Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
SPY vs XSPI: Differences, Returns & Fees
SPY and XSPI are measured over different days, and SPY charges 0.09% to XSPI's 0.98%.
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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $814.8bn for SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust and $140m for NEOS Boosted S&P 500 High Income ETF.
Pair scorecard
SPY costs 0.89 points a year less; SPY is far larger, $814.8bn against $140m.
| Measure | SPY | XSPI |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +13.6% | not published |
| Cash paid, share of starting value, since Feb 3, 2026 | 12.6% | |
| Price change, since Feb 3, 2026 | rose 0.4% | |
| Latest payout, annualized | 17.0% | |
| Return of capital, issuer estimate | 98% of the Oct 9, 2026 payment | |
| Against its benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | S&P 500 Index | Benchmark: S&P 500, measured through SPY |
| Against its benchmark, same days | ahead by 1.0 pts | |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.09% | 0.98% |
| Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 | $814.8bn | $140m |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 95% | |
| In the S&P 500, by weight | 100% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 38.1% | |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 27, 2026 and Oct 28, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Feb 13, 2026 to Oct 23, 2026 · 36 weekly returnsXSPI returned slightly more: +13.1% to +12.3%. SPY fell less at its worst: −7.8% to −10.3%.
Full scorecard
3 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | SPY | XSPI | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +12.3% | +13.1% | XSPI (slight) | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Price return | +11.5% | +1.1% | SPY | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Max drawdown | −7.8% | −10.3% | SPY | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 36 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, SPY and XSPI hold 95% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026 and Oct 28, 2026.
half
95% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
SPY and XSPI on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
No client brief for this pair: ETFIQ prints no one-year total return for XSPI.
SPY
SPY tracks the S&P 500. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +13.6% with distributions reinvested, against +13.7% for its benchmark, the S&P 500 Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.09% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 100% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 504 positions, with the top ten at 38.1%.
XSPI
Over the period from its first trade on Feb 3, 2026 to Oct 28, 2026, XSPI paid 12.6% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 0.4%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +13.9%. S&P 500 (SPY) returned +12.9% over the same days, so a holder was ahead by 1.0 pts. At its price on Oct 28, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 17.0%, paid monthly. NEOS estimates that 98% of the distribution paid Oct 9, 2026 was a return of capital (its 19a-1 notice). That is a tax label, not a measure of erosion.
Questions people ask
- Are SPY and XSPI in the same category?
- SPY is a stock ETF and XSPI is an option-income ETF, so they do different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and holdings.
- Which is cheaper, SPY or XSPI?
- SPY is cheaper, by 0.89 percentage points a year. That is about $89 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, SPY against XSPI, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/spy-vs-xspi
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). SPY against XSPI. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/spy-vs-xspi
[SPY against XSPI (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/spy-vs-xspi)
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