Are USO and XBI in the same category?

USO is a commodity 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, USO or XBI?

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, USO returned +133.3% and XBI +41.2%.

Which is cheaper, USO or XBI?

XBI is cheaper, by 0.51 percentage points a year. That is about $51 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

USO vs XBI: Differences, Returns & Fees

Share on X Download as PDF

Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, USO returned +133.3% to XBI's +41.2%, and XBI charges 0.35% to USO's 0.86%.

askIQ about this page

askIQ about USO and XBI

Net assets: $1.9bn on Oct 28, 2026 for United States Oil Fund, LP, and $10.3bn on Oct 27, 2026 for State Street SPDR S&P Biotech ETF.

USO on its own →XBI on its own →

At a glance

+133.3%

USO total return, 1 year

+41.2%

XBI total return, 1 year

0.86%

USO expense ratio

0.35%

XBI expense ratio

Pair scorecard

XBI costs 0.51 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 92.1 points; XBI is 5.4 times larger.

USO vs XBI: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	USO	XBI
Return
Measure	USO	XBI
Total return, 1 year	+133.3%	+41.2%
Drawdown
Measure	USO	XBI
Below its high	82.3%, high on Jul 14, 2008
Below its all-time high		8.9%, high on Feb 8, 2021
Benchmark
Measure	USO	XBI
What it tracks	Oil futures	Biotech
Cost and size
Measure	USO	XBI
Expense ratio	0.86%	0.35%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$1.9bn	$10.3bn
Active share vs the S&P 500		98%
Holdings
Measure	USO	XBI
Holdings in common	not published
In the S&P 500, by weight		13%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund		18%

Method

Side by side

USO United States Oil Fund, LP XBI State Street SPDR S&P Biotech ETF

Where it sits Commodity ETF Thematic ETF

Issuer USCF State Street

What it is Holds oil futures Biotech

Total return, 1 year +133.3% +41.2%

Expense ratio 0.86% 0.35%

Holdings not counted 165

Net assets, USO as of Oct 28, 2026 and XBI as of Oct 27, 2026 $1.9bn $10.3bn

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

Alert

About each fund

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.

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 USO and XBI in the same category?: USO is a commodity 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, USO or XBI?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, USO returned +133.3% and XBI +41.2%.
Which is cheaper, USO or XBI?: XBI is cheaper, by 0.51 percentage points a year. That is about $51 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

IBB vs USO AIRR vs USO GDX vs USO REMX vs USO SIVR vs XBI BWET vs XBI IAU vs XBI GLD vs XBI

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

USCF website ↗

XBI filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

XBI prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

State Street website ↗

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

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

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

Open data →

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