Which has more room to gain, BAPR or PAUG?

From their prices on Oct 13, 2026, BAPR can gain about 5.0% before its cap and PAUG about 10.8%, so PAUG has more room left this period.

Which resets first, BAPR or PAUG?

BAPR ends its outcome period on Mar 31, 2027 and PAUG on Jul 31, 2027. A new cap is set the day after each.

Which is cheaper, BAPR or PAUG?

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

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BAPR vs PAUG: Cap, Buffer & Days Left

As of Oct 13, 2026 BAPR can fall 11.5% before its buffer engages and PAUG 2.7%, and BAPR resets 122 days sooner. Net assets on Oct 12, 2026