Which returned more over the last year, SPY or USO?

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, SPY returned +13.6% and USO +133.3%.

Which is cheaper, SPY or USO?

SPY is cheaper, by 0.77 percentage points a year. That is about $77 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

SPY vs USO: Differences, Returns & Fees

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SPY is an equity index fund and USO a commodity futures fund, and over the year to Oct 28, 2026, USO returned +133.3% against +13.6%.

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Net assets: $814.8bn on Oct 27, 2026 for SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust, and $1.9bn on Oct 28, 2026 for United States Oil Fund, LP.

SPY on its own →USO on its own →

At a glance

+13.6%

SPY total return, 1 year

+133.3%

USO total return, 1 year

0.09%

SPY expense ratio

0.86%

USO expense ratio

Pair scorecard

SPY costs 0.77 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 119.7 points; SPY is far larger, $814.8bn against $1.9bn.

SPY vs USO: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	SPY	USO
Return
Measure	SPY	USO
Total return, 1 year	+13.6%	+133.3%
Drawdown
Measure	SPY	USO
Below its high		82.3%, high on Jul 14, 2008
Benchmark
Measure	SPY	USO
What it tracks	S&P 500 Index	Oil futures
Cost and size
Measure	SPY	USO
Expense ratio	0.09%	0.86%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$814.8bn	$1.9bn
Holdings
Measure	SPY	USO
Holdings in common	not published
In the S&P 500, by weight	100%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	38.1%

Method

Side by side

SPY SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust USO United States Oil Fund, LP

Where it sits Stock ETF Commodity ETF

Issuer State Street USCF

What it is Tracks the S&P 500 Holds oil futures

Total return, 1 year +13.6% +133.3%

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

Gap to its benchmark −0.1 pts vs VOO not measured

Expense ratio 0.09% 0.86%

Holdings 504 not counted

Net assets, SPY as of Oct 27, 2026 and USO as of Oct 28, 2026 $814.8bn $1.9bn

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

Alert

About each fund

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%.

USO

USO holds oil futures. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +133.3% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.86% a year. It sat 82.3% below its high of Jul 14, 2008 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, SPY or USO?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, SPY returned +13.6% and USO +133.3%.
Which is cheaper, SPY or USO?: SPY is cheaper, by 0.77 percentage points a year. That is about $77 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

BWET vs SPY GLDM vs SPY GLD vs SPY IAU vs SPY IVV vs USO USO vs VTI USO vs VOO ITOT vs USO

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

SPY filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

State Street website ↗

USCF website ↗

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

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

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

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