Gold vs Silver: performance comparison
Over the 12 months to Oct 5, 2026, gold returned +5.4% and silver +26.6%. This page puts the two side by side on the same dates — current prices, performance charts rebased to 100, returns from one month to five years, volatility, the deepest falls and how closely the two move together — recalculated daily from closing prices.
Gold/silver ratio: 1 oz of gold buys 68.1 oz of silver
Performance, rebased to 100
Both lines start at 100 on the first shared date: a value of 150 means +50% since then.
- Gold+5.4%
- Silver+26.6%
- Gold+136.6%
- Silver+169.0%
Returns
| Period | Gold | Silver | Better |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 month | -6.4% | -7.8% | Gold |
| 3 months | +0.5% | -1.7% | Gold |
| 6 months | -10.6% | -16.2% | Gold |
| Year to date | -3.5% | -13.2% | Gold |
| 1 year | +5.4% | +26.6% | Silver |
| 3 years | +125.4% | +183.2% | Silver |
| 5 years | +136.6% | +169.0% | Silver |
Price returns between closing prices on the same dates for both assets; dividends and interest are not included. All prices are in US dollars. Data to Oct 5, 2026.
Risk
| Measure | Gold | Silver |
|---|---|---|
| Volatility, 1 year (annualized) | 29.2% | 69.3% |
| Volatility, 5 years (annualized, weekly) | 17.3% | 36.1% |
| Deepest fall, 5 years | -23.4%Feb 2026 – Jul 2026 | -44.5%Jan 2026 – Jul 2026 |
| Correlation, 1 year (daily returns) | 0.82 | |
| Correlation, 5 years (weekly returns) | 0.76 | |
Volatility is the annualized standard deviation of returns — higher means bigger swings. The deepest fall is the largest drop from a previous high. Correlation runs from −1 (opposite moves) through 0 (unrelated) to +1 (in lockstep).
What the numbers say
Over five years (Oct 2021 to Oct 2026), gold returned +136.6% and silver +169.0%. Silver came out ahead over both one and five years.
Annualized volatility over the past year: Gold 29.2%, Silver 69.3% — silver was about 2.4× as volatile. Deepest fall over the period: Gold -23.4% (Feb 2026 – Jul 2026), Silver -44.5% (Jan 2026 – Jul 2026).
The correlation of their daily returns over the past year was 0.82. That is a strong positive link: they have tended to move together. Over five years of weekly returns it was 0.76.
Past performance does not predict future returns.
Key differences
- Demand: gold is bought mainly for jewellery, investment and central-bank reserves; roughly half of silver demand is industrial, so silver is more tied to the economic cycle.
- Market size: the silver market is far smaller than gold's, and silver's price usually swings harder in both directions.
- Gold/silver ratio: investors watch how many ounces of silver one ounce of gold buys — today's figure is shown above. A rising ratio means gold is outperforming silver.
- Storage: because silver is worth far less per ounce, holding the same value physically takes many times more space than gold.
The two assets
Gold
Gold is priced worldwide in US dollars per troy ounce (here: COMEX front-month futures). It pays no income, so its return comes only from price changes, which tend to respond to real interest rates, the US dollar, central-bank buying and demand for a safe haven in times of stress.
Gold chart and analysis →Silver
Silver is both a precious and an industrial metal: roughly half of annual demand comes from industry, including electronics and solar panels. That ties it more closely to the economic cycle than gold, and its price has historically swung harder in both directions.
Silver chart and analysis →Frequently asked questions
Which performed better over the past year, gold or silver?
Silver. In the 12 months to Oct 5, 2026, gold returned +5.4% and silver +26.6%, a difference of 21.2 percentage points. Past performance does not predict future returns.
Which performed better over the past five years, gold or silver?
Silver. From Oct 2021 to Oct 2026, gold returned +136.6% and silver +169.0%. Past performance does not predict future returns.
Which is more volatile, gold or silver?
Silver — about 2.4 times as volatile as gold. Annualized volatility over the past year: Gold 29.2%, Silver 69.3%. Deepest fall over five years: Gold -23.4%, Silver -44.5%.
Do gold and silver move together?
A strong positive link: they have tended to move together. The correlation of their daily returns over the past year was 0.82, on a scale from −1 (opposite moves) to +1 (moving in lockstep). Over five years of weekly returns it was 0.76.
How we calculate
Both series are aligned on the trading days (or weeks) they share, so every return covers the same dates for both assets. Periods up to one year use daily closes; three and five years use weekly closes. Volatility is the annualized standard deviation of log returns, the deepest fall is measured on weekly closes, and correlation is the Pearson coefficient of returns over identical intervals. Data: Yahoo Finance and OKX, refreshed daily. All prices are in US dollars.