Which has more room to gain, AJUL or ZJUL?

From their prices on Oct 13, 2026, AJUL can gain about 16.5% before its cap and ZJUL about 6.3%, so AJUL has more room left this period.

Which resets first, AJUL or ZJUL?

AJUL ends its outcome period on Jun 30, 2028 and ZJUL on Jun 30, 2027. A new cap is set the day after each.

Which is cheaper, AJUL or ZJUL?

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

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AJUL vs ZJUL: Cap, Buffer & Days Left

As of Oct 13, 2026 ZJUL can fall 1.9% before its buffer engages and AJUL 1.6%, and ZJUL resets 366 days sooner. Net assets on Oct 13, 2026: $98m for Innovator Equity Defined Protection ETF - Jul 2028 and $196m for Innovator Equity Defined Protection ETF - 1 Yr July.

Both cost 0.79% a year; their one-year returns differ by 0.4 points; ZJUL is 2.0 times larger.

Points (pts) are percentage points.

AJUL vs ZJUL: Cap, Buffer & Days Left
	AJUL	ZJUL
Expense ratio	0.79%	0.79%
Net assets	$98m	$196m
Total return, 1 year	+6.4%	+6.0%
What it tracks	SPY	SPY
Holdings in common	not published
Index fall to the buffer	4.0%

1.6%

AJUL can fall this far before its buffer

1.9%

ZJUL can fall this far before its buffer

16.5%

AJUL can still gain

6.3%

ZJUL can still gain

AJULFull floor

AJUL: reference +4.2% since period start, fund +1.4%; buffer Floor; cap +18.3%; Full floor. Figures to Oct 13, 2026.

Figures to Oct 13, 2026.

ZJULFull floor

ZJUL: reference +4.2% since period start, fund +1.8%; buffer Floor; cap +8.4%; Full floor. Figures to Oct 13, 2026.

Figures to Oct 13, 2026.

They do not reset together. ZJUL has 260 days of its period left and AJUL has 626, 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

ZJUL resets first, on Jun 30, 2027, 260 days from now; AJUL runs to Jun 30, 2028, 626 days. AJUL can still gain 16.5% before its cap, ZJUL 6.3%. A fall from here reaches AJUL’s buffer after 1.6% and ZJUL’s after 1.9%. Both track SPY, so what separates them is where each is in its own period.

Performance, window by window

Performance, window by window: AJUL vs ZJUL: Cap, Buffer & Days Left
	Total return		Gap to the reference's price return
Window	AJUL	ZJUL	AJUL	ZJUL
3 months	+1.1%	+1.4%	−2.4 pts	−2.1 pts
6 months	+2.9%	+3.3%	−9.1 pts	−8.8 pts
1 year	+6.4%	+6.0%	−11.0 pts	−11.3 pts
Since launch AJUL Jul 2024 · ZJUL Jul 2024	+17.8%	+17.1%	−24.9 pts	−25.6 pts

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

On the same fields

AJUL

Innovator Equity Defined Protection ETF - Jul 2028 · Absorbs the whole loss on SPY and caps the gain at 18.3%, over a period ending Jun 30, 2028

ZJUL

Innovator Equity Defined Protection ETF - 1 Yr July · Absorbs the whole loss on SPY and caps the gain at 8.4%, over a period ending Jun 30, 2027

Issuer Innovator Innovator

Reference index SPY SPY

Buffer 100% 100%

Outcome period Jun 30, 2026 to Jun 30, 2028 Jun 30, 2026 to Jun 30, 2027

Days left 626 260

Starting cap +18.3% +8.4%

Can still gain 16.5% 6.3%

Fall before buffer 1.6% 1.9%

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

Index return this period +4.2% +4.2%

Fund return this period +1.4% +1.8%

State today Open Open

Expense ratio 0.79% 0.79%

Net assets $98m $196m

As of Oct 13, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

About AJUL

From its price on Oct 13, 2026, the fund can gain about 16.5% more before it reaches its cap. The fund's price can fall 1.6% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's figure. In index terms, SPY can fall 4.0% 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. 626 days remained on Oct 13, 2026. On Jun 30, 2028 the period ends and a new cap is set.

About ZJUL

From its price on Oct 13, 2026, the fund can gain about 6.3% more before it reaches its cap. The fund's price can fall 1.9% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's figure. 260 days remained on Oct 13, 2026. On Jun 30, 2027 the period ends and a new cap is set.

Questions people ask

Which has more room to gain, AJUL or ZJUL?: From their prices on Oct 13, 2026, AJUL can gain about 16.5% before its cap and ZJUL about 6.3%, so AJUL has more room left this period.
Which resets first, AJUL or ZJUL?: AJUL ends its outcome period on Jun 30, 2028 and ZJUL on Jun 30, 2027. A new cap is set the day after each.
Which is cheaper, AJUL or ZJUL?: AJUL and ZJUL both charge 0.79% a year, so neither is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

AJUL vs XJUN AJUL vs PJUL AJUL vs FJUN AJUL vs PMJL ZJUL vs DDFL ZJUL vs CPSJ ZJUL vs JULP ZJUL vs JULW

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

Where these figures came from

Innovator page for AJUL ↗ZJUL filings on SEC EDGAR ↗Innovator page for ZJUL ↗

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 pageCitation, APA and Markdown

ETFIQ, AJUL against ZJUL, data as of Oct 13, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/ajul-vs-zjul

Open data

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