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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, GLD returned +2.5% and VONG +1.1%.

Which is cheaper, GLD or VONG?

VONG 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 VONG: Differences, Returns & Fees

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GLD is a commodity fund and VONG an equity index fund, and over the year to Oct 28, 2026, GLD returned +2.5% against +1.1%.

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Net assets: $135.8bn on Oct 27, 2026 for SPDR Gold Shares, and $47.1bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard Russell 1000 Growth ETF.

GLD on its own →VONG on its own →

At a glance

+2.5%

GLD total return, 1 year

+1.1%

VONG total return, 1 year

0.40%

GLD expense ratio

0.06%

VONG expense ratio

Pair scorecard

VONG costs 0.34 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 1.4 points; GLD is 3.0 times larger.

GLD vs VONG: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	GLD	VONG
Return
Measure	GLD	VONG
Total return, 1 year	+2.5%	+1.1%
Drawdown
Measure	GLD	VONG
Below its high	24.7%, high on Jan 29, 2026	4.8%, high on Oct 6, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	GLD	VONG
What it tracks	Gold	Russell 1000 Growth Index
Cost and size
Measure	GLD	VONG
Expense ratio	0.40%	0.06%
Net assets, as of Sep 30, 2026	$141.7bn	$47.1bn
Holdings
Measure	GLD	VONG
Holdings in common	not published
In the S&P 500, by weight		96%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund		57.6%

Method

Side by side

GLD SPDR Gold Shares VONG Vanguard Russell 1000 Growth ETF

Where it sits Commodity ETF Stock ETF

Issuer State Street Vanguard

What it is Holds gold Tracks the Russell 1000 Growth

Total return, 1 year +2.5% +1.1%

Its benchmark over the same days +2.7% (IAU) +0.9% (IWF)

Gap to its benchmark −0.2 pts vs IAU +0.2 pts vs IWF

Expense ratio 0.40% 0.06%

Holdings not counted 373

Net assets, GLD as of Oct 27, 2026 and VONG as of Sep 30, 2026 $135.8bn $47.1bn

GLD and VONG 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.

VONG

VONG tracks the Russell 1000 Growth. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +1.1% with distributions reinvested, against +0.9% for its benchmark, the Russell 1000 Growth Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.06% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer as of Sep 30, 2026, 96% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 373 positions, with the top ten at 57.6%. It sat 4.8% below its high of Oct 6, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, GLD or VONG?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, GLD returned +2.5% and VONG +1.1%.
Which is cheaper, GLD or VONG?: VONG 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 ONEQ GLD vs VUG GLD vs MAGS GLD vs QQQ IAU vs VONG GLDM vs VONG SLV vs VONG SIVR vs VONG

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

State Street website ↗

VONG filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

VONG prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

Vanguard page for VONG ↗

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

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

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