I've been getting a lot of "which space ETF should I buy?" questions since SpaceX went public in June. Most people start by Googling the best space ETF, land on a list of a dozen funds, and freeze.
So let's simplify. Before the wave of new space funds this year, the category really came down to three names: $UFO, $ARKX and $ROKT. They're still three of the oldest and most established space funds out there, and they take three very different approaches. Once you understand those three approaches, the dozen newer funds get a lot easier to sort through too.
What's in this guide
$UFO vs $ARKX vs $ROKT Side by Side
Here's everything in one view, pulled straight from each issuer's fund page.
| $UFO | $ARKX | $ROKT | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fund | Procure Space ETF | ARK Space & Defense Innovation ETF | SPDR S&P Kensho Final Frontiers ETF |
| Style | Index (VettaFi Space Index) | Actively managed | Index (S&P Kensho Final Frontiers) |
| Expense ratio | 0.75% | 0.75% | 0.45% |
| Assets | $467M | $737M | $153M |
| Holdings | 66 | 35 to 55 (typical) | 37 |
| Inception | April 2019 | March 2021 | October 2018 |
| $SPCX weight | 16.15% (top holding) | 11.28% (top holding) | Not in top 10 |
| YTD return (NAV) | 9.92% | 10.24% | 22.38% |
| 1-year return (NAV) | 19.26% | 11.91% | 36.63% |
Sources: Procure ETFs, ARK Invest and State Street issuer pages. Returns are NAV total returns as of September 30, 2026. Holdings as of October 20, 2026 ($ROKT as of October 19). Assets as of October 19, 2026 for $UFO and $ROKT and September 30, 2026 for $ARKX.
Same theme, three very different funds. Let's go through them.
$UFO: The Pure Space Index
$UFO Procure Space ETF
$UFO was the first space-focused ETF, and it's still the most literal one. It tracks the VettaFi Space Index, which is built around companies that make their money from space: satellites, launch, ground equipment, satellite communications and navigation.
Here's what the top of the fund looks like right now:
- SpaceX ($SPCX), 16.15%
- Trimble ($TRMB), 5.46%
- Garmin ($GRMN), 5.44%
- EchoStar ($ECHO), 4.86%
- Sirius XM ($SIRI), 4.81%
- Rocket Lab ($RKLB), 4.29%
- Viasat ($VSAT), 4.21%
- AST SpaceMobile ($ASTS), 3.62%
This is the part most people miss about $UFO. Yes, it owns the exciting names like Rocket Lab and AST SpaceMobile. But a big chunk of the fund is mature, profitable companies that use space infrastructure, like Garmin and Trimble with GPS, and Sirius XM with satellite radio. That's not a bad thing. It gives the fund a steadier base underneath the speculative stuff.
The catch: since SpaceX went public, $UFO's top holding is now one very volatile stock at roughly 16% of the fund. If you own $UFO, you're making a meaningful SpaceX bet whether you meant to or not.
$ARKX: ARK's Space and Defense Bet
$ARKX ARK Space & Defense Innovation ETF
$ARKX is Cathie Wood's fund, and it's run by a manager making active calls, not by an index. In November 2025 ARK renamed it from the ARK Space Exploration & Innovation ETF to the ARK Space & Defense Innovation ETF and widened its mandate to include defense innovation.
Its top holdings tell you exactly how ARK thinks about "space":
- SpaceX ($SPCX), 11.28%
- L3Harris ($LHX), 6.75%
- Deere ($DE), 5.55%
- Nvidia ($NVDA), 5.42%
- Kratos ($KTOS), 5.35%
- Amazon ($AMZN), 4.96%
- Rocket Lab ($RKLB), 4.80%
- AeroVironment ($AVAV), 4.51%
Nvidia, Amazon, Alphabet, AMD and Deere are all in the top 10. ARK's argument is that these companies lead, enable or benefit from technology that works beyond Earth's surface: chips for autonomy, Amazon's satellite internet push, satellite-guided farm equipment. You can agree with that or not, but understand what you're buying. ARK reports a weighted average market cap of about $991 billion. This is a big-cap tech and defense fund wearing a space jersey.
If you already own $QQQ or an S&P 500 fund, a lot of $ARKX's top 10 will overlap with what you have.
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$ROKT: The Cheap One Nobody Talks About
$ROKT SPDR S&P Kensho Final Frontiers ETF
$ROKT is the oldest of the three and the cheapest. It tracks the S&P Kensho Final Frontiers Index, which covers two "frontiers": deep space and the deep sea.
That deep sea part is real. Its top 10 includes Forum Energy Technologies and Oceaneering International, which are offshore and subsea equipment companies. State Street shows about 54% of the fund in aerospace and defense and about 11% in oil and gas equipment and services.
The rest of the top 10 is a lot of established aerospace and defense: Ducommun, RTX, Lockheed Martin, Teledyne, Hexcel, Moog, Iridium and HEICO. No single name is above 5%. SpaceX doesn't show up in its top 10.
On paper this sounds like the least exciting fund of the three. In practice, it's been the best performer over the last year. Boring isn't always bad. Defense spending and profitable suppliers did a lot of the heavy lifting.
