Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
QQQ vs XBI: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, QQQ returned +15.2% to XBI's +41.2%, and QQQ charges 0.18% to XBI's 0.35%.
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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $483.0bn for Invesco QQQ Trust, Series 1 and $10.3bn for State Street SPDR S&P Biotech ETF.
Pair scorecard
QQQ costs 0.17 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 26.0 points; QQQ is far larger, $483.0bn against $10.3bn.
| Measure | QQQ | XBI |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +15.2% | +41.2% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 4.5%, high on Oct 6, 2026 | |
| Below its all-time high | 8.9%, high on Feb 8, 2021 | |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | Nasdaq-100 Index | Biotech |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.18% | 0.35% |
| Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 | $483.0bn | $10.3bn |
| Active share vs the S&P 500 | 98% | |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 3% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 46.7% | 18% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 27, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Feb 17, 2006 to Oct 23, 2026 · 1,079 weekly returnsQQQ returned more: +1,901.3% to +817.9%. QQQ swung less: 20.1% to 29.2%. QQQ fell less at its worst: −51.4% to −61.5%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | QQQ | XBI | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +1,901.3% | +817.9% | QQQ | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +15.5% | +11.3% | QQQ | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +1,609.3% | +767.9% | QQQ | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 20.1% | 29.2% | QQQ | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 13.7% | 20.0% | QQQ | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −51.4% | −61.5% | QQQ | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.73 | 0.45 | QQQ | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 1.08 | 0.66 | QQQ | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.30 | 0.18 | QQQ | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 1,079 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, QQQ and XBI hold 3% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.
half
3% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
QQQ and XBI on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
QQQ and XBI do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. QQQ follows Nasdaq-100 Index and XBI follows Biotech.
- Holdings in common. 3% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026).
- One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 QQQ returned +15.2% and XBI +41.2% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 26.0 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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QQQ
QQQ tracks the Nasdaq-100. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +15.2% with distributions reinvested, against +15.2% for its benchmark, the Nasdaq-100 Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.18% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 96% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 103 positions, with the top ten at 46.7%. It sat 4.5% below its high of Oct 6, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.
XBI
By weight, 13% of XBI's portfolio is stocks that are also in the S&P 500; its active share against the S&P 500 is 98%. The top ten holdings are 18% of the fund across 165 positions, as published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 the fund returned +41.2% with distributions reinvested. It sits 8.9% below its all-time high of Feb 8, 2021.
Questions people ask
- Are QQQ and XBI in the same category?
- QQQ is a stock ETF and XBI is a thematic ETF, so they do different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and holdings.
- Which returned more over the last year, QQQ or XBI?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, QQQ returned +15.2% and XBI +41.2%.
- Which is cheaper, QQQ or XBI?
- QQQ is cheaper, by 0.17 percentage points a year. That is about $17 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
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, QQQ against XBI, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/qqq-vs-xbi
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). QQQ against XBI. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/qqq-vs-xbi
[QQQ against XBI (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/qqq-vs-xbi)
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