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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, BOXX returned +4.0% and TLT −7.9%.

Which is cheaper, BOXX or TLT?

TLT is cheaper, by 0.04 percentage points a year. That is about $4 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

BOXX vs TLT: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, BOXX returned +4.0% to TLT's −7.9%, and TLT charges 0.15% to BOXX's 0.19%.

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Net assets: $14.5bn on Oct 28, 2026 for Alpha Architect 1-3 Month Box ETF, and $47.4bn on Oct 27, 2026 for iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF.

BOXX on its own →TLT on its own →

At a glance

+4.0%

BOXX total return, 1 year

−7.9%

TLT total return, 1 year

0.19%

BOXX expense ratio

0.15%

TLT expense ratio

Pair scorecard

TLT costs 0.04 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 11.9 points; TLT is 3.3 times larger.

BOXX vs TLT: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	BOXX	TLT
Return
Measure	BOXX	TLT
Total return, 1 year	+4.0%	−7.9%
Drawdown
Measure	BOXX	TLT
Below its high		42.6%, high on Aug 4, 2020
Benchmark
Measure	BOXX	TLT
What it tracks	No index, actively managed	ICE U.S. Treasury 20+ Year Bond Index
Cost and size
Measure	BOXX	TLT
Expense ratio	0.19%	0.15%
Net assets, as of Oct 26, 2026	$14.4bn	$47.8bn
Holdings
Measure	BOXX	TLT
Holdings in common	not published

Method

Side by side

BOXX Alpha Architect 1-3 Month Box ETF TLT iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF

Where it sits Bond ETF Bond ETF

Issuer Alpha Architect iShares

What it is Actively managed Tracks an index of 20+ year Treasuries

Total return, 1 year +4.0% −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 0.19% 0.15%

Holdings not counted 47

Net assets, BOXX as of Oct 28, 2026 and TLT as of Oct 27, 2026 $14.5bn $47.4bn

BOXX and TLT 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.

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, BOXX or TLT?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, BOXX returned +4.0% and TLT −7.9%.
Which is cheaper, BOXX or TLT?: TLT is cheaper, by 0.04 percentage points a year. That is about $4 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

BOXX vs VGLT BOXX vs EDV BOXX vs IUSB BOXX vs IEF TLT vs VBIL MINT vs TLT TLT vs USFR PULS vs TLT

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

BOXX filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

BOXX prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

Alpha Architect 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.

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

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

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