The tradeoff is size. At about $153 million in assets, it's the smallest fund here, so check the bid-ask spread before you trade.
How Much SpaceX Is Inside Each Fund
This is the question I'd answer first, because it changes the risk of the whole fund. Before the June IPO, none of these three could own SpaceX directly. Now two of them hold it as their single biggest position.
If SpaceX is the reason you want space exposure, $UFO gives you the most of it. If you're nervous about one stock driving your results, $ROKT is the one that keeps it out of the driver's seat. For the full list of every fund that owns SpaceX, see which ETFs hold SpaceX ($SPCX) stock.
Performance: What Actually Happened
Here are the NAV total returns each issuer reported through September 30, 2026:
| ETF | YTD 2026 | 1 Year |
|---|---|---|
| $ROKT | 22.38% | 36.63% |
| $UFO | 9.92% | 19.26% |
| $ARKX | 10.24% | 11.91% |
Past performance does not guarantee future results. Returns change daily. Check each issuer's site for current figures.
I want to be careful here, because one year of returns in a theme this volatile tells you very little about the next one. $ARKX, for example, fell 34.20% in 2022 and then gained 48.28% in 2025, according to ARK. That's the kind of ride you sign up for in this category.
What I take from it is simpler: the most hyped fund isn't automatically the best one. The cheapest, least talked about fund of the three beat the other two over the past year. Fees and what's actually in the portfolio matter more than the name on the fund.
Want to compare total returns on more funds like this? ETFTotalReturns.com puts total returns side by side, and GrowthETFs.com covers the broader growth ETF universe.
Which One Fits You
- "I want the space economy itself." $UFO. The most direct, most diversified pure space portfolio, with SpaceX as its biggest position.
- "I believe in ARK's innovation thesis." $ARKX. You're really buying a manager's view of tech and defense, with space as the theme.
- "I want the cheapest, steadiest option." $ROKT. Lower fee, no single dominant stock, and a defense-heavy portfolio that has held up better.
- "I just want SpaceX." None of these. Look at the funds that hold it at bigger weights in our guide to 13 space ETFs and $SPCX alternatives.
One more thing. These funds overlap. Rocket Lab sits in the top 10 of both $UFO and $ARKX, and $SPCX tops both. Owning two or three space ETFs isn't the diversification it looks like. Pick the approach you believe in and size it as a small slice of a bigger portfolio.
My Take
I'm an income investor first. Most of my money is built to pay me, and I'm not going to pretend space ETFs do that. $ROKT's distribution yield is around 0.21%, and $UFO's last payout was a fraction of a cent per share. These are growth bets, full stop.
If I were adding space exposure, I'd want to know exactly how much SpaceX I'm taking on and what I'm paying for it. That's why I like starting with these three: they show you the whole range, from a SpaceX-led pure play to a tech-heavy active fund to a cheap, defense-heavy index. Everything newer is some variation on one of them.
And if you'd rather have your money pay you monthly or weekly while you wait, that's what I spend most of my time on at TopDividendETFs.com. For live yields, ratings and price decay across 130+ income ETFs, TopDividendETFsPRO does the filtering for you.
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Try TopDividendETFsPRO →For live daily data on every space ETF, including $UFO, $ARKX and $ROKT, see our full space ETF rankings. And for a broader list, check the 10 top space ETFs to buy in 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is better, UFO or ARKX?
It depends on what you want. $UFO tracks an index of 66 companies tied to the space economy and holds SpaceX ($SPCX) as its top position at about 16%. $ARKX is actively managed by ARK, holds $SPCX at about 11%, and mixes in large tech and defense names like Nvidia, Amazon, Alphabet and Deere. Both charge 0.75%. $UFO is the more direct space bet, $ARKX is a broader innovation bet with space in the middle of it.
Does UFO hold SpaceX stock?
Yes. As of October 20, 2026, Procure listed Space Exploration Technologies Corp ($SPCX) as $UFO's largest holding at 16.15% of the fund.
Does ARKX hold SpaceX?
Yes. As of October 20, 2026, ARK listed $SPCX as $ARKX's top holding at 11.28%, ahead of L3Harris, Deere, Nvidia and Kratos.
What is the cheapest space ETF?
Of these three, $ROKT is the cheapest at a 0.45% expense ratio, versus 0.75% for both $UFO and $ARKX. Broader aerospace and defense funds like $XAR and $ITA cost less, but they are defense funds first and space funds second.
What is the best space ETF?
There is no single best space ETF for everyone. Over the year ending September 30, 2026, $ROKT returned 36.63% at NAV, $UFO returned 19.26% and $ARKX returned 11.91%. But past returns change fast in a theme this volatile, so the better question is which fund's holdings match the exposure you actually want.
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Disclaimer: This article is for educational and entertainment purposes only and is not financial advice or a buy or sell signal on any security. Fund holdings, weights, expense ratios, assets and returns come from the issuers' public fund pages and are current as of October 20, 2026 (returns as of September 30, 2026). They will change. Always do your own research, verify current data with the fund issuer and read the prospectus, and consult a licensed financial advisor before making investment decisions. Investments involve risk, including possible loss of principal. Past performance does not guarantee future results.