If I'd invested in gold since 2013
$1,000 put into gold at the end of 2013 would be worth about $3,497 today — a 3.50× return, or roughly 10.6% a year. Change the amount below to run your own number.
You'd have
$3,497
from $1,000 invested — up 250%.
The story behind the number
Gold since 2013 has been a remarkably smooth ride. $1,000 put in at the end of 2013 grew to $3,497 — a 3.50× return, or about 10.6% a year. The S&P 500 actually did better over the same years, turning that $1,000 into $4,016 — about 1.15× what this returned.
The ride mattered as much as the destination. The strongest single year was 2026, up 13%; the worst was 2026, down 11%.
Holding on took nerve: the position fell as much as 20% from its 2026 peak to its 2026 low and had not fully reclaimed that peak by the end of the window. Inflation takes a bite, too — consumer prices rose about 42% over the period, so in today's money the result is closer to 2.46× what you put in.
Common questions
- How much would I have if I'd invested $1,000 in gold in 2013?
- $1,000 invested in gold at the end of 2013 would be worth about $3,497 today — a 3.50× return, or roughly 10.6% per year.
- What were the best and worst years for gold since 2013?
- The best year was 2026, up about 13%. The toughest was 2026, when it fell about 11%. Across the window, 71 of 150 years finished lower than they started.
- What was the biggest drop along the way?
- The steepest decline was about 20%, from a peak in 2026 to a low in 2026, a level it had not fully recovered by the latest data.
- Would I have done better in S&P 500?
- Yes — the S&P 500 turned $1,000 into about $4,016, versus $3,497 for gold over the same window.
The chart above shows the whole journey, not just the destination. Try switching to a bit each year to see how spreading your buying would have changed the outcome — or skip the latte to find out what a small daily habit could have grown into instead.
More gold scenarios
All gold years →If I'd invested in gold since 1971
since 1971
If I'd invested in gold since 1989
since 1989
If I'd invested in gold since 2007
since 2007
If I'd invested in gold since 2014
since 2014
If I'd invested in gold since 2025
since 2025