Best Gold ETF for 2025

Gold broke records in 2025. Prices shot past $4,300 an ounce, and investors rushed in from every direction.

Here’s the answer you came for: the best gold ETF for most American investors is SPDR Gold MiniShares (GLDM). It has the lowest fee in the game at 0.10%, strong trading volume, and tight spreads. In short, it does the job with the least friction.

But knowing the name isn’t enough. Each gold ETF works in its own way. Some track physical gold. Some track miners. Some are built for long-term wealth. Others move fast and hit harder.

If you want the full picture and to make sure you choose the fund that actually fits your goals: this guide breaks down how gold ETFs work, what makes them different, and which ones are worth your attention in a year when gold demand is rewriting history.

A gold ETF is an exchange-traded fund that holds physical gold bullion in secure vaults, allowing you to gain exposure to precious metals without dealing with storage, insurance, or security concerns.

These funds operate as grantor trusts, issuing shares that represent fractional ownership of actual gold bars stored in institutional-grade facilities. Major gold ETFs like GLD and IAU store their holdings in London, New York, and Toronto vaults managed by custodians including JPMorgan Chase and HSBC.

The creation and redemption mechanism keeps share prices aligned with spot gold: when demand increases, authorized participants create new shares by depositing gold with the custodian; when demand falls, they redeem shares for physical metal.

You trade these shares on stock exchanges just like stocks, getting instant liquidity during market hours. All eight major gold ETFs with over $1 billion in assets hold exclusively physical gold, ensuring you're getting true commodity exposure rather than paper derivatives.

SPDR Gold MiniShares takes the top spot for the majority of investors.

With $23.33 billion in assets and a share price of $81.89 as of November 2025, GLDM combines institutional-grade security with the lowest expense ratio among major US-listed physically-backed gold ETFs at just 0.10%. That fee advantage compounds dramatically over time.

For buy-and-hold investors making fewer than four trades annually, the math is straightforward: GLDM provides mathematically superior long-term outcomes through pure fee efficiency. Consider this: a $100,000 investment saves you $300 annually compared to GLD's 0.40% fee. Over 30 years, that difference accumulates to tens of thousands of dollars in preserved returns.

GLDM delivered a 57.13% one-year return through November 2025, demonstrating consistent performance that tracks spot gold precisely.

The fund maintains adequate liquidity with approximately 300,000 shares traded daily and reasonable bid-ask spreads of 0.014%.

SPDR Gold Shares earns its place as the optimal choice for active traders, even with its higher 0.40% expense ratio.

As the original gold ETF launched in 2004, GLD commands market leadership with $139.14 billion in assets.

The real advantage lies in extraordinary liquidity: 7 million shares change hands daily on average, creating near-negligible bid-ask spreads of just 0.007%. That's five times tighter than competitors, and the difference matters when you're trading frequently.

Here's the math: an investor trading $500,000 quarterly saves approximately $42.50 per trade through those tighter spreads. Execute that four times annually, and you've saved $170, offsetting much of the fee disadvantage within 2-3 years of active trading.

With a share price of $380.58 and a 4.83% NAV return as of October 31, 2025, GLD delivers consistent tracking of spot gold. The 0.40% fee becomes economically justified when your trading frequency exceeds 12 transactions annually.

iShares Gold Trust occupies the sweet spot as a consistent second-place competitor with $64.22 billion in assets and a $79.04 share price.

The 0.25% expense ratio splits the difference between GLDM's low cost and GLD's premium pricing, reducing your annual costs by 0.15 percentage points versus GLD while maintaining excellent liquidity through approximately 2 million average daily shares traded.

IAU posted a 45.10% one-year total return as of November 2025, demonstrating minimal tracking error versus the 45.45% benchmark. The fund's 3-year returns of 31.45% and 5-year returns of 14.90% show consistent long-term performance that matches category leaders.

Bid-ask spreads measure approximately 0.014%, twice as wide as GLD but perfectly acceptable for investors trading quarterly or annually.

IAU makes sense for investors who want better liquidity than GLDM but don't need GLD's premium execution quality. If you're rebalancing your portfolio 4-8 times annually, IAU delivers the balanced features you need without paying for liquidity you won't use.

iShares Gold Trust Micro claims the title of absolute lowest-cost option at 0.09% expense ratio, undercutting even GLDM by one basis point. With $5.52 billion in assets, IAUM is smaller but still substantial enough to ensure operational stability.

The fund's 40.47% one-year return and 45.35% total return align with category averages, confirming that ultra-low fees translate directly to superior outcomes when tracking remains consistent.

