ETF Versus

SPY vs XLK

State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust vs State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF

Last updated: 2026-04-02

SPY State Street

State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) is an exchange-traded fund issued by State Street 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 1.13%. Launched in 1993, the fund has a 33-year track record.

AUM: $636.7B ER: 0.09% Yield: 1.13% Since: Jan 22, 1993
XLK

State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK) is an exchange-traded fund that provides exposure to us sector - technology securities. It charges a low expense ratio of 0.08%. The fund offers a modest dividend yield of 0.57%. Launched in 1998, the fund has a 28-year track record.

AUM: $82.2B ER: 0.08% Yield: 0.57% Since: Dec 16, 1998

Quick Verdict

Both funds have nearly identical expense ratios (0.08% vs 0.09%), so fees are not a differentiator here. Over the past year, XLK has significantly outperformed with a 29.7% return vs 16.8%. Income investors may prefer SPY for its higher yield (1.1% vs 0.6%).

Key Metrics

Metric SPY XLK
Expense Ratio 0.09% 0.08%
Dividend Yield 1.1% 0.6%
Fund Family State Street N/A
Category US Large Cap Blend US Sector - Technology

Performance Chart

Indexed to 100 at start (5-year comparison)

80 108 136 164 192 220 2021-04 2022-06 2023-09 2024-12 2026-04
SPY +61.2%
XLK +95.1%

Performance Comparison

Period SPY XLK Difference
1 Month -4.54% -3.32% -1.22%
3 Months -4.09% -6.51% +2.42%
6 Months -2.09% -5.23% +3.14%
YTD -4.09% -6.51% +2.42%
1 Year +16.80% +29.73% -12.93%
3 Years +59.45% +78.96% -19.51%
5 Years +61.25% +95.13% -33.88%

Fee Impact Over Time

Estimated fee cost difference assuming 8% annual returns

Investment Period SPY Fees XLK Fees You Save
$10.000 10 years $179 $159 $20
$10.000 20 years $771 $686 $85
$10.000 30 years $2.486 $2.212 $273
$50.000 10 years $896 $797 $99
$50.000 30 years $12.428 $11.061 $1.366
$100.000 30 years $24.855 $22.123 $2.732

Risk Metrics

Based on 5 years of daily returns

Metric SPY XLK
Annualized Volatility 17.1% 24.7%
Max Drawdown -25.4% -34.0%
Sharpe Ratio 0.38 0.49

Dividend Comparison

Metric SPY XLK
Annual Dividend (per share) $7.38 $0.77
Dividend Yield 1.13% 0.57%
Distribution Frequency Quarterly Quarterly

Top Holdings

4 of top 9 holdings overlap (44% overlap in top holdings)

SPY Top Holdings

NameWeight
NVIDIA CorporationNVDA7.58%
Apple Inc.AAPL6.66%
Microsoft CorporationMSFT4.91%
Amazon.com, Inc.AMZN3.64%
Broadcom Inc.AVGO2.62%
Alphabet Inc.GOOG2.40%
Meta Platforms, Inc.META2.24%
Tesla, Inc.TSLA1.87%
Berkshire Hathaway Inc.BRK.B1.57%

XLK Top Holdings

NameWeight
NVIDIA CorporationNVDA15.50%
Apple Inc.AAPL13.63%
Microsoft CorporationMSFT10.05%
Broadcom Inc.AVGO5.37%
Micron Technology, Inc.MU3.39%
Palantir Technologies Inc.PLTR2.98%
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.AMD2.95%
Cisco Systems, Inc.CSCO2.73%
Applied Materials, Inc.AMAT2.42%
Lam Research CorporationLRCX2.38%

Which One Should You Choose?

Choose XLK if...

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

Choose SPY if...

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

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