E-Gold Vs Gold ETFs- Which is a Better Option?

Updated on October 17, 2025 , 30407 views

E-Gold Vs Gold ETFs? Which is a better Gold Investment option? Which avenue has a higher yield? These are some of the common questions often asked by an investor wanting to invest in these non-physical form of gold. Well, both the forms are unique in trading with each having its own benefits in essential parameters like returns, taxation, holding period, etc. Therefore, we will see how both- Gold ETFs and E-Gold differ from each other and which form makes a better gold investment option!

E- Gold

E-Gold is a unique gold investment product launched by the National Spot Exchange Limited (NSEL). This product enables investors to Buy Gold in an electronic form on the NSE’s trading platform and the gold bought by you will reflect in your Demat account.

E-Gold is one such investment that allows investors to buy gold in a smaller denomination, such as 1gm, 2gm, 3gm, etc. The gold units that you would buy here will be credited to your Demat account in T+2 days. Similarly, for instance, if you have sold today, the same will debited from your Demat account in 2 days (from the date of sale).

E-gold is less expensive compared to gold ETFs as the latter is exposed to various charges like asset management fees, security service fees, etc. To know the current value of your investment in gold ETFs, you have to track the NAV of that fund but in the case of e-gold, the value is that of the prevailing gold price.

Gold ETFs

Gold ETFs has become one of the most popular modes of gold investments. Gold ETFs are also the Underlying of open-ended Gold Mutual Funds that help you to invest your money in gold. The underlying gold purity is 99.5%. Gold ETFs are also known as paper gold. These are listed and traded on major stock exchanges and investors are assigned units where each unit usually represents one gram of gold.

In gold ETFs, investors can trade in their existing Demat account. Gold ETFs offers investors a secure way to access the gold Market. They also provide the benefit of liquidity as it can be traded at any time during the trading period.

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E-Gold Vs Gold ETFs: Know the Key Differences

Trading Time

Gold ETFs can be traded only between 9:00 am to 3:30 pm on weekdays. Whereas, e-gold can be traded from 10:00 am to 11:30 pm on weekdays.

Conversion to Physical Form

Both the forms can be converted into physical gold, but the minimum quantity for each varies. The minimum quantity for e-gold is 8 grams, while, in gold-ETF, one can convert only when it exceeds a certain size of 500gm to 1Kg.

E-Gold is the Most Cost

Efficient form and is able to trace gold prices more closely than gold ETFs. However, e-gold loses out to gold ETFs when it comes to taxation.

But, now, when you know the key difference between these two forms, invest in an avenue that offers secure investment with better returns!

Parameters	Gold ETFs	E-Gold
Separate Demat Account	No	Yes
Holdings	Owned by AMCs	Yes
Conversion to Physical Gold	Minimum 0.5-1 kg	Investors directly hold gold units in demat account
Short Term Capital Gains	Less than 1 year- 20% tax on returns	Less than 3 years- 20% tax on returns
Long Term Capital Gains	After 1 year- 10% tax returns	After 3 years- 10% tax on returns
Recurring Expenses	0.40%	1%
Returns	Highest at it's the most cost-effective	Slightly lower than gold ETF
Pricing	Linked to International Gold Price	Linked to Indian Gold Price
Convert to Jewelry	Not available	Available with selected Jewellers

Best Gold ETFs to Invest 2025

Some of the best underlying Gold ETFs to Invest are as follows:

1. IDBI Gold Fund

The investment objective of the Scheme will be to generate returns that correspond closely to the returns generated by IDBI Gold Exchange Traded Fund (IDBI GOLD ETF).

Research Highlights for IDBI Gold Fund

Bottom quartile AUM (₹254 Cr).
Established history (13+ yrs).
Not Rated.
Risk profile: Moderately High.
5Y return: 20.00% (top quartile).
3Y return: 35.93% (top quartile).
1Y return: 68.84% (top quartile).
1M return: 20.38% (top quartile).
Alpha: 0.00 (top quartile).
Sharpe: 2.38 (bottom quartile).
Information ratio: 0.00 (top quartile).
Top bond sector: Cash Equivalent.
Largest holding LIC MF Gold ETF (~98.9%).
Top-3 holdings concentration ~100.9%.

