Which was the better investment since 2005, Alphabet (Google) or Microsoft?

Alphabet (Google) was the better investment. $1,000 invested in Alphabet (Google) in 2005 would be worth $73,605 today, compared to $20,697 for Microsoft.

What would $1,000 in Alphabet (Google) vs Microsoft be worth today?

$1,000 invested in Alphabet (Google) in 2005 would be worth $73,605 today (+7260.5%). The same $1,000 in Microsoft would be worth $20,697 (+1969.7%).

How do Alphabet (Google) and Microsoft compare to the S&P 500 since 2005?

The same $1,000 invested in the S&P 500 in 2005 would be worth $9,342 today (+834.2%). Alphabet (Google) returned $73,605 and Microsoft returned $20,697 over the same period.

Alphabet (Google) vs Microsoft: $1,000 invested since 2005

GOOGL vs MSFT · Data through 2026-06-01

Investment amount

$1,000 invested in 2005 would be worth

Alphabet (Google)Winner

$73,641

+7264.1%

Microsoft

$20,700

+1970.0%

The same $1,000 in the S&P 500 would be worth $9,342(+834.2%)

Growth of $1,000

Alphabet (Google) vs. Microsoft vs. S&P 500, 2005 to present

Year-by-year comparison

Alphabet (Google) vs. Microsoft, 2005 to present

Year	Alphabet (Google)	Return	Microsoft	Return	S&P 500
2005	$1,000	-	$1,000	-	$1,000
2006	$2,212	+121.2%	$1,084	+8.4%	$1,098
2007	$2,564	+15.9%	$1,206	+11.2%	$1,261
2008	$2,885	+12.5%	$1,291	+7.1%	$1,227
2009	$1,731	-40.0%	$690	-46.6%	$758
2010	$2,709	+56.5%	$1,163	+68.7%	$1,005
2011	$3,069	+13.3%	$1,169	+0.5%	$1,228
2012	$2,965	-3.4%	$1,277	+9.3%	$1,280
2013	$3,863	+30.3%	$1,221	-4.4%	$1,491
2014	$6,037	+56.3%	$1,734	+42.0%	$1,811
2015	$5,490	-9.1%	$1,902	+9.7%	$2,066
2016	$7,776	+41.6%	$2,665	+40.1%	$2,048
2017	$8,377	+7.7%	$3,213	+20.6%	$2,458
2018	$12,075	+44.1%	$4,827	+50.2%	$3,104
2019	$11,499	-4.8%	$5,397	+11.8%	$3,029
2020	$14,634	+27.3%	$8,928	+65.4%	$3,678
2021	$18,664	+27.5%	$12,295	+37.7%	$4,310
2022	$27,639	+48.1%	$16,621	+35.2%	$5,309
2023	$20,190	-26.9%	$13,369	-19.6%	$4,875
2024	$28,619	+41.7%	$21,639	+61.9%	$5,879
2025	$41,827	+46.2%	$22,759	+5.2%	$7,421
2026	$69,566	+66.3%	$23,768	+4.4%	$8,633

Which came out ahead

Starting in 2005, Alphabet (Google) (GOOGL) was the better of the two against Microsoft (MSFT). That $1,000 grew to $73,605 in GOOGL versus $20,697 in MSFT as of 2026-06-01, roughly $52,908 more in the end.

The headline returns line up with the dollar figures. Alphabet (Google) returned +7260.5% against Microsoft at +1969.7%, a gap of about 5290.8 percentage points over the 21.6-year window. Compounded, that is about 22% a year for GOOGL against 15.1% for MSFT.

Both holdings beat a plain S&P 500 fund over the same span, which would have turned that $1,000 into about $9,342 at roughly 10.9% a year. The two paths differed in how rough they were. Alphabet (Google) moved across a far wider band of yearly returns than Microsoft did. All figures use split-adjusted closing prices and exclude dividends, taxes, fees, and inflation, so a real after-tax result would differ.

Treat this as history rather than advice about either company. Past performance does not guarantee future results.

Other start years

Alphabet (Google) vs Microsoft from a different starting point

Since 2010 Since 2015 Since 2020 Since 2023

Individual stock pages

Alphabet (Google) since 2005+7260.5%Microsoft since 2005+1969.7%

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For informational and educational purposes only. Not financial advice. Past performance does not guarantee future results. All calculations are based on split-adjusted closing prices from Yahoo Finance and do not account for dividends, taxes, or trading fees. See our methodology and full disclaimer.