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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, GLD returned +2.5% and SPYD +15.3%.

Which is cheaper, GLD or SPYD?

SPYD is cheaper, by 0.33 percentage points a year. That is about $33 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 SPYD: Differences, Returns & Fees

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GLD is a commodity fund and SPYD an equity index fund, and over the year to Oct 28, 2026, SPYD returned +15.3% against +2.5%.

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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $135.8bn for SPDR Gold Shares and $7.5bn for State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 High Dividend ETF.

GLD on its own →SPYD on its own →

At a glance

+2.5%

GLD total return, 1 year

+15.3%

SPYD total return, 1 year

0.40%

GLD expense ratio

0.07%

SPYD expense ratio

Pair scorecard

SPYD costs 0.33 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 12.8 points; GLD is 18.1 times larger.

GLD vs SPYD: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	GLD	SPYD
Return
Measure	GLD	SPYD
Total return, 1 year	+2.5%	+15.3%
Drawdown
Measure	GLD	SPYD
Below its high	24.7%, high on Jan 29, 2026	4.1%, high on Aug 24, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	GLD	SPYD
What it tracks	Gold	S&P 500 High Dividend Index
Cost and size
Measure	GLD	SPYD
Expense ratio	0.40%	0.07%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$135.8bn	$7.5bn
Holdings
Measure	GLD	SPYD
Holdings in common	not published
In the S&P 500, by weight		99%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund		16.1%

Method

Side by side

GLD SPDR Gold Shares SPYD State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 High Dividend ETF

Where it sits Commodity ETF Stock ETF

Issuer State Street State Street

What it is Holds gold Tracks the S&P 500 High Dividend

Total return, 1 year +2.5% +15.3%

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% 0.07%

Holdings not counted 79

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $135.8bn $7.5bn

GLD and SPYD 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.

SPYD

SPYD tracks the S&P 500 High Dividend. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +15.3% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.07% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 99% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 79 positions, with the top ten at 16.1%. It sat 4.1% below its high of Aug 24, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, GLD or SPYD?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, GLD returned +2.5% and SPYD +15.3%.
Which is cheaper, GLD or SPYD?: SPYD is cheaper, by 0.33 percentage points a year. That is about $33 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's own filings.

Other comparisons

GLD vs SPHD GLD vs HDV GLD vs VYM GLD vs IWD IAU vs SPYD GLDM vs SPYD SLV vs SPYD SIVR vs SPYD

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

State Street website ↗

SPYD filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

SPYD prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

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

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

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