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12 Best Fidelity Index Funds in 2026

Fidelity pioneered no-fee index funds, but there are also other index funds from the provider that are worth mentioning.

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Editor & Content Strategist

Bella Avila is an editor and content strategist on the investing and taxes team at NerdWallet. Previously, she was a copy editing intern at NerdWallet through the Dow Jones News Fund internship program. Bella graduated from The University of Oklahoma with a bachelor's degree in journalism. She lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

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Editor & Content Strategist

Sabrina Parys is an editor and content strategist on the taxes and investing team at NerdWallet. Previously, she was a copy editor and associate editor in academic and educational publishing. Sabrina graduated from CUNY Hunter College with bachelor's degree in English. She also holds a master's degree in book publishing from Portland State University. Sabrina is based in Brooklyn, New York.

Like other legacy brokers, Fidelity has a big collection of index funds to choose from. Some track broad market indexes, while others are more niche, targeting growth stocks, value stocks or emerging markets.

We’ve compiled the best Fidelity index funds based on cost, performance and popularity.

4 free Fidelity index funds

An expense ratio is a fee that covers the cost of a fund’s management. In 2018, Fidelity began offering something no other broker had before: index funds with no expense ratios.

This is made possible in part because these funds are based on indexes created by Fidelity, which is cheaper than tracking outside indexes. These funds are also considered to be a way for Fidelity to draw in new customers, who may eventually purchase other assets or services that Fidelity can profit from.

Here are the four Fidelity index funds that make up its ZERO family in order of one-year performance.

Ticker

Name

Performance (one year)

FZIPX

Fidelity ZERO Extended Market Index Fund

35.50%

FZILX

Fidelity ZERO International Index Fund

34.01%

FZROX

Fidelity ZERO Total Market Index Fund

30.05%

FNILX

Fidelity ZERO Large Cap Index Fund

29.46%

Source: Morningstar. Data is current as of June 3, 2026, and is intended for informational purposes only.

» Read our review of Fidelity

The benefit of a free index fund

Index funds with no expense ratios are still rare eight years after Fidelity introduced the concept. The only other broker that offers free index funds is E*TRADE.

According to Investment Company Institute research, the average expense ratio for an index fund in 2025 was 0.05%

Let’s say you plan to retire in 30 years and contribute $7,500 per year to your IRA until then. We’ll assume an average return rate of 6%. A 0.05% expense ratio turns into more than $6,400 over that time period. That’s $6,400 that could have been working for you in the market instead of going toward fees.

One thing to note: Fidelity’s free index funds are only available to people who have a Fidelity account — you can’t access them through other brokers.

on Fidelity's website

» What else to know about brokers that offer free index funds

5 best-performing Fidelity index funds

Below are the best Fidelity index funds in terms of one-year performance, plus each fund’s expense ratio. We’ve excluded Fidelity SAI and Flex index funds from this list, as they’re only available to clients of Fidelity’s paid services.

Name and ticker

Performance (one year)

Expense ratio

Fidelity Emerging Markets Index Fund (FPADX)

59.25%

0.075%

Fidelity Small Cap Value Index Fund (FISVX)

45.36%

0.050%

Fidelity Small Cap Index Fund (FSSNX)

43.56%

0.025%

Fidelity Small Cap Growth Index Fund (FECGX)

41.72%

0.050%

Fidelity Nasdaq Composite Index Fund (FNCMX)

41.65%

0.290%

Source: Morningstar. Data is current as of June 3, 2026, and is intended for informational purposes only.

You may notice that small-cap index funds show up frequently on this list

While investing in a fund is generally less risky than investing in a single company, there is still some risk that can come with investing in small-cap funds like these. Opening yourself up to higher potential returns can also mean opening yourself up to bigger potential losses. Spreading your investments across different market caps is one way to further diversify your portfolio and limit risk.

3 popular Fidelity index funds

A cheap or high-performing index fund doesn’t always equate to it being a fan favorite. To get a sense of the broker’s most popular index funds, we looked for ones with the highest assets under management.

Fidelity 500 Index Fund: $791.7 billion.

Fidelity Total Market Index Fund: $131.7 billion.

Fidelity International Index Fund: $81.5 billion.

Here’s how the top three funds compare in returns and expense ratios.

Name and ticker

Performance (one year)

Expense ratio

Fidelity 500 Index Fund (FXAIX)

29.74%

0.015%

Fidelity Total Market Index Fund (FSKAX)

30.00%

0.015%

Fidelity International Index Fund (FSPSX)

21.61%

0.035%

Source: Morningstar. Data is current as of June 3, 2026, and is intended for informational purposes only.

Unlike some of its competitors, Fidelity does not require a minimum to invest in its proprietary index funds. You can get started investing with any amount of your choosing.

You can buy Fidelity index funds by opening a brokerage account with the provider. If you already have a 401(k) with Fidelity, the process of opening a brokerage account is streamlined. If you don’t have an existing account, the process of setting one up is fairly similar to setting up an online bank account — it requires some personal information and takes about 15 minutes.

You may be able to buy Fidelity index funds through a different broker, but there will likely be fees in doing so.

» Learn more about how to open a brokerage account

Unlike some of its competitors, Fidelity does not require a minimum to invest in its proprietary index funds. You can get started investing with any amount of your choosing.

You can buy Fidelity index funds by opening a brokerage account with the provider. If you already have a 401(k) with Fidelity, the process of opening a brokerage account is streamlined. If you don’t have an existing account, the process of setting one up is fairly similar to setting up an online bank account — it requires some personal information and takes about 15 minutes.

You may be able to buy Fidelity index funds through a different broker, but there will likely be fees in doing so.

»

Learn more about how to open a brokerage account

Helpful resources