Are BIL and GDX in the same category?

BIL is a bond ETF and GDX is a thematic ETF, so they do different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and holdings.

Which returned more over the last year, BIL or GDX?

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, BIL returned +3.7% and GDX +19.0%.

Which is cheaper, BIL or GDX?

BIL is cheaper, by 0.37 percentage points a year. That is about $37 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

BIL vs GDX: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, BIL returned +3.7% to GDX's +19.0%, and BIL charges 0.14% to GDX's 0.51%.

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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $48.7bn for SPDR Bloomberg 1-3 Month T-Bill ETF and $25.6bn for VanEck Gold Miners ETF.

BIL on its own →GDX on its own →

At a glance

+3.7%

BIL total return, 1 year

+19.0%

GDX total return, 1 year

0.14%

BIL expense ratio

0.51%

GDX expense ratio

Pair scorecard

BIL costs 0.37 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 15.3 points; BIL is 1.9 times larger.

BIL vs GDX: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	BIL	GDX
Return
Measure	BIL	GDX
Total return, 1 year	+3.7%	+19.0%
Drawdown
Measure	BIL	GDX
Below its all-time high		27.5%, high on Feb 27, 2026
Against its benchmark
Measure	BIL	GDX
What it tracks	Bloomberg 1-3 Month U.S. Treasury Bill Index	Gold miners
Against its benchmark, 1 year		ahead by 5.6 pts
Cost and size
Measure	BIL	GDX
Expense ratio	0.14%	0.51%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$48.7bn	$25.6bn
Active share vs the S&P 500		100%
Holdings
Measure	BIL	GDX
Holdings in common	0%
In the S&P 500, by weight		12%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund		60%

Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 27, 2026. Method

What they share

By the books each fund has filed, BIL and GDX hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

0% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first BIL GDX

Only in one fund ↓

Only in BIL

TREASURY BILL 12/26 0.00000 7.94%

TREASURY BILL 12/26 0.00000 6.66%

TREASURY BILL 12/26 0.00000 6.46%

TREASURY BILL 12/26 0.00000 6.40%

TREASURY BILL 12/26 0.00000 6.39%

TREASURY BILL 11/26 0.00000 6.26%

TREASURY BILL 12/26 0.00000 6.21%

TREASURY BILL 11/26 0.00000 4.85%

Only in GDX

Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd 11.45%

Newmont Corp 11.42%

Barrick Mining Corp 8.07%

Wheaton Precious Metals Corp 5.50%

Franco-Nevada Corp 5.33%

Anglogold Ashanti Plc 4.78%

Gold Fields Ltd 3.96%

Kinross Gold Corp 3.88%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

BIL SPDR Bloomberg 1-3 Month T-Bill ETF GDX VanEck Gold Miners ETF

Where it sits Bond ETF Thematic ETF

Issuer State Street VanEck

What it is Tracks an index of 1-3 month T-bills Gold miners

Total return, 1 year +3.7% +19.0%

Its benchmark over the same days not measured +13.4% (ACWI)

Gap to its benchmark not measured +5.6 pts vs ACWI

Expense ratio 0.14% 0.51%

Holdings 26 59

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $48.7bn $25.6bn

BIL and GDX on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

Alert

About each fund

BIL

BIL tracks an index of 1-3 month T-bills. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +3.7% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.14% a year.

GDX

By weight, 12% of GDX's portfolio is stocks that are also in the S&P 500; its active share against the S&P 500 is 100%. The top ten holdings are 60% of the fund across 59 positions, as published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 the fund returned +19.0% with distributions reinvested against +13.4% for its benchmark, the MSCI ACWI Index, so a holder was ahead by 5.6 pts. It sits 27.5% below its all-time high of Feb 27, 2026.

Questions people ask

Are BIL and GDX in the same category?: BIL is a bond ETF and GDX is a thematic ETF, so they do different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and holdings.
Which returned more over the last year, BIL or GDX?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, BIL returned +3.7% and GDX +19.0%.
Which is cheaper, BIL or GDX?: BIL is cheaper, by 0.37 percentage points a year. That is about $37 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

BIL vs LYTE BIL vs IBB BIL vs XBI BIL vs REMX BOXX vs GDX GDX vs VBIL GDX vs SGOV GDX vs TLT

Where to next

BIL on its own →GDX on its own →Hold both: look the portfolio through →Rankings →BIL dividend history →BIL holdings →GDX dividend history →GDX holdings →Standards and sources →

Sources and dates

BIL filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

BIL prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

State Street website ↗

GDX filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

GDX prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

VanEck website ↗

Links are sources, not endorsements. A comparison is not a recommendation.

How this is computed

Overlap adds up the smaller of the two weights for each security both funds hold.

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

ETFIQ, BIL against GDX, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/bil-vs-gdx

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Free to use with attribution for data ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.