Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
BILS vs BOXX: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, BILS returned +3.6% to BOXX's +4.0%, and BILS charges 0.14% to BOXX's 0.19%.
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Net assets: $4.0bn on Oct 27, 2026 for State Street SPDR Bloomberg 3-12 Month T-Bill ETF, and $14.5bn on Oct 28, 2026 for Alpha Architect 1-3 Month Box ETF.
Pair scorecard
BILS costs 0.05 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 0.4 points; BOXX is 3.6 times larger.
| Measure | BILS | BOXX |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +3.6% | +4.0% |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | Bloomberg 3-12 Month U.S. Treasury Bill Index | No index, actively managed |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.14% | 0.19% |
| Net assets, as of Oct 26, 2026 | $4.0bn | $14.4bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | not published | |
Risk and return
Jan 6, 2023 to Oct 23, 2026 · 198 weekly returnsBOXX returned slightly more: +18.9% to +18.3%. BILS swung less: 0.2% to 0.2%. BILS fell less at its worst: 0.0% to −0.1%.
Full scorecard
8 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | BILS | BOXX | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +18.3% | +18.9% | BOXX (slight) | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +4.5% | +4.6% | BOXX (slight) | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | 0.0% | +18.6% | BOXX | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 0.2% | 0.2% | BILS | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 0.2% | 0.2% | BILS | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | 0.0% | −0.1% | BILS | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | −0.93 | −0.25 | BOXX | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | −1.31 | −0.35 | BOXX | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 198 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
Side by side
BILS and BOXX on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
BILS and BOXX are built for the same job. How do they differ in cost, holdings and results?
- What each follows. BILS follows Bloomberg 3-12 Month U.S. Treasury Bill Index and BOXX follows No index, actively managed.
- Size. BILS has $4.0bn in net assets and BOXX $14.4bn (net assets, as of Oct 26, 2026); BOXX is 3.6 times larger.
- One-year total return (similar). Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 BILS returned +3.6% and BOXX +4.0% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 0.4 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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BILS
BILS tracks an index. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +3.6% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.14% a year.
BOXX
BOXX is actively managed and tracks no index. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +4.0% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.19% a year.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, BILS or BOXX?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, BILS returned +3.6% and BOXX +4.0%.
- Which is cheaper, BILS or BOXX?
- BILS is cheaper, by 0.05 percentage points a year. That is about $5 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
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ETFIQ, BILS against BOXX, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/bils-vs-boxx
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). BILS against BOXX. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/bils-vs-boxx
[BILS against BOXX (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/bils-vs-boxx)
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