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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, GLD returned +2.5% and VTWO +14.3%.

Which is cheaper, GLD or VTWO?

VTWO 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 VTWO: Differences, Returns & Fees

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GLD is a commodity fund and VTWO an equity index fund, and over the year to Oct 28, 2026, VTWO returned +14.3% against +2.5%.

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Net assets: $135.8bn on Oct 27, 2026 for SPDR Gold Shares, and $16.6bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard Russell 2000 ETF.

GLD on its own →VTWO on its own →

At a glance

+2.5%

GLD total return, 1 year

+14.3%

VTWO total return, 1 year

0.40%

GLD expense ratio

0.06%

VTWO expense ratio

Pair scorecard

VTWO costs 0.34 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 11.8 points; GLD is 8.5 times larger.

GLD vs VTWO: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	GLD	VTWO
Return
Measure	GLD	VTWO
Total return, 1 year	+2.5%	+14.3%
Drawdown
Measure	GLD	VTWO
Below its high	24.7%, high on Jan 29, 2026	7.5%, high on Aug 14, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	GLD	VTWO
What it tracks	Gold	Russell 2000 Index
Cost and size
Measure	GLD	VTWO
Expense ratio	0.40%	0.06%
Net assets, as of Sep 30, 2026	$141.7bn	$16.6bn
Holdings
Measure	GLD	VTWO
Holdings in common	not published
In the S&P 500, by weight		0%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund		5.4%

Method

Side by side

GLD SPDR Gold Shares VTWO Vanguard Russell 2000 ETF

Where it sits Commodity ETF Stock ETF

Issuer State Street Vanguard

What it is Holds gold Tracks the Russell 2000

Total return, 1 year +2.5% +14.3%

Its benchmark over the same days +2.7% (IAU) +14.1% (IWM)

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

Expense ratio 0.40% 0.06%

Holdings not counted 2002

Net assets, GLD as of Oct 27, 2026 and VTWO as of Sep 30, 2026 $135.8bn $16.6bn

GLD and VTWO 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.

VTWO

VTWO tracks the Russell 2000. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +14.3% with distributions reinvested, against +14.1% for its benchmark, the Russell 2000 Index. 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 2,002 positions, with the top ten at 5.4%. It sat 7.5% below its high of Aug 14, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, GLD or VTWO?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, GLD returned +2.5% and VTWO +14.3%.
Which is cheaper, GLD or VTWO?: VTWO 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 IJT GLD vs IWM GLD vs VB GLD vs IJR IAU vs VTWO GLDM vs VTWO SLV vs VTWO SIVR vs VTWO

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

State Street website ↗

VTWO filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

VTWO prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

Vanguard page for VTWO ↗

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

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

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