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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, GLD returned +2.5% and VGK +10.4%.

Which is cheaper, GLD or VGK?

VGK 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 VGK: Differences, Returns & Fees

Share on X Download as PDF

GLD is a commodity fund and VGK an equity index fund, and over the year to Oct 28, 2026, VGK returned +10.4% against +2.5%.

askIQ about this page

askIQ about GLD and VGK

Net assets: $135.8bn on Oct 27, 2026 for SPDR Gold Shares, and $29.6bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard FTSE Europe ETF.

GLD on its own →VGK on its own →

At a glance

+2.5%

GLD total return, 1 year

+10.4%

VGK total return, 1 year

0.40%

GLD expense ratio

0.06%

VGK expense ratio

Pair scorecard

VGK costs 0.34 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 7.9 points; GLD is 4.8 times larger.

GLD vs VGK: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	GLD	VGK
Return
Measure	GLD	VGK
Total return, 1 year	+2.5%	+10.4%
Drawdown
Measure	GLD	VGK
Below its high	24.7%, high on Jan 29, 2026	6.1%, high on Aug 25, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	GLD	VGK
What it tracks	Gold	FTSE Developed Europe All Cap Index
Cost and size
Measure	GLD	VGK
Expense ratio	0.40%	0.06%
Net assets, as of Sep 30, 2026	$141.7bn	$29.6bn
Holdings
Measure	GLD	VGK
Holdings in common	not published
In the S&P 500, by weight		0%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund		19.0%

Method

Side by side

GLD SPDR Gold Shares VGK Vanguard FTSE Europe ETF

Where it sits Commodity ETF Stock ETF

Issuer State Street Vanguard

What it is Holds gold Tracks an index of European Stock

Total return, 1 year +2.5% +10.4%

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% 0.06%

Holdings not counted 1245

Net assets, GLD as of Oct 27, 2026 and VGK as of Sep 30, 2026 $135.8bn $29.6bn

GLD and VGK 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.

VGK

VGK tracks an index of European Stock. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +10.4% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.06% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer as of Sep 30, 2026, 0% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 1,245 positions, with the top ten at 19.0%. It sat 6.1% below its high of Aug 25, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, GLD or VGK?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, GLD returned +2.5% and VGK +10.4%.
Which is cheaper, GLD or VGK?: VGK 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

EZU vs GLD GLD vs IEMG GLD vs VYMI GLD vs VT IAU vs VGK GLDM vs VGK SLV vs VGK SIVR vs VGK

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

State Street website ↗

VGK filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

VGK prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

Vanguard page for VGK ↗

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

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

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

Open data →

Free to use with attribution for data ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.