DIG vs DUG: which held to its multiple?
Over three months against its own daily promise, DIG finished 2.2 points short and DUG 1.7 points over. ProShares Ultra Energy and ProShares UltraShort Energy.
DIG returned +33.5% while 2 times XLE's move would have been +34.3%
DUG returned −28.0% while −2 times XLE's move would have been −34.3%
DIG among the 470 leveraged ETFs, long, over three months
DUG among the 125 inverse ETFs over three months
A percentile among the 470 leveraged ETFs, long, over three months. DUG is a percentile among the 125 inverse ETFs over three months, a different set, so the two marks are not on one scale. It is a position in a set, not a rating, and neither end of it is a recommendation. All leveraged ETFs ranked by it → How it is computed →
Performance, window by window
| Total return | Multiple would give | Difference | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Window | DIG | DUG | DIG | DUG | DIG | DUG |
| 1 month | −7.2% | +6.7% | −6.5% | +6.5% | −0.7 pts | +0.1 pts |
| 3 months | +33.5% | −28.0% | +34.3% | −34.3% | −0.8 pts | +6.3 pts |
| 6 months | +5.7% | −13.2% | +11.3% | −11.3% | −5.7 pts | −1.8 pts |
| 1 year | +80.4% | −52.3% | +83.2% | −83.2% | −2.8 pts | +30.9 pts |
| 3 years | +59.9% | −57.9% | +99.1% | −99.1% | −39.2 pts | +41.2 pts |
| Since launch DIG Jan 2010 · DUG Jan 2010 | +83.4% | −99.6% | not meaningful | not meaningful | not meaningful | not meaningful |
DIG and DUG over each window. Every figure is an ETFIQ calculation with distributions reinvested. Source: ETFIQ. Open the live comparison on ETFIQ →
On the same fields
DIG and DUG on the same fields, as of Sep 30, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
DIG in plain words
Three months to Sep 30, 2026: DIG returned +33.5% where its own daily promise gave +35.7%, 2.2 points short. Read the multiple against the whole window instead and 2 times XLE's 17.2% implies +34.3%, which makes DIG look 0.8 points short. 1.4 of that is daily compounding, which happens to any 2 times fund over the same path, and the rest is the fund. DIG aims to return +2 times XLE's move each day, then resets. Over one day it does that. Over longer, the daily results compound, so the total is not +2 times the period's move: in a market that falls and comes back it is reliably less, and in a steady run it can be more. XLE moved at 21% annualized over that window. That is what decides how far the two figures separate: the same fund on a calm underlying and a violent one is a different product.
DUG in plain words
Three months to Sep 30, 2026: DUG returned −28.0% where its own daily promise gave −29.7%, 1.7 points over. Read the multiple against the whole window instead and −2 times XLE's 17.2% implies −34.3%, which makes DUG look 6.3 points over. 4.6 of that is daily compounding, which happens to any −2 times fund over the same path, and the rest is the fund. DUG aims to return -2 times XLE's move each day, then resets. Over longer, the daily results compound, so the total is not -2 times the period's move: in a market that falls and comes back it is reliably less, and in a steady run it can be more.
Questions people ask
- Which came closer to its stated multiple, DIG or DUG?
- Over the window to Sep 30, 2026, DIG finished 0.8 points from what its multiple implies and DUG finished 6.3 points from its own, so DIG came closer. Neither figure predicts the next window: it depends on how much the underlying moves about.
- Are DIG and DUG levered on the same thing?
- Yes. Both are levered on energy, DIG at +2 times and DUG at -2 times the daily move.
- Which one decays faster, DIG or DUG?
- Decay follows how much the underlying moves about. Over this window DIG’s moved at 21% annualized and DUG’s at 21%, so DIG has the rougher ride and, at the same multiple, loses more to compounding.
- Can I hold DIG or DUG for a year?
- Both reset every day, so the multiple in the name applies to a single day and the daily results compound. Over a year the total is not the multiple times the year’s move, and in a market that falls and comes back it is reliably less. ETFIQ makes no recommendation either way.
ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure. It is not affiliated with any issuer, and a link is not an endorsement. A comparison is not a recommendation.
ETFIQ, DIG against DUG, data as of Sep 30, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/leverage/dig-vs-dug
Free to use with attribution. Every figure is calculated from a named public source; the method is at etfiq.com/methodology.
Cite this page. ETFIQ, DIG against DUG, data as of Sep 30, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/leverage/dig-vs-dug Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.
Other forms
- Plain
- ETFIQ, DIG against DUG, data as of Sep 30, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/leverage/dig-vs-dug
- APA
- ETFIQ. (Sep 30, 2026). DIG against DUG. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/leverage/dig-vs-dug
- Markdown
- [DIG against DUG (ETFIQ, Sep 30, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/leverage/dig-vs-dug)