Price return answers: “How much did the share price change?” Total return answers: “How much wealth did a buy-and-hold investor build if distributions were reinvested?” For long-horizon ETF comparisons, total return is usually the fairer scoreboard.
A simple example
Suppose Fund A’s price barely moves but pays steady dividends, while Fund B’s price rises but pays almost nothing. On price alone, B looks like the winner. With dividends reinvested, A may pull ahead — or not. You only know after you put both on the same chart with the same starting capital and date range.
How to compare fairly
- Use the same start and end dates for every ticker.
- Start each series at the same dollar amount (here, $10,000).
- Decide up front: DRIP on (total return) or off (price only).
- Remember currencies: mixed CAD/USD listings are not FX-converted in this tool.
Embed below: compare a dividend ETF with a broad market ETF, then flip DRIP to see how the story changes.