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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, GLD returned +2.5% and IJR +17.5%.

Which is cheaper, GLD or IJR?

IJR is cheaper, by 0.34 percentage points a year. That is about $34 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's own filings.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

GLD vs IJR: Differences, Returns & Fees

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GLD is a commodity fund and IJR an equity index fund, and over the year to Oct 28, 2026, IJR returned +17.5% against +2.5%.

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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $135.8bn for SPDR Gold Shares and $104.6bn for iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF.

GLD on its own →IJR on its own →

At a glance

+2.5%

GLD total return, 1 year

+17.5%

IJR total return, 1 year

0.40%

GLD expense ratio

0.06%

IJR expense ratio

Pair scorecard

IJR costs 0.34 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 15.0 points; GLD is 1.3 times larger.

GLD vs IJR: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	GLD	IJR
Return
Measure	GLD	IJR
Total return, 1 year	+2.5%	+17.5%
Drawdown
Measure	GLD	IJR
Below its high	24.7%, high on Jan 29, 2026	6.8%, high on Aug 14, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	GLD	IJR
What it tracks	Gold	S&P SmallCap 600
Cost and size
Measure	GLD	IJR
Expense ratio	0.40%	0.06%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$135.8bn	$104.6bn
Holdings
Measure	GLD	IJR
Holdings in common	not published
In the S&P 500, by weight		0%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund		5.3%

Method

Side by side

GLD SPDR Gold Shares IJR iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF

Where it sits Commodity ETF Stock ETF

Issuer State Street iShares

What it is Holds gold Tracks the S&P SmallCap 600

Total return, 1 year +2.5% +17.5%

Its benchmark over the same days +2.7% (IAU) +17.6% (SPSM)

Gap to its benchmark −0.2 pts vs IAU −0.1 pts vs SPSM

Expense ratio 0.40% 0.06%

Holdings not counted 642

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $135.8bn $104.6bn

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

Alert

About each fund

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.

IJR

IJR tracks the S&P SmallCap 600. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +17.5% with distributions reinvested, against +17.6% for its benchmark, the S&P SmallCap 600. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.06% 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 642 positions, with the top ten at 5.3%. It sat 6.8% below its high of Aug 14, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, GLD or IJR?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, GLD returned +2.5% and IJR +17.5%.
Which is cheaper, GLD or IJR?: IJR is cheaper, by 0.34 percentage points a year. That is about $34 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's own filings.

Other comparisons

GLD vs VB GLD vs IWM GLD vs VTWO GLD vs IJT IAU vs IJR GLDM vs IJR IJR vs SLV IJR vs SIVR

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

State Street website ↗

IJR filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

IJR prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for IJR ↗

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

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

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