Cheapest Bitcoin ETFs in 2026: Spot Bitcoin Funds Ranked by Sponsor Fee

As of 20 Oct 2026, the lowest sponsor fee among the 13 spot bitcoin funds we priced is 0.14% a year at Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust (MSBT), or $14 on $10,000 held for a year. None has a fee waiver in force; VanEck's HODL waiver ran through 31 July 2026. Grayscale's GBTC charges 1.50%, or $150 on the same balance.

Financeradar data: all 7 online brokers in our broker comparison charge $0 to trade US stocks and ETFs online (newest read Oct 18, 2026), so the fee a fund charges for itself is the cost that differs, from 0.14% to 1.50% a year across these 13.

The scenario is one holder who keeps $10,000 (the smaller balance) or $100,000 (the larger) in a single fund for a year, or the smaller balance for five years, with no deposits, withdrawals or price moves. The dollar columns are our arithmetic: the balance times the annual fee rate each sponsor states. Fees were read on sponsor pages and in SEC filings on 20 Oct 2026, and rows are sorted by fee.

Which spot bitcoin ETF has the lowest sponsor fee?

Every fund here holds bitcoin, so the sponsor fee is the line that separates them. Ten funds are ranked below, and three more are priced in the note under the table.

Ties are ordered by net assets in each fund's 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2026, which is why IBIT, FBTC and BRRR sit in the table. Invesco Galaxy Bitcoin ETF (BTCO) and WisdomTree Bitcoin Fund (BTCW) were also priced and both state 0.25% on their sponsor pages, so adding them would tie them with the 0.25% rows. Osprey Bitcoin Trust (OBTC, Nasdaq) states a 0.49% fee on daily net asset value in its 10-Q, which would put it between those rows and GBTC. None of the three would rank above ARKB, and GBTC stays the highest fee of the 13.

Our analysis: MSBT has the lowest fee of the 13, but its lead over the Grayscale Mini Trust is $1 a year on the smaller balance, so the fee alone barely separates the first two rows. The wide gap is at the bottom. GBTC costs $136 a year more than MSBT on that balance, about 10.7 times the fee, and it is the one row in the table above 0.25%.

What a sponsor fee is, and the risk it leaves out

A sponsor fee is the yearly charge a spot bitcoin fund pays its sponsor to run the trust. The SEC's Office of Investor Education and Advocacy, in its investor bulletin of Sept. 9, 2024, says these funds generally pay a fee that people who hold bitcoin directly do not pay, and that each time the fund pays it, the amount of bitcoin behind each share declines. It adds that the fee typically covers all of the trust's operating expenses.

The same bulletin calls bitcoin a highly speculative investment. It says all ETP investments involve risk of financial loss, and that the risk may be higher for spot bitcoin ETPs because of the high volatility of the asset. It also says these funds are not registered investment companies under the Investment Company Act of 1940, even when they carry ETF in their name. Fund pages say the same in their own words: WisdomTree's page describes the potential for loss of the entire investment, and Morgan Stanley's page says its shares could lose all or substantially all of their value. A lower fee does not lower that risk, and this page ranks cost only.

What do the fee gaps cost in dollars?

Each 0.01 percentage point of sponsor fee costs one dollar a year on the smaller balance and ten dollars on the larger. IBIT, FBTC and BRRR at 0.25% cost $11 a year more than MSBT on the smaller balance, which is $110 on the larger and $55 over five years on the smaller. GBTC at 1.50% costs $136 a year more than MSBT on the smaller balance, which is $1,360 on the larger and $680 over five years on the smaller.

These are fee-only figures with a flat balance and no return assumed. In practice each sponsor accrues its fee daily, so the dollars shift as the price of bitcoin moves, and this page makes no forecast of either. For the same cost method applied to a different asset, see the cheapest S&P 500 index funds.

Is any bitcoin ETF fee waived right now?

No. In the sponsor pages and SEC filings read on 20 Oct 2026, none of the 13 funds has a waiver in force. The most recent one to run out was VanEck's, and the older ones are on record:

• VanEck HODL: the entire 0.20% fee was waived on the first $2.5 billion of assets from November 25, 2024 through July 31, 2026, according to its 10-Q for June 30, 2026. The filing puts the fee at 0.20% after that date, and VanEck's page prints a 0.20% expense ratio.
• Bitwise BITB: the fee was waived on the first $1 billion of assets through July 10, 2024, per its 10-Q. Bitwise's page still carries the launch-waiver wording beside a 0.20% fee, so read that sentence as history.
• ARK 21Shares ARKB: the waiver covered nine months from January 11, 2024 or the first $1 billion of assets, whichever came first, and ended in February 2024 when assets passed that level, per its 10-Q.
• iShares IBIT: a 12-month waiver starting January 11, 2024 cut the fee to 0.12% on the first $5.0 billion of assets, and its 10-Q reports no fees waived in the first half of 2026.

Filings from iShares, WisdomTree and Franklin say the sponsor may waive all or part of its fee for stated periods and has no obligation to waive it for periods not covered, so a fee can change after this page's date. Some sponsor pages, including iShares' and Invesco's, carry a generic performance footnote about waivers; the matching 10-Q filings show no waiver in force.

The catch in each fund

Each gap below is dollars a year against MSBT on the smaller balance.

