Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
DIA vs IBB: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, DIA returned +11.6% to IBB's +37.5%, and DIA charges 0.16% to IBB's 0.44%.
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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $45.9bn for SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust and $11.0bn for iShares Biotechnology ETF.
Pair scorecard
DIA costs 0.28 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 25.9 points; DIA is 4.2 times larger.
| Measure | DIA | IBB |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +11.6% | +37.5% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 3.0%, high on Aug 5, 2026 | |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | Dow Jones Industrial Average | Biotech |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.16% | 0.44% |
| Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 | $45.9bn | $11.0bn |
| Active share vs the S&P 500 | 99% | |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 5% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 54.7% | 50% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 27, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Feb 23, 2001 to Oct 23, 2026 · 1,339 weekly returnsDIA returned more: +765.9% to +586.4%. DIA swung less: 17.1% to 24.3%. DIA fell less at its worst: −50.9% to −59.2%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | DIA | IBB | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +765.9% | +586.4% | DIA | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +8.7% | +7.8% | DIA | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +398.4% | +557.1% | IBB | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 17.1% | 24.3% | DIA | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 12.2% | 17.2% | DIA | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −50.9% | −59.2% | DIA | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.47 | 0.36 | DIA | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.66 | 0.50 | DIA | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.17 | 0.13 | DIA | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 1,339 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, DIA and IBB hold 5% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.
half
5% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
DIA and IBB on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
DIA and IBB do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. DIA follows Dow Jones Industrial Average and IBB follows Biotech.
- Holdings in common. 5% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026).
- One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 DIA returned +11.6% and IBB +37.5% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 25.9 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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DIA
DIA tracks the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +11.6% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.16% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 97% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 30 positions, with the top ten at 54.7%. It sat 3.0% below its high of Aug 5, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.
IBB
By weight, 40% of IBB's portfolio is stocks that are also in the S&P 500; its active share against the S&P 500 is 99%. The top ten holdings are 50% of the fund across 245 positions, as published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 the fund returned +37.5% with distributions reinvested.
Questions people ask
- Are DIA and IBB in the same category?
- DIA is a stock ETF and IBB is a thematic ETF, so they do different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and holdings.
- Which returned more over the last year, DIA or IBB?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, DIA returned +11.6% and IBB +37.5%.
- Which is cheaper, DIA or IBB?
- DIA is cheaper, by 0.28 percentage points a year. That is about $28 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
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.
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ETFIQ, DIA against IBB, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/dia-vs-ibb
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). DIA against IBB. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/dia-vs-ibb
[DIA against IBB (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/dia-vs-ibb)
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