What is the expense ratio of SPY vs XYLD?

SPY has an expense ratio of 0.09%, while XYLD has an expense ratio of 0.60%.

SPY vs XYLD

State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust vs Global X S&P 500 Covered Call 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

XYLD

Global X S&P 500 Covered Call ETF (XYLD) is an exchange-traded fund that provides exposure to us covered call securities. It charges a high expense ratio of 0.60%. The fund offers a high dividend yield of 10.93%. Launched in 2013, the fund has a 13-year track record.

AUM: $3.0B ER: 0.60% Yield: 10.93% Since: Jun 24, 2013

Quick Verdict

SPY is significantly cheaper at 0.09% vs 0.60% expense ratio, saving you approximately $991 per $10,000 invested over 10 years. Over the past year, SPY has significantly outperformed with a 16.8% return vs -0.5%. Income investors may prefer XYLD for its higher yield (10.9% vs 1.1%).

Key Metrics

Metric	SPY	XYLD
Expense Ratio	0.09%	0.60%
Dividend Yield	1.1%	10.9%
Fund Family	State Street	N/A
Category	US Large Cap Blend	US Covered Call

Performance Chart

Indexed to 100 at start (5-year comparison)

SPY +61.2%

XYLD -18.3%

Performance Comparison

Period	SPY	XYLD	Difference
1 Month	-4.54%	-3.51%	-1.03%
3 Months	-4.09%	-3.46%	-0.63%
6 Months	-2.09%	-0.20%	-1.89%
YTD	-4.09%	-3.46%	-0.63%
1 Year	+16.80%	-0.51%	+17.31%
3 Years	+59.45%	-3.11%	+62.56%
5 Years	+61.25%	-18.29%	+79.54%

Fee Impact Over Time

Estimated fee cost difference assuming 8% annual returns

Investment	Period	SPY Fees	XYLD Fees	You Save
$10.000	10 years	$179	$1.170	$991
$10.000	20 years	$771	$4.914	$4.144
$10.000	30 years	$2.486	$15.488	$13.002
$50.000	10 years	$896	$5.849	$4.953
$50.000	30 years	$12.428	$77.438	$65.010
$100.000	30 years	$24.855	$154.876	$130.021

Risk Metrics

Based on 5 years of daily returns

Metric	SPY	XYLD
Annualized Volatility	17.1%	11.7%
Max Drawdown	-25.4%	-30.3%
Sharpe Ratio	0.38	-0.67

Dividend Comparison

Metric	SPY	XYLD
Annual Dividend (per share)	$7.38	$4.30
Dividend Yield	1.13%	10.93%
Distribution Frequency	Quarterly	Monthly

Top Holdings

9 of top 9 holdings overlap (100% overlap in top holdings)

SPY Top Holdings

Name	Weight
NVIDIA CorporationNVDA	7.58%
Apple Inc.AAPL	6.66%
Microsoft CorporationMSFT	4.91%
Amazon.com, Inc.AMZN	3.64%
Broadcom Inc.AVGO	2.62%
Alphabet Inc.GOOG	2.40%
Meta Platforms, Inc.META	2.24%
Tesla, Inc.TSLA	1.87%
Berkshire Hathaway Inc.BRK.B	1.57%

XYLD Top Holdings

Name	Weight
NVIDIA CorporationNVDA	7.45%
Apple Inc.AAPL	6.72%
Microsoft CorporationMSFT	4.95%
Amazon.com, Inc.AMZN	3.64%
Broadcom Inc.AVGO	2.58%
Alphabet Inc.GOOG	2.37%
Meta Platforms, Inc.META	2.18%
Tesla, Inc.TSLA	1.85%
Berkshire Hathaway Inc.BRK.B	1.62%

Which One Should You Choose?

Choose SPY 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 XYLD if...

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

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