Below is the key information for IDBI Gold Fund

IDBI Gold Fund Growth
Launch Date	14 Aug 12
NAV (17 Oct 25)	₹34.2621 ↑ 1.18 (3.58 %)
Net Assets (Cr)	₹254 on 31 Aug 25
Category	Gold - Gold
AMC	IDBI Asset Management Limited
Rating	Not Rated
Risk	Moderately High
Expense Ratio	0.64
Sharpe Ratio	2.38
Information Ratio	0
Alpha Ratio	0
Min Investment	5,000
Min SIP Investment	500
Exit Load	0-12 Months (1%),12 Months and above(NIL)

Growth of 10,000 investment over the years.

Date	Value
30 Sep 20	₹10,000
30 Sep 21	₹9,217
30 Sep 22	₹10,058
30 Sep 23	₹11,430
30 Sep 24	₹14,833
30 Sep 25	₹22,097

IDBI Gold Fund SIP Returns

Total investment amount is ₹300,000
expected amount after 5 Years is ₹493,520.
Net Profit of ₹193,520 Invest Now

Returns for IDBI Gold Fund

Returns up to 1 year are on absolute basis & more than 1 year are on CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) basis. as on 17 Oct 25

Duration	Returns
1 Month	20.4%
3 Month	34%
6 Month	36.9%
1 Year	68.8%
3 Year	35.9%
5 Year	20%
10 Year
15 Year
Since launch	9.8%

Historical performance (Yearly) on absolute basis

Year	Returns
2024	18.7%
2023	14.8%
2022	12%
2021	-4%
2020	24.2%
2019	21.6%
2018	5.8%
2017	1.4%
2016	8.3%
2015	-8.7%

Fund Manager information for IDBI Gold Fund

Name	Since	Tenure
Sumit Bhatnagar	1 Jun 24	1.25 Yr.

Data below for IDBI Gold Fund as on 31 Aug 25

Asset Allocation

Asset Class	Value
Cash	2.08%
Other	97.92%

Top Securities Holdings / Portfolio

Name	Holding	Value	Quantity
LIC MF Gold ETF - \| -	99%	₹251 Cr	270,044 ↑ 31,450
Treps CBLO/Reverse Repo \| -	2%	₹4 Cr
Net Receivables / (Payables) CBLO \| -	0%	-₹1 Cr

2. Aditya Birla Sun Life Gold Fund

An Open ended Fund of Funds Scheme with the investment objective to provide returns that tracks returns provided by Birla Sun Life Gold ETF (BSL Gold ETF).

Research Highlights for Aditya Birla Sun Life Gold Fund

Bottom quartile AUM (₹725 Cr).
Established history (13+ yrs).
Top rated.
Risk profile: Moderately High.
5Y return: 19.13% (bottom quartile).
3Y return: 35.34% (bottom quartile).
1Y return: 67.64% (upper mid).
1M return: 18.90% (lower mid).
Alpha: 0.00 (upper mid).
Sharpe: 2.66 (top quartile).
Information ratio: 0.00 (upper mid).
Top bond sector: Cash Equivalent.
Largest holding Aditya BSL Gold ETF (~99.9%).
Top-3 holdings concentration ~100.4%.

Below is the key information for Aditya Birla Sun Life Gold Fund

Aditya Birla Sun Life Gold Fund Growth
Launch Date	20 Mar 12
NAV (17 Oct 25)	₹37.974 ↑ 1.09 (2.95 %)
Net Assets (Cr)	₹725 on 31 Aug 25
Category	Gold - Gold
AMC	Birla Sun Life Asset Management Co Ltd
Rating	☆☆☆
Risk	Moderately High
Expense Ratio	0.51
Sharpe Ratio	2.66
Information Ratio	0
Alpha Ratio	0
Min Investment	100
Min SIP Investment	100
Exit Load	0-365 Days (1%),365 Days and above(NIL)

Growth of 10,000 investment over the years.

