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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, GLD returned +2.5% and IYR +3.4%.

Which is cheaper, GLD or IYR?

IYR is cheaper, by 0.03 percentage points a year. That is about $3 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 IYR: Differences, Returns & Fees

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GLD is a commodity fund and IYR an equity index fund, and over the year to Oct 28, 2026, IYR returned +3.4% against +2.5%.

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Net assets: $135.8bn on Oct 27, 2026 for SPDR Gold Shares, and $3.9bn on Oct 28, 2026 for iShares U.S. Real Estate ETF.

GLD on its own →IYR on its own →

At a glance

+2.5%

GLD total return, 1 year

+3.4%

IYR total return, 1 year

0.40%

GLD expense ratio

0.37%

IYR expense ratio

Pair scorecard

IYR costs 0.03 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 0.9 points; GLD is far larger, $134.6bn against $4.0bn.

GLD vs IYR: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	GLD	IYR
Return
Measure	GLD	IYR
Total return, 1 year	+2.5%	+3.4%
Drawdown
Measure	GLD	IYR
Below its high	24.7%, high on Jan 29, 2026	8.6%, high on Jul 28, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	GLD	IYR
What it tracks	Gold	Dow Jones U.S. Real Estate Capped Index
Cost and size
Measure	GLD	IYR
Expense ratio	0.40%	0.37%
Net assets, as of Oct 26, 2026	$134.6bn	$4.0bn
Holdings
Measure	GLD	IYR
Holdings in common	not published
In the S&P 500, by weight		80%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund		52.5%

Method

Side by side

GLD SPDR Gold Shares IYR iShares U.S. Real Estate ETF

Where it sits Commodity ETF Stock ETF

Issuer State Street iShares

What it is Holds gold Tracks an index of U.S. Real Estate

Total return, 1 year +2.5% +3.4%

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

Gap to its benchmark −0.2 pts vs IAU not measured

Expense ratio 0.40% 0.37%

Holdings not counted 59

Net assets, GLD as of Oct 27, 2026 and IYR as of Oct 28, 2026 $135.8bn $3.9bn

GLD and IYR 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.

IYR

IYR tracks an index of U.S. Real Estate. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +3.4% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.37% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 80% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 59 positions, with the top ten at 52.5%. It sat 8.6% below its high of Jul 28, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, GLD or IYR?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, GLD returned +2.5% and IYR +3.4%.
Which is cheaper, GLD or IYR?: IYR is cheaper, by 0.03 percentage points a year. That is about $3 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's own filings.

Other comparisons

GLD vs VNQ GLD vs XLRE GLD vs SCHH GLD vs XLI IAU vs IYR GLDM vs IYR IYR vs SLV IYR vs SIVR

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

State Street website ↗

IYR filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

IYR prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for IYR ↗

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

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

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