• MSBT, 0.14%: the newest of the ten ranked funds. Its 10-Q says operations began on April 7, 2026, and Morgan Stanley's page calls the trust new with a limited operating history.
• BTC, 0.15%: $1 above MSBT. Grayscale sponsors both this trust and GBTC, so the Grayscale name says nothing about the fee: they charge 0.15% and 1.50%. The Mini Trust 10-Q states 0.15% of the trust's assets less liabilities.
• EZBC, 0.19%: $5 above MSBT. Franklin's page shows 0.19% as both the gross and the net sponsor fee, and its 10-Q says no specific circumstances for a waiver have been set.
• BITB, 0.20%: $6 above MSBT. Its 10-Q says the fee is paid in bitcoin each month, so each payment lowers the bitcoin behind a share, the effect the SEC bulletin describes.
• HODL, 0.20%: $6 above MSBT, and a fee the sponsor waived in full through July 31, 2026. Its 10-Q shows no expenses for the six months to June 30, 2026 because the sponsor waived all of them.
• ARKB, 0.21%: $7 above MSBT. A prospectus supplement filed August 27, 2026 sets the rate at 0.21% annualized on the trust's net asset value.
• IBIT, FBTC and BRRR, 0.25%: each is $11 above MSBT. IBIT charges 0.25% of net asset value, while FBTC and BRRR charge 0.25% of their bitcoin holdings, per their filings. Fidelity's page states its fee as 25 basis points, which is 0.25%, as of August 1, 2024.
• GBTC, 1.50%: $136 above MSBT. It is Grayscale's older trust, formed in 2013 and listed on NYSE Arca on January 11, 2024 after trading over the counter.

What the table does not measure

This ranking is by sponsor fee only. The dollar columns leave out the bid-ask spread on each trade, any gap between a fund's share price and the price of bitcoin (the SEC bulletin says share prices may deviate from the crypto asset), taxes, and whether your broker lists the fund. A $0 commission does not remove the fund's own fee, and the free investing apps guide covers the other fees brokers charge.

For where to buy, our broker pages cover Fidelity, Schwab, Robinhood, Public, Interactive Brokers and E*TRADE, and each broker's own site says which funds it lists. Our online broker comparison sets out each broker's trading fees and account minimums, and brokers for beginners lists those with no account minimum. Fidelity's page says its spot crypto ETPs can be held in tax-advantaged accounts; our IRA account comparison covers those accounts, and capital gains tax rates covers the tax on gains. If an app picks funds for you, the AI investing apps list shows what they charge, and the investing hub links the rest.

How we compared

We priced 13 US-listed spot bitcoin funds on 20 Oct 2026 and ranked 10. Each fee is the sponsor's stated annual rate, read on its page where the page prints one and checked against the fund's SEC filing for the quarter ended June 30, 2026. Dollar figures are our arithmetic, with no return or price change assumed. We did not open accounts or place trades. We re-read every fee about every 60 days and when a sponsor changes one.

• Sponsor pages, fee read on 20 Oct 2026: iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (page figures dated Oct 19, 2026), Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (fee stated as of Aug 1, 2024), Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (data as of 10/18/2026), ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (as of Oct 19, 2026), VanEck Bitcoin ETF, Franklin Bitcoin ETF, Invesco Galaxy Bitcoin ETF, WisdomTree Bitcoin Fund (as of 10/19/2026) and Grayscale Bitcoin Trust ETF (as of 10/19/2026).
• Dated documents behind three fees: MSBT rests on Morgan Stanley's launch release of Apr 8, 2026 and its 10-Q, BRRR on the CoinShares fact sheet with data as of June 30, 2026, and BTC on its 10-Q linked above.
• SEC 10-Q filings for the quarter ended June 30, 2026, not linked above: Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund, Franklin Templeton Digital Holdings Trust, Invesco Galaxy Bitcoin ETF, WisdomTree Bitcoin Fund, Grayscale Bitcoin Trust ETF, CoinShares Bitcoin ETF and Osprey Bitcoin Trust, plus the ARK 21Shares prospectus supplement of Aug 27, 2026.

This is general information, not personalized financial advice. Confirm each fund's current fee on its sponsor page and in its prospectus before you invest. Financeradar may earn a commission from some links; it never affects rankings (how we make money).

FAQ

What is the cheapest spot bitcoin ETF in 2026?

Among the 13 spot bitcoin funds priced on 20 Oct 2026, Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust (MSBT) has the lowest sponsor fee at 0.14% a year. The Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust (BTC) is next at 0.15%, then Franklin's EZBC at 0.19%. This ranks fees only and says nothing about which fund to hold.

Is there a bitcoin ETF fee waiver in 2026?

None is in force at the 13 funds priced. VanEck's HODL waived its whole 0.20% fee on the first $2.5 billion of assets through July 31, 2026, and the fee has been 0.20% since. The 2024 launch waivers at Bitwise, ARK 21Shares and iShares have ended. Sponsors can waive again for stated periods, so check the fund's page.

IBIT vs FBTC: which costs less?

Neither: both charge 0.25% a year, which is $25 on $10,000 and $250 on $100,000. iShares charges it on net asset value and Fidelity on bitcoin holdings, per their 10-Q filings. Bid-ask spread, any gap to the price of bitcoin and broker commissions are not measured here.

How much more does GBTC's 1.50% fee cost than the others?

GBTC costs $1,500 a year on $100,000, which is $150 a year per ten thousand dollars held, or $750 over five years at a flat balance. That is $136 a year more than MSBT per ten thousand dollars, about 10.7 times its fee, and $125 a year more than the 0.25% funds. Grayscale's page lists the 1.50% management fee as of 10/19/2026.

Does a lower fee make a bitcoin ETF the better choice?

No. The fee is only what the sponsor charges. The SEC says all ETP investments involve risk of financial loss, and that the risk may be higher for spot bitcoin ETPs because bitcoin is highly volatile. A fund's share price can also differ from the price of bitcoin, and a low fee does not change either point.

Cite this: Financeradar, "Cheapest Bitcoin ETFs in 2026: Spot Bitcoin Funds Ranked by Sponsor Fee", October 2026.