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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, BOXX returned +4.0% and SPY +13.6%.

Which is cheaper, BOXX or SPY?

SPY is cheaper, by 0.10 percentage points a year. That is about $10 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

BOXX vs SPY: Differences, Returns & Fees

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BOXX is an actively managed short-term fund and SPY an equity index fund, and over the year to Oct 28, 2026, SPY returned +13.6% against +4.0%.

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Net assets: $14.5bn on Oct 28, 2026 for Alpha Architect 1-3 Month Box ETF, and $814.8bn on Oct 27, 2026 for SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust.

BOXX on its own →SPY on its own →

At a glance

+4.0%

BOXX total return, 1 year

+13.6%

SPY total return, 1 year

0.19%

BOXX expense ratio

0.09%

SPY expense ratio

Pair scorecard

SPY costs 0.10 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 9.6 points; SPY is far larger, $810.0bn against $14.4bn.

BOXX vs SPY: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	BOXX	SPY
Return
Measure	BOXX	SPY
Total return, 1 year	+4.0%	+13.6%
Benchmark
Measure	BOXX	SPY
What it tracks	No index, actively managed	S&P 500 Index
Cost and size
Measure	BOXX	SPY
Expense ratio	0.19%	0.09%
Net assets, as of Oct 26, 2026	$14.4bn	$810.0bn
Holdings
Measure	BOXX	SPY
Holdings in common	not published
In the S&P 500, by weight		100%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund		38.1%

Method

Risk and return

Jan 6, 2023 to Oct 23, 2026 · 198 weekly returns

BOXX SPY

Return

Total return edge SPY +18.9% +105.3%

Annualized edge SPY +4.6% +20.8%

Price return edge SPY +18.6% +95.8%

Risk

Volatility edge BOXX 0.2% 14.0%

Max drawdown edge BOXX −0.1% −16.9%

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge SPY −0.25 1.10

Sortino edge SPY −0.35 1.69

Calmar Not measured 1.23

Reading

SPY returned more: +105.3% to +18.9%. BOXX swung less: 0.2% to 14.0%. BOXX fell less at its worst: −0.1% to −16.9%.

Full scorecard

9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: BOXX vs SPY: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	BOXX	SPY	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+18.9%	+105.3%	SPY	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+4.6%	+20.8%	SPY	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	+18.6%	+95.8%	SPY	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	0.2%	14.0%	BOXX	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	0.2%	9.0%	BOXX	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−0.1%	−16.9%	BOXX	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	−0.25	1.10	SPY	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	−0.35	1.69	SPY	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Calmar	Not measured	1.23		Annualized return divided by the max drawdown.

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

BOXX Alpha Architect 1-3 Month Box ETF SPY SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust

Where it sits Bond ETF Stock ETF

Issuer Alpha Architect State Street

What it is Actively managed Tracks the S&P 500

Total return, 1 year +4.0% +13.6%

Its benchmark over the same days not measured +13.7% (VOO)

Gap to its benchmark not measured −0.1 pts vs VOO

Expense ratio 0.19% 0.09%

Holdings not counted 504

Net assets, BOXX as of Oct 28, 2026 and SPY as of Oct 27, 2026 $14.5bn $814.8bn

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

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-EBD4DCAE42

BOXX and SPY do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?

What each follows. BOXX follows No index, actively managed and SPY follows S&P 500 Index.
One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 BOXX returned +4.0% and SPY +13.6% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 9.6 points.
Cost. BOXX charges 0.19% of assets a year and SPY 0.09%, a gap of 0.10 points.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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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.

SPY

SPY tracks the S&P 500. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +13.6% with distributions reinvested, against +13.7% for its benchmark, the S&P 500 Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.09% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 100% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 504 positions, with the top ten at 38.1%.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, BOXX or SPY?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, BOXX returned +4.0% and SPY +13.6%.
Which is cheaper, BOXX or SPY?: SPY is cheaper, by 0.10 percentage points a year. That is about $10 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

BOXX vs VOO BOXX vs IVV BOXX vs VTI BOXX vs SPYM SPY vs VBIL MINT vs SPY SPY vs USFR PULS vs SPY

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

BOXX filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

BOXX prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

Alpha Architect website ↗

SPY filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

State Street website ↗

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

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

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

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