Are DRAM and SOXL in the same category?

DRAM is a thematic ETF and SOXL is a leveraged ETF, so they do different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and holdings.

Which is cheaper, DRAM or SOXL?

DRAM 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

DRAM vs SOXL: Differences, Returns & Fees

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DRAM and SOXL are measured over different days, and DRAM charges 0.65% to SOXL's 0.75%.

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Net assets: $20.6bn on Oct 28, 2026 for Roundhill Memory ETF, and $24.7bn on Oct 27, 2026 for Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bull 3X ETF.

DRAM on its own →SOXL on its own →

At a glance

+95.0%

DRAM total return, since launch, Apr 2, 2026

+128.7%

SOXL total return, 1 year

0.65%

DRAM expense ratio

0.75%

SOXL expense ratio

Pair scorecard

DRAM costs 0.10 points a year less; SOXL is 1.3 times larger.

DRAM vs SOXL: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	DRAM	SOXL
Return
Measure	DRAM	SOXL
Total return, 1 year	not published	+128.7%
What its daily multiple gave, 3 months		23.3%
What the underlying did, 3 months		SOXX 12.3%
What the underlying did, 3 months		SOXX 12.3%
The multiple over the whole window		3 times gives +36.9%
Drawdown
Measure	DRAM	SOXL
Below its all-time high	33.0%, high on Jun 22, 2026
Against its benchmark
Measure	DRAM	SOXL
What it tracks	Memory and storage	Semiconductor
Against its daily multiple, 3 months		6.5 points short
Against the whole-window multiple		20.1 points short
Cost and size
Measure	DRAM	SOXL
Expense ratio	0.65%	0.75%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$19.2bn	$24.7bn
Active share vs the S&P 500	97%
Holdings
Measure	DRAM	SOXL
Holdings in common	not published
In the S&P 500, by weight	16%
Holdings dated	Jun 30, 2026
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	56%

Method

Risk and return

Apr 10, 2026 to Oct 23, 2026 · 28 weekly returns

DRAM SOXL

Return

Total return edge DRAM +45.1% +9.5%

Price return edge DRAM +45.1% +9.4%

Risk

Max drawdown edge DRAM −39.4% −70.1%

Reading

DRAM returned more: +45.1% to +9.5%. DRAM fell less at its worst: −39.4% to −70.1%.

Full scorecard

3 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: DRAM vs SOXL: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	DRAM	SOXL	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+45.1%	+9.5%	DRAM	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Price return	+45.1%	+9.4%	DRAM	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Max drawdown	−39.4%	−70.1%	DRAM	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 28 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

Side by side

DRAM Roundhill Memory ETF SOXL Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bull 3X ETF

Where it sits Thematic ETF Leveraged ETF

Issuer Roundhill Direxion

What it is Memory and storage +3 times SOXX each day

Total return, 1 year +95.0% (since launch, Apr 2, 2026) +128.7%

Expense ratio 0.65% 0.75%

Holdings 12 not read by ETFIQ

Net assets, DRAM as of Oct 28, 2026 and SOXL as of Oct 27, 2026 $20.6bn $24.7bn

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

Client brief

No client brief for this pair: ETFIQ prints no one-year total return for DRAM.

Alert

About each fund

DRAM

By weight, 16% of DRAM's portfolio is stocks that are also in the S&P 500; its active share against the S&P 500 is 97%. The top ten holdings are 56% of the fund across 12 positions, as filed for Jun 30, 2026. Since it first traded on Apr 2, 2026 the fund returned +95.0% with distributions reinvested. It sits 33.0% below its all-time high of Jun 22, 2026.

SOXL

Over the three months to Oct 28, 2026, SOXL returned 16.8%, against 23.3% for three times SOXX's daily moves. Of that 20.1, daily compounding is −13.6 points, which any 3 times fund would show over the same path, and the fund itself is −6.5 points against 3 times each day's move, compounded. SOXX moved at 43% annualized over that window.

Read the multiple against the whole window instead and 3 times SOXX's 12.3% implies +36.9%, which makes SOXL look 20.1 points short. That is not the fund's objective, which is daily. SOXL aims to return +3 times SOXX's move each day, then resets. Over one day it does that. Over longer periods the daily results compound, so the total is not +3 times the period's move: it is lower after a fall and recovery, and can be higher in a steady run. The more it moves, the further the two numbers separate.

Questions people ask

Are DRAM and SOXL in the same category?: DRAM is a thematic ETF and SOXL is a leveraged ETF, so they do different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and holdings.
Which is cheaper, DRAM or SOXL?: DRAM 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

DRAM vs RAM AIS vs DRAM DRAM vs SOXQ DRAM vs EWY SOXL vs SOXX SOXL vs SOXQ SMH vs SOXL DRAM vs VGT

Where to next

SOXX →DRAM on its own →SOXL on its own →Hold both: look the portfolio through →Rankings →DRAM holdings →SOXL dividend history →SOXL holdings →Standards and sources →

Sources and dates

DRAM filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

DRAM prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

Roundhill page for DRAM ↗

SOXL filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

SOXL prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

Direxion website ↗

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

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

ETFIQ, DRAM against SOXL, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/dram-vs-soxl

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