Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
GDX vs USO: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, GDX returned +19.0% to USO's +133.3%, and GDX charges 0.51% to USO's 0.86%.
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Net assets: $25.6bn on Oct 27, 2026 for VanEck Gold Miners ETF, and $1.9bn on Oct 28, 2026 for United States Oil Fund, LP.
Pair scorecard
GDX costs 0.35 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 114.3 points; GDX is 13.5 times larger.
| Measure | GDX | USO |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +19.0% | +133.3% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its all-time high | 27.5%, high on Feb 27, 2026 | |
| Below its high | 82.3%, high on Jul 14, 2008 | |
| Against its benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | Gold miners | Oil futures |
| Against its benchmark, 1 year | ahead by 5.6 pts | |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.51% | 0.86% |
| Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 | $25.6bn | $1.9bn |
| Active share vs the S&P 500 | 100% | |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | not published | |
| In the S&P 500, by weight | 12% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 60% | |
Risk and return
Jun 2, 2006 to Oct 23, 2026 · 1,064 weekly returnsGDX returned more: +148.2% to −69.2%. USO swung slightly less: 37.2% to 38.4%. GDX fell less at its worst: −79.2% to −98.0%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | GDX | USO | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +148.2% | −69.2% | GDX | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +4.5% | −5.6% | GDX | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +105.0% | −69.2% | GDX | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 38.4% | 37.2% | USO (slight) | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 26.4% | 26.9% | Tie | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −79.2% | −98.0% | GDX | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.27 | −0.01 | GDX | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.38 | −0.02 | GDX | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.06 | −0.06 | GDX | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 1,064 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
Side by side
GDX and USO on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
GDX and USO do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. GDX follows Gold miners and USO follows Oil futures.
- One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 GDX returned +19.0% and USO +133.3% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 114.3 points.
- Cost. GDX charges 0.51% of assets a year and USO 0.86%, a gap of 0.35 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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GDX
By weight, 12% of GDX's portfolio is stocks that are also in the S&P 500; its active share against the S&P 500 is 100%. The top ten holdings are 60% of the fund across 59 positions, as published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 the fund returned +19.0% with distributions reinvested against +13.4% for its benchmark, the MSCI ACWI Index, so a holder was ahead by 5.6 pts. It sits 27.5% below its all-time high of Feb 27, 2026.
USO
USO holds oil futures. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +133.3% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.86% a year. It sat 82.3% below its high of Jul 14, 2008 on Oct 28, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Are GDX and USO in the same category?
- GDX is a thematic ETF and USO is a commodity ETF, so they do different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and holdings.
- Which returned more over the last year, GDX or USO?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, GDX returned +19.0% and USO +133.3%.
- Which is cheaper, GDX or USO?
- GDX is cheaper, by 0.35 percentage points a year. That is about $35 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
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ETFIQ, GDX against USO, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/gdx-vs-uso
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). GDX against USO. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/gdx-vs-uso
[GDX against USO (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/gdx-vs-uso)
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