Which returned more over the last year, EEM or GLD?

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, EEM returned +16.3% and GLD +2.5%.

Which is cheaper, EEM or GLD?

GLD is cheaper, by 0.32 percentage points a year. That is about $32 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's own filings.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

EEM vs GLD: Differences, Returns & Fees

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EEM is an equity index fund and GLD a commodity fund, and over the year to Oct 28, 2026, EEM returned +16.3% against +2.5%.

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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $29.1bn for iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF and $135.8bn for SPDR Gold Shares.

EEM on its own →GLD on its own →

At a glance

+16.3%

EEM total return, 1 year

+2.5%

GLD total return, 1 year

0.72%

EEM expense ratio

0.40%

GLD expense ratio

Pair scorecard

GLD costs 0.32 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 13.8 points; GLD is 4.7 times larger.

EEM vs GLD: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	EEM	GLD
Return
Measure	EEM	GLD
Total return, 1 year	+16.3%	+2.5%
Drawdown
Measure	EEM	GLD
Below its high	10.8%, high on Jun 22, 2026	24.7%, high on Jan 29, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	EEM	GLD
What it tracks	MSCI Emerging Markets Index	Gold
Cost and size
Measure	EEM	GLD
Expense ratio	0.72%	0.40%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$29.1bn	$135.8bn
Holdings
Measure	EEM	GLD
Holdings in common	not published
In the S&P 500, by weight	0%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	37.2%

Method

Side by side

EEM iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF GLD SPDR Gold Shares

Where it sits Stock ETF Commodity ETF

Issuer iShares State Street

What it is Tracks an index of Emerging markets Holds gold

Total return, 1 year +16.3% +2.5%

Its benchmark over the same days not measured +2.7% (IAU)

Gap to its benchmark not measured −0.2 pts vs IAU

Expense ratio 0.72% 0.40%

Holdings 1186 not counted

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $29.1bn $135.8bn

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

Alert

About each fund

EEM

EEM tracks an index of Emerging markets. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +16.3% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.72% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 0% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 1,186 positions, with the top ten at 37.2%. It sat 10.8% below its high of Jun 22, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

GLD

Its expense ratio is 0.40% a year, for the three months to Jun 30, 2026, as its 10-Q states.

GLD holds gold. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +2.5% with distributions reinvested, against +2.7% for its benchmark, the price of gold. It sat 24.7% below its high of Jan 29, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, EEM or GLD?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, EEM returned +16.3% and GLD +2.5%.
Which is cheaper, EEM or GLD?: GLD is cheaper, by 0.32 percentage points a year. That is about $32 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's own filings.

Other comparisons

EEM vs IAU EEM vs GLDM EEM vs SLV EEM vs SIVR GLD vs VWO GLD vs IEMG EMXC vs GLD AVEM vs GLD

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

EEM filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

EEM prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for EEM ↗

State Street website ↗

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

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

ETFIQ, EEM against GLD, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/eem-vs-gld

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