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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, GLD returned +2.5% and XRT +2.4%.

Which is cheaper, GLD or XRT?

XRT is cheaper, by 0.05 percentage points a year. That is about $5 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 XRT: Differences, Returns & Fees

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GLD is a commodity fund and XRT an equity index fund, and over the year to Oct 28, 2026, GLD returned +2.5% against +2.4%.

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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $135.8bn for SPDR Gold Shares and $362m for State Street SPDR S&P Retail ETF.

GLD on its own →XRT on its own →

At a glance

+2.5%

GLD total return, 1 year

+2.4%

XRT total return, 1 year

0.40%

GLD expense ratio

0.35%

XRT expense ratio

Pair scorecard

XRT costs 0.05 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 0.1 points; GLD is far larger, $135.8bn against $362m.

GLD vs XRT: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	GLD	XRT
Return
Measure	GLD	XRT
Total return, 1 year	+2.5%	+2.4%
Drawdown
Measure	GLD	XRT
Below its high	24.7%, high on Jan 29, 2026	9.9%, high on Nov 16, 2021
Benchmark
Measure	GLD	XRT
What it tracks	Gold	S&P Retail Select Industry Index
Cost and size
Measure	GLD	XRT
Expense ratio	0.40%	0.35%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$135.8bn	$362m
Holdings
Measure	GLD	XRT
Holdings in common	not published
In the S&P 500, by weight		22%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund		16.6%

Method

Side by side

GLD SPDR Gold Shares XRT State Street SPDR S&P Retail ETF

Where it sits Commodity ETF Stock ETF

Issuer State Street State Street

What it is Holds gold Tracks the S&P Retail

Total return, 1 year +2.5% +2.4%

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% 0.35%

Holdings not counted 74

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $135.8bn $362m

GLD and XRT 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.

XRT

XRT tracks the S&P Retail. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +2.4% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.35% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 22% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 74 positions, with the top ten at 16.6%. It sat 9.9% below its high of Nov 16, 2021 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, GLD or XRT?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, GLD returned +2.5% and XRT +2.4%.
Which is cheaper, GLD or XRT?: XRT is cheaper, by 0.05 percentage points a year. That is about $5 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's own filings.

Other comparisons

GLD vs XHB GLD vs XLY GLD vs XOP GLD vs VOX IAU vs XRT SLV vs XRT SIVR vs XRT USO vs XRT

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

State Street website ↗

XRT filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

XRT 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 XRT, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/gld-vs-xrt

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