Trading · 181 ETFs scored

ETF trading costs and liquidity

Of 1,462 ETFs with a cost figure, 130 cost more than 0.25% one way at $10,000, as of Oct 22, 2026.

See what it costs to buy or sell any ETF at your size, and how far its price sits from its value. Screen volume is not liquidity: what a fund holds, and who creates its shares, matter more.

Share
Cost-to-trade checker
Answer for SPY at $10,000,
Estimated cost
, one way
Fair limit
midpoint
When
Mid-session
spreads are usually widest at the open
Full trading page →

Send the form and the fund’s own trading page opens at the size you picked; with no script it opens the checker’s list of every fund.

Premium watch

34 funds beyond their own 95% range · close Oct 22 against NAV
MBNDState Street Nuveen Municipal Bond ETF−1.14%95% within ±0.91%ACQQProShares Nasdaq-100 Autocallable Income ETF+1.07%95% within ±0.34%HYDVanEck High Yield Muni ETF+0.88%95% within ±0.85%SMBVanEck Short Muni ETF+0.87%95% within ±0.29%SHYDVanEck Short High Yield Muni ETF+0.85%95% within ±0.72%MYMGState Street My2027 Municipal Bond ETF+0.73%95% within ±0.61%
ETFs with the most days more than 1% from NAV →

The five layers

What a price has underneath it
1
The screen
Last price, volume, bid and ask
Free sites stop here
2
The real cost
Typical spread, size at the quote, premium or discount to value
3
Who is trading
Buyers against sellers, retail flow, large trades, the closing auction · Phase 2
4
The plumbing
What the holdings can absorb a day; how many dealers create and redeem
5
On a bad day
How the spread and premium held on the market’s worst days
How each layer is measured →

The IQ Liquidity Score across all funds

181 scored · Oct 22, 2026 · same anchors for every fund
10486953
Hard to trade · 0 to 34Thin · 35 to 54Liquid with care · 55 to 69Liquid · 70 to 84Trades like a giant · 85 to 100

A fixed scale: 70 means the same on a bond desk as on a crypto desk. The median fund scores 75, Liquid; 122 score Liquid or better and 1 are Hard to trade.

Rankings

Each a sort of one measured figure, never a pick
Most liquid ETFsEvery scored ETF, by score100 funds →Most liquid small ETFsFlagged Small but liquid53 funds →Low-volume ETFs with deep liquidityHoldings absorb 10× its own trading or more6 funds →ETFs whose full cost to own is far above the feeFull cost 3× the fee or more8 funds →Widest ETF premiums and discounts, last 30 daysMedian gap to NAV, last 30 days100 funds →ETFs with the most days more than 1% from NAVDays more than 1% from NAV, 12 months100 funds →ETFs with one active authorized participantA single active dealer100 funds →ETFs with the most authorized participantsFive or more active dealers100 funds →ETFs with the tightest bid-ask spreadsLowest cost to trade $10,000100 funds →Cheapest stock ETFs to tradeLowest cost to trade $10,000100 funds →Cheapest bond ETFs to tradeLowest cost to trade $10,000100 funds →Cheapest commodity ETFs to tradeLowest cost to trade $10,00025 funds →Cheapest buffer ETFs to tradeLowest cost to trade $10,000100 funds →Cheapest income ETFs to tradeLowest cost to trade $10,000100 funds →Cheapest thematic ETFs to tradeLowest cost to trade $10,000100 funds →Cheapest leveraged and inverse ETFs to tradeLowest cost to trade $10,000100 funds →Cheapest alternatives ETFs to tradeLowest cost to trade $10,00017 funds →

Guides

Short, with one live figure each
01Limit orders vs market orders for ETFs02Why low volume does not mean illiquid04Premiums and discounts to NAV05International ETFs when the home market is closed06Bond ETFs in a sell-off07Stop orders and Aug 24, 201510Leveraged and inverse ETFs: trading costs on top of decay11Trading a new ETF in its first weeks13Ex-dividend days and income ETFs14Buffer ETFs: reset day and buying mid-period15How to read the IQ Liquidity Score

This week

Funds under a closing notice, with their trading figures, Oct 22, 2026
ClosingDINE
under a closing notice
No spread read.
ClosingDVAL
under a closing notice
No spread read.
ClosingIBDR
under a closing notice
No spread read, premium −0.04% at the Oct 22 close.
ClosingIBHF
under a closing notice
No spread read, premium −0.09% at the Oct 22 close.
ClosingIBTG
under a closing notice
No spread read, premium 0.00% at the Oct 22 close.
ClosingMULT
under a closing notice
No spread read.
Ask IQ how to trade a fund
Ask IQ how to trade a fund, e.g. how should I sell $50,000 of a thin ETF?
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Answers from the figures on these pages, with their dates. Not advice.

Where to next
How the IQ Liquidity Score is built→Open data: the trading score file→Cost-to-trade checker→Fund flows→Every ranking→

Questions people ask

Is a low-volume ETF illiquid?

Not by itself. What matters is whether its holdings can absorb your order and whether a dealer will create or redeem shares against it. 53 ETFs under $100m score Liquid or better as of Oct 22, 2026.

What is a good bid-ask spread for an ETF?

Half the spread is what one way costs before any premium, and a round trip pays it twice. Many large funds quote a cent or less; 130 of 1,462 ETFs cost more than 0.25% one way at $10,000 as of Oct 22, 2026.

What does an ETF’s premium or discount to NAV mean?

It is how far the price sits above or below the value of what the fund holds. A buyer at a premium pays more than the holdings are worth; a seller at a discount gets less.

Should I use a limit order or a market order for an ETF?

A limit at the midpoint plus half the spread to buy, or minus it to sell, protects you in a thin fund and costs nothing in a liquid one. Every fund’s trading page prints its own figure.

What is the IQ Liquidity Score?

A 0 to 100 measure of trading conditions on a fixed scale, from six components. Of 181 ETFs scored as of Oct 22, 2026, the median is 75, Liquid.
Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

ETFIQ, ETF trading costs and liquidity, data as of Oct 22, 2026. https://etfiq.com/trading/

Open data →

The score measures trading conditions, not the fund. ETFIQ makes no recommendations.