The best halal ETFs in 2026: fees, screening, and how to choose
There are now more Shariah-compliant Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) than ever but they don’tall follow the same rulebook, and they definitely don’t all charge the same fees. Here’s aclear-eyed comparison of the major halal ETFs available in 2026, and how to pick the right mixfor your portfolio. Written by the Manzil Team Not long ago, “halal investing” meant either painstakingly screening stocks yourself or settlingfor one or two expensive mutual funds. That era is over. Today, Muslim investors can build afully diversified, Shariah-compliant portfolio, U.S. equities, global stocks, real estate, even fixedincome , entirely with low-cost ETFs. But more choice brings a new problem: the funds look similar on the surface while differing inways that matter. Different certifiers apply different financial-ratio screens, so the same companycan appear in one halal ETF and be excluded from another. Fees range from 0.40% to 0.65% ,a gap that quietly compounds into real money over decades. This guide breaks down what’sactually available and how to compare. First, a quick refresher: what makes an ETF halal? A halal ETF tracks an index screened according to Shariah principles. Sectors like conventionalbanking and insurance, alcohol, gambling, tobacco, weapons, and adult entertainment areexcluded outright, and the remaining companies must pass financial ratio tests , typicallykeeping interest-bearing debt and interest income below defined thresholds. Any incidentalimpermissible income is disclosed so investors can purify it through charitable giving. This is also why popular conventional funds like VOO, SPY, and QQQ don’t qualify: they holdbanks, alcohol producers, and interest-bearing cash alongside everything else. And onecategory is off the table entirely, leveraged ETFs, which use debt and derivatives to amplifyreturns, are considered impermissible regardless of what they hold. How we compare halal ETFs Five things matter most when evaluating any halal ETF: Certification and methodology. Who screens the index, and against what standard? AAOIFI isthe most widely recognized benchmark, but certifiers interpret ratios differently, which is whyfund holdings diverge. Expense ratio. The annual fee you pay, every year, regardless of performance. Smalldifferences compound: on steady contributions over 30 years, a 0.15% fee gap can cost aninvestor tens of thousands of dollars. Breadth of holdings. More holdings generally means better diversification and lesssingle-stock risk. Some halal funds hold 100 companies; others hold 600+. Scale and liquidity. Larger funds with tighter bid-ask spreads are cheaper to trade and lesslikely to close. Purification burden. How much of the fund’s income needs to be donated to cleanse incidentalnon-compliant revenue. Funds report this; the lower, the simpler your life. Table 2 : Liquidity, risk, guarantees and tax features The major halal ETFs at a glance Expense ratios sourced from fund issuers, August 2026. U.S. equity: the core of most portfolios MNZL , Manzil Halal USA Broad Market ETF (0.40%). The lowest-cost halal equity ETF on theU.S. market, and the broadest. MNZL tracks the Russell IdealRatings Manzil Halal USA BroadMarket Index , built from the Russell 1000, screened to AAOIFI standards , giving investorsexposure to roughly 600 U.S. large- and mid-cap companies. It’s also the only fund on this listwith an additional human rights screen, applying American Friends Service Committee criteria toexclude companies complicit in grave violations. If you want maximum U.S. market coverage atminimum cost, with values screening that goes beyond the standard exclusions, this is the oneto beat. SPUS , SP Funds S&P 500 Shariah Industry Exclusions ETF (0.45%). The largest halal ETFby assets and the most established of the U.S. options. It holds the roughly 200 S&P 500companies that pass the S&P Shariah screen. Deep liquidity and a multi-year track record areits calling cards; the trade-off is a narrower, more concentrated portfolio than a broad-marketfund. HLAL , Wahed FTSE USA Shariah ETF (0.50%). The pioneer , launched in 2019 as one of thefirst U.S.-listed halal ETFs. It tracks the FTSE Shariah USA Index. A solid fund, though it nowcosts more than both MNZL and SPUS for similar U.S. large-cap exposure. Going global SPWO (0.45%) covers international markets , developed ex-U.S. and emerging markets in a50/50 blend , making it a natural companion to a U.S. core holding. UMMA (0.65%) offers asimilar international mandate via the Dow Jones Islamic Market International Titans 100, but it’sthe most expensive fund on this list and holds only about 100 companies. Income and specialty SPSK (0.50%) is the closest thing to a “halal bond fund”: a portfolio of investment-grade,dollar-denominated sukuk that can steady a portfolio the way conventional bonds do , withoutthe interest. SPRE (0.50%) holds Shariah-compliant global REITs for real estate exposure andincome. SPTE (0.55%) concentrates on global technology; just be aware that most halal equityfunds are already tech-heavy, so a dedicated tech fund is a tilt, not a diversifier. It has also carried one of the higher purification burdens among these funds , worth checking before youbuy. Putting it together You don’t need all eight. Most investors can build a complete halal portfolio with two or threefunds: Whatever mix you choose, favour broad, certified, low-cost funds for the core , and rememberthat the expense ratio is the one variable you control completely. A note for Canadian investors: these are U.S.-listed ETFs, and all are purchasable throughmost Canadian brokerages. On the TSX, the Wealthsimple Shariah World Equity Index ETF(WSHR) is the main domestic option for global halal equity exposure. The bottom line The halal ETF market has matured to the point where cost and quality , not scarcity , drive thedecision. The Manzil Halal USA Broad Market ETF (MNZL) was built for exactly this moment:the broadest U.S. halal equity exposure available, AAOIFI-certified with an annual ShariahCompliance Certificate, a human rights screen no peer offers, and the lowest fee in its class at0.40%. Faith-aligned investing no longer asks you to compromise on diversification, cost, or conviction.Pick your funds, automate your contributions, and let the market do the rest. Learn more about MNZL, including holdings and documents, at manzilfunds.com. CTA: Download Manzil Invest This article is for information purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, tax, orreligious advice. Fund details, including expense ratios, are as of August 2026 and