Which was the better investment since 2015, Apple or Alphabet (Google)?

Apple was the better investment. $1,000 invested in Apple in 2015 would be worth $12,669 today, compared to $12,619 for Alphabet (Google).

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

$1,000 invested in Apple in 2015 would be worth $12,669 today (+1166.9%). The same $1,000 in Alphabet (Google) would be worth $12,619 (+1161.9%).

How do Apple and Alphabet (Google) compare to the S&P 500 since 2015?

The same $1,000 invested in the S&P 500 in 2015 would be worth $4,630 today (+363%). Apple returned $12,669 and Alphabet (Google) returned $12,619 over the same period.

Apple vs Alphabet (Google): $1,000 invested since 2015

AAPL vs GOOGL · Data through 2026-10-01

Investment amount

$1,000 invested in 2015 would be worth

AppleWinner

$12,671

+1167.1%

Alphabet (Google)

$12,621

+1162.1%

The same $1,000 in the S&P 500 would be worth $4,630(+363%)

Growth of $1,000

Apple vs. Alphabet (Google) vs. S&P 500, 2015 to present

Year-by-year comparison

Apple vs. Alphabet (Google), 2015 to present

Year	Apple	Return	Alphabet (Google)	Return	S&P 500
2015	$1,000	-	$1,000	-	$1,000
2016	$845	-15.5%	$1,416	+41.6%	$991
2017	$1,077	+27.4%	$1,526	+7.7%	$1,189
2018	$1,510	+40.2%	$2,199	+44.1%	$1,502
2019	$1,523	+0.9%	$2,094	-4.8%	$1,466
2020	$2,875	+88.8%	$2,665	+27.3%	$1,780
2021	$4,946	+72.0%	$3,399	+27.5%	$2,086
2022	$6,591	+33.3%	$5,034	+48.1%	$2,570
2023	$5,473	-17.0%	$3,677	-26.9%	$2,359
2024	$7,033	+28.5%	$5,213	+41.7%	$2,845
2025	$9,045	+28.6%	$7,618	+46.2%	$3,591
2026	$9,990	+10.4%	$12,671	+66.3%	$4,178

Which came out ahead

From a $1,000 stake at the start of 2015, Apple (AAPL) came out ahead of Alphabet (Google) (GOOGL). That $1,000 grew to $12,669 in AAPL versus $12,619 in GOOGL as of 2026-10-01, roughly $50 more in the end.

The headline returns line up with the dollar figures. Apple returned +1166.9% against Alphabet (Google) at +1161.9%, a gap of about 5.0 percentage points over the 11.8-year window. Compounded, that is about 23.9% a year for AAPL against 23.9% for GOOGL.

Both holdings beat a plain S&P 500 fund over the same span, which would have turned that $1,000 into about $4,630 at roughly 13.8% a year. All figures use split-adjusted closing prices and exclude dividends, taxes, fees, and inflation, so a real after-tax result would differ.

None of this recommends one holding over the other. It is historical math, and past performance does not guarantee future results.

Other start years

Apple vs Alphabet (Google) from a different starting point

Since 2005 Since 2010 Since 2020 Since 2023

Individual stock pages

Apple since 2015+1166.9%Alphabet (Google) since 2015+1161.9%

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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.