Which was the better investment since 2015, Bitcoin or S&P 500 (SPY)?

Bitcoin was the better investment. $1,000 invested in Bitcoin in 2015 would be worth $268,280 today, compared to $4,521 for S&P 500 (SPY).

What would $1,000 in Bitcoin vs S&P 500 (SPY) be worth today?

$1,000 invested in Bitcoin in 2015 would be worth $268,280 today (+26728.0%). The same $1,000 in S&P 500 (SPY) would be worth $4,521 (+352.1%).

How do Bitcoin and S&P 500 (SPY) compare to the S&P 500 since 2015?

The same $1,000 invested in the S&P 500 in 2015 would be worth $4,521 today (+352.1%). Bitcoin returned $268,280 and S&P 500 (SPY) returned $4,521 over the same period.

Bitcoin vs S&P 500 (SPY): $1,000 invested since 2015

BTC-USD vs SPY · Data through 2026-07-01

Investment amount

$1,000 invested in 2015 would be worth

BitcoinWinner

$268,285

+26728.5%

S&P 500 (SPY)

$4,521

+352.1%

The same $1,000 in the S&P 500 would be worth $4,521(+352.1%)

Growth of $1,000

Bitcoin vs. S&P 500 (SPY) vs. S&P 500, 2015 to present

Year-by-year comparison

Bitcoin vs. S&P 500 (SPY), 2015 to present

Year	Bitcoin	Return	S&P 500 (SPY)	Return	S&P 500
2015	$1,000	-	$1,000	-	$1,000
2016	$1,696	+69.6%	$991	-0.9%	$991
2017	$4,462	+163.1%	$1,189	+20.0%	$1,189
2018	$47,001	+953.3%	$1,502	+26.3%	$1,502
2019	$15,901	-66.2%	$1,466	-2.4%	$1,466
2020	$42,998	+170.4%	$1,780	+21.4%	$1,780
2021	$152,275	+254.1%	$2,086	+17.2%	$2,086
2022	$176,963	+16.2%	$2,570	+23.2%	$2,570
2023	$106,405	-39.9%	$2,359	-8.2%	$2,359
2024	$195,815	+84.0%	$2,845	+20.6%	$2,845
2025	$470,906	+140.5%	$3,591	+26.2%	$3,591
2026	$361,536	-23.2%	$4,178	+16.3%	$4,178

Which came out ahead

Bitcoin (BTC-USD) outpaced S&P 500 (SPY) over this stretch from 2015. That $1,000 grew to $268,280 in BTC-USD versus $4,521 in SPY as of 2026-07-01, about 59x the ending value.

The headline returns line up with the dollar figures. Bitcoin returned +26,728% against S&P 500 (SPY) at +352.1%, a gap of about 26,376 percentage points over the 11.6-year window. Compounded, that is about 62.1% a year for BTC-USD against 13.9% for SPY.

Because S&P 500 (SPY) is itself a broad index fund, this matchup measures a single position against the market rather than against another single stock. The two paths differed in how rough they were. Bitcoin moved across a far wider band of yearly returns than S&P 500 (SPY) did. All figures use split-adjusted closing prices and exclude dividends, taxes, fees, and inflation, so a real after-tax result would differ.

This is a record of what already happened, not financial advice or a recommendation of either name. Past performance does not guarantee future results.

Other start years

Bitcoin vs S&P 500 (SPY) from a different starting point

Since 2020 Since 2023

Individual stock pages

Bitcoin since 2015+26,728%S&P 500 (SPY) since 2015+352.1%

Compare any two stocks

Pick any two companies, any start date, any amount. See the winner instantly.

Numbers worth sharing

Occasional data drops when something interesting surfaces. No schedule, just signal.

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.