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

Amazon was the better investment. $1,000 invested in Amazon in 2005 would be worth $110,292 today, compared to $73,605 for Alphabet (Google).

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

$1,000 invested in Amazon in 2005 would be worth $110,292 today (+10929.2%). The same $1,000 in Alphabet (Google) would be worth $73,605 (+7260.5%).

How do Amazon and Alphabet (Google) 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%). Amazon returned $110,292 and Alphabet (Google) returned $73,605 over the same period.

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

AMZN vs GOOGL · Data through 2026-06-01

Investment amount

$1,000 invested in 2005 would be worth

AmazonWinner

$110,343

+10934.3%

Alphabet (Google)

$73,641

+7264.1%

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

Growth of $1,000

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

Year-by-year comparison

Amazon vs. Alphabet (Google), 2005 to present

Year	Amazon	Return	Alphabet (Google)	Return	S&P 500
2005	$1,000	-	$1,000	-	$1,000
2006	$1,037	+3.7%	$2,212	+121.2%	$1,098
2007	$872	-16.0%	$2,564	+15.9%	$1,261
2008	$1,798	+106.3%	$2,885	+12.5%	$1,227
2009	$1,361	-24.3%	$1,731	-40.0%	$758
2010	$2,902	+113.2%	$2,709	+56.5%	$1,005
2011	$3,925	+35.3%	$3,069	+13.3%	$1,228
2012	$4,499	+14.6%	$2,965	-3.4%	$1,280
2013	$6,143	+36.5%	$3,863	+30.3%	$1,491
2014	$8,299	+35.1%	$6,037	+56.3%	$1,811
2015	$8,203	-1.2%	$5,490	-9.1%	$2,066
2016	$13,582	+65.6%	$7,776	+41.6%	$2,048
2017	$19,053	+40.3%	$8,377	+7.7%	$2,458
2018	$33,570	+76.2%	$12,075	+44.1%	$3,104
2019	$39,767	+18.5%	$11,499	-4.8%	$3,029
2020	$46,477	+16.9%	$14,634	+27.3%	$3,678
2021	$74,183	+59.6%	$18,664	+27.5%	$4,310
2022	$69,215	-6.7%	$27,639	+48.1%	$5,309
2023	$47,723	-31.1%	$20,190	-26.9%	$4,875
2024	$71,819	+50.5%	$28,619	+41.7%	$5,879
2025	$109,986	+53.1%	$41,827	+46.2%	$7,421
2026	$110,736	+0.7%	$69,566	+66.3%	$8,633

Which came out ahead

Starting in 2005, Amazon (AMZN) was the better of the two against Alphabet (Google) (GOOGL). That $1,000 grew to $110,292 in AMZN versus $73,605 in GOOGL as of 2026-06-01, roughly $36,687 more in the end.

Stacked side by side, the totals tell the same story. Amazon returned +10,929% against Alphabet (Google) at +7260.5%, a gap of about 3668.7 percentage points over the 21.6-year window. Compounded, that is about 24.3% a year for AMZN against 22% for GOOGL.

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. Across this long 21.6-year window, small annual differences compounded into the wide ending gap. 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

Amazon vs Alphabet (Google) from a different starting point

Since 2010 Since 2015 Since 2020 Since 2023

Individual stock pages

Amazon since 2005+10,929%Alphabet (Google) since 2005+7260.5%

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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.