Data as of Sep 13, 2026. Both funds on the fields they both publish, from the same sources.
QQQI vs SPY: how they differ
Over the year SPY returned more, +17.5% against +16.9%, and SPY charges 0.09% against 0.68%.
NEOS Nasdaq-100(R) High Income ETF and SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust.
What they hold in common
By the books each fund has filed, QQQI and SPY hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.
| Only in QQQI | Only in SPY |
|---|---|
| NVIDIA Corp 7.66% | NVIDIA CORP 8.08% |
| Apple Inc 6.63% | APPLE INC 7.33% |
| Micron Technology Inc 5.61% | MICROSOFT CORP 5.59% |
| Microsoft Corp 4.38% | AMAZON.COM INC 3.77% |
| Advanced Micro Devices Inc 4.12% | ALPHABET INC CL A 2.98% |
| Amazon.com Inc 4.05% | BROADCOM INC 2.61% |
| Tesla Inc 3.35% | ALPHABET INC CL C 2.39% |
| Alphabet Inc 3.32% | META PLATFORMS INC CLASS A 2.16% |
Weight overlap is an ETFIQ calculation: for every security both funds hold, the smaller of the two weights, summed. Above 50%, holding both is close to holding one of them twice. Holdings dated Jun 30, 2026 and Sep 10, 2026.
| QQQI NEOS Nasdaq-100(R) High Income ETF | SPY SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it sits | Income ETF | Core index fund |
| Issuer | NEOS | State Street |
| What it is | covered call, vs QQQ | S&P 500 |
| Total return, 1 year | +16.9% | +17.5% |
| S&P 500 over the same days | +23.0% | +17.5% |
| Gap to the S&P 500 | −6.1 pts | 0.0 pts |
| Cash paid, 1 year | 14.2% | not an income fund |
| Expense ratio | 0.68% | 0.09% |
| Holdings | not filed | 505 |
QQQI in plain words
Over the year to Sep 11, 2026, QQQI paid 14.2% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 1.5%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +16.9%. Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) returned +23.0% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 6.1 pts. At its price on Sep 11, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 14.3%, paid monthly. NEOS estimates that 98% of the distribution paid Jun 18, 2026 was a return of capital (19a-1 notice, estimated, a tax characterization rather than a measure of erosion).
SPY in plain words
SPY is an index equity fund tracking the S&P 500. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +17.5% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.09% a year. By its holdings filed for Sep 10, 2026, 100% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 505 positions, with the top ten at 38.2%.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, QQQI or SPY?
- In the year to Sep 13, 2026, with distributions reinvested, QQQI returned +16.9% and SPY returned +17.5%, so SPY returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.
- Which is cheaper, QQQI or SPY?
- QQQI charges 0.68% a year and SPY charges 0.09%, so SPY is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
- Are QQQI and SPY the same kind of fund?
- No. QQQI is an option-income ETF and SPY 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.
Cite this page. ETFIQ, QQQI against SPY, data as of Sep 13, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/qqqi-vs-spy Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.
A comparison is not a recommendation. Standards and sources