Knowing your portfolio is up 12% feels good. Knowing the S&P 500 is up 18% over the same period puts it in perspective. PortfolioTrackr's benchmark comparison feature overlays the market directly onto your P&L chart, so you can see, in one glance, whether your stock picks are actually adding value or just riding the market wave.
Why Benchmark Comparison Matters
Most investors track their portfolio value in absolute terms, how many dollars they gained or lost. But that number alone is misleading. If your portfolio grew 10% while the S&P 500 grew 20%, you effectively underperformed the market by 10 percentage points. You would have done better buying a simple index fund and doing nothing.
Benchmark comparison, also called relative performance, is how professional fund managers are actually judged. It answers the real question: is my stock picking adding value over just buying the market?
How to Use It in PortfolioTrackr
Open your dashboard and go to your P&L chart. Select a time range, 1D, 1W, 1M, 3M, 6M, 1Y, or All. Below the time range buttons you'll see three benchmark buttons: S&P 500, NASDAQ, and GOLD. Tap any one of them and a second line appears on the chart in a distinct colour.
Both lines are normalised to percentage change from the same starting point in the selected range, so they're always directly comparable regardless of what currency your portfolio is in or how large it is. Your portfolio's line above the benchmark line means you're outperforming. Below it means the market is winning.
The Three Benchmarks Explained
S&P 500: The Broad Market Standard
The S&P 500 tracks the 500 largest publicly traded US companies by market cap. It's the most widely used benchmark in the world. If you hold a diversified mix of US stocks, this is the comparison that matters most, it tells you whether your selection of individual stocks is beating the average of the 500 biggest companies in America. For most retail investors, beating the S&P 500 consistently over many years is extremely difficult, which is why this benchmark carries so much weight.
NASDAQ-100: Tech-Heavy Growth Benchmark
The NASDAQ-100 tracks the 100 largest non-financial companies listed on the NASDAQ exchange. It's heavily weighted toward technology, companies like Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, Amazon, and Meta make up a large portion of it. If your portfolio is tilted toward growth stocks or tech, the NASDAQ-100 is a more relevant comparison than the S&P 500. It's also more volatile, which means bigger swings in both directions. Comparing your portfolio against the NASDAQ tells you if your tech bets are paying off relative to just buying the index.
Gold: The Safe-Haven Benchmark
Gold behaves differently from equities. It tends to rise when equity markets fall, inflation increases, or uncertainty spikes, and it often underperforms equities during strong bull markets. Comparing your portfolio against gold is particularly useful if you hold some gold exposure, commodities, or defensive positions. It also shows you the opportunity cost of holding gold versus stocks over any given period.
Reading the Chart
The comparison works on percentage change from the start of your selected time range. That means if you're looking at the 1Y view and your portfolio started at any value, both your line and the benchmark line start at 0% and move up or down from there. By the end of the period, the gap between the two lines is your outperformance (if you're above) or underperformance (if you're below).
You can switch time ranges and benchmarks freely, the chart updates immediately each time. Switching to a different portfolio (or the ALL PORTFOLIOS combined view) also updates the comparison so you can benchmark each portfolio individually or your total book against the market.
Works Across All Time Ranges
The benchmark data pulls live from global market data providers and is normalised for the exact range you're viewing. Whether you're checking how your portfolio did today versus the S&P, or whether you've beaten gold over the past 5 years, the comparison is always calculated from the same starting point in the range, making it accurate for any period you care about.
Available on All Plans
Benchmark comparison is not a premium-only feature. It's available on all plans including the free 3-day trial. Open your P&L chart, pick a time range, and tap S&P 500, NASDAQ, or GOLD to see your performance in context.
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Frequently asked questions
Which benchmarks can I compare my portfolio against?
PortfolioTrackr lets you overlay S&P 500 (SPY), NASDAQ-100 (QQQ), and Gold (GLD) directly onto your P&L chart. You can toggle each one individually and switch between time ranges from 1 day to All time.
How does the benchmark comparison work?
Both your portfolio and the selected benchmark are normalised to percentage change from the same starting point in the selected time range. This lets you compare them on the same scale regardless of currency or portfolio size.
Is the benchmark comparison available on the free plan?
Yes. Benchmark comparison is available on all plans including the free trial. Open your P&L chart, select a time range, and tap any of the benchmark buttons, S&P 500, NASDAQ, or Gold.
What does it mean to beat the market?
If your portfolio's percentage gain over a given period is higher than the benchmark's percentage gain over the same period, you have outperformed (beaten) that benchmark. The chart makes this immediately visible, your line above the benchmark line means you're winning.
Can I compare against multiple benchmarks at the same time?
Currently one benchmark overlay is active at a time. You can switch between S&P 500, NASDAQ-100, and Gold with one tap and the chart updates instantly.