SPYX vs SUSA: Which ETF Is Better in 2026?
A metric-by-metric comparison of State Street SPDR S&P 500 Fossil Fuel Reserves Free ETF (SPYX) and iShares ESG Optimized MSCI USA ETF (SUSA) — both ESG funds — using ETFValuer's daily-updated rankings.
Educational content — not financial advice. Data as of July 25, 2026. ~5 minute read.
The Verdict
SPYX and SUSA compete directly — both are ESG funds chasing the same job in a portfolio. That makes this a genuine either/or: the index each tracks, what it costs, and how it has handled drawdowns are what separate them, not the broad exposure they give you.
On ETFValuer's overall model — which blends return, risk-adjusted performance, cost, drawdown, size and volatility — SUSA scores higher: 67.9 (Grade B) versus 66.2 for SPYX. That doesn't make SPYX a bad fund; it means SUSA currently edges it out on this specific mix of factors. Read the metric-by-metric breakdown below before deciding which matters more for your own portfolio.
Head-to-Head: Every Metric
| SPYX | SUSA | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | ESG | ESG |
| Expense ratio | 0.20% | 0.25% |
| Fund size (AUM) | $2.7B | $4.0B |
| Dividend yield | 0.86% | 0.84% |
| 1-year return | +17.35% | +18.85% |
| 3-year return | +67.58% | +61.91% |
| Volatility | 12.92% | 13.06% |
| Max drawdown | -18.74% | -19.30% |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.96 | 1.06 |
| ETFValuer score | 66.2 | 67.9 |
| Grade | B | B |
| Overall rank | #162 | #143 |
Bold marks the better value in each row. "Better" is directional only (e.g. lower cost, higher return) — it isn't a recommendation by itself. See the full methodology.
Cost
SPYX is the cheaper fund, charging 0.20% a year versus 0.25% for SUSA — a gap of 0.05 percentage points (about $5.00/year on a $10,000 position) that compounds meaningfully over a multi-decade holding period. See the ETF Fee Calculator for the exact dollar impact at your investment size and horizon.
What SUSA's Fees Cost You
SUSA charges an expense ratio of 0.25% a year, deducted automatically from the fund's value. Small percentages compound into real money — adjust the figures below to see the impact on your own numbers.
Assumes a constant gross return and no additional contributions — a simplification, but it isolates exactly what the expense ratio costs. Try the full fee calculator to model contributions and compare any two funds.
Performance & Risk
Over the trailing 3 years, SPYX returned +67.58% versus +61.91% for SUSA — a gap of about 5.7 percentage points. On risk, SPYX has held up better historically, with a shallower max drawdown (-18.74% vs. -19.30%). SUSA currently has the better risk-adjusted return (Sharpe ratio of 1.06 vs. 0.96), meaning it delivered more return per unit of volatility taken on.
How Closely Do They Track Each Other?
Over the last 3.0 years of daily returns (752 shared trading days), SPYX and SUSA show a extremely high correlation of 0.980 — very close substitutes. Holding both would add very little diversification: when one falls, the other almost always falls with it. Treat these as alternatives to each other, not as complements in the same portfolio.
| Measure | Value | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Daily return correlation | 0.980 | Extremely high — very close substitutes |
| R-squared | 96.1% | 96.1% of SPYX's daily moves are explained by SUSA's |
| Tracking error (annualised) | 3.02% | Typical yearly spread between the two funds' returns |
| Annualised return over 3.0y | SPYX +19.10% · SUSA +17.56% | SPYX ahead by 1.54 points a year |
Correlation alone understates how far these can drift. Across every rolling 12-month window in the period, SPYX finished as much as +4.5 points ahead of SUSA at the best extreme and -1.9 points at the worst — a 6.3-point spread between the best and worst year of relative performance. Two funds can correlate tightly day to day and still deliver very different outcomes over any single year you happen to hold them.
Calculated from daily total returns over the trailing 3-year window, recomputed every day this site refreshes. Correlation of 1.00 means the two funds moved in lockstep; 0.00 means their daily moves were unrelated.
Holdings Overlap
SPYX and SUSA hold 6 of the same companies among their top 10 positions. Those shared names make up 30.0% of SPYX and 29.2% of SUSA. That's meaningful duplication. The funds aren't interchangeable, but a good share of your money would be riding on the same companies twice.
| Shared Holding | SPYX Weight | SUSA Weight |
|---|---|---|
| NVIDIA Corp | 7.82% | 7.92% |
| Alphabet Inc | 5.57% | 6.85% |
| Apple Inc | 6.88% | 5.35% |
| Microsoft Corp | 5.08% | 4.35% |
| Broadcom Inc | 2.71% | 3.07% |
| Tesla Inc | 1.93% | 1.63% |
Compares the top 10 reported holdings from each fund's most recent SEC N-PORT-P filing, so it understates total overlap — funds tracking similar indexes overlap far more deeply than the top 10 alone can show. Search any company across all tracked funds with the Stock Overlap tool.
Which One Should You Pick?
Lean SPYX if…
- You want the lower running cost — 0.20% vs 0.25%, about $5 a year less on a $10,000 position
- You weight recent results heavily — it returned 67.6% over 3 years against 61.9%
Lean SUSA if…
- You care about return per unit of risk — its Sharpe ratio of 1.06 beats 0.96
Whichever you pick, holding both at full weight is usually the wrong answer — see the overlap and correlation sections above.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is SPYX or SUSA better?
On ETFValuer's overall model — which blends return, risk-adjusted performance, cost, drawdown, size and volatility — SUSA scores higher: 67.9 (Grade B) versus 66.2 for SPYX. That doesn't make SPYX a bad fund; it means SUSA currently edges it out on this specific mix of factors. Read the metric-by-metric breakdown below before deciding which matters more for your own portfolio.
Which has the lower expense ratio, SPYX or SUSA?
SPYX currently has the lower expense ratio (0.20% vs. 0.25%).
Can I hold both SPYX and SUSA?
You can, but there's little point. SPYX and SUSA have a daily return correlation of 0.98 over the past 3.0 years, meaning they move almost in lockstep. Holding both roughly doubles a single bet rather than spreading it — pick whichever wins on cost and liquidity and put the money in one place.
Go deeper on either fund
Full daily-updated metrics, holdings context, and category peers.