{"url":"https://etfiq.com/compare/any/spy-vs-xaug","section":"compare","title":"SPY vs XAUG: ETF Differences, Returns & Fees | ETFIQ","description":"SPY vs XAUG to Nov 4, 2026: one-year total return +14.8% against +8.3%, expense ratio 0.09% against 0.85%. One stock ETF and one buffer ETF.","as_of":"Nov 4, 2026","structured_data":[{"@type":"FAQPage","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"Are SPY and XAUG in the same category?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"SPY is a stock ETF and XAUG is a buffer ETF, so they do different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and holdings."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"Which returned more over the last year, SPY or XAUG?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"In the year to Nov 4, 2026, with distributions reinvested, SPY returned +14.8% and XAUG +8.3%."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"Which is cheaper, SPY or XAUG?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"SPY is cheaper, by 0.76 percentage points a year. That is about $76 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus."}}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"ETFIQ","item":"https://etfiq.com/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Compare ETFs","item":"https://etfiq.com/compare/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"SPY vs XAUG","item":"https://etfiq.com/compare/any/spy-vs-xaug"}]},{"@type":"WebPage","name":"SPY vs XAUG: ETF Differences, Returns & Fees","description":"SPY vs XAUG to Nov 4, 2026: one-year total return +14.8% against +8.3%, expense ratio 0.09% against 0.85%. One stock ETF and one buffer ETF.","url":"https://etfiq.com/compare/any/spy-vs-xaug","dateModified":"2026-11-04","speakable":{"@type":"SpeakableSpecification","cssSelector":[".verdict",".lede",".faq"]},"isPartOf":{"@type":"WebSite","name":"ETFIQ","url":"https://etfiq.com"}},{"@type":"Dataset","name":"ETFIQ comparison of SPY and XAUG","description":"SPY vs XAUG to Nov 4, 2026: one-year total return +14.8% against +8.3%, expense ratio 0.09% against 0.85%. One stock ETF and one buffer ETF.","dateModified":"2026-11-04","creator":{"@id":"https://etfiq.com/#org"},"license":"https://etfiq.com/license/","isAccessibleForFree":true,"url":"https://etfiq.com/compare/any/spy-vs-xaug","publisher":{"@id":"https://etfiq.com/#org"},"inLanguage":"en","creativeWorkStatus":"Published","distribution":[{"@type":"DataDownload","encodingFormat":"application/json","contentUrl":"https://etfiq.com/data/alternatives.json"},{"@type":"DataDownload","encodingFormat":"application/json","contentUrl":"https://etfiq.com/data/core.json"},{"@type":"DataDownload","encodingFormat":"application/json","contentUrl":"https://etfiq.com/data/crypto.json"},{"@type":"DataDownload","encodingFormat":"application/json","contentUrl":"https://etfiq.com/data/funds.json"},{"@type":"DataDownload","encodingFormat":"application/json","contentUrl":"https://etfiq.com/data/income.json"},{"@type":"DataDownload","encodingFormat":"application/json","contentUrl":"https://etfiq.com/data/leverage.json"},{"@type":"DataDownload","encodingFormat":"application/json","contentUrl":"https://etfiq.com/data/thematic.json"}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"ETFIQ","item":"https://etfiq.com/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Compare ETFs","item":"https://etfiq.com/compare/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"SPY vs XAUG","item":"https://etfiq.com/compare/any/spy-vs-xaug"}]},{"@type":"WebPage","name":"SPY vs XAUG: ETF Differences, Returns & Fees","description":"SPY vs XAUG to Nov 4, 2026: one-year total return +14.8% against +8.3%, expense ratio 0.09% against 0.85%. One stock ETF and one buffer ETF.","url":"https://etfiq.com/compare/any/spy-vs-xaug","dateModified":"2026-11-04","isPartOf":{"@type":"WebSite","name":"ETFIQ","url":"https://etfiq.com"},"speakable":{"@type":"SpeakableSpecification","cssSelector":[".verdict",".lede",".faq"]},"publisher":{"@id":"https://etfiq.com/#org"}}],"characters":3971,"truncated":true,"content":"ETFIQ / Compare ETFs / SPY vs XAUG \n \n Data as of Nov 4, 2026.