Are IBB and IWB in the same category?

IBB is a thematic ETF and IWB is a stock ETF, so they do different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and holdings.

Which returned more over the last year, IBB or IWB?

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IBB returned +37.5% and IWB +13.1%.

Which is cheaper, IBB or IWB?

IWB is cheaper, by 0.29 percentage points a year. That is about $29 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

How much do IBB and IWB overlap with the S&P 500?

By their latest filed holdings, 40% of IBB and 92% of IWB by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

IBB vs IWB: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, IBB returned +37.5% to IWB's +13.1%, and IWB charges 0.15% to IBB's 0.44%.

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Net assets: $11.0bn on Oct 27, 2026 for iShares Biotechnology ETF, and $49.1bn on Oct 28, 2026 for iShares Russell 1000 ETF.

IBB on its own →IWB on its own →

At a glance

+37.5%

IBB total return, 1 year

+13.1%

IWB total return, 1 year

0.44%

IBB expense ratio

0.15%

IWB expense ratio

Pair scorecard

IWB costs 0.29 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 24.4 points; IWB is 4.6 times larger.

IBB vs IWB: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	IBB	IWB
Return
Measure	IBB	IWB
Total return, 1 year	+37.5%	+13.1%
Benchmark
Measure	IBB	IWB
What it tracks	Biotech	Russell 1000 Index
Cost and size
Measure	IBB	IWB
Expense ratio	0.44%	0.15%
Net assets, as of Oct 26, 2026	$10.7bn	$48.7bn
Active share vs the S&P 500	99%
Holdings
Measure	IBB	IWB
Holdings in common	2%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	50%	35.3%

Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 27, 2026. Method

What they share

By the books each fund has filed, IBB and IWB hold 2% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

2% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first IBB IWB

AMGEN INC 8.20% 0.34%

GILEAD SCIENCES 8.56% 0.28%

VERTEX PHARMACEUTICALS 7.53% 0.19%

MODERNA 5.29% 0.11%

REGENERON PHARMACEUTICALS 5.64% 0.11%

NATERA 3.85% 0.08%

ILLUMINA INC 2.93% 0.06%

BIOGEN 2.58% 0.05%

REVOLUTION MEDICINES 2.50% 0.05%

ALNYLAM PHARMACEUTICALS 2.11% 0.04%

INCYTE CORP 1.63% 0.03%

INSMED 1.42% 0.03%

Only in one fund ↓

Only in IBB

ARGENX SE ADR 3.42%

BEONE MEDICINES AG 2.15%

GENMAB SPONSORED ADR 1.72%

TWIST BIOSCIENCE 0.71%

10X GENOMICS CLASS A 0.63%

KYMERA THERAPEUTICS 0.61%

VAXCYTE 0.61%

PROTAGONIST THERAPEUTICS 0.60%

Only in IWB

NVIDIA 7.15%

APPLE 7.06%

MICROSOFT 5.56%

AMAZON.COM INC 3.46%

ALPHABET CLASS A 2.63%

BROADCOM INC 2.24%

ALPHABET CLASS C 2.12%

META PLATFORMS CLASS A 1.92%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

IBB iShares Biotechnology ETF IWB iShares Russell 1000 ETF

Where it sits Thematic ETF Stock ETF

Issuer iShares iShares

What it is Biotech Tracks the Russell 1000

Total return, 1 year +37.5% +13.1%

Its benchmark over the same days not measured +13.2% (VONE)

Gap to its benchmark not measured −0.1 pts vs VONE

Expense ratio 0.44% 0.15%

Already in the S&P 500 40.2% 91.7%

Holdings 245 1025

Net assets, IBB as of Oct 27, 2026 and IWB as of Oct 28, 2026 $11.0bn $49.1bn

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

Alert

About each fund

IBB

By weight, 40% of IBB's portfolio is stocks that are also in the S&P 500; its active share against the S&P 500 is 99%. The top ten holdings are 50% of the fund across 245 positions, as published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 the fund returned +37.5% with distributions reinvested.

IWB

IWB tracks the Russell 1000. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +13.1% with distributions reinvested, against +13.2% for its benchmark, the Russell 1000 Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.15% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 92% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 1,025 positions, with the top ten at 35.3%.

Questions people ask

Are IBB and IWB in the same category?: IBB is a thematic ETF and IWB is a stock ETF, so they do different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and holdings.
Which returned more over the last year, IBB or IWB?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IBB returned +37.5% and IWB +13.1%.
Which is cheaper, IBB or IWB?: IWB is cheaper, by 0.29 percentage points a year. That is about $29 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do IBB and IWB overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 40% of IBB and 92% of IWB by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

CGGR vs IBB IBB vs ITOT IBB vs USMV IBB vs QUAL IWB vs XBI BITO vs IWB IWB vs IWO IWB vs MUB

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

IBB and IWB filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

IBB and IWB prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for IBB ↗

iShares page for IWB ↗

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

How this is computed

Overlap adds up the smaller of the two weights for each security both funds hold.

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

ETFIQ, IBB against IWB, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/ibb-vs-iwb

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