Silver vs S&P 500
Backtest silver vs S&P 500Jan 1960 – Nov 12, 2026, Returns with dividends reinvested, Monthly averages
- S&P 500 to silver ratio
- 152.5Nov 12, 2026
- Silver, last 10 years
- +11.2%A year
- S&P 500, last 10 years
- +15.3%A year with dividends
- Years silver won
- 27 of 651961–2025
S&P 500 to silver ratio · Ounces of silver per S&P 500 unit
Growth of $1 since Nov 2006 · Silver vs S&P 500
| S&P 500 with dividends | $8.05 | 11.0% a year |
|---|---|---|
| Silver | $3.85 | 7.0% a year |
| S&P 500 price only | $5.58 | 9.0% a year |
Silver vs S&P 500 returns
| Period | S&P 500 | Silver |
|---|---|---|
| 10 years | +15.3% | +11.2% |
| 20 years | +11.0% | +7.0% |
| 30 years | +10.1% | +8.1% |
| Since 1960 | +10.6% | +6.2% |
A year, with dividends reinvested.
About silver vs S&P 500
With dividends reinvested, the S&P 500 did better over the last 10, 20 and 30 years: 15.3% a year against 11.2% for silver over 10 years, 11.0% against 7.0% over 20, and 10.1% against 8.1% over 30.
Since January 1960, $1 in the S&P 500 has grown to $834 with dividends and $1 in silver to $55, or 10.6% a year against 6.2%. Without dividends the S&P 500 returned 7.6% a year. Silver beat the S&P 500 in 27 of the 65 calendar years from 1961 to 2025.
The S&P 500 to silver ratio is the index's price divided by the price of an ounce of silver, or how many ounces one unit of the S&P 500 buys. On November 12, 2026 it bought 152.5 ounces, above its median of 70.3 since 1960. Its high was 303.8 in August 2000 and its low 2.85 in January 1980, when silver peaked as the Hunt brothers tried to corner it. Silver's prices are monthly averages, each month before 1968 its year's average.