Which has more room to gain, AOCT or ZOCT?

From their prices on Oct 2, 2026, AOCT can gain about 20.8% before its cap and ZOCT about 9.1%, so AOCT has more room left this period.

Which resets first, AOCT or ZOCT?

AOCT ends its outcome period on Sep 30, 2028 and ZOCT on Sep 30, 2027. A new cap is set the day after each.

Which is cheaper, AOCT or ZOCT?

AOCT charges 0.79% a year and ZOCT charges 0.79%, so AOCT is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

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AOCT vs ZOCT: which one stands where?

As of Oct 2, 2026 AOCT can fall 0.5% before its buffer engages and ZOCT 0.3%, and ZOCT resets 366 days sooner. Innovator Equity Defined Protection ETF - Oct 2028 and Innovator Equity Defined Protection ETF - 1 Yr October.

their one-year returns differ by 0.1 points; ZOCT is 2.8 times larger.

	AOCT	ZOCT
Expense ratio	0.79%	0.79%
Net assets	$47m	$135m
Total return, 1 year	+5.9%	+6.0%
What it tracks	SPY	SPY
Holdings in common	not published

0.5%

AOCT can fall this far before its buffer

0.3%

ZOCT can fall this far before its buffer

20.8%

AOCT can still gain

9.1%

ZOCT can still gain

AOCTFull floor

AOCT: reference +0.9% since period start, fund +0.5%; buffer Floor; cap +21.3%; Full floor.

ZOCTFull floor

ZOCT: reference +0.9% since period start, fund +0.3%; buffer Floor; cap +9.4%; Full floor.

They do not reset together. ZOCT has 363 days of its period left and AOCT has 729, 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

ZOCT resets first, on Sep 30, 2027, 363 days from now; AOCT runs to Sep 30, 2028, 729 days. AOCT can still gain 20.8% before its cap, ZOCT 9.1%. A fall from here reaches AOCT’s buffer after 0.5% and ZOCT’s after 0.3%. Both track SPY, so what separates them is where each is in its own period.

Every figure is ETFIQ’s own, from the issuer’s published outcome-period terms. A buffer ETF holds FLEX options on its reference index rather than shares, so there is no holdings overlap between two of them to report.

Performance, window by window

	Total return		Gap to the reference
Window	AOCT	ZOCT	AOCT	ZOCT
3 months	+1.7%	+2.2%	−1.9 pts	−1.4 pts
6 months	+4.9%	+5.3%	−13.0 pts	−12.6 pts
1 year	+5.9%	+6.0%	−10.3 pts	−10.2 pts

AOCT and ZOCT over each window. Every figure is an ETFIQ calculation with distributions reinvested. Source: ETFIQ. Open the live comparison on ETFIQ →

On the same fields

AOCT

Innovator Equity Defined Protection ETF - Oct 2028 · Absorbs the whole loss on SPY and caps the gain at 21.3%, over a period ending Sep 30, 2028

ZOCT

Innovator Equity Defined Protection ETF - 1 Yr October · Absorbs the whole loss on SPY and caps the gain at 9.4%, over a period ending Sep 30, 2027

Issuer Innovator Innovator

Reference index SPY SPY

Buffer 100% 100%

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

Days left 729 363

Starting cap +21.3% +9.4%

Can still gain 20.8% 9.1%

Fall before buffer 0.5% 0.3%

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

Index return this period +0.9% +0.9%

Fund return this period +0.5% +0.3%

State today Open Open

Expense ratio 0.79% 0.79%

Net assets $47m $135m

AOCT and ZOCT on the same fields, as of Oct 2, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

AOCT in plain words

From its price on Oct 2, 2026, the fund can gain about 20.8% more before it reaches its cap. The fund's price can fall 0.5% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's figure. In index terms, SPY can fall 0.9% 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. 729 days remained on Oct 2, 2026. On Sep 30, 2028 the period ends and a new cap is set.

ZOCT in plain words

From its price on Oct 2, 2026, the fund can gain about 9.1% more before it reaches its cap. The fund's price can fall 0.3% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's figure. 363 days remained on Oct 2, 2026. On Sep 30, 2027 the period ends and a new cap is set.

Questions people ask

Which has more room to gain, AOCT or ZOCT?: From their prices on Oct 2, 2026, AOCT can gain about 20.8% before its cap and ZOCT about 9.1%, so AOCT has more room left this period.
Which resets first, AOCT or ZOCT?: AOCT ends its outcome period on Sep 30, 2028 and ZOCT on Sep 30, 2027. A new cap is set the day after each.
Which is cheaper, AOCT or ZOCT?: AOCT charges 0.79% a year and ZOCT charges 0.79%, so AOCT is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

AOCT vs UOCT AOCT vs XBOC AOCT vs XSEP AOCT vs ZALT ZOCT vs APOC ZOCT vs BALT ZOCT vs BOCT ZOCT vs CPSO

SPY →AOCT on its own →ZOCT on its own →How every figure is computed →Standards and sources →

Where these figures came from

Innovator page for AOCT ↗ZOCT filings on SEC EDGAR ↗Innovator page for ZOCT ↗

ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure. It is not affiliated with any issuer, and a link is not an endorsement. A comparison is not a recommendation.

Cite this page

ETFIQ, AOCT against ZOCT, data as of Oct 2, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/aoct-vs-zoct

Open data

Free to use with attribution for figures ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms. Every figure is calculated from a named public source; the method is at etfiq.com/methodology.