Date	Value
30 Sep 20	₹10,000
30 Sep 21	₹8,974
30 Sep 22	₹9,669
30 Sep 23	₹11,048
30 Sep 24	₹14,179
30 Sep 25	₹21,356

Aditya Birla Sun Life Gold Fund SIP Returns

Total investment amount is ₹300,000
expected amount after 5 Years is ₹493,520.
Net Profit of ₹193,520 Invest Now

Returns for Aditya Birla Sun Life Gold Fund

Returns up to 1 year are on absolute basis & more than 1 year are on CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) basis. as on 17 Oct 25

Duration	Returns
1 Month	18.9%
3 Month	33.6%
6 Month	35.6%
1 Year	67.6%
3 Year	35.3%
5 Year	19.1%
10 Year
15 Year
Since launch	10.3%

Historical performance (Yearly) on absolute basis

Year	Returns
2024	18.7%
2023	14.5%
2022	12.3%
2021	-5%
2020	26%
2019	21.3%
2018	6.8%
2017	1.6%
2016	11.5%
2015	-7.2%

Fund Manager information for Aditya Birla Sun Life Gold Fund

Name	Since	Tenure
Priya Sridhar	31 Dec 24	0.67 Yr.

Data below for Aditya Birla Sun Life Gold Fund as on 31 Aug 25

Asset Allocation

Asset Class	Value
Cash	1.51%
Other	98.49%

Top Securities Holdings / Portfolio

Name	Holding	Value	Quantity
Aditya BSL Gold ETF - \| -	100%	₹724 Cr	79,896,220 ↑ 3,972,596
Clearing Corporation Of India Limited CBLO/Reverse Repo \| -	0%	₹2 Cr
Net Receivables / (Payables) Net Current Assets \| -	0%	-₹1 Cr

3. SBI Gold Fund

The scheme seeks to provide returns that closely correspond to returns provided by SBI - ETF Gold (Previously known as SBI GETS).

Research Highlights for SBI Gold Fund

Highest AUM (₹5,221 Cr).
Oldest track record among peers (14 yrs).
Rating: 2★ (upper mid).
Risk profile: Moderately High.
5Y return: 19.26% (lower mid).
3Y return: 35.55% (lower mid).
1Y return: 67.50% (lower mid).
1M return: 18.52% (bottom quartile).
Alpha: 0.00 (lower mid).
Sharpe: 2.58 (upper mid).
Information ratio: 0.00 (lower mid).
Top bond sector: Cash Equivalent.
Largest holding SBI Gold ETF (~100.0%).
Top-3 holdings concentration ~100.9%.

Below is the key information for SBI Gold Fund

SBI Gold Fund Growth
Launch Date	12 Sep 11
NAV (17 Oct 25)	₹38.121 ↑ 0.97 (2.60 %)
Net Assets (Cr)	₹5,221 on 31 Aug 25
Category	Gold - Gold
AMC	SBI Funds Management Private Limited
Rating	☆☆
Risk	Moderately High
Expense Ratio	0.3
Sharpe Ratio	2.58
Information Ratio	0
Alpha Ratio	0
Min Investment	5,000
Min SIP Investment	500
Exit Load	0-1 Years (1%),1 Years and above(NIL)

Growth of 10,000 investment over the years.