That minimal fee advantage saves you $10 annually per $100,000 versus GLDM, a difference that becomes meaningful only over very long periods of 20+ years as compounding works its magic.

The trade-off comes in liquidity: IAUM has wider bid-ask spreads than GLDM or IAU due to lower trading volumes, making it unsuitable for frequent traders. Active traders should avoid IAUM because wider spreads eliminate the fee advantage through higher transaction costs.

IAUM shines specifically in retirement accounts with 30-40 year horizons where the tiny fee difference compounds significantly and trading frequency remains minimal.

VanEck Gold Miners ETF takes a completely different approach, providing exposure to gold mining companies rather than physical metal. With $23.89 billion in assets, 17 million average daily share volume, and a 0.51% expense ratio, GDX holds 63 stocks representing the largest global gold producers and royalty companies.

Approximately 90% of holdings are companies exceeding $5 billion market cap, including top positions like Newmont Corporation (15.85%), Agnico Eagle Mines (13.33%), and Barrick Gold (8.92%).

The fund delivered extraordinary 2025 performance with over 50% year-to-date returns through mid-year versus 25-30% for physical gold, demonstrating the leverage effect in action.

Here's how it works: modest gold price increases translate to substantially larger percentage gains in mining company earnings due to fixed production costs and operating leverage. But understand the critical risks: mining stocks exhibit approximately twice the volatility of physical gold and often decouple during equity market stress, declining alongside broader markets despite rising gold prices.

GDX represents a tactical allocation for moderate-to-high risk tolerance investors seeking amplified gold exposure during bull markets, but it's unsuitable as a core defensive holding. Mining equities carry company-specific risks like operational issues, management changes, geopolitical challenges, and reserve depletion that are entirely absent from physical gold holdings.

Choosing your optimal gold ETF depends on four key variables: investment horizon, trading frequency, and account type.

Investment Horizon

If you're a buy-and-hold investor with a 10+ year horizon trading fewer than four times annually, GLDM's 0.10% expense ratio delivers optimal outcomes because that fee advantage compounds to substantial savings over decades.

Trading Frequency

Active traders executing 12+ transactions annually or institutional investors should choose GLD despite higher 0.40% fees because the near-negligible 0.007% spread versus 0.014% reduces transaction costs that compound with trading frequency. Run the numbers: quarterly trading of $500,000 makes GLD economically superior within 2-3 years.

Account Type

Investors seeking absolute lowest fees with minimal trading (1-2 purchases held 20+ years) benefit from IAUM at 0.09% if they accept wider spreads on those rare transactions. For investors prioritizing transparency and diversified custodial arrangements, GraniteShares Gold Trust (BAR) charges 0.17% with published daily holdings, though the 0.034% bid-ask spread makes it suitable only for 1-2 annual trades.

Gold exploded in 2025. It smashed through $4,300 an ounce in October and cooled to around $4,032 by mid-November. Even after that drop, the price stood 89% higher than it was at the start of 2024.

Why the rush? Because the world felt shaky. Wars in Europe and the Middle East pushed governments and investors toward safer assets. Trade fights pushed prices up. The US Federal Reserve hinted at cutting rates, which made “non-yielding” gold look less painful to hold. And central banks wanted fewer dollars in their vaults, which pushed them toward gold.

Their buying spree turned huge. They bought over 1,000 tons for the third year in a row. In Q3 2025 alone they grabbed 220 tons, which was 28% more than the previous quarter.

Regular investors joined in. Global gold ETFs swelled to $472 billion by the end of Q3. That was a 23% jump in only three months. Trading in North America hit $6.5 billion a day, an 84% increase from the month before.

SPDR Gold MiniShares (GLDM) is the optimal choice for most American investors, combining the lowest expense ratio at 0.10% with adequate liquidity and reasonable spreads. This fee advantage compounds to thousands in preserved returns over 30 years.

However, customize based on your circumstances:

• Active traders (12+ annual transactions) benefit from SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) despite 0.40% expenses because narrower 0.007% spreads reduce transaction costs
• Ultra long-term investors (20+ years) with minimal trading may prefer iShares Gold Trust Micro (IAUM) at 0.09%

Key principle: Matching ETF characteristics to your investment patterns matters more than finding a universally optimal choice.

Evaluate your investment horizon, trading frequency, account type, and risk tolerance before selecting your gold ETF. Implement disciplined rebalancing rather than timing entries and exits. We provide comparison tools and additional investment content to help you make informed financial decisions.