Top 10 consumer ETFs, ranked by cost, return, volatility and volume
10 US-listed consumer ETFs pass our checks and are ranked on cost, 3-year return, volatility and trading volume. The ranking follows fixed rules and is not a recommendation: high-ranking funds can still fall. Data as of 22 Oct 2026.
XLY Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR
- Lowest cost on the list
- Strongest 3-year return (#2 of 10)
- Most traded (#2 of 10)
out of 100
- Yield
- 0.81%
- Cost
- 0.08%
- 3Y/yr
- +15.8%
- Volatility
- 19%
Ranks 2 to 10
-
2
XLPConsumer Staples Select Sector SPDR
70
- Yield
- 2.44%
- Cost
- 0.08%
- 3Y/yr
- +13.2%
- Volatility
- 15%
-
3
FSTAFidelity MSCI Consumer Staples Index
61
- Yield
- 2.08%
- Cost
- 0.08%
- 3Y/yr
- +13.7%
- Volatility
- 15%
-
4
XRTSPDR S&P Retail
61
- Yield
- 0.83%
- Cost
- 0.35%
- 3Y/yr
- +16.0%
- Volatility
- 21%
-
5
FDISFidelity MSCI Consumer Discretionary Index
57
- Yield
- 0.78%
- Cost
- 0.08%
- 3Y/yr
- +15.7%
- Volatility
- 19%
-
6
VDCVanguard Consumer Staples
56
- Yield
- 2.00%
- Cost
- 0.09%
- 3Y/yr
- +13.7%
- Volatility
- 15%
-
7
IYKiShares US Consumer Staples
42
- Yield
- 2.39%
- Cost
- 0.38%
- 3Y/yr
- +11.9%
- Volatility
- 15%
-
8
XHBSPDR S&P Homebuilders
37
- Yield
- 1.18%
- Cost
- 0.35%
- 3Y/yr
- +12.8%
- Volatility
- 28%
-
9
ITBiShares U.S. Home Construction
25
- Yield
- 1.38%
- Cost
- 0.38%
- 3Y/yr
- +9.3%
- Volatility
- 30%
-
10
RSPSInvesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Consumer Staples
21
- Yield
- 2.78%
- Cost
- 0.40%
- 3Y/yr
- +6.5%
- Volatility
- 16%
How this list is ranked
- Universe. US-listed consumer sector ETFs (staples, discretionary and retail) grouped by StocksXray name rules; leveraged and inverse funds are excluded; at least 3 years of history and 100,000 shares traded a day; a reported expense ratio.
- Score. Percentile rank against the other funds on each check, then a weighted sum: cost 30%, 3-year return 30%, volatility 20%, trading volume 20%. A score of 100 would mean first on every check.
- Data. Cost is the net expense ratio from SEC filings. Returns include distributions. Volatility is the 1-year standard deviation of daily returns. Yield is the last 12 months of split-restated distributions divided by the latest price. All figures are our own calculations, dated 22 Oct 2026.
- Limits. A ranking by past figures is not a forecast. Different weights give a different order. Check the fund page and the issuer documents before you decide.
Why a ranking by stated rules and not a "best" label: the order changes with the rules, so the rules are published next to the list. See also how the X-Ray Score works.
What "consumer" covers in an ETF
A consumer ETF can hold very different things. Funds for consumer staples own food, drink, household goods and grocery companies, whose sales hold up in a downturn. Funds for consumer discretionary own carmakers, restaurants, travel and retailers, which do well when people feel confident. Some funds target a slice, such as retail or homebuilders. Our name rules put all of them in one group, so the ten funds below can behave quite differently from each other. Look at the fund name before comparing two returns.
Overlap is high
The large sector funds from different issuers own much the same large companies, so two of them are close to the same investment at different costs. Holding several consumer funds mostly adds duplication rather than diversification, and the gap between them is usually cost.
What the current ranking shows
The group holds only 11 consumer funds, and 10 of them have the three years of history and the trading volume needed to be ranked. The ten shown charge between 0.08% and 0.40% a year and returned between 6.5% and 16.0% a year over three years. The leader is XLY (Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR). With so few funds, one change in a fund's cost or trading volume can move several places, so do not read a rank as a verdict.
Questions about these consumer ETFs
Are staples and discretionary funds ranked together?
Yes, because the group is defined by name rules, and the score cannot tell a defensive fund from a cyclical one. The fund names show which is which.
Why only three years of history for this list?
There are few consumer funds, and requiring five years would leave a handful. Three years keeps the group wide enough to rank while still excluding very new funds.
Do these funds hold the same companies as the stock lists?
Largely, yes: the biggest consumer funds hold the same large companies that appear on our consumer stock lists. The funds give broad exposure at a fund-level cost.
Is a leveraged or inverse consumer fund included?
No. Leveraged and inverse funds are excluded from all of our Top ETF lists.
More Top lists
Educational ranking by stated rules, not investment advice. Figures are StocksXray calculations from public filings and exchange data; they can be wrong or out of date. Past performance does not predict future results.