SCHD vs DGRO
Two of the most popular dividend-growth ETFs, with different index rules and slightly different yield-versus-growth tilts. Here’s how SCHD and DGRO compare for dividend investors — with a calculator for each so you can model the income yourself.
SCHD
Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF
- Type
- Dividend-growth ETF
- Issuer
- Charles Schwab
- Pays
- quarterly
SCHD tracks the Dow Jones U.S. Dividend 100 Index, which screens for companies with a long record of paying dividends plus quality and financial-strength filters. It is one of the most widely held dividend-growth ETFs, favoured for its low expense ratio and steadily rising payout.
SCHD dividend calculatorDGRO
iShares Core Dividend Growth ETF
- Type
- Dividend-growth ETF
- Issuer
- iShares
- Pays
- quarterly
DGRO tracks the Morningstar US Dividend Growth Index, selecting companies with at least five consecutive years of dividend growth and sustainable payout ratios. It is a core holding for investors prioritising a rising payout over a high starting yield.
DGRO dividend calculatorSCHD vs DGRO dividend, side by side
Current dividend figures for SCHD and DGRO as of Oct 13, 2026. Yields and payouts change — verify the latest numbers with your broker before investing.
SCHD vs DGRO at a glance
| SCHD | DGRO | |
|---|---|---|
| Index it tracks | Dow Jones U.S. Dividend 100 Index | Morningstar US Dividend Growth Index |
| Main entry rule | 10+ years of dividends; picked from high yielders | 5+ years of dividend growth; payout ratio under 75%; top 10% of yields left out |
| How stocks are weighted | By company size, 4% cap per stock | By dividend dollars paid, 3% cap per stock |
| Stocks held (Oct 15, 2026) | 98 | 391 |
| Share in the 10 largest | 41.8% | 27.2% |
| Expense ratio | 0.06% | 0.08% |
| Launched | Oct 20, 2011 | Jun 10, 2014 |
| Trailing dividend yield | 3.17% (Oct 13, 2026) | 1.92% (Oct 13, 2026) |
| 30-day SEC yield | 3.26% (Oct 14, 2026) | 2.07% (Sep 30, 2026) |
| Dividend growth, 2021 to 2025 | 8.7% a year | 7.9% a year |
| Total return, 1 year | 23.36% | 12.95% |
| Total return, 5 years | 9.48% a year | 10.96% a year |
| Total return, 10 years | 12.44% a year | 13.16% a year |
From Schwab’s and iShares’ own pages, holdings files and prospectuses, read on October 16, 2026. All returns count reinvested dividends, are measured at net asset value, and run to the end of September 2026.
SCHD vs DGRO returns by year
| Year | SCHD | DGRO |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | +4.45% | +15.74% |
| 2024 | +11.60% | +16.61% |
| 2023 | +4.58% | +10.43% |
| 2022 | -3.23% | -7.85% |
| 2021 | +29.78% | +26.56% |
Calendar-year total return at net asset value: SCHD from Schwab’s fact sheet, DGRO from iShares, which publishes its last five calendar years. The higher return each year is marked.
Same goal, different filters
Both are cheap index funds built around dividends, but the rules pull them apart. DGRO’s prospectus says its index starts from about 97% of the U.S. market. A company needs at least five years of unbroken dividend raises and must pay out less than 75% of its earnings. The highest-yielding tenth of stocks is removed before those checks.
SCHD needs a 10-year record of paying dividends, not raising them. It then picks 100 stocks from the high-yield end of the market, scored on cash flow to debt, return on equity, yield and five-year dividend growth.
Weighting differs too. DGRO sizes each stock by the dollars of dividends it is expected to pay, capped at 3%. SCHD uses company size, capped at 4%. DGRO can also hold mid-size and small companies, and it is spread across 391 stocks against SCHD’s 98.
DGRO vs SCHD dividend yield
SCHD pays more income. On Oct 13, 2026 its trailing yield was about 3.17%, against about 1.92% for DGRO. The SEC yields point the same way: 3.26% for SCHD (October 14, 2026) and 2.07% for DGRO (September 30, 2026).
On $50,000, that is about $1,585 a year from SCHD and $960 from DGRO at those yields. Both pay quarterly.
Dividend growth since 2021
From 2021 to 2025, SCHD’s payout per share grew 8.7% a year and DGRO’s 7.9%. SCHD rose faster in 2022, 2024 and 2025. DGRO’s best year was 2023, up 12.7% when SCHD’s rose only 3.8%. Neither cut its yearly total in that span.
This year DGRO is ahead. Its first three 2026 payments came to $1.0467 per share, 4.3% more than in the same months of 2025, while SCHD’s were up 0.8%. The comparison starts in 2021 because public records place some of DGRO’s 2019 and 2020 payments in different years.
SCHD vs DGRO performance
In the five calendar years iShares publishes, DGRO did better in 2023, 2024 and 2025, and SCHD in the other 2. The biggest spread, 11.29 percentage points, came in 2025 (15.74% against 4.45%). SCHD’s best edge came in 2022 (-3.23% against -7.85%), and it also led in 2021.
Linking those five years, $10,000 at the start of 2021 grew to about $17,400 in DGRO and $15,300 in SCHD by the end of 2025. Measured to September 30, 2026, DGRO stays ahead on longer windows: 13.16% a year against 12.44% over a decade, 10.96% against 9.48% over five years, 17.57% against 15.44% over three. The past 12 months went to SCHD, 23.36% against 12.95%.