\n ETFIQ etfiq.com \u00b7 independent ETF data \n SPY vs XAUG: Differences, Returns & Fees\n Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, SPY returned +14.8% to XAUG's +8.3%, and SPY charges 0.09% to XAUG's 0.85%.\n Copy this for sharing \n SPY costs 0.76 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 6.5 points; SPY is far larger, $804.8bn against $26m.\n SPY and XAUG at a glance. As of Nov 4, 2026. Source: ETFIQ. SPY XAUG \n Expense ratio 0.09% 0.85% \n Net assets, as of Nov 3, 2026 $804.8bn $26m \n Total return, 1 year +14.8% +8.3% \n What it tracks S&P","source":"ETFIQ, independent ETF data. Recomputed nightly from public filings and prices.","publisher":{"@id":"https://etfiq.com/#org","name":"ETFIQ","url":"https://etfiq.com"},"license":"https://etfiq.com/license/","license_text":"Data ETFIQ computes is free to use with attribution: ETFIQ (etfiq.com). Issuer data stays under its owner's terms.","citation":"ETFIQ, SPY against XAUG, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/spy-vs-xaug","a":{"ticker":"SPY","name":"SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust","issuer":"State Street","desk":"core","as_of":"2026-11-04","verdict":"SPY tracks the S&P 500 and returned +14.8% over the past year.","url":"https://etfiq.com/funds/spy","key_facts":[{"label":"Total return, 1 year","value":"+14.8%","as_of":"2026-11-04","source":"computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices"},{"label":"Expense ratio","value":"0.09%","as_of":"2026-01-26","source":"485BPOS, Jan 26, 2026"},{"label":"Holdings","value":"504","as_of":"2026-11-03","source":"the issuer\u2019s daily holdings file"},{"label":"Below its high","value":"\u22121.6%","as_of":"2026-11-04","source":"ETFIQ"},{"label":"12-month yield, capital gains included, on its starting price","value":"1.1%","as_of":"2026-11-04","source":"computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and distributions"},{"label":"Last payment (paid quarterly), ex-date Sep 18, 2026","value":"$1.8888","as_of":"2026-09-18","source":"Tiingo end-of-day distributions"},{"label":"Net assets","value":"$804.8bn","as_of":"2026-11-03","source":"the issuer\u2019s own daily fund list, as of Nov 3, 2026"}]},"b":{"ticker":"XAUG","name":"FT Vest U.S. Equity Enhance & Moderate Buffer ETF - August","issuer":"First Trust","desk":"buffer","as_of":"2026-11-04","verdict":"Since Aug 24, 2026, XAUG returned 1.1%, against SPY's 0.1% price return. It can gain 9.1% more before its cap.","url":"https://etfiq.com/funds/xaug","key_facts":[{"label":"Can still gain from today\u2019s fund price","value":"9.1%","as_of":"2026-11-04","source":null},{"label":"Fall before the buffer from today\u2019s fund price","value":"1.9%","as_of":"2026-11-04","source":null},{"label":"Protection left, index points","value":"15.0%","as_of":"2026-11-04","source":null},{"label":"Days to reset","value":"289","as_of":"2026-11-04","source":null},{"label":"Net assets","value":"$26m","as_of":"2026-11-03","source":"issuer page, as of Nov 3, 2026"},{"label":"Expense ratio","value":"0.85%","as_of":"2026-11-04","source":"issuer page, Nov 4, 2026"}]},"overlap_pct":null,"overlap_note":"ETFIQ does not publish a holdings overlap for this pair. Either the funds are not compared on holdings, or one book is incomplete.","full_text_at":"https://etfiq.com/compare/any/spy-vs-xaug"}