2018
After the 2017 cycle
Compare the two assets through an extended crypto bear market and later recovery.
Ethereum 2018 →Bitcoin 2018 →
Crypto Calculator / All calculators / Ethereum vs Bitcoin
Run the equal-dollar test
The tool finds the first common weekly-close observation on or after your selected date. It then applies the same initial dollars to ETH and BTC and compares their price paths using matching weekly observations.
Compare a historic investment
Both assets are priced in U.S. dollars and measured with the same weekly-close method.
Try a market window:
Loading the live weekly-close series…
Portfolio value over time
Each line begins with the same initial amount. The series uses only weeks for which both ETH and BTC have a valid closing price.
Ethereum vs Bitcoin: why there is no permanent winner
Ethereum and Bitcoin have shared some market cycles, but their historical return paths have not been identical. The result of an equal-dollar comparison can change materially with the entry week, the holding period and the date used as the end of the calculation. A single all-time percentage can hide that difference.
This tool starts with the same dollar amount, uses the same weekly sampling method for both assets, and makes the price path visible. It reports a current historical value, but also the highest portfolio value reached after entry and the largest fall from a preceding weekly-close peak. Those are different measures, and reading them together is more honest than declaring one asset the universal winner.
Read this correctly: a later portfolio peak is not a realised return unless an investor actually sold at that point. Historic results are illustrations, not predictions or a recommendation to choose ETH over BTC.
Three useful historical entry windows
The live calculator gives the exact result for any supported date. These windows help show how the same comparison changes around a bear market, the 2020 recovery and the 2021 bull market.
Bitcoin 2018 →
2020
Recovery-period entry
Test an equal-dollar purchase during the recovery that preceded the next major crypto cycle.
Ethereum 2020 →Bitcoin 2020 →
2021
Bull-market entry
See how an entry during a major market year changed the later return path for each asset.
Ethereum 2021 →Bitcoin 2021 →
What this comparison measures
It measures the change in the market prices of ETH and BTC from matching weekly observations after a selected date, using identical starting dollars. It is a transparent price-path comparison, not a personalised investment model.
What it does not measure
It excludes Ethereum staking rewards, transaction costs, exchange spreads, taxes, custody costs, rebalancing and personal circumstances. Read the full calculation methodology →
How the ETH vs BTC comparison is calculated
| Element | How this page handles it |
|---|---|
| Starting amount | The same dollar amount is used for Ethereum and Bitcoin. |
| Entry observation | The first date on or after your request where both assets have a valid weekly close. |
| Current value | The original asset units are valued at the latest matched weekly close. |
| Peak value | The highest weekly-close value reached by the hypothetical portfolio after entry. |
| Drawdown | The largest percentage fall from a preceding weekly-close high in the portfolio path. |
| Coverage | The shared live window begins on 6 November 2017, the first common weekly observation currently available in the tool. |
The calculator does not attempt to say that either asset is inherently superior. It makes a specific historical question reproducible: what happened to the same number of dollars invested in ETH and BTC from a particular available week? For broader context, read the three-year Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana comparison, explore the Ethereum hub and Bitcoin hub, or browse the full calculator directory.
Frequently asked questions
Is Ethereum better than Bitcoin? +
Not as a universal historical rule. The answer changes with the selected entry date and ending date. This page shows the price path, later peak and weekly-close drawdown rather than treating one result as an allocation recommendation.
How are ETH and BTC returns calculated? +
The calculator uses a shared weekly-close date, calculates the ETH and BTC units the same dollar amount would have bought, then values those units across the subsequent matched weekly observations.
Why does the comparison start in November 2017? +
The tool uses a common ten-year weekly window. Within the current live series, both Ethereum and Bitcoin have matching valid observations from 6 November 2017 onward.
Do Ethereum staking rewards count in the result? +
No. This is a market-price comparison only. It does not include staking rewards, fees, taxes, spreads or other costs.
Are these investment recommendations? +
No. CryptoRetail provides historical data for educational and research purposes. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
Sources and data notes
- Live calculation data are fetched through CryptoRetail’s price proxy from Yahoo Finance chart data and sampled as weekly closes.
- The calculator deliberately uses only matched ETH and BTC observation dates after entry, so the equal-dollar comparison is based on the same weekly periods.
- For the site-wide treatment of weekly prices, peak values and unavailable historical periods, read the CryptoRetail methodology.