ETF Versus

SPY vs SPYD

State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust vs State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 High Dividend ETF

Last updated: 2026-04-10

SPY SPDR

State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) is an exchange-traded fund issued by SPDR that provides exposure to large-cap U.S. equities across growth and value styles. It charges a low expense ratio of 0.09%. The fund offers a moderate dividend yield of 1.09%. Launched in 1993, the fund has a 33-year track record.

AUM: $678.3B ER: 0.09% Yield: 1.09% Since: Jan 22, 1993
SPYD SPDR

State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 High Dividend ETF (SPYD) is an exchange-traded fund issued by SPDR that provides exposure to U.S. dividend-paying stocks selected for yield or dividend growth. It charges a low expense ratio of 0.07%. The fund offers a high dividend yield of 4.33%. Launched in 2015, the fund has a 11-year track record.

AUM: $7.1B ER: 0.07% Yield: 4.33% Since: Oct 21, 2015

Quick Verdict

SPYD has a slightly lower expense ratio (0.07% vs 0.09%), saving about $40 per $10,000 over 10 years. Over the past year, SPY has significantly outperformed with a 29.6% return vs 15.3%. Income investors may prefer SPYD for its higher yield (4.3% vs 1.1%).

Key Metrics

Metric SPY SPYD
Expense Ratio 0.09% 0.07%
Dividend Yield 1.1% 4.3%
Fund Family SPDR SPDR
Category US Large Cap Blend US Dividend

Performance Chart

Indexed to 100 at start (5-year comparison)

80 98 116 134 152 170 2021-04 2022-07 2023-10 2025-01 2026-04
SPY +65.2%
SPYD +17.3%

Performance Comparison

Period SPY SPYD Difference
1 Month +0.54% -0.44% +0.98%
3 Months -2.19% +3.93% -6.12%
6 Months +2.55% +6.95% -4.40%
YTD -0.47% +5.33% -5.80%
1 Year +29.62% +15.30% +14.32%
3 Years +65.95% +19.97% +45.98%
5 Years +65.18% +17.27% +47.91%

Fee Impact Over Time

Estimated fee cost difference assuming 8% annual returns

Investment Period SPY Fees SPYD Fees You Save
$10,000 10 years $179 $140 $40
$10,000 20 years $771 $600 $170
$10,000 30 years $2,486 $1,938 $547
$50,000 10 years $896 $698 $199
$50,000 30 years $12,428 $9,692 $2,736
$100,000 30 years $24,855 $19,383 $5,472

Risk Metrics

Based on 5 years of daily returns

Metric SPY SPYD
Annualized Volatility 17.1% 16.5%
Max Drawdown -25.4% -27.4%
Sharpe Ratio 0.41 0.00

Dividend Comparison

Metric SPY SPYD
Annual Dividend (per share) $7.38 $1.99
Dividend Yield 1.09% 4.33%
Distribution Frequency Quarterly Quarterly

Top Holdings

0 of top 9 holdings overlap (0% overlap in top holdings)

SPY Top Holdings

NameWeight
NVIDIA CorporationNVDA7.61%
Apple Inc.AAPL6.54%
Microsoft CorporationMSFT4.78%
Amazon.com, Inc.AMZN3.72%
Broadcom Inc.AVGO2.86%
Alphabet Inc.GOOG2.53%
Meta Platforms, Inc.META2.31%
Tesla, Inc.TSLA1.66%
Berkshire Hathaway Inc.BRK.B1.51%

SPYD Top Holdings

NameWeight
APA CorporationAPA1.78%
LyondellBasell Industries N.V.LYB1.75%
Dow Inc.DOW1.69%
EOG Resources, Inc.EOG1.57%
Edison InternationalEIX1.50%
Verizon Communications Inc.VZ1.49%
Phillips 66PSX1.45%
AT&T Inc.T1.42%
Target CorporationTGT1.42%
Chevron CorporationCVX1.41%

Which One Should You Choose?

Choose SPYD if...

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

Choose SPY if...

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

Choose SPYD if...

you prioritize dividend income and want higher regular distributions from your portfolio.

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