{"url":"https://etfiq.com/compare/any/pqja-vs-qqq","section":"compare","title":"PQJA vs QQQ: ETF Differences, Returns & Fees | ETFIQ","description":"PQJA vs QQQ to Oct 28, 2026: one-year total return +14.9% against +15.2%, expense ratio 0.50% against 0.18%. One buffer ETF and one stock ETF.","as_of":"Oct 28, 2026","structured_data":[{"@type":"FAQPage","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"Are PQJA and QQQ in the same category?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"PQJA is a buffer ETF and QQQ is a stock ETF, so they do different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and holdings."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"Which returned more over the last year, PQJA or QQQ?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, PQJA returned +14.9% and QQQ +15.2%."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"Which is cheaper, PQJA or QQQ?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"QQQ is cheaper, by 0.32 percentage points a year. That is about $32 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus."}}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"ETFIQ","item":"https://etfiq.com/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Compare ETFs","item":"https://etfiq.com/compare/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"PQJA vs QQQ","item":"https://etfiq.com/compare/any/pqja-vs-qqq"}]},{"@type":"WebPage","name":"PQJA vs QQQ: ETF Differences, Returns & Fees","description":"PQJA vs QQQ to Oct 28, 2026: one-year total return +14.9% against +15.2%, expense ratio 0.50% against 0.18%. One buffer ETF and one stock ETF.","url":"https://etfiq.com/compare/any/pqja-vs-qqq","dateModified":"2026-10-28","speakable":{"@type":"SpeakableSpecification","cssSelector":[".verdict",".lede",".faq"]},"isPartOf":{"@type":"WebSite","name":"ETFIQ","url":"https://etfiq.com"}},{"@type":"Dataset","name":"ETFIQ comparison of PQJA and QQQ","description":"PQJA vs QQQ to Oct 28, 2026: one-year total return +14.9% against +15.2%, expense ratio 0.50% against 0.18%. One buffer ETF and one stock ETF.","dateModified":"2026-10-28","creator":{"@id":"https://etfiq.com/#org"},"license":"https://etfiq.com/license/","isAccessibleForFree":true,"url":"https://etfiq.com/compare/any/pqja-vs-qqq","publisher":{"@id":"https://etfiq.com/#org"},"inLanguage":"en","creativeWorkStatus":"Published","distribution":[{"@type":"DataDownload","encodingFormat":"application/json","contentUrl":"https://etfiq.com/data/alternatives.json"},{"@type":"DataDownload","encodingFormat":"application/json","contentUrl":"https://etfiq.com/data/core.json"},{"@type":"DataDownload","encodingFormat":"application/json","contentUrl":"https://etfiq.com/data/crypto.json"},{"@type":"DataDownload","encodingFormat":"application/json","contentUrl":"https://etfiq.com/data/funds.json"},{"@type":"DataDownload","encodingFormat":"application/json","contentUrl":"https://etfiq.com/data/income.json"},{"@type":"DataDownload","encodingFormat":"application/json","contentUrl":"https://etfiq.com/data/leverage.json"},{"@type":"DataDownload","encodingFormat":"application/json","contentUrl":"https://etfiq.com/data/thematic.json"}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"ETFIQ","item":"https://etfiq.com/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Compare ETFs","item":"https://etfiq.com/compare/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"PQJA vs QQQ","item":"https://etfiq.com/compare/any/pqja-vs-qqq"}]},{"@type":"WebPage","name":"PQJA vs QQQ: ETF Differences, Returns & Fees","description":"PQJA vs QQQ to Oct 28, 2026: one-year total return +14.9% against +15.2%, expense ratio 0.50% against 0.18%. One buffer ETF and one stock ETF.","url":"https://etfiq.com/compare/any/pqja-vs-qqq","dateModified":"2026-10-28","isPartOf":{"@type":"WebSite","name":"ETFIQ","url":"https://etfiq.com"},"speakable":{"@type":"SpeakableSpecification","cssSelector":[".verdict",".lede",".faq"]},"publisher":{"@id":"https://etfiq.com/#org"}}],"characters":4229,"truncated":true,"content":"ETFIQ / Compare ETFs / PQJA vs QQQ \n \n Data as of Oct 28, 2026.