Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
DGRO vs SPYI: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, DGRO returned +18.8% to SPYI's +13.6%, and DGRO charges 0.08% to SPYI's 0.68%.
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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $44.6bn for iShares Core Dividend Growth ETF and $12.7bn for NEOS S&P 500 High Income ETF.
Pair scorecard
DGRO costs 0.60 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 5.2 points; DGRO is 3.5 times larger.
| Measure | DGRO | SPYI |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +18.8% | +13.6% |
| Price change, 1 year | rose 16.4% | rose 0.8% |
| Latest payout, annualized | 11.4% | |
| Return of capital, issuer estimate | 99% of the Oct 23, 2026 payment | |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | Morningstar US Dividend Growth Index | Benchmark: S&P 500, measured through SPY |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.08% | 0.68% |
| Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 | $44.6bn | $12.7bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 42% | |
| In the S&P 500, by weight | 92% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 27.2% | |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 27, 2026 and Oct 28, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Sep 9, 2022 to Oct 23, 2026 · 215 weekly returnsDGRO and SPYI returned about the same: +75.1% and +74.4%. SPYI swung slightly less: 11.8% to 12.3%. DGRO fell less at its worst: −12.1% to −14.8%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | DGRO | SPYI | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +75.1% | +74.4% | Tie | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +14.5% | +14.4% | Tie | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +58.6% | +5.4% | DGRO | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 12.3% | 11.8% | SPYI (slight) | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 8.4% | 8.1% | SPYI (slight) | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −12.1% | −14.8% | DGRO | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.79 | 0.81 | SPYI (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 1.16 | 1.19 | SPYI (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 1.20 | 0.97 | DGRO | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 215 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, DGRO and SPYI hold 42% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026 and Oct 28, 2026.
half
42% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
DGRO and SPYI on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ. Cash paid: distributions over the window, as a share of the starting price.
DGRO and SPYI do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. DGRO follows Morningstar US Dividend Growth Index and SPYI is measured against S&P 500 through SPY.
- Holdings in common. 42% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026 and Oct 28, 2026).
- One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 DGRO returned +18.8% and SPYI +13.6% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 5.2 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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DGRO
DGRO tracks an index of Dividend Growth. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +18.8% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.08% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 92% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 393 positions, with the top ten at 27.2%.
SPYI
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, SPYI paid 11.9% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 0.8%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +13.6%. S&P 500 (SPY) returned +13.6% over the same days, so a holder was about even. At its price on Oct 28, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 11.4%, paid monthly. NEOS estimates that 99% of the distribution paid Oct 23, 2026 was a return of capital (its 19a-1 notice). That is a tax label, not a measure of erosion.
Questions people ask
- Are DGRO and SPYI in the same category?
- DGRO is a stock ETF and SPYI is an option-income ETF, so they do different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and holdings.
- Which returned more over the last year, DGRO or SPYI?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, DGRO returned +18.8% and SPYI +13.6%.
- Which is cheaper, DGRO or SPYI?
- DGRO is cheaper, by 0.60 percentage points a year. That is about $60 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
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How this is computed
Overlap adds up the smaller of the two weights for each security both funds hold.
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ETFIQ, DGRO against SPYI, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/dgro-vs-spyi
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). DGRO against SPYI. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/dgro-vs-spyi
[DGRO against SPYI (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/dgro-vs-spyi)
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