Fund reviews for people who’d rather keep their money.
Plain-English reviews of 100 index funds, mutual funds, and the platforms that sell them. No hype, no hot tips — just costs, what a fund holds, and who it actually fits.
The one idea
Over a lifetime, costs are the variable you control. So we start there.
Nobody can reliably tell you which fund will win next year — including us, and including the manager charging 1% to try. But a fund’s expense ratio is knowable today, it compounds against you every single year, and it is the single best predictor of long-run results that money can buy. Every review on this site leads with cost, explains what you’re actually buying, and tells you who the fund fits. Then it gets out of your way.
Best Index Funds by Category
Our ranked picks for total market, S&P 500, international, bonds, and target-date — sorted, as ever, by expense ratio.
InteractiveExpense Ratio Calculator
See what the difference between a 0.04% fund and a 0.70% fund really costs over 30 years. The number tends to surprise people.
The evidenceIndex vs. Active
The decades of data on whether stock-pickers beat the market — presented fairly, including the cases where active wins.
The funds everyone asks about
All 100 reviews →| Fund | Category | Expense Ratio | Minimum |
|---|---|---|---|
| VTSAX — Vanguard Total Stock M… | Total US Market | 0.04% | $3,000 |
| FXAIX — Fidelity 500 Index Fund | S&P 500 / Large Blend | 0.015% | $0 |
| FZROX — Fidelity ZERO Total Ma… | Total US Market | 0.00% | $0 |
| VTIAX — Vanguard Total Interna… | International | 0.09% | $3,000 |
| VBTLX — Vanguard Total Bond Ma… | Bond | 0.05% | $3,000 |
| VFIFX — Vanguard Target Retire… | Target-Date | 0.08% | $1,000 |
| FCNTX — Fidelity Contrafund | Large Growth | 0.74% | $0 |
| VWELX — Vanguard Wellington Fu… | Balanced / Allocation | 0.24% | $3,000 |
| DODGX — Dodge & Cox Stock Fund | Large Value | 0.51% | $2,500 |
| AGTHX — American Funds The Gro… | Large Growth | 0.58% | $250 |
Classic match-ups
All comparisons →The questions that send people to a search bar at 11pm. We answered the big ones.
Don’t want to do it yourself? That’s a real answer.
A robo-advisor charges more than buying an index fund yourself — but if the automation is what keeps you invested through a downturn, it can be the cheapest expensive thing you ever buy. We reviewed the major platforms with that honest trade-off front and center.
Compare robo-advisors →