Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
DIA vs SPY: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, DIA returned +11.6% to SPY's +13.6%; 30% of their weight is in the same names.
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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $45.9bn for SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust and $814.8bn for SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust.
Pair scorecard
SPY costs 0.07 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 2.0 points; SPY is 17.8 times larger.
| Measure | DIA | SPY |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +11.6% | +13.6% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 3.0%, high on Aug 5, 2026 | |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | Dow Jones Industrial Average | S&P 500 Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.16% | 0.09% |
| Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 | $45.9bn | $814.8bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 30% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 54.7% | 38.1% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 27, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Jan 30, 1998 to Oct 23, 2026 · 1,499 weekly returnsSPY returned slightly more: +1,167.2% to +1,095.9%. DIA swung slightly less: 17.2% to 17.7%. DIA fell slightly less at its worst: −50.9% to −54.6%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | DIA | SPY | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +1,095.9% | +1,167.2% | SPY (slight) | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +9.0% | +9.2% | SPY (slight) | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +558.0% | +673.0% | SPY | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 17.2% | 17.7% | DIA (slight) | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 12.2% | 12.5% | DIA (slight) | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −50.9% | −54.6% | DIA (slight) | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.48 | 0.49 | Tie | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.68 | 0.69 | Tie | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.18 | 0.17 | DIA (slight) | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 1,499 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, DIA and SPY hold 30% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.
half
30% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
DIA and SPY on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
DIA and SPY are built for the same job. How do they differ in cost, holdings and results?
- What each follows. DIA follows Dow Jones Industrial Average and SPY follows S&P 500 Index.
- Holdings in common. 30% 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 SPY +13.6% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 2.0 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.
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, DIA or SPY?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, DIA returned +11.6% and SPY +13.6%.
- Which is cheaper, DIA or SPY?
- SPY is cheaper, by 0.07 percentage points a year. That is about $7 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 SPY, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/dia-vs-spy
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). DIA against SPY. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/dia-vs-spy
[DIA against SPY (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/dia-vs-spy)
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