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Want precious metals in your retirement? See how it works.
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Comparison tool · Updated through the trading day
Enter any amount and any period, and see what it did in silver and in the S&P 500, the Dow, the Nasdaq, oil or cash. Prices follow the market through the day.
Choose what to compare silver with, enter the amount, pick a period and press Calculate.
Results for
Spot price per troy ounce.
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Decade by decade
Which one came out ahead depends a lot on when you start. Each row shows the change over that decade, price only. The check marks the leader.
| Decade | Silver | S&P 500 |
|---|
Silver has been used as money for thousands of years, like gold, but more than half of the silver used each year now goes into industry: electronics, solar panels and medical equipment among them. That gives silver two sources of demand, investment and industrial, and it is one reason its price moves differently from stocks.
Silver's market is much smaller than gold's, so its price tends to rise and fall more sharply. Results over short periods can look very different from long ones, and the start date matters a great deal. Try the decade buttons to see how much the answer changes.
The chart shows price changes only. Stocks also pay dividends, which add to their long-run return, so the S&P 500 card shows the total with dividends reinvested when that data is available (from 1988). Physical silver pays no income and involves storage and insurance costs. Neither side includes taxes or fees.
Many investors hold silver alongside gold and stocks as part of a diversified mix. A precious metals IRA lets you own physical silver and gold inside a tax-advantaged retirement account, and our free guide explains how it works.
We take each asset's weekly closing price at the start and end of the period and grow your amount by the same percentage. Silver is the spot price per troy ounce. The S&P 500, Dow Jones and Nasdaq are index levels without dividends. Oil is West Texas Intermediate crude. Cash compounds monthly at the 3-month Treasury bill rate in effect each month, which is close to what money market funds paid. Results are before taxes, fees and storage costs.
For educational purposes only. Advantage Gold is not a registered investment adviser, and nothing on this page is investment, tax or legal advice. Past performance does not guarantee future results, and precious metals involve risk. Please consult your own financial professional before making any investment decision.
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Free investment guide
Rollovers, eligible coins, storage and fees, all explained in plain English. Free, with no obligation.