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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, BIL returned +3.7% and TLT −7.9%.

Which is cheaper, BIL or TLT?

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.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

BIL vs TLT: Differences, Returns & Fees

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BIL's duration was 0.2 years on Jun 30, 2026 and TLT's 15.1 on Aug 31, 2026; BIL charges 0.14% to TLT'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 $47.4bn for iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF.

BIL on its own →TLT on its own →

At a glance

+3.7%

BIL total return, 1 year

−7.9%

TLT total return, 1 year

0.14%

BIL expense ratio

0.15%

TLT expense ratio

Pair scorecard

BIL costs 0.01 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 11.6 points.

BIL vs TLT: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	BIL	TLT
Return
Measure	BIL	TLT
Total return, 1 year	+3.7%	−7.9%
Drawdown
Measure	BIL	TLT
Below its high		42.6%, high on Aug 4, 2020
Benchmark
Measure	BIL	TLT
What it tracks	Bloomberg 1-3 Month U.S. Treasury Bill Index	ICE U.S. Treasury 20+ Year Bond Index
Cost and size
Measure	BIL	TLT
Expense ratio	0.14%	0.15%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$48.7bn	$47.4bn
Holdings
Measure	BIL	TLT
Holdings in common	0%

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

What they share

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

50%

0 half 100%

half

0% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first BIL TLT

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 TLT

U.S. Treasury Bonds, due May 15, 2055 4.46%

U.S. Treasury Bonds, due May 15, 2054 4.40%

U.S. Treasury Bonds, due Aug 15, 2053 4.18%

U.S. Treasury Bonds, due Feb 15, 2054 4.03%

U.S. Treasury Bonds, due Feb 15, 2056 3.94%

U.S. Treasury Bonds, due Aug 15, 2054 3.94%

U.S. Treasury Bonds, due Nov 15, 2053 3.92%

U.S. Treasury Bonds, due Feb 15, 2055 3.80%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

BIL SPDR Bloomberg 1-3 Month T-Bill ETF TLT iShares 20+ Year 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 20+ year Treasuries

Total return, 1 year +3.7% −7.9%

Its benchmark over the same days not measured −7.8% (BBLB)

Gap to its benchmark not measured −0.1 pts vs BBLB

Expense ratio 0.14% 0.15%

Holdings 26 47

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $48.7bn $47.4bn

BIL and TLT 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.

TLT

TLT tracks an index of 20+ year Treasuries. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned −7.9% with distributions reinvested, against −7.8% for its benchmark, the ICE U.S. Treasury 20+ Year Bond Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.15% a year. It sat 42.6% below its high of Aug 4, 2020 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, BIL or TLT?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, BIL returned +3.7% and TLT −7.9%.
Which is cheaper, BIL or TLT?: 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.

Other comparisons

BIL vs EDV BIL vs VGLT BIL vs IEF BIL vs GOVT SHV vs TLT PULS vs TLT TLT vs USFR MINT vs TLT

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

BIL filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

BIL prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

State Street website ↗

TLT filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

TLT prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for TLT ↗

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

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