Which returned more over the last year, BOXX or GLD?

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, BOXX returned +4.0% and GLD +2.5%.

Which is cheaper, BOXX or GLD?

BOXX is cheaper, by 0.21 percentage points a year. That is about $21 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's own filings.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

BOXX vs GLD: Differences, Returns & Fees

Share on X Download as PDF

BOXX is an actively managed short-term fund and GLD a commodity fund, and over the year to Oct 28, 2026, BOXX returned +4.0% against +2.5%.

askIQ about this page

askIQ about BOXX and GLD

Net assets: $14.5bn on Oct 28, 2026 for Alpha Architect 1-3 Month Box ETF, and $135.8bn on Oct 27, 2026 for SPDR Gold Shares.

BOXX on its own →GLD on its own →

At a glance

+4.0%

BOXX total return, 1 year

+2.5%

GLD total return, 1 year

0.19%

BOXX expense ratio

0.40%

GLD expense ratio

Pair scorecard

BOXX costs 0.21 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 1.5 points; GLD is 9.3 times larger.

BOXX vs GLD: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	BOXX	GLD
Return
Measure	BOXX	GLD
Total return, 1 year	+4.0%	+2.5%
Drawdown
Measure	BOXX	GLD
Below its high		24.7%, high on Jan 29, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	BOXX	GLD
What it tracks	No index, actively managed	Gold
Cost and size
Measure	BOXX	GLD
Expense ratio	0.19%	0.40%
Net assets, as of Oct 26, 2026	$14.4bn	$134.6bn
Holdings
Measure	BOXX	GLD
Holdings in common	not published

Method

Side by side

BOXX Alpha Architect 1-3 Month Box ETF GLD SPDR Gold Shares

Where it sits Bond ETF Commodity ETF

Issuer Alpha Architect State Street

What it is Actively managed Holds gold

Total return, 1 year +4.0% +2.5%

Its benchmark over the same days not measured +2.7% (IAU)

Gap to its benchmark not measured −0.2 pts vs IAU

Expense ratio 0.19% 0.40%

Net assets, BOXX as of Oct 28, 2026 and GLD as of Oct 27, 2026 $14.5bn $135.8bn

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

Alert

About each fund

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.

GLD

Its expense ratio is 0.40% a year, for the three months to Jun 30, 2026, as its 10-Q states.

GLD holds gold. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +2.5% with distributions reinvested, against +2.7% for its benchmark, the price of gold. It sat 24.7% below its high of Jan 29, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, BOXX or GLD?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, BOXX returned +4.0% and GLD +2.5%.
Which is cheaper, BOXX or GLD?: BOXX is cheaper, by 0.21 percentage points a year. That is about $21 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's own filings.

Other comparisons

BOXX vs IAU BOXX vs BWET BOXX vs GLDM BOXX vs SLV GLD vs VBIL GLD vs MINT GLD vs USFR GLD vs PULS

Where to next

BOXX on its own →GLD on its own →Hold both: look the portfolio through →Rankings →BOXX dividend history →Standards and sources →

Sources and dates

BOXX filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

BOXX prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

Alpha Architect website ↗

State Street website ↗

Links are sources, not endorsements. A comparison is not a recommendation.

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

ETFIQ, BOXX against GLD, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/boxx-vs-gld

Open data →

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