Does DGRO overlap SCHD?
Partly. Matching the two October 15 holdings files, 32 stocks are in both. They make up 60.3% of SCHD but 20.7% of DGRO. Procter & Gamble and Home Depot are among the 10 largest positions in each fund.
Two of SCHD’s top 10, Texas Instruments and Chevron, are not in DGRO at all. DGRO’s biggest weights are names SCHD skips, such as Microsoft, Exxon Mobil, Apple and AbbVie.
Sector mix
Grouping each October 15 holdings file by sector: DGRO puts 19.3% in financials, 17.9% in technology and 17.5% in health care, with utilities at 6.9% and energy at 5.7%. SCHD puts 20.2% in consumer staples, 19.0% in health care and 16.0% in energy, with financials at 8.7% and almost nothing in utilities.
SCHD vs DGRO vs VIG
VIG, Vanguard’s dividend-growth fund, often comes up as a third choice. It needs 10 years of raises and drops the top 25% of yields, so its trailing yield is lower still: about 1.52% on Oct 13, 2026, against 1.92% for DGRO and 3.17% for SCHD. It charges 0.04%.
Over 10 years to September 30, 2026, the three ended close together: DGRO 13.16% a year, VIG 12.86% and SCHD 12.44%. VIG and DGRO are near twins: 245 stocks sit in both, making up 96.3% of VIG (September 30 list) and 80.8% of DGRO.
Index rules come from each fund’s SEC prospectus. Returns, yields, fees and holdings come from Schwab and iShares. Overlap is counted from both full holdings files dated October 15, 2026. Last checked Oct 16, 2026. Sources: iShares — DGRO fund page; SEC — iShares Core Dividend Growth ETF summary prospectus (Aug 31, 2026); Schwab Asset Management — SCHD fund page; SEC — Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF summary prospectus (Feb 27, 2026); Vanguard — VIG fund page. Past returns do not predict future ones. Not financial advice.
Related dividend guides
How SCHD and DGRO differ
SCHD — SCHD tracks the Dow Jones U.S. Dividend 100 Index, which screens for companies with a long record of paying dividends plus quality and financial-strength filters. It is one of the most widely held dividend-growth ETFs, favoured for its low expense ratio and steadily rising payout.
DGRO — DGRO tracks the Morningstar US Dividend Growth Index, selecting companies with at least five consecutive years of dividend growth and sustainable payout ratios. It is a core holding for investors prioritising a rising payout over a high starting yield.
In practice the choice comes down to your goal. SCHD suits an investor who wants a rising dividend over time rather than the highest starting yield, while DGRO suits one who wants a rising dividend over time rather than the highest starting yield. The two are not mutually exclusive — plenty of portfolios hold a growth-oriented fund and an income-oriented one together. What matters is matching each to its job and not judging a fund on its headline yield alone.
Rather than compare a single snapshot yield (which moves daily), open each calculator and enter current figures: the SCHD calculator and the DGRO calculator. To compare long-term compounding head to head, run the same contributions through the dividend reinvestment calculator with each fund’s assumptions.
SCHD vs DGRO FAQ
- Should I buy SCHD or DGRO?
- This page does not give advice. SCHD pays the higher yield and grew its dividend slightly faster since 2021. DGRO holds four times as many stocks, has had the better returns over 3, 5 and 10 years to September 30, 2026, and costs 0.08% against 0.06%.
- Is DGRO a good ETF to invest in?
- Its record: 13.16% a year in total return over the 10 years to September 30, 2026, a 0.08% fee, and a dividend that rose every year from 2021 to 2025. Past results do not promise future ones.
- Can you hold both DGRO and SCHD?
- Yes, and they share less than many expect: the 32 common stocks are about a fifth of DGRO. Adding SCHD to DGRO mostly adds energy and consumer staples and raises the yield.
- Do DGRO and SCHD pay on the same dates?
- Close. Each pays a dividend every quarter, in the last month of it. In September 2026, DGRO went ex-dividend on the 15th and SCHD on the 23rd.
- What's the main difference between SCHD and DGRO?
- SCHD is a dividend-growth etf from Charles Schwab; DGRO is a dividend-growth etf from iShares. Two of the most popular dividend-growth ETFs, with different index rules and slightly different yield-versus-growth tilts.
- Does SCHD or DGRO pay more dividends?
- As of Oct 13, 2026, SCHD yields about 3.17% and DGRO about 1.92%, so SCHD currently pays the higher yield. SCHD pays quarterly; DGRO pays quarterly. Yields move daily, so verify current figures and use the calculators below to model the income yourself. Higher-yield funds pay more today, while dividend-growth funds start lower and raise the payout over time.
- Which is better, SCHD or DGRO?
- Neither is universally better — they suit different goals. SCHD fits an investor who wants a rising dividend over time rather than the highest starting yield; DGRO fits one who wants a rising dividend over time rather than the highest starting yield. Match the fund to your objective, time horizon, and tax situation, and consider a licensed advisor.
- Can I hold both SCHD and DGRO?
- Many investors do, to blend current income with growth. Just be aware of overlap — if both hold similar large-cap US stocks, you may be less diversified than the two tickers suggest.