Are IBB and SPY in the same category?

IBB is a thematic ETF and SPY 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 SPY?

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IBB returned +37.5% and SPY +13.6%.

Which is cheaper, IBB or SPY?

SPY is cheaper, by 0.35 percentage points a year. That is about $35 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

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

By their latest filed holdings, 40% of IBB and 100% of SPY by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

IBB vs SPY: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, IBB returned +37.5% to SPY's +13.6%, and SPY charges 0.09% to IBB's 0.44%.

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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $11.0bn for iShares Biotechnology ETF and $814.8bn for SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust.

IBB on its own →SPY on its own →

At a glance

+37.5%

IBB total return, 1 year

+13.6%

SPY total return, 1 year

0.44%

IBB expense ratio

0.09%

SPY expense ratio

Pair scorecard

SPY costs 0.35 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 23.9 points; SPY is far larger, $814.8bn against $11.0bn.

IBB vs SPY: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	IBB	SPY
Return
Measure	IBB	SPY
Total return, 1 year	+37.5%	+13.6%
Benchmark
Measure	IBB	SPY
What it tracks	Biotech	S&P 500 Index
Cost and size
Measure	IBB	SPY
Expense ratio	0.44%	0.09%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$11.0bn	$814.8bn
Active share vs the S&P 500	99%
Holdings
Measure	IBB	SPY
Holdings in common	1%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	50%	38.1%

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

What they share

By the books each fund has filed, IBB and SPY hold 1% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

1% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first IBB SPY

AMGEN INC 8.20% 0.36%

GILEAD SCIENCES 8.56% 0.30%

VERTEX PHARMACEUTICALS 7.53% 0.20%

REGENERON PHARMACEUTICALS 5.64% 0.12%

MODERNA 5.29% 0.12%

ILLUMINA INC 2.93% 0.06%

BIOGEN 2.58% 0.06%

INCYTE CORP 1.63% 0.03%

CHARLES RIVER LABORATORIES INTERNA 1.18% 0.03%

BIO TECHNE 0.79% 0.02%

Only in one fund ↓

Only in IBB

NATERA 3.85%

ARGENX SE ADR 3.42%

REVOLUTION MEDICINES 2.50%

BEONE MEDICINES AG 2.15%

ALNYLAM PHARMACEUTICALS 2.11%

GENMAB SPONSORED ADR 1.72%

UNITED THERAPEUTICS 1.71%

INSMED 1.42%

Only in SPY

NVIDIA CORP 7.92%

APPLE INC 7.61%

MICROSOFT CORP 5.93%

AMAZON.COM INC 3.73%

ALPHABET INC CL A 2.83%

BROADCOM INC 2.45%

ALPHABET INC CL C 2.26%

META PLATFORMS INC CLASS A 2.06%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

IBB iShares Biotechnology ETF SPY SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust

Where it sits Thematic ETF Stock ETF

Issuer iShares State Street

What it is Biotech Tracks the S&P 500

Total return, 1 year +37.5% +13.6%

Its benchmark over the same days not measured +13.7% (VOO)

Gap to its benchmark not measured −0.1 pts vs VOO

Expense ratio 0.44% 0.09%

Already in the S&P 500 40.2% 99.8%

Holdings 245 504

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $11.0bn $814.8bn

IBB and SPY 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.

SPY

SPY tracks the S&P 500. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +13.6% with distributions reinvested, against +13.7% for its benchmark, the S&P 500 Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.09% 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 504 positions, with the top ten at 38.1%.

Questions people ask

Are IBB and SPY in the same category?: IBB is a thematic ETF and SPY 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 SPY?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IBB returned +37.5% and SPY +13.6%.
Which is cheaper, IBB or SPY?: SPY is cheaper, by 0.35 percentage points a year. That is about $35 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do IBB and SPY overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 40% of IBB and 100% of SPY by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

IBB vs IVV IBB vs VTI IBB vs VOO IBB vs SPYM SPY vs XBI AIRR vs SPY REMX vs SPY LYTE vs SPY

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

IBB filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

IBB prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for IBB ↗

SPY filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

State Street website ↗

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.

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

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