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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, GLD returned +2.5% and MDY +12.8%.

Which is cheaper, GLD or MDY?

MDY is cheaper, by 0.17 percentage points a year. That is about $17 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 MDY: Differences, Returns & Fees

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GLD is a commodity fund and MDY an equity index fund, and over the year to Oct 28, 2026, MDY returned +12.8% against +2.5%.

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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $135.8bn for SPDR Gold Shares and $25.9bn for SPDR S&P MidCap 400 ETF Trust.

GLD on its own →MDY on its own →

At a glance

+2.5%

GLD total return, 1 year

+12.8%

MDY total return, 1 year

0.40%

GLD expense ratio

0.23%

MDY expense ratio

Pair scorecard

MDY costs 0.17 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 10.3 points; GLD is 5.2 times larger.

GLD vs MDY: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	GLD	MDY
Return
Measure	GLD	MDY
Total return, 1 year	+2.5%	+12.8%
Drawdown
Measure	GLD	MDY
Below its high	24.7%, high on Jan 29, 2026	6.5%, high on Aug 14, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	GLD	MDY
What it tracks	Gold	S&P MidCap 400 Index
Cost and size
Measure	GLD	MDY
Expense ratio	0.40%	0.23%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$135.8bn	$25.9bn
Holdings
Measure	GLD	MDY
Holdings in common	not published
In the S&P 500, by weight		0%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund		7.5%

Method

Side by side

GLD SPDR Gold Shares MDY SPDR S&P MidCap 400 ETF Trust

Where it sits Commodity ETF Stock ETF

Issuer State Street State Street

What it is Holds gold Tracks the S&P MidCap 400

Total return, 1 year +2.5% +12.8%

Its benchmark over the same days +2.7% (IAU) +13.2% (IJH)

Gap to its benchmark −0.2 pts vs IAU −0.4 pts vs IJH

Expense ratio 0.40% 0.23%

Holdings not counted 401

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $135.8bn $25.9bn

GLD and MDY 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.

MDY

MDY tracks the S&P MidCap 400. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +12.8% with distributions reinvested, against +13.2% for its benchmark, the S&P MidCap 400 Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.23% 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 401 positions, with the top ten at 7.5%. It sat 6.5% below its high of Aug 14, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, GLD or MDY?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, GLD returned +2.5% and MDY +12.8%.
Which is cheaper, GLD or MDY?: MDY is cheaper, by 0.17 percentage points a year. That is about $17 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's own filings.

Other comparisons

GLD vs VO GLD vs IJH GLD vs VXF GLD vs MOAT IAU vs MDY GLDM vs MDY MDY vs SLV MDY vs SIVR

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

State Street website ↗

MDY filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

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

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

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

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