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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, GLD returned +2.5% and XLP +13.8%.

Which is cheaper, GLD or XLP?

XLP is cheaper, by 0.32 percentage points a year. That is about $32 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 XLP: Differences, Returns & Fees

Share on X Download as PDF

GLD is a commodity fund and XLP an equity index fund, and over the year to Oct 28, 2026, XLP returned +13.8% against +2.5%.

askIQ about this page

askIQ about GLD and XLP

Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $135.8bn for SPDR Gold Shares and $14.6bn for State Street Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF.

GLD on its own →XLP on its own →

At a glance

+2.5%

GLD total return, 1 year

+13.8%

XLP total return, 1 year

0.40%

GLD expense ratio

0.08%

XLP expense ratio

Pair scorecard

XLP costs 0.32 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 11.3 points; GLD is 9.3 times larger.

GLD vs XLP: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	GLD	XLP
Return
Measure	GLD	XLP
Total return, 1 year	+2.5%	+13.8%
Drawdown
Measure	GLD	XLP
Below its high	24.7%, high on Jan 29, 2026	3.5%, high on Oct 22, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	GLD	XLP
What it tracks	Gold	Consumer Staples Select Sector Index
Cost and size
Measure	GLD	XLP
Expense ratio	0.40%	0.08%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$135.8bn	$14.6bn
Holdings
Measure	GLD	XLP
Holdings in common	not published
In the S&P 500, by weight		100%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund		62.9%

Method

Side by side

GLD SPDR Gold Shares XLP State Street Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF

Where it sits Commodity ETF Stock ETF

Issuer State Street State Street

What it is Holds gold Tracks an index of Consumer staples

Total return, 1 year +2.5% +13.8%

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% 0.08%

Holdings not counted 36

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $135.8bn $14.6bn

GLD and XLP 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.

XLP

XLP tracks an index of Consumer staples. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +13.8% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.08% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 100% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 36 positions, with the top ten at 62.9%. It sat 3.5% below its high of Oct 22, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, GLD or XLP?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, GLD returned +2.5% and XLP +13.8%.
Which is cheaper, GLD or XLP?: XLP is cheaper, by 0.32 percentage points a year. That is about $32 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's own filings.

Other comparisons

GLD vs VDC GLD vs SCHH GLD vs XLB GLD vs VPU IAU vs XLP GLDM vs XLP SLV vs XLP SIVR vs XLP

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

State Street website ↗

XLP filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

XLP prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

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

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

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

Open data →

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