Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
GLD vs GLDW: Differences, Returns & Fees
GLD and GLDW are measured over different days, and GLD charges 0.40% to GLDW's 0.99%.
askIQ about this page
askIQ about GLD and GLDW
Net assets: $135.8bn on Oct 27, 2026 for SPDR Gold Shares, and $18m on Oct 28, 2026 for Roundhill Gold WeeklyPay ETF.
Pair scorecard
GLD costs 0.59 points a year less; GLD is far larger, $135.8bn against $18m.
| Measure | GLD | GLDW |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +2.5% | not published |
| Cash paid, share of starting value, since Oct 30, 2025 | 26.3% | |
| Price change, since Oct 30, 2025 | fell 26.8% | |
| Latest payout, annualized | 26.2% | |
| Return of capital, issuer estimate | 100% of the Oct 27, 2026 payment | |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 24.7%, high on Jan 29, 2026 | |
| Against its benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | Gold | Benchmark: Gold, measured through GLD |
| Against its benchmark, same days | behind by 5.1 pts | |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.40% | 0.99% |
| Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 | $135.8bn | $18m |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | not published | |
Risk and return
Nov 7, 2025 to Oct 23, 2026 · 50 weekly returnsGLD returned more: −0.5% to −5.4%. GLD fell less at its worst: −24.2% to −30.6%.
Full scorecard
3 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | GLD | GLDW | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | −0.5% | −5.4% | GLD | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Price return | −0.5% | −27.3% | GLD | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Max drawdown | −24.2% | −30.6% | GLD | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 50 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
Side by side
GLD and GLDW on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
No client brief for this pair: ETFIQ prints no one-year total return for GLDW.
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.
GLDW
Over the period from its first trade on Oct 30, 2025 to Oct 28, 2026, GLDW paid 26.3% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 26.8%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned −4.2%. Gold (GLD) returned +0.9% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 5.1 pts. At its price on Oct 28, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 26.2%, paid weekly. Roundhill estimates that 100% of the distribution paid Oct 27, 2026 was a return of capital (its 19a-1 notice). That is a tax label, not a measure of erosion.
Questions people ask
- Are GLD and GLDW in the same category?
- GLD is a commodity ETF and GLDW is an option-income ETF, so they do different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and holdings.
- Which is cheaper, GLD or GLDW?
- GLD is cheaper, by 0.59 percentage points a year. That is about $59 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's own filings.
Links are sources, not endorsements. A comparison is not a recommendation.
Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown
ETFIQ, GLD against GLDW, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/gld-vs-gldw
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). GLD against GLDW. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/gld-vs-gldw
[GLD against GLDW (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/gld-vs-gldw)
Free to use with attribution for data ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.