\n ETFIQ etfiq.com \u00b7 independent ETF data \n PQJA vs QQQ: Differences, Returns & Fees\n Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, PQJA returned +14.9% to QQQ's +15.2%, and QQQ charges 0.18% to PQJA's 0.50%.\n Copy this for sharing \n QQQ costs 0.32 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 0.3 points; QQQ is far larger, $483.0bn against $35m.\n PQJA and QQQ at a glance. As of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ. PQJA QQQ \n Expense ratio 0.50% 0.18% \n Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $35m $483.0bn \n Total return, 1 year +14.9% +15.2% \n What it trac","source":"ETFIQ, independent ETF data. Recomputed nightly from public filings and prices.","publisher":{"@id":"https://etfiq.com/#org","name":"ETFIQ","url":"https://etfiq.com"},"license":"https://etfiq.com/license/","license_text":"Data ETFIQ computes is free to use with attribution: ETFIQ (etfiq.com). Issuer data stays under its owner's terms.","citation":"ETFIQ, PQJA against QQQ, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/pqja-vs-qqq","a":{"ticker":"PQJA","name":"PGIM Nasdaq-100 Buffer 12 ETF - January","issuer":"PGIM","desk":"buffer","as_of":"2026-10-28","verdict":"Since Jan 1, 2026, PQJA returned 12.6%, against QQQ's 18.1% price return. It can gain 3.4% more before its cap.","url":"https://etfiq.com/funds/pqja","key_facts":[{"label":"Can still gain from today\u2019s fund price","value":"3.4%","as_of":"2026-10-28","source":null},{"label":"Fall before the buffer from today\u2019s fund price","value":"11.6%","as_of":"2026-10-28","source":null},{"label":"Protection left, index points","value":"12.0%","as_of":"2026-10-28","source":null},{"label":"Days to reset","value":"64","as_of":"2026-10-28","source":null},{"label":"Net assets","value":"$35m","as_of":"2026-10-28","source":"issuer page, as of Oct 28, 2026"},{"label":"Expense ratio","value":"0.50%","as_of":"2026-10-28","source":"issuer data, Oct 28, 2026"}]},"b":{"ticker":"QQQ","name":"Invesco QQQ Trust, Series 1","issuer":"Invesco","desk":"core","as_of":"2026-10-28","verdict":"QQQ tracks the Nasdaq-100 and returned +15.2% over the past year.","url":"https://etfiq.com/funds/qqq","key_facts":[{"label":"Total return, 1 year","value":"+15.2%","as_of":"2026-10-28","source":"computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices"},{"label":"Expense ratio","value":"0.18%","as_of":"2025-12-19","source":"485BPOS XBRL, Dec 19, 2025"},{"label":"Holdings","value":"103","as_of":"2026-10-27","source":"the issuer\u2019s daily holdings file"},{"label":"Below its high","value":"\u22124.5%","as_of":"2026-10-28","source":"ETFIQ"},{"label":"12-month yield, capital gains included, on its starting price","value":"0.5%","as_of":"2026-10-28","source":"computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and distributions"},{"label":"Last payment (paid quarterly), ex-date Sep 21, 2026","value":"$0.7514","as_of":"2026-09-21","source":"Tiingo end-of-day distributions"},{"label":"Net assets","value":"$483.0bn","as_of":"2026-10-27","source":"issuer page, as of Oct 27, 2026"}]},"overlap_pct":null,"overlap_note":"ETFIQ does not publish a holdings overlap for this pair. Either the funds are not compared on holdings, or one book is incomplete.","full_text_at":"https://etfiq.com/compare/any/pqja-vs-qqq"}