{"url":"https://etfiq.com/learn/what-is-tracking-difference-in-an-etf","section":"learn","title":"What is tracking difference in an ETF? | ETFIQ","description":"As of Nov 4, 2026, the median stock ETF finished 4.3 points from its ETFIQ benchmark over a year, and the median bond ETF finished 0.60 points away.","as_of":"Nov 4, 2026","structured_data":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https://etfiq.com/learn/what-is-tracking-difference-in-an-etf#article","headline":"What is tracking difference in an ETF?","description":"As of Nov 4, 2026, the median stock ETF finished 4.3 points from its ETFIQ benchmark over a year, and the median bond ETF finished 0.60 points away.","url":"https://etfiq.com/learn/what-is-tracking-difference-in-an-etf","mainEntityOfPage":"https://etfiq.com/learn/what-is-tracking-difference-in-an-etf","dateModified":"2026-11-04","datePublished":"2026-11-04","author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"ETFIQ Research","url":"https://etfiq.com"},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"ETFIQ Research","url":"https://etfiq.com"},"about":"What is tracking difference in an ETF?","inLanguage":"en"},{"@type":"FAQPage","@id":"https://etfiq.com/learn/what-is-tracking-difference-in-an-etf#questions","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"Is tracking difference the same as tracking error?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"No. Difference is the gap in return over a period. Error is how much the gap varies from day to day."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"Why does a fund trail its index?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"The fee comes out of returns, and the fund pays trading costs the index does not."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"Where do I see a fund\u2019s gap?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"On its fund page, beside its benchmark, with the window and the date."}}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"ETFIQ","item":"https://etfiq.com/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Learn","item":"https://etfiq.com/learn/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"What is tracking difference in an ETF?","item":"https://etfiq.com/learn/what-is-tracking-difference-in-an-etf"}]},{"@type":"WebPage","name":"What is tracking difference in an ETF?","description":"As of Nov 4, 2026, the median stock ETF finished 4.3 points from its ETFIQ benchmark over a year, and the median bond ETF finished 0.60 points away.","url":"https://etfiq.com/learn/what-is-tracking-difference-in-an-etf","dateModified":"2026-11-04","isPartOf":{"@type":"WebSite","name":"ETFIQ","url":"https://etfiq.com"},"speakable":{"@type":"SpeakableSpecification","cssSelector":[".lede",".faq"]},"publisher":{"@id":"https://etfiq.com/#org"}}],"characters":2197,"truncated":false,"content":"ETFIQ / Learn / What is tracking difference in an ETF? \n \n What is tracking difference in an ETF?\n Data as of Nov 4, 2026. Rebuilt every trading night.\n As of Nov 4, 2026, the median stock ETF finished 4.3 points from its ETFIQ benchmark over a year, and the median bond ETF finished 0.60 points away.\n \n In plain words\n Tracking difference is how far a fund\u2019s return strayed from its index over a period. If an index rose 10% and the fund 9.8%, the difference is 0.2 points. Part is the fee; the rest is trading costs and how the fund is built.\n The median stock ETF finished 4.3 points from its benchmark over a year, across 941 funds; bond ETFs 0.60 points, across 294. Stock gaps run wider because many funds are active or follow a different index. A small gap is the goal for an index fund. ETFIQ shows sign, window and date, and only against the benchmark a fund names.\n Questions\n Is tracking difference the same as tracking error? No. Difference is the gap in return over a period. Error is how much the gap varies from day to day.\n Why does a fund trail its index? The fee comes out of returns, and the fund pays trading costs the index does not.\n Where do I see a fund\u2019s gap? On its fund page, beside its benchmark, with the window and the date.\n Where to next\n Compare two ETFs Screener: filter every ETF Methodology: benchmarks What is an actively managed ETF? What is an ETF benchmark? What is an ETF expense ratio? All ETF explainers How ETFIQ computes these numbers \n Cite this page. ETFIQ, What is tracking difference in an ETF?, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/learn/what-is-tracking-difference-in-an-etf Free to use with attribution for data ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms. The underlying files are at Open data .\n Other forms Plain ETFIQ, What is tracking difference in an ETF?, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/learn/what-is-tracking-difference-in-an-etf APA ETFIQ. (Nov 4, 2026). What is tracking difference in an ETF?. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/learn/what-is-tracking-difference-in-an-etf Markdown [What is tracking difference in an ETF? (ETFIQ, Nov 4, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/learn/what-is-tracking-difference-in-an-etf)","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, What is tracking difference in an ETF?, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/learn/what-is-tracking-difference-in-an-etf"}