Which has more room to gain, AAPR or DDTA?

From their prices on Oct 9, 2026, AAPR can gain about 10.9% before its cap and DDTA about 4.4%, so AAPR has more room left this period.

Which resets first, AAPR or DDTA?

AAPR ends its outcome period on Mar 31, 2028 and DDTA on Mar 31, 2027. A new cap is set the day after each.

Which is cheaper, AAPR or DDTA?

AAPR and DDTA both charge 0.79% a year, so neither is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Share on X Download as PDF Open live Compare their flows Ask IQ about these two funds

AAPR vs DDTA: Cap, Buffer & Days Left

As of Oct 9, 2026 DDTA can fall 10.4% before its buffer engages and AAPR 4.3%, and DDTA resets 366 days sooner. Net assets on Oct 9, 2026: $71m for Innovator Equity Defined Protection ETF - Apr 2028 and $15m for Innovator Equity Dual Directional 10 Buffer ETF - Apr.

Both cost 0.79% a year; AAPR is 4.7 times larger.

	AAPR	DDTA
Expense ratio	0.79%	0.79%
Net assets	$71m	$15m
Total return, 1 year	+7.0%	not published
What it tracks	SPY	SPY
Holdings in common	not published

4.3%

AAPR can fall this far before its buffer

10.4%

DDTA can fall this far before its buffer

10.9%

AAPR can still gain

4.4%

DDTA can still gain

AAPRAt its cap

AAPR: reference +19.7% since period start, fund +4.0%; buffer Floor; cap +15.7%; At its cap. Figures to Oct 9, 2026.

Figures to Oct 9, 2026.

DDTAAt its cap

DDTA: reference +19.7% since period start, fund +11.1%; buffer 0 to −10; cap +16.5%; At its cap. Figures to Oct 9, 2026.

These are two different products. AAPR is a floor fund, which caps how far a holder can fall. DDTA is a buffer fund, which absorbs the first part of a fall and leaves everything below it with the holder.

Both are already at their cap, so neither gains from more rise in the index before the period ends.

They do not reset together. DDTA has 173 days of its period left and AAPR has 539, so the two are not the same bet on the same months.

Both are Innovator funds, so the difference between them is the terms rather than the house.

Where each one stands today

DDTA resets first, on Mar 31, 2027, 173 days from now; AAPR runs to Mar 31, 2028, 539 days. AAPR can still gain 10.9% before its cap, DDTA 4.4%. A fall from here reaches AAPR’s buffer after 4.3% and DDTA’s after 10.4%. Both track SPY, so what separates them is where each is in its own period.

Performance, window by window

	Total return		Gap to the reference's price return
Window	AAPR	DDTA	AAPR	DDTA
3 months	+1.2%	+2.6%	−1.9 pts	−0.5 pts
6 months	+2.8%	+7.8%	−11.8 pts	−6.8 pts
1 year	+7.0%	not published	−9.0 pts	not published

Each fund's gap is to its reference's price return, dividends left out: the basis the outcome period uses. Source: ETFIQ. Open the live comparison on ETFIQ →

On the same fields

AAPR

Innovator Equity Defined Protection ETF - Apr 2028 · Absorbs the whole loss on SPY and caps the gain at 15.7%, over a period ending Mar 31, 2028

DDTA

Innovator Equity Dual Directional 10 Buffer ETF - Apr · Absorbs the first 10% of loss on SPY and caps the gain at 16.5%, over a period ending Mar 31, 2027

Issuer Innovator Innovator

Reference index SPY SPY

Buffer 100% 10%

Outcome period Mar 31, 2026 to Mar 31, 2028 Mar 31, 2026 to Mar 31, 2027

Days left 539 173

Starting cap +15.7% +16.5%

Can still gain 10.9% 4.4%

Fall before buffer 4.3% 10.4%

Protection left, index points 100.0% of 100.0% 10.0% of 10.0%

Index return this period +19.7% +19.7%

Fund return this period +4.0% +11.1%

State today At cap At cap

Expense ratio 0.79% 0.79%

Net assets $71m $15m

As of Oct 9, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

AAPR in plain words

SPY had already risen past this fund's cap of +15.7% for the period on Oct 9, 2026, so in index terms there is no more upside to collect. The fund's own price can still drift up to about 10.9% as the period runs out. The fund's price can fall 4.3% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's figure. In index terms, SPY can fall 16.5% from today's level to the point where the buffer begins. Protection left, in index points: 100.0% of the 100.0% buffer still sits below today's SPY level. 539 days remained on Oct 9, 2026. On Mar 31, 2028 the period ends and a new cap is set.

DDTA in plain words

SPY had already risen past this fund's cap of +16.5% for the period on Oct 9, 2026, so in index terms there is no more upside to collect. The fund's own price can still drift up to about 4.4% as the period runs out. The fund's price can fall 10.4% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's figure. Protection left, in index points: 10.0% of the 10.0% buffer still sits below today's SPY level. 173 days remained on Oct 9, 2026. On Mar 31, 2027 the period ends and a new cap is set.

Questions people ask

Which has more room to gain, AAPR or DDTA?: From their prices on Oct 9, 2026, AAPR can gain about 10.9% before its cap and DDTA about 4.4%, so AAPR has more room left this period.
Which resets first, AAPR or DDTA?: AAPR ends its outcome period on Mar 31, 2028 and DDTA on Mar 31, 2027. A new cap is set the day after each.
Which is cheaper, AAPR or DDTA?: AAPR and DDTA both charge 0.79% a year, so neither is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

AAPR vs PMAP AAPR vs APRW AAPR vs BAPR AAPR vs PAPR DDTA vs ZAPR DDTA vs APOC DDTA vs ARLU DDTA vs MARM

SPY →All buffer ETFs ranked by the Downside Cover Score →How the scores are computed →AAPR on its own →DDTA on its own →How every figure is computed →Standards and sources →

Where these figures came from

Innovator page for AAPR ↗DDTA filings on SEC EDGAR ↗Innovator page for DDTA ↗

ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure; a link is not an endorsement. A comparison is not a recommendation.

How this is computed

ETFIQ calculates every figure from each issuer’s published outcome-period terms. Buffer ETFs hold options on an index, not shares, so there is no holdings overlap to report.

Every figure is an ETFIQ calculation with distributions reinvested.

Cite this page

ETFIQ, AAPR against DDTA, data as of Oct 9, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/aapr-vs-ddta

Open data

Free to use with attribution for figures ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.