Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
BIL vs SHY: Differences, Returns & Fees
BIL's duration was 0.2 years on Jun 30, 2026 and SHY's 1.8 on Aug 31, 2026; BIL charges 0.14% to SHY's 0.15%.
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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $48.7bn for SPDR Bloomberg 1-3 Month T-Bill ETF and $27.4bn for iShares 1-3 Year Treasury Bond ETF.
Pair scorecard
BIL costs 0.01 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 2.1 points; BIL is 1.8 times larger.
| Measure | BIL | SHY |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +3.7% | +1.6% |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | Bloomberg 1-3 Month U.S. Treasury Bill Index | ICE U.S. Treasury 1-3 Year Bond Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.14% | 0.15% |
| Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 | $48.7bn | $27.4bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 0% | |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Jun 30, 2026 and Aug 31, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Jun 8, 2007 to Oct 23, 2026 · 1,011 weekly returnsSHY returned more: +42.4% to +30.9%. BIL swung less: 0.4% to 1.4%. BIL fell less at its worst: −0.5% to −5.6%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | BIL | SHY | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +30.9% | +42.4% | SHY | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +1.4% | +1.8% | SHY | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | −0.1% | +2.2% | SHY | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 0.4% | 1.4% | BIL | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 0.3% | 0.9% | BIL | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −0.5% | −5.6% | BIL | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | −0.40 | 0.22 | SHY | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | −0.57 | 0.33 | SHY | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 3.00 | 0.33 | BIL | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 1,011 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, BIL and SHY hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Jun 30, 2026 and Aug 31, 2026.
half
0% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
BIL and SHY on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
BIL and SHY do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. BIL follows Bloomberg 1-3 Month U.S. Treasury Bill Index and SHY follows ICE U.S. Treasury 1-3 Year Bond Index.
- Holdings in common. 0% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Jun 30, 2026 and Aug 31, 2026).
- One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 BIL returned +3.7% and SHY +1.6% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 2.1 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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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.
SHY
SHY tracks an index of 1-3 Year Treasury Bond. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +1.6% with distributions reinvested, against +1.7% for its benchmark, the ICE U.S. Treasury 1-3 Year Bond Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.15% a year.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, BIL or SHY?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, BIL returned +3.7% and SHY +1.6%.
- Which is cheaper, BIL or SHY?
- BIL is cheaper, by 0.01 percentage points a year. That is about $1 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
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 SHY, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/bil-vs-shy
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). BIL against SHY. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/bil-vs-shy
[BIL against SHY (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/bil-vs-shy)
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