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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, GLD returned +2.5% and XLG +6.4%.

Which is cheaper, GLD or XLG?

XLG is cheaper, by 0.20 percentage points a year. That is about $20 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 XLG: Differences, Returns & Fees

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GLD is a commodity fund and XLG an equity index fund, and over the year to Oct 28, 2026, XLG returned +6.4% against +2.5%.

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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $135.8bn for SPDR Gold Shares and $11.9bn for Invesco S&P 500 Top 50 ETF.

GLD on its own →XLG on its own →

At a glance

+2.5%

GLD total return, 1 year

+6.4%

XLG total return, 1 year

0.40%

GLD expense ratio

0.20%

XLG expense ratio

Pair scorecard

XLG costs 0.20 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 3.9 points; GLD is 11.4 times larger.

GLD vs XLG: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	GLD	XLG
Return
Measure	GLD	XLG
Total return, 1 year	+2.5%	+6.4%
Drawdown
Measure	GLD	XLG
Below its high	24.7%, high on Jan 29, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	GLD	XLG
What it tracks	Gold	S&P 500 Top 50 Index
Cost and size
Measure	GLD	XLG
Expense ratio	0.40%	0.20%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$135.8bn	$11.9bn
Holdings
Measure	GLD	XLG
Holdings in common	not published
In the S&P 500, by weight		98%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund		60.3%

Method

Side by side

GLD SPDR Gold Shares XLG Invesco S&P 500 Top 50 ETF

Where it sits Commodity ETF Stock ETF

Issuer State Street Invesco

What it is Holds gold Tracks the S&P 500 top 50

Total return, 1 year +2.5% +6.4%

Its benchmark over the same days +2.7% (IAU) +13.7% (IVV)

Gap to its benchmark −0.2 pts vs IAU −7.3 pts vs IVV

Expense ratio 0.40% 0.20%

Holdings not counted 53

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $135.8bn $11.9bn

GLD and XLG 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.

XLG

XLG tracks the S&P 500 top 50. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +6.4% with distributions reinvested, against +13.7% for its benchmark, the S&P 500 Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.20% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 98% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 53 positions, with the top ten at 60.3%.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, GLD or XLG?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, GLD returned +2.5% and XLG +6.4%.
Which is cheaper, GLD or XLG?: XLG is cheaper, by 0.20 percentage points a year. That is about $20 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's own filings.

Other comparisons

GLD vs GRNY AVUS vs GLD GLD vs MTUM GLD vs SPHQ IAU vs XLG GLDM vs XLG SLV vs XLG SIVR vs XLG

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

State Street website ↗

XLG filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

XLG prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

Invesco page for XLG ↗

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

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

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

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