Date	Value
30 Sep 20	₹10,000
30 Sep 21	₹9,030
30 Sep 22	₹9,763
30 Sep 23	₹11,132
30 Sep 24	₹14,369
30 Sep 25	₹21,663

SBI Gold Fund SIP Returns

Total investment amount is ₹300,000
expected amount after 5 Years is ₹493,520.
Net Profit of ₹193,520 Invest Now

Returns for SBI Gold Fund

Returns up to 1 year are on absolute basis & more than 1 year are on CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) basis. as on 17 Oct 25

Duration	Returns
1 Month	18.5%
3 Month	33.2%
6 Month	35.9%
1 Year	67.5%
3 Year	35.5%
5 Year	19.3%
10 Year
15 Year
Since launch	10%

Historical performance (Yearly) on absolute basis

Year	Returns
2024	19.6%
2023	14.1%
2022	12.6%
2021	-5.7%
2020	27.4%
2019	22.8%
2018	6.4%
2017	3.5%
2016	10%
2015	-8.1%

Fund Manager information for SBI Gold Fund

Name	Since	Tenure
Raviprakash Sharma	12 Sep 11	13.98 Yr.

Data below for SBI Gold Fund as on 31 Aug 25

Asset Allocation

Asset Class	Value
Cash	1.46%
Other	98.54%

Top Securities Holdings / Portfolio

Name	Holding	Value	Quantity
SBI Gold ETF - \| -	100%	₹5,221 Cr	593,717,240 ↑ 32,905,406
Treps CBLO/Reverse Repo \| -	0%	₹23 Cr
Net Receivable / Payable CBLO \| -	0%	-₹22 Cr

4. Axis Gold Fund

To generate returns that closely correspond to returns generated by Axis Gold ETF.

Research Highlights for Axis Gold Fund

Lower mid AUM (₹1,272 Cr).
Established history (14+ yrs).
Rating: 1★ (lower mid).
Risk profile: Moderately High.
5Y return: 19.54% (upper mid).
3Y return: 35.56% (upper mid).
1Y return: 67.32% (bottom quartile).
1M return: 19.22% (upper mid).
Alpha: 0.00 (bottom quartile).
Sharpe: 2.57 (lower mid).
Information ratio: 0.00 (bottom quartile).
Top bond sector: Cash Equivalent.
Largest holding Axis Gold ETF (~99.5%).
Top-3 holdings concentration ~100.2%.

Below is the key information for Axis Gold Fund

Axis Gold Fund Growth
Launch Date	20 Oct 11
NAV (17 Oct 25)	₹38.0869 ↑ 1.17 (3.17 %)
Net Assets (Cr)	₹1,272 on 31 Aug 25
Category	Gold - Gold
AMC	Axis Asset Management Company Limited
Rating	☆
Risk	Moderately High
Expense Ratio	0.5
Sharpe Ratio	2.57
Information Ratio	0
Alpha Ratio	0
Min Investment	5,000
Min SIP Investment	1,000
Exit Load	0-1 Years (1%),1 Years and above(NIL)

Growth of 10,000 investment over the years.

Date	Value
30 Sep 20	₹10,000
30 Sep 21	₹9,072
30 Sep 22	₹9,818
30 Sep 23	₹11,221
30 Sep 24	₹14,428
30 Sep 25	₹21,617

Axis Gold Fund SIP Returns

Total investment amount is ₹300,000
expected amount after 5 Years is ₹493,520.
Net Profit of ₹193,520 Invest Now

Returns for Axis Gold Fund

Returns up to 1 year are on absolute basis & more than 1 year are on CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) basis. as on 17 Oct 25

Duration	Returns
1 Month	19.2%
3 Month	33.6%
6 Month	36%
1 Year	67.3%
3 Year	35.6%
5 Year	19.5%
10 Year
15 Year
Since launch	10%

Historical performance (Yearly) on absolute basis

Year	Returns
2024	19.2%
2023	14.7%
2022	12.5%
2021	-4.7%
2020	26.9%
2019	23.1%
2018	8.3%
2017	0.7%
2016	10.7%
2015	-11.9%

Fund Manager information for Axis Gold Fund

Name	Since	Tenure
Aditya Pagaria	9 Nov 21	3.81 Yr.
Pratik Tibrewal	1 Feb 25	0.58 Yr.

