Which returned more over the last year, IAU or MUB?

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IAU returned +2.7% and MUB −0.4%.

Which is cheaper, IAU or MUB?

MUB 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

IAU vs MUB: Differences, Returns & Fees

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IAU is a commodity fund and MUB a bond index fund, and over the year to Oct 28, 2026, IAU returned +2.7% against −0.4%.

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Net assets: $60.1bn on Oct 28, 2026 for iShares Gold Trust, and $54.1bn on Oct 27, 2026 for iShares National Muni Bond ETF.

IAU on its own →MUB on its own →

At a glance

+2.7%

IAU total return, 1 year

−0.4%

MUB total return, 1 year

0.25%

IAU expense ratio

0.05%

MUB expense ratio

Pair scorecard

MUB costs 0.20 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 3.1 points; IAU is 1.1 times larger.

IAU vs MUB: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	IAU	MUB
Return
Measure	IAU	MUB
Total return, 1 year	+2.7%	−0.4%
Drawdown
Measure	IAU	MUB
Below its high	24.6%, high on Jan 29, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	IAU	MUB
What it tracks	Gold	ICE AMT-Free US National Municipal Index
Cost and size
Measure	IAU	MUB
Expense ratio	0.25%	0.05%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$60.3bn	$54.1bn
Holdings
Measure	IAU	MUB
Holdings in common	not published

Method

Side by side

IAU iShares Gold Trust MUB iShares National Muni Bond ETF

Where it sits Commodity ETF Bond ETF

Issuer iShares iShares

What it is Holds gold Tracks an index of National Muni Bond

Total return, 1 year +2.7% −0.4%

Its benchmark over the same days +2.5% (GLD) not measured

Gap to its benchmark +0.2 pts vs GLD not measured

Expense ratio 0.25% 0.05%

Holdings not counted 7873

Net assets, IAU as of Oct 28, 2026 and MUB as of Oct 27, 2026 $60.1bn $54.1bn

IAU and MUB on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

Alert

About each fund

IAU

Its expense ratio is 0.25% a year, for the three months to Jun 30, 2026, as its 10-Q states.

IAU holds gold. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +2.7% with distributions reinvested, against +2.5% for its benchmark, the price of gold. It sat 24.6% below its high of Jan 29, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

MUB

MUB tracks an index of National Muni Bond. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned −0.4% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.05% a year.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, IAU or MUB?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IAU returned +2.7% and MUB −0.4%.
Which is cheaper, IAU or MUB?: MUB 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

IAU vs VTEB HYMB vs IAU IAU vs SGOV IAU vs IGSB BWET vs MUB GLD vs MUB GLDM vs MUB MUB vs SLV

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

iShares page for IAU ↗

MUB filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

MUB prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for MUB ↗

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

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

ETFIQ, IAU against MUB, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/iau-vs-mub

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