Which is cheaper, PQOC or QQQ?

PQOC charges 0.50% a year and QQQ charges 0.18%, so QQQ is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Are PQOC and QQQ the same kind of fund?

No. PQOC is a buffer ETF and QQQ 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

PQOC vs QQQ: how they differ

PQOC and QQQ are measured over different days, and QQQ charges 0.18% against 0.50%.

PGIM Nasdaq-100 Buffer 12 ETF - October and Invesco QQQ Trust.

PQOC and QQQ on the fields both publish, as of Sep 12, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
	PQOC PGIM Nasdaq-100 Buffer 12 ETF - October	QQQ Invesco QQQ Trust
Where it sits	Buffer ETF	Core index fund
Issuer	PGIM	Invesco
What it is	Defined outcome, 12% on QQQ	Nasdaq-100, book from QQQM
Total return, 1 year	not published	+23.0%
S&P 500 over the same days	not published	+17.5%
Gap to the S&P 500	not available	+5.5 pts
Expense ratio	0.50%	0.18%
Holdings	not filed	101

PQOC in plain words

QQQ had already risen past this fund's cap of +16.3% for the period on Sep 12, 2026, so in index terms there is no more upside to collect. The fund's own price can still drift up to about 1.0% as the period runs out. The fund's price can fall 13.2% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's figure. In index terms, QQQ can fall 16.0% from today's level to the point where the buffer begins. Protection left, in index points: 12.0% of the 12.0% buffer still sits below today's QQQ level. 19 days remained on Sep 12, 2026. On Sep 30, 2026 the period ends and a new cap is set.

QQQ in plain words

QQQ is an index equity fund tracking the Nasdaq-100. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +23.0% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.18% a year. By its holdings filed for May 31, 2026, 97% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 101 positions, with the top ten at 47.5%. It sat 4.1% below its high of Jun 2, 2026 on Sep 11, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which is cheaper, PQOC or QQQ?: PQOC charges 0.50% a year and QQQ charges 0.18%, so QQQ is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
Are PQOC and QQQ the same kind of fund?: No. PQOC is a buffer ETF and QQQ is an index ETF, so they are built for different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and what each actually holds.

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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.

PQOC against QQQ, 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, PQOC against QQQ, data as of Sep 12, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/PQOC-QQQ Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.

A comparison is not a recommendation. Standards and sources