Which was the better investment since 2020, Apple or Alphabet (Google)?

Alphabet (Google) was the better investment. $1,000 invested in Alphabet (Google) in 2020 would be worth $5,015 today, compared to $4,144 for Apple.

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

$1,000 invested in Apple in 2020 would be worth $4,144 today (+314.4%). The same $1,000 in Alphabet (Google) would be worth $5,015 (+401.5%).

How do Apple and Alphabet (Google) compare to the S&P 500 since 2020?

The same $1,000 invested in the S&P 500 in 2020 would be worth $2,547 today (+154.7%). Apple returned $4,144 and Alphabet (Google) returned $5,015 over the same period.

Apple vs Alphabet (Google): $1,000 invested since 2020

AAPL vs GOOGL · Data through 2026-07-01

Investment amount

$1,000 invested in 2020 would be worth

Apple

$4,144

+314.4%

Alphabet (Google)Winner

$5,015

+401.5%

The same $1,000 in the S&P 500 would be worth $2,547(+154.7%)

Growth of $1,000

Apple vs. Alphabet (Google) vs. S&P 500, 2020 to present

Year-by-year comparison

Apple vs. Alphabet (Google), 2020 to present

Year	Apple	Return	Alphabet (Google)	Return	S&P 500
2020	$1,000	-	$1,000	-	$1,000
2021	$1,720	+72.0%	$1,275	+27.5%	$1,172
2022	$2,292	+33.3%	$1,889	+48.1%	$1,444
2023	$1,903	-17.0%	$1,380	-26.9%	$1,325
2024	$2,446	+28.5%	$1,956	+41.7%	$1,598
2025	$3,146	+28.6%	$2,858	+46.2%	$2,018
2026	$3,475	+10.4%	$4,754	+66.3%	$2,347

Which came out ahead

From a $1,000 stake at the start of 2020, Alphabet (Google) (GOOGL) came out ahead of Apple (AAPL). That $1,000 grew to $5,015 in GOOGL versus $4,144 in AAPL as of 2026-07-01, roughly $871 more in the end.

The headline returns line up with the dollar figures. Alphabet (Google) returned +401.5% against Apple at +314.4%, a gap of about 87.1 percentage points over the 6.7-year window. Compounded, that is about 27.4% a year for GOOGL against 23.8% for AAPL.

Both holdings beat a plain S&P 500 fund over the same span, which would have turned that $1,000 into about $2,547 at roughly 15.1% 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 2015 Since 2023

Individual stock pages

Apple since 2020+314.4%Alphabet (Google) since 2020+401.5%

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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.