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Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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BIL vs GOVT: Differences, Returns & Fees

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BIL's duration was 0.2 years on Jun 30, 2026 and GOVT's 5.5 on Jul 31, 2026; GOVT charges 0.05% to BIL's 0.14%.

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askIQ about BIL and GOVT

Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $48.7bn for SPDR Bloomberg 1-3 Month T-Bill ETF and $42.8bn for iShares U.S. Treasury Bond ETF.

BIL on its own →GOVT on its own →
At a glance
+3.7%
BIL total return, 1 year
−1.5%
GOVT total return, 1 year
0.14%
BIL expense ratio
0.05%
GOVT expense ratio

Pair scorecard

GOVT costs 0.09 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 5.2 points; BIL is 1.1 times larger.

BIL vs GOVT: Differences, Returns & Fees
MeasureBILGOVT
Return
Total return, 1 year+3.7%−1.5%
Drawdown
Below its high8.1%, high on Aug 4, 2020
Benchmark
What it tracksBloomberg 1-3 Month U.S. Treasury Bill IndexICE U.S. Treasury Core Bond Index
Cost and size
Expense ratio0.14%0.05%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026$48.7bn$42.8bn
Holdings
Holdings in common0%

Holdings in common uses holdings dated Jun 30, 2026 and Jul 31, 2026. Method

What they share

0%

By the books each fund has filed, BIL and GOVT hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Jun 30, 2026 and Jul 31, 2026.

0 half 100%

half

0% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first BIL GOVT
Only in one fund ↓
Only in BIL
U.S. Treasury Bills, due Aug 6, 2026 12.04%
U.S. Treasury Bills, due Sep 3, 2026 9.04%
U.S. Treasury Bills, due Aug 27, 2026 7.22%
U.S. Treasury Bills, due Sep 17, 2026 7.03%
U.S. Treasury Bills, due Sep 10, 2026 6.98%
U.S. Treasury Bills, due Sep 24, 2026 6.97%
U.S. Treasury Bills, due Aug 13, 2026 6.85%
U.S. Treasury Bills, due Aug 20, 2026 6.49%
Only in GOVT
U.S. Treasury Notes, due Nov 15, 2031 5.28%
U.S. Treasury Notes, due Feb 15, 2029 2.95%
U.S. Treasury Notes, due Feb 15, 2028 2.63%
U.S. Treasury Notes, due Nov 15, 2028 2.08%
U.S. Treasury Notes, due May 15, 2028 1.62%
U.S. Treasury Bonds, due May 15, 2046 1.48%
U.S. Treasury Bonds, due Nov 15, 2042 1.46%
U.S. Treasury Bonds, due Feb 15, 2051 1.46%
Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

BIL SPDR Bloomberg 1-3 Month T-Bill ETF GOVT iShares U.S. Treasury Bond ETF
Where it sits Bond ETF Bond ETF
Issuer State Street iShares
What it is Tracks an index of 1-3 month T-bills Tracks an index of U.S. Treasury Bond
Total return, 1 year +3.7% −1.5%
Expense ratio 0.14% 0.05%
Holdings 26 229
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $48.7bn $42.8bn

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

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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.

GOVT

GOVT tracks an index of U.S. Treasury Bond. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned −1.5% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.05% a year. It sat 8.1% below its high of Aug 4, 2020 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, BIL or GOVT?
In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, BIL returned +3.7% and GOVT −1.5%.
Which is cheaper, BIL or GOVT?
GOVT is cheaper, by 0.09 percentage points a year. That is about $9 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
Other comparisons
BIL vs IEFBIL vs VGITBIL vs VGSHBIL vs JAAAGOVT vs SHVGOVT vs PULSGOVT vs USFRGOVT vs MINT
Where to next
BIL on its own →GOVT on its own →Hold both: look the portfolio through →Rankings →BIL dividend history →BIL holdings →GOVT dividend history →GOVT holdings →Standards and sources →
Sources and dates
BIL filings on SEC EDGAR ↗
BIL prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗
State Street website ↗
GOVT filings on SEC EDGAR ↗
GOVT prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗
iShares page for GOVT ↗

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 GOVT, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/bil-vs-govt

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