---
title: "Best gold ETFs: the two A grades charge 0.10% or less"
url: "https://etf.net/news/gold-etfs-a-grades-charge-little-2026-11-02"
published_at: "2026-11-02T16:53:53.790Z"
updated_at: "2026-11-02T16:53:53.790Z"
byline: "ETF.net Research"
---

# Best gold ETFs: the two A grades charge 0.10% or less

iShares Gold Trust Micro charges 0.07% only while a voluntary waiver holds, and the larger fund, SPDR Gold MiniShares, lists 0.10%.

By ETF.net Research. Published Nov 2, 2026.

Two funds that hold gold bars earn an A, and State Street's SPDR Gold Shares, GLD, is not one of them. [State Street](https://www.ssga.com/us/en/intermediary/etfs/spdr-gold-shares-gld) listed $131 billion in the fund as of Oct. 30. Its fee is **0.40%**.

An A is an etf.net grade. A fund is graded against others that hold gold bars, and the two charging 0.10% or less are the ones that earn it. GLD earns a B.

Buy BlackRock's iShares Gold Trust Micro, IAUM, if you want the lowest fee and can accept a waiver the sponsor may end. Buy State Street's SPDR Gold MiniShares Trust, GLDM, if you want a listed **0.10%**, a larger fund, and more trading.

IAUM's prospectus fee is 0.09%. In its [quarterly report for the period ended June 30, 2026](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1759124/000143774926026003/iaum20260630_10q.htm), the sponsor said:

"The Sponsor has voluntarily agreed to waive a portion of the Sponsor's fee so that the Sponsor's fee after the fee waiver will not exceed 0.07% through June 30, 2027."

The same report says the sponsor has no current intention of ending the waiver early. It also says that because the waiver is voluntary, the sponsor may go back to 0.09% before June 30, 2027, with at least 30 days' notice.

For the six months ended June 30, 2026, the annualized expense after the waiver was **0.07%**. [iShares](https://www.ishares.com/us/products/306979/ishares-gold-trust-micro) still lists the prospectus fee at 0.09%, and $7.9 billion in the fund as of Oct. 30.

[State Street](https://www.ssga.com/us/en/intermediary/etfs/spdr-gold-minishares-gldm) lists 0.10% for GLDM and does not describe a waiver. It listed $29.6 billion in the fund as of Oct. 30. Over the 20 sessions through that day, GLDM traded $285 million a day on average, against $116 million for IAUM.

## What you pay to hold the bars

The annual fee is the yearly charge for holding the gold. For IAUM the figure is the fee after the waiver. The other fees are the ones the issuers list.

Table: Fund, Grade, Annual fee, Assets, 2026 through Oct. 30, Past year through Oct. 30

Returns are the change in the share price. Assets are the issuers' figures as of Oct. 30.

On a $10,000 balance, the 0.40% fee is $40 a year. At 0.10% it is $10, and at 0.07% it is $7.

Through Friday, Oct. 30, the four were down between 10.0% and 10.2% for 2026. That does not separate them. The fee does, and you pay it every year you stay.

BlackRock's iShares Gold Trust, IAU, earns a B. [iShares](https://www.ishares.com/us/products/239561/ishares-gold-trust-fund) lists a 0.25% fee and $58.1 billion as of Oct. 30. It is the older iShares trust, the same metal, at a higher fee.

## When SPDR Gold Shares is worth 0.40%

For a holding you intend to keep, the fee is the cost that repeats. Pay GLD's fee when you are placing a very large order.

Over the 20 sessions through Oct. 30, GLD traded $2.97 billion a day on average, against $285 million for GLDM and $116 million for IAUM.

Chart: **GLD** averaged nearly $3 billion a day

## Mining shares are not the bars

VanEck Gold Miners ETF, GDX, holds shares of mining companies, not gold in a vault. VanEck's fact sheet as of Sept. 30, 2026, lists a 0.51% expense ratio.

Through Oct. 30, GDX's share price was down 10.1% for 2026, in line with the funds that hold bars. Over the past year the share price was up 5.7%, while the funds in the table were down between 3.5% and 3.9%.

Over the five years through Oct. 30, its annualized price volatility was 38%, against 19% for GLD.

Chart: Miners ran at **twice** the volatility of bullion funds

Source: etf.net, https://etf.net/news/gold-etfs-a-grades-charge-little-2026-11-02. Please cite the page URL.