What is the expense ratio of GLD vs IBIT?

GLD has an expense ratio of 0.40%, while IBIT has an expense ratio of 0.25%.

GLD vs IBIT

SPDR Gold Shares vs iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF

Last updated: 2026-04-02

GLD State Street

SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) is an exchange-traded fund issued by State Street that provides exposure to gold securities. It charges an above-average expense ratio of 0.40%. Launched in 2004, the fund has a 22-year track record.

AUM: $151.9B ER: 0.40% Yield: 0.00% Since: Nov 18, 2004

IBIT

iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) is an exchange-traded fund that provides exposure to cryptocurrency securities. It charges a moderate expense ratio of 0.25%. Launched in 2024, the fund has a 2-year track record.

AUM: $51.9B ER: 0.25% Yield: N/A Since: Jan 5, 2024

Quick Verdict

IBIT is significantly cheaper at 0.25% vs 0.40% expense ratio, saving you approximately $292 per $10,000 invested over 10 years. Over the past year, GLD has significantly outperformed with a 52.3% return vs -20.0%.

Key Metrics

Metric	GLD	IBIT
Expense Ratio	0.40%	0.25%
Dividend Yield	0.0%	N/A
Fund Family	State Street	N/A
Category	Gold	Cryptocurrency

Performance Chart

Indexed to 100 at start (5-year comparison)

GLD +170.4%

IBIT +45.1%

Performance Comparison

Period	GLD	IBIT	Difference
1 Month	-10.65%	-1.42%	-9.23%
3 Months	+9.93%	-24.15%	+34.08%
6 Months	+22.42%	-44.65%	+67.07%
YTD	+9.93%	-24.15%	+34.08%
1 Year	+52.25%	-20.00%	+72.25%
3 Years	+137.25%	+45.10%	+92.15%
5 Years	+170.39%	+45.10%	+125.29%

Fee Impact Over Time

Estimated fee cost difference assuming 8% annual returns

Investment	Period	GLD Fees	IBIT Fees	You Save
$10.000	10 years	$786	$495	$292
$10.000	20 years	$3.334	$2.111	$1.223
$10.000	30 years	$10.601	$6.758	$3.842
$50.000	10 years	$3.932	$2.473	$1.459
$50.000	30 years	$53.003	$33.792	$19.211
$100.000	30 years	$106.005	$67.584	$38.421

Risk Metrics

Based on 5 years of daily returns

Metric	GLD	IBIT
Annualized Volatility	17.8%	51.2%
Max Drawdown	-21.0%	-49.4%
Sharpe Ratio	0.96	0.50

Dividend Comparison

Metric	GLD	IBIT
Annual Dividend (per share)	$0.00	$0.00
Dividend Yield	0.00%	0.00%
Distribution Frequency	None	None

Top Holdings

IBIT Top Holdings

Name	Weight
Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust ETF#BTC	100.00%
USD CASHUSD	0.00%

Which One Should You Choose?

Choose IBIT if...

you want the lowest fees and plan to buy and hold long-term. Over decades, the expense ratio difference compounds significantly.

Choose GLD if...

recent performance momentum matters to your strategy. Note that past performance doesn't guarantee future results.

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