Compare/Updated Oct 26, 2026, refreshed every trading day
GLD vs SPY
SPDR Gold Shares against State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF: 4 years of returns, risk and today’s technical read, from Kavout’s own data.
GLD did better over the period from Oct. 28, 2022 to Oct. 23, 2026: $1,000 grew to $2,394, a 139.4% gain, versus $2,052 for SPY, a 105.2% gain. GLD’s advantage matters because it came with substantially higher risk: 28.5% trailing 12-month volatility and a worst drawdown of 26.4%, compared with SPY’s 12.7% volatility and 18.8% drawdown. SPY nevertheless had stronger recent momentum, gaining 12.0% YTD, 14.7% over one year, and 6.7% over six months, while GLD declined 7.5%, 2.9%, and 15.4%, respectively. GLD’s 0.183 daily correlation with SPY indicates meaningful diversification potential, though its 0.40% expense ratio is higher than SPY’s 0.09%.
- Price is below its 200-day average ($414); 50-day at $395.
- RSI 34, neutral. Supertrend says sell. ADX 22, so the trend is developing.
- Price is above its 200-day average ($725); 50-day at $767.
- RSI 42, neutral. Supertrend says sell. ADX 14, so the trend is weak.
Head to head
Which has returned more, GLD or SPY?
GLD beat SPY in 24 of the last 48 months; SPY won the other 24. The typical monthly gap was 4.18 points.
Total return by period
Which is riskier?
GLD: Jan 29, 2026 to Jul 16, 2026; SPY: Feb 19, 2025 to Apr 8, 2025
- 0.183
- correlation of daily moves, 4 years
- 0.24
- GLD move per 1% in SPY
- 0.358
- correlation, last 12 months
Month by month
Of the last 48 months. The typical gap was 4.18 points.
When did they diverge?
| Month | GLD | SPY | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| March 2025 | +9.4% | -5.6% | +15.02 pts |
| April 2026 | -1.6% | +10.5% | -12.05 pts |
| January 2026 | +12.3% | +1.5% | +10.80 pts |
| June 2026 | -11.7% | -1.0% | -10.66 pts |
Where the numbers come from. 1000 daily adjusted closes per fund from the Kavout market-data API, dividends included. Signals and indicators are Kavout’s own, refreshed nightly. Every figure is calculated from those adjusted closes.
Holdings and fees
What do you actually own with GLD and SPY?
Go deeper
Ask InvestGPT which one fits your portfolio.
Eight research agents read your holdings, the overlap and the tax side, then answer in plain words. Free accounts get one report a month.
More comparisons
Find another comparison.
Track both, get told when something changes.
Add GLD and SPY to a watchlist and Kavout emails you when a signal flips or a price target is hit.
Free account, no card