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Data as of .

GDX vs SIL: which is really different?

GDX and SIL hold 21% of their weight in the same names, and SIL returned more over the year.

VanEck Gold Miners ETF and Global X Silver Miners ETF, side by side, thematic ETFs on ETFIQ.

11.0%GDX in the S&P 500
0.0%SIL in the S&P 500
+40.2%GDX total return, 1 year
+49.1%SIL total return, 1 year

ETFIQ Off-Index Score: SIL scores higher

How much of it is not the index it is sold as an alternative to?

GDX 76.8SIL 91.40.1, the lowest in this set91.4, the highest

A percentile among the 349 thematic ETFs with a holdings filing. It is a position in a set, not a rating, and neither end of it is a recommendation. All thematic ETFs ranked by it · How it is computed

GDX89% of its weight is outside the S&P 500 · 1 year to Sep 11, 2026
11%89%inof its weight outside the S&P 500active share 100% · top ten 58% of the fund · 59 holdings filed Sep 10, 2026 · Nasdaq-100: 0% in11%89%inof its weight outside the S&P 500active share 100% · top ten 58% of the fund
SIL100% of its weight is outside the S&P 500 · 1 year to Sep 11, 2026
0%100%0% of its weight in S&P 500 companiesof its weight outside the S&P 500active share 100% · top ten 76% of the fund · 41 holdings filed Sep 11, 2026 · Nasdaq-100: 0% in0%100%0% of its weight in S&P 500 companiesof its weight outside the S&P 500active share 100% · top ten 76% of the fund

21% of the two portfolios are the same securities at the same weight.

Performance, window by window

GDX and SIL over each window. Every figure is an ETFIQ calculation with distributions reinvested. Source: ETFIQ.
WindowTotal returnvs the S&P 500vs the Nasdaq-100
GDXSILGDXSILGDXSIL
3 months+21.3%+18.1%+18.0 pts+14.8 pts+22.1 pts+18.9 pts
6 months+4.1%+2.3%−11.9 pts−13.7 pts−16.6 pts−18.4 pts
1 year+40.2%+49.1%+22.7 pts+31.6 pts+17.2 pts+26.1 pts
3 years+249.2%+298.1%+171.3 pts+220.2 pts+154.1 pts+203.0 pts
Since launch+137.2%+159.8%−667.2 pts−584.6 pts−1536.8 pts−1393.6 pts
Open the live comparison on ETFIQ
GDX and SIL on the same fields, as of Sep 11, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
GDX
VanEck Gold Miners ETF
Holds 59 stocks in miners and metals, 11% of its weight in S&P 500 companies
SIL
Global X Silver Miners ETF
Holds 41 stocks in miners and metals, 0% of its weight in S&P 500 companies
IssuerVanEckGlobal X
ThemeMiners and metalsMiners and metals
In the S&P 50011.0%0.0%
Active share vs the S&P 50099.8%100.0%
In the Nasdaq-1000.0%0.0%
Holdings5941
Top ten, share of the fund58.2%76.1%
Expense ratio0.51%0.65%
Fee for the differing part0.51%0.65%
Total return, 1 year+40.2%+49.1%
vs the S&P 500+22.7 pts+31.6 pts
vs the Nasdaq-100+17.2 pts+26.1 pts
Below its high−16.2%−18.3%

GDX in plain words

By weight, 11% of GDX'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 58% of the fund across 59 positions, as published by its issuer for Sep 10, 2026. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 the fund returned +40.2% with distributions reinvested against +17.5% for the S&P 500, so a holder was ahead by 22.7 pts. It sits 16.2% below its all-time high of Feb 27, 2026.

SIL in plain words

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 41 positions, as published by its issuer for Sep 11, 2026. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 the fund returned +49.1% with distributions reinvested against +17.5% for the S&P 500, so a holder was ahead by 31.6 pts. It sits 18.3% below its all-time high of Feb 27, 2026.

Questions people ask

Do GDX and SIL hold the same stocks?
By their latest filings, 21% of their books are the same securities at the same weight, which is a meaningful overlap. Overlap is the sum of the smaller weight of every security they share.
Which is more different from the S&P 500, GDX or SIL?
GDX has 11% of its weight in S&P 500 names and SIL has 0%, so SIL differs more from the index.
Which is cheaper, GDX or SIL?
GDX charges 0.51% a year and SIL charges 0.65%, so GDX is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

Where these figures came from

ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure. It is not affiliated with any issuer, and a link is not an endorsement.

GDX against SIL, ETFIQ, data as of Sep 11, 2026. Every figure is arithmetic on a named public source; the method is at etfiq.com/methodology. A comparison is not a recommendation.

Cite this page. ETFIQ, GDX against SIL, data as of Sep 11, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/themes/GDX-SIL Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.

How every figure is computed · Standards and sources