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

In the year to Sep 13, 2026, with distributions reinvested, BIL returned +3.7% and IAU returned +19.2%, so IAU returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.

Which is cheaper, BIL or IAU?

BIL charges 0.14% a year and IAU charges 0.25%, so BIL is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Sep 13, 2026. Both funds on the fields they both publish, from the same sources.

ETFIQetfiq.com · independent ETF data

BIL vs IAU: how they differ

BIL is a short-term Treasury fund and IAU a commodity fund, and over the year IAU returned more, +19.2% against +3.7%.

SPDR Bloomberg 1-3 Month T-Bill ETF and iShares Gold Trust.

BIL and IAU on the fields both publish, as of Sep 13, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
	BIL SPDR Bloomberg 1-3 Month T-Bill ETF	IAU iShares Gold Trust
Where it sits	Core index fund	Core index fund
Issuer	State Street	iShares
What it is	1-3 month T-bills	Gold
Total return, 1 year	+3.7%	+19.2%
S&P 500 over the same days	+17.5%	+17.5%
Gap to the S&P 500	−13.8 pts	+1.7 pts
Expense ratio	0.14%	0.25%

BIL in plain words

BIL is a cash and treasury bills tracking the 1-3 month T-bills. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +3.7% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.14% a year.

IAU in plain words

IAU is a commodity fund tracking the Gold. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +19.2% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.25% a year. It sat 19.6% below its high of Jan 29, 2026 on Sep 11, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, BIL or IAU?: In the year to Sep 13, 2026, with distributions reinvested, BIL returned +3.7% and IAU returned +19.2%, so IAU returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.
Which is cheaper, BIL or IAU?: BIL charges 0.14% a year and IAU charges 0.25%, so BIL is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

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Where these figures came from

ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure. It is not affiliated with any issuer, and a link is not an endorsement.

BIL against IAU, ETFIQ, data as of Sep 13, 2026. Every figure is arithmetic on a named public source; the method is at etfiq.com/methodology. A comparison is not a recommendation.

Cite this page. ETFIQ, BIL against IAU, data as of Sep 13, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/bil-vs-iau Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.

A comparison is not a recommendation. Standards and sources