Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
EFA vs QQQ: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, EFA returned +12.1% to QQQ's +15.2%; 1% of their weight is in the same names.
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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $76.8bn for iShares MSCI EAFE ETF and $483.0bn for Invesco QQQ Trust, Series 1.
Pair scorecard
QQQ costs 0.14 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 3.1 points; QQQ is 6.3 times larger.
| Measure | EFA | QQQ |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +12.1% | +15.2% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 4.7%, high on Aug 25, 2026 | 4.5%, high on Oct 6, 2026 |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | MSCI EAFE Index | Nasdaq-100 Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.32% | 0.18% |
| Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 | $76.8bn | $483.0bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 1% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 14.3% | 46.7% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 27, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Aug 24, 2001 to Oct 23, 2026 · 1,313 weekly returnsEach against its own benchmark: EFA against ACWX, Apr 11, 2008 to Oct 23, 2026; QQQ against QQQM, Oct 23, 2020 to Oct 23, 2026.
QQQ returned more: +2,026.6% to +367.2%. EFA swung less: 18.8% to 21.2%. QQQ fell less at its worst: −51.4% to −59.4%.
Full scorecard
19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | EFA | QQQ | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +367.2% | +2,026.6% | QQQ | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +6.3% | +12.9% | QQQ | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +139.2% | +1,692.4% | QQQ | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 18.8% | 21.2% | EFA | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 13.6% | 14.6% | EFA (slight) | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −59.4% | −51.4% | QQQ | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Upside capture | 95.1% | 100.4% | Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose. | |
| Downside capture | 97.5% | 100.2% | Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better. | |
| Beta | 0.96 | 1.00 | Not an edge | How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves. |
| R squared | 0.96 | 1.00 | Not an edge | Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.33 | 0.59 | QQQ | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.45 | 0.86 | QQQ | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Treynor | 0.055 | 0.145 | Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta. | |
| Calmar | 0.11 | 0.25 | QQQ | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
| Against the benchmark | ||||
| Benchmark | ACWX | QQQM | The ETF each fund is measured against. | |
| Alpha | +0.5% a year | −0.1% a year | Not significant | Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts. |
| Alpha t-stat | 0.53 | −0.58 | Not an edge | How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance. |
| Alpha range | −1.4% to +2.4% | −0.4% to +0.2% | Includes zero | The 95% range for the yearly alpha. |
| Information ratio | 0.08 | −0.10 | Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error. | |
| Tracking error | 4.2% | 0.4% | Not an edge | How far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 1,313 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, EFA and QQQ hold 1% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.
half
1% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
EFA and QQQ on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
EFA and QQQ do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. EFA follows MSCI EAFE Index and QQQ follows Nasdaq-100 Index.
- Holdings in common. 1% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026).
- One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 EFA returned +12.1% and QQQ +15.2% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 3.1 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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EFA
EFA tracks an index of Developed markets ex US. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +12.1% with distributions reinvested, against +14.3% for its benchmark, the MSCI ACWI ex USA Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.32% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 0% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 665 positions, with the top ten at 14.3%. It sat 4.7% below its high of Aug 25, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.
QQQ
QQQ tracks the Nasdaq-100. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +15.2% with distributions reinvested, against +15.2% for its benchmark, the Nasdaq-100 Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.18% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 96% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 103 positions, with the top ten at 46.7%. It sat 4.5% below its high of Oct 6, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, EFA or QQQ?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, EFA returned +12.1% and QQQ +15.2%.
- Which is cheaper, EFA or QQQ?
- QQQ is cheaper, by 0.14 percentage points a year. That is about $14 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
Links are sources, not endorsements. A comparison is not a recommendation.
How this is computed
Overlap adds up the smaller of the two weights for each security both funds hold.
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ETFIQ, EFA against QQQ, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/efa-vs-qqq
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). EFA against QQQ. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/efa-vs-qqq
[EFA against QQQ (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/efa-vs-qqq)
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