Which is cheaper, IBUF or IEFA?

IBUF charges 0.85% a year and IEFA charges 0.07%, so IEFA is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Are IBUF and IEFA the same kind of fund?

No. IBUF is a buffer ETF and IEFA is an index ETF, so they are built for different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and what each actually holds.

Data as of Sep 12, 2026. Both funds on the fields they both publish, from the same sources.

ETFIQetfiq.com · independent ETF data

IBUF vs IEFA: how they differ

IBUF and IEFA are measured over different days, and IEFA charges 0.07% against 0.85%.

Innovator International Developed 10 Buffer ETF™ - Quarterly and iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF.

IBUF and IEFA on the fields both publish, as of Sep 12, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
	IBUF Innovator International Developed 10 Buffer ETF™ - Quarterly	IEFA iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF
Where it sits	Buffer ETF	Core index fund
Issuer	Innovator	iShares
What it is	Defined outcome, 10% on EFA	Core MSCI EAFE
Total return, 1 year	not published	+18.0%
S&P 500 over the same days	not published	+17.5%
Gap to the S&P 500	not available	+0.5 pts
Expense ratio	0.85%	0.07%
Holdings	not filed	2632

IBUF in plain words

From its price on Sep 12, 2026, the fund can gain about 1.4% more before it reaches its cap. The fund's price can fall 2.1% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's figure. In index terms, EFA can fall 2.6% from today's level to the point where the buffer begins. Protection left, in index points: 10.0% of the 10.0% buffer still sits below today's EFA level. 19 days remained on Sep 12, 2026. On Sep 30, 2026 the period ends and a new cap is set.

IEFA in plain words

IEFA is an index equity fund tracking the Core MSCI EAFE. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +18.0% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.07% a year. By its holdings filed for Apr 30, 2026, 0% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 2632 positions, with the top ten at 11.5%.

Questions people ask

Which is cheaper, IBUF or IEFA?: IBUF charges 0.85% a year and IEFA charges 0.07%, so IEFA is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
Are IBUF and IEFA the same kind of fund?: No. IBUF is a buffer ETF and IEFA is an index ETF, so they are built for different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and what each actually holds.

Other comparisons

Where to next

Where these figures came from

ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure. It is not affiliated with any issuer, and a link is not an endorsement.

IBUF against IEFA, ETFIQ, data as of Sep 12, 2026. Every figure is arithmetic on a named public source; the method is at etfiq.com/methodology. A comparison is not a recommendation.

Cite this page. ETFIQ, IBUF against IEFA, data as of Sep 12, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/IBUF-IEFA Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.

A comparison is not a recommendation. Standards and sources