SPY vs QQQM: which ETF won each year?

Yearly returns side by side, one winner per year — dividends included, priced as you'd actually buy them.

SPY tracks the S&P 500 IndexQQQM tracks the Nasdaq-100 Index

What did the last 5 years do to $10,000?

You invest $10,000 at the start of the window and touch nothing — dividends reinvested, the running year not counted. Both funds are measured over the same 5 full years (2021–2025) — the longest stretch both were trading.

SPY turned it into
$19,539
+14.34% per year on average · 20212025
QQQM turned it into
$20,250
+15.16% per year on average · 20212025
Difference
−$711
QQQM made more of the same money

SPY vs QQQM, year by year

Calendar-year total returns (dividends included) side by side, and who took the crown each year. A dash means the fund did not exist yet.

Years compared
7
where both funds were trading
SPY won
3
years
QQQM won
4
years
YearSPYQQQMWinner
2026 (so far)+10.09%+20.09%QQQM
2025+17.72%+20.85%QQQM
2024+24.89%+25.68%QQQM
2023+26.18%+55.01%QQQM
2022-18.18%-32.52%SPY
2021+28.73%+27.45%SPY
2020+18.33%+6.67%SPY
2019+31.22%
2018-4.57%
2017+21.71%
2016+12.00%
2015+1.23%
2014+13.46%
2013+32.31%
2012+15.99%
2011+1.89%
2010+15.06%
2009+26.35%
2008-36.80%
2007+5.15%
2006+15.85%
2005+4.83%
2004+10.70%
2003+28.18%
2002-21.58%
2001-11.76%
2000-9.74%
1999+20.39%
1998+28.69%
1997+33.47%
1996+22.50%
1995+38.05%
1994+0.40%
1993+8.71%

SPY vs QQQM in plain words

SPY tracks the S&P 500 Index while QQQM follows the Nasdaq-100 Index, so they own different slices of the market and their years can look very different. SPY charges 0.0945% a year in running costs and QQQM charges 0.15% — SPY is the cheaper fund to hold.

Both funds distribute: dividends land in your account as cash instead of being reinvested automatically. Across the 7 calendar years both funds were trading, SPY finished the year ahead 3 times and QQQM 4 times. $10,000 invested at the start of 2021 was worth $19,539 in SPY versus $20,250 in QQQM by the end of 2025, dividends reinvested.

Fund facts: SPY vs QQQM

FactSPYQQQM
FundSPDR S&P 500 ETF TrustInvesco NASDAQ 100 ETF
TracksS&P 500 IndexNasdaq-100 Index
Yearly cost (TER)0.0945%0.15%
DividendsDistributing — dividends paid outDistributing — dividends paid out
Launched22 Jan 199313 Oct 2020

Frequently asked

Is SPY or QQQM better?

Across the 7 calendar years both funds were trading, SPY finished the year ahead 3 times and QQQM 4 times. $10,000 invested at the start of 2021 was worth $19,539 in SPY versus $20,250 in QQQM by the end of 2025, dividends reinvested. Past returns don't promise future ones — but this is what actually happened.

What is the difference between SPY and QQQM?

SPY tracks the S&P 500 Index while QQQM follows the Nasdaq-100 Index, so they own different slices of the market and their years can look very different. SPY charges 0.0945% a year in running costs and QQQM charges 0.15% — SPY is the cheaper fund to hold. Both funds distribute: dividends land in your account as cash instead of being reinvested automatically.

What would $10,000 in SPY have become?

$10,000 invested in SPY at the start of 2021 grew to $19,539 by the end of 2025, with dividends reinvested — an average of 14.3% per year.

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