Data below for Axis Gold Fund as on 31 Aug 25

Asset Allocation

Asset Class	Value
Cash	2.14%
Other	97.86%

Top Securities Holdings / Portfolio

Name	Holding	Value	Quantity
Axis Gold ETF - \| -	99%	₹1,265 Cr	147,128,710 ↑ 5,400,000
Clearing Corporation Of India Ltd CBLO/Reverse Repo \| -	1%	₹8 Cr
Net Receivables / (Payables) CBLO \| -	0%	-₹1 Cr

5. HDFC Gold Fund

To seek capital appreciation by investing in units of HDFC Gold Exchange Traded Fund (HGETF).

Research Highlights for HDFC Gold Fund

Upper mid AUM (₹4,915 Cr).
Established history (14+ yrs).
Rating: 1★ (bottom quartile).
Risk profile: Moderately High.
5Y return: 19.07% (bottom quartile).
3Y return: 35.36% (bottom quartile).
1Y return: 67.25% (bottom quartile).
1M return: 18.39% (bottom quartile).
Alpha: 0.00 (bottom quartile).
Sharpe: 2.55 (bottom quartile).
Information ratio: 0.00 (bottom quartile).
Top bond sector: Cash Equivalent.
Largest holding HDFC Gold ETF (~100.0%).
Top-3 holdings concentration ~100.6%.

Below is the key information for HDFC Gold Fund

HDFC Gold Fund Growth
Launch Date	24 Oct 11
NAV (17 Oct 25)	₹38.92 ↑ 0.96 (2.52 %)
Net Assets (Cr)	₹4,915 on 31 Aug 25
Category	Gold - Gold
AMC	HDFC Asset Management Company Limited
Rating	☆
Risk	Moderately High
Expense Ratio	0.49
Sharpe Ratio	2.55
Information Ratio	0
Alpha Ratio	0
Min Investment	5,000
Min SIP Investment	300
Exit Load	0-6 Months (2%),6-12 Months (1%),12 Months and above(NIL)

Growth of 10,000 investment over the years.

Date	Value
30 Sep 20	₹10,000
30 Sep 21	₹8,979
30 Sep 22	₹9,716
30 Sep 23	₹11,065
30 Sep 24	₹14,244
30 Sep 25	₹21,453

HDFC Gold Fund SIP Returns

Total investment amount is ₹300,000
expected amount after 5 Years is ₹493,520.
Net Profit of ₹193,520 Invest Now

Returns for HDFC Gold Fund

Returns up to 1 year are on absolute basis & more than 1 year are on CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) basis. as on 17 Oct 25

Duration	Returns
1 Month	18.4%
3 Month	33.1%
6 Month	35.8%
1 Year	67.2%
3 Year	35.4%
5 Year	19.1%
10 Year
15 Year
Since launch	10.2%

Historical performance (Yearly) on absolute basis

Year	Returns
2024	18.9%
2023	14.1%
2022	12.7%
2021	-5.5%
2020	27.5%
2019	21.7%
2018	6.6%
2017	2.8%
2016	10.1%
2015	-7.3%

Fund Manager information for HDFC Gold Fund

Name	Since	Tenure
Arun Agarwal	15 Feb 23	2.54 Yr.
Nandita Menezes	29 Mar 25	0.43 Yr.

Data below for HDFC Gold Fund as on 31 Aug 25

Asset Allocation

Asset Class	Value
Cash	1.62%
Other	98.38%

Top Securities Holdings / Portfolio

Name	Holding	Value	Quantity
HDFC Gold ETF - \| -	100%	₹4,914 Cr	558,222,024 ↑ 22,311,579
Treps - Tri-Party Repo CBLO/Reverse Repo \| -	0%	₹14 Cr
Net Current Assets Net Current Assets \| -	0%	-₹14 Cr

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Disclaimer:
All efforts have been made to ensure the information provided here is accurate. However, no guarantees are made regarding correctness of data. Please verify with scheme information document before making any investment.