SIL vs SLV: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year SIL and SLV finished level, +7.1% against +7.3%, and SLV charges 0.50% to SIL's 0.65%. Net assets: $4.4bn on Oct 12, 2026 for Global X Silver Miners ETF, and $28.9bn on Oct 14, 2026 for iShares Silver Trust.
SLV costs 0.15 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 0.2 points; SLV is 6.9 times larger.
| SIL | SLV | |
|---|---|---|
| Expense ratio | 0.65% | 0.50% |
| Net assets, as of Oct 12, 2026 | $4.4bn | $29.9bn |
| Total return, 1 year | +7.1% | +7.3% |
| What it tracks | Silver miners | Silver |
| Holdings in common | not published | |
| In the S&P 500, by weight | 0% | |
| Active share vs the S&P 500 | 100% | |
| Holdings dated | Jul 31, 2026 | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 76% | |
| Below its all-time high | 32.5%, high on Feb 27, 2026 | |
| Below its high | 52.4%, high on Jan 28, 2026 | |
SIL and SLV do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. SIL follows Silver miners and SLV follows Silver.
- Cost. SIL charges 0.65% of assets a year and SLV 0.50%, a gap of 0.15 points.
- Size. SIL has $4.4bn in net assets and SLV $29.9bn (net assets, as of Oct 12, 2026); SLV is 6.8 times larger.
Data as of Oct 14, 2026. The differences are picked by a fixed rule, in a fixed order; the PDF prints it. Page 2 has the returns, overlap, risks and sources.
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On the same fields
SIL and SLV on the fields both publish, as of Oct 14, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
About SIL
By weight, 0% of SIL's portfolio is stocks that are also in the S&P 500; its active share against the S&P 500 is 100%. The top ten holdings are 76% of the fund across 39 positions, as filed for Jul 31, 2026. Over the year to Oct 14, 2026 the fund returned +7.1% with distributions reinvested. It sits 32.5% below its all-time high of Feb 27, 2026.
About SLV
SLV holds silver. Over the year to Oct 14, 2026 it returned +7.3% with distributions reinvested, against +7.6% for its benchmark, the price of silver. It sat 52.4% below its high of Jan 28, 2026 on Oct 14, 2026.
Its expense ratio is 0.50% a year, for the three months to Jun 30, 2026, as its 10-Q states.
Questions people ask
- Are SIL and SLV in the same category?
- SIL is a thematic ETF and SLV is a commodity ETF, so they do different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and holdings.
- Which returned more over the last year, SIL or SLV?
- In the year to Oct 14, 2026, with distributions reinvested, SIL returned +7.1% and SLV +7.3%.
- Which is cheaper, SIL or SLV?
- SLV is cheaper, by 0.15 percentage points a year. That is about $15 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's own filings.
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ETFIQ, SIL against SLV, data as of Oct 14, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/sil-vs-slv
ETFIQ. (Oct 14, 2026). SIL against SLV. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/sil-vs-slv
[SIL against SLV (ETFIQ, Oct 14, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/sil-vs-slv)
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