ROI GRIDHEAD TO HEAD

UNG vs USO: which was the better investment?

United States Natural Gas Fund against United States Oil Fund on real daily total-return data — every dividend reinvested, from Apr 18, 2007 to Jul 15, 2026.

natural gas (UNG)oil (USO)
19 years of daily dataDividends reinvestedUpdated daily

Set up your comparison

1

What are you comparing?

Pick one investment — or add several to build a portfolio.

UNGUnited States Natural Gas Fund
2

Compare against

The benchmark your investment has to beat.

USO
3

Time & money

When the money goes in, and how much.

Leave empty for earliest

Leave empty for today

$
$

0 for a one-time investment

Rebalance portfolio

Daily total-return data — dividends reinvested. Monthly additions buy on the first trading day.

Track your entire portfolio in one free Google Sheet

Enter your trades once and values update automatically. We'll send it straight to your inbox.

I'll occasionally send investing tools and insights.

Related comparisons

Browse all match-ups on the comparison hub, build your own in the Compare Investments tool, or check a single asset's exact-date returns with the Investment Calculator.

Frequently asked questions

Did UNG beat USO?

No — measured from Apr 18, 2007 to Jul 15, 2026 with dividends reinvested, USO came out ahead: $3,010 versus $16 from a $10,000 start. That gap compounds from a -6.0% annual return against -28.4%.

What would $10,000 in UNG be worth today?

$10,000 invested in United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) on Apr 18, 2007 would be worth about $16 as of Jul 15, 2026, a total return of -99.8% (-28.4% per year). The same $10,000 in USO would be worth $3,010.

Which was riskier — UNG or USO?

UNG swung with an annualized volatility of 49.3% and a worst peak-to-trough drop of -99.9%; USO ran at 37.5% volatility with a -98.2% maximum drawdown. Risk-adjusted (Sharpe ratio), that is -0.62 for UNG vs -0.21 for USO.

What data is this comparison based on?

Daily adjusted closing prices covering Apr 18, 2007 through Jul 15, 2026 — the full period where both assets have price history. Adjusted prices include dividends and splits, so these are total returns. The page refreshes with new market data every day.

Can I change the dates, amounts, or add monthly investing?

Yes — the interactive tool on this page is pre-loaded with UNG vs USO. You can set any start and end date, change the starting amount, add monthly contributions, or build a multi-asset portfolio and compare it against any benchmark.