Data as of Nov 4, 2026.
AAPR vs ZAPR: Cap, Buffer & Days Left
As of Nov 4, 2026 AAPR can fall 4.5% before its buffer engages and ZAPR 4.5%, and ZAPR resets 366 days sooner.
askIQ about this page
askIQ about AAPR and ZAPR
Net assets on Nov 4, 2026: $71m for Innovator Equity Defined Protection ETF - Apr 2028 and $68m for Innovator Equity Defined Protection ETF - 1 Yr April.
AAPR: reference +17.9% since period start, fund +4.2%; buffer Floor; cap +15.7%; At its cap. Data to Nov 4, 2026.
Data to Nov 4, 2026.ZAPR: reference +17.9% since period start, fund +4.2%; buffer Floor; cap +7.3%; At its cap. Data to Nov 4, 2026.
Data to Nov 4, 2026.Pair scorecard
Both cost 0.79% a year; their one-year returns differ by 0.8 points.
Points (pts) are percentage points.
| Measure | AAPR | ZAPR |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +7.2% | +6.4% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Index fall to the buffer | 15.2% | |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | SPY | SPY |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.79% | 0.79% |
| Net assets | $71m | $68m |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | not published | |
Risk and return
Apr 11, 2025 to Oct 30, 2026 · 81 weekly returns · each against SPYFrom Apr 2025 to Oct 2026, AAPR returned more: +16.0% to +11.3%. ZAPR swung less: 1.5% to 3.0%. ZAPR fell less at its worst: −0.3% to −0.7%.
Full scorecard
19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | AAPR | ZAPR | SPY | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | |||||
| Total return | +16.0% | +11.3% | AAPR | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. | |
| Annualized | +10.0% | +7.1% | AAPR | Total return as a yearly rate. | |
| Price return | +16.0% | +11.3% | AAPR | Price change alone, distributions left out. | |
| Risk | |||||
| Volatility | 3.0% | 1.5% | ZAPR | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. | |
| Downside deviation | 1.4% | 0.7% | ZAPR | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. | |
| Max drawdown | −0.7% | −0.3% | ZAPR | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. | |
| Upside capture | 17.9% | 10.4% | 100.0% | AAPR | Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose. |
| Downside capture | 13.0% | 2.2% | 100.0% | ZAPR | Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better. |
| Beta | 0.21 | 0.10 | 1.00 | ZAPR lower | How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves. |
| R squared | 0.76 | 0.77 | 1.00 | Not an edge | Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains. |
| Risk-adjusted | |||||
| Sharpe | 1.85 | 2.02 | ZAPR (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. | |
| Sortino | 4.00 | 4.33 | ZAPR (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. | |
| Treynor | 0.270 | 0.293 | 0.203 | ZAPR (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta. |
| Calmar | 14.34 | 25.28 | ZAPR | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. | |
| Against the benchmark | |||||
| Benchmark | SPY | SPY | SPY | The ETF each fund is measured against. | |
| Alpha | +1.4% a year | +0.9% a year | 0.0% | Not significant | Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts. |
| Alpha t-stat | 1.14 | 1.59 | Not an edge | How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance. | |
| Alpha range | −1.0% to +3.8% | −0.2% to +2.0% | Both include zero | The 95% range for the yearly alpha. | |
| Information ratio | −1.44 | −1.51 | AAPR (slight) | Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error. | |
| Tracking error | 10.2% | 11.5% | 0.0% | Not an edge | How far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 81 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
Window by window
| Total return | Gap to the reference's price return | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Window | AAPR | ZAPR | AAPR | ZAPR |
| 3 months | +1.0% | +1.2% | +1.4 pts | +1.5 pts |
| 6 months | +2.0% | +2.6% | −2.5 pts | −1.9 pts |
| 1 year | +7.2% | +6.4% | −6.4 pts | −7.1 pts |
| Since launchNot the same days: AAPR Apr 2024 · ZAPR Apr 2025 | +21.0% | +10.9% | −25.8 pts | −25.8 pts |
Each fund's gap is to its reference's price return, dividends left out: the basis the outcome period uses. Open this comparison in the app →
Side by side
As of Nov 4, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
Both are already at their cap, so neither gains from more rise in the index before the period ends.
They do not reset together. ZAPR has 147 days of its period left and AAPR has 513, 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
ZAPR resets first, on Mar 31, 2027, 147 days from now; AAPR runs to Mar 31, 2028, 513 days. AAPR can still gain 10.6% before its cap, ZAPR 2.5%. A fall from here reaches AAPR’s buffer after 4.5% and ZAPR’s after 4.5%. Both track SPY, so what separates them is where each is in its own period.
Client brief:
The two-page PDF for this pair is coming. Save the comparison to follow its changes. Free. It needs an email sign-in, once.
AAPR
SPY had already risen past this fund's cap of +15.7% for the period on Nov 4, 2026, so in index terms there is no more upside to collect. The fund's own price can still drift up to about 10.6% as the period runs out. The fund's price can fall 4.5% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's number. In index terms, SPY can fall 15.2% 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. 513 days remained on Nov 4, 2026. On Mar 31, 2028 the period ends and a new cap is set.
ZAPR
SPY had already risen past this fund's cap of +7.3% for the period on Nov 4, 2026, so in index terms there is no more upside to collect. The fund's own price can still drift up to about 2.5% as the period runs out. 147 days remained on Nov 4, 2026. On Mar 31, 2027 the period ends and a new cap is set.
Questions people ask
Links are sources, not endorsements. A comparison is not a recommendation.
How this is computed
ETFIQ calculates every number 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 number is an ETFIQ calculation with distributions reinvested.
Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown
ETFIQ, AAPR against ZAPR, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/aapr-vs-zapr
ETFIQ. (Nov 4, 2026). AAPR against ZAPR. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/aapr-vs-zapr
[AAPR against ZAPR (ETFIQ, Nov 4, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/aapr-vs-zapr)
Free to use with attribution for data ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.