Where are the hidden costs that you don't see in the fee, and what should you watch out for?
Key points
The cheapest ETFs cost only $2 to $3 per year for every $10,000. At such low fees, entirely different costs start to matter.
The difference between 0.02% and 0.03% can be practically negligible. The cheaper fund may not track the index more accurately or deliver a higher return.
500 companies, or more than 2,000? For the same fee, you can buy two different bets on the future of the US market.
ETF comparison tools can show significantly skewed results. The history of some funds is not as comparable as it first appears.
For a Czech investor, the biggest catch comes at the end. Most European retail investors cannot directly buy four extremely cheap funds. What are the alternatives?
When the first index fund for retail investors launched on August 31, 1976, part of Wall Street considered it folly. Who would settle for the market average?
Today, 50 years later, passive investing is the strongest current in the entire industry. According to ETFGI data, US ETFs attracted a record $1.23 trillion in net inflows in the first 7 months of 2026, and August added roughly another $180 billion. With volume grows pressure on price. The cheapest US equity funds now charge 0.02% to 0.03% per year.
Fund expense ratio (in Europe labeled TER) is the only item an investor can be certain of. No one guarantees returns, but the fee is deducted every year from your entire assets. When fees drop to hundredths of a percent, other things begin to decide the final outcome: which index the fund tracks, how accurately it replicates it, how liquid it is, and whether it is even available to a particular investor.
The market environment adds weight. The S&P 500 index is holding about 2% below its historical high, funds on it show price-to-earnings ratios around 26 to 27, and long-term US bond yields have climbed to their highest levels in about 20 years. At such valuations, it makes sense to watch every controllable item. This analysis compares 4 funds from the cheapest price tier of the US market, 2 on the S&P 500 and 2 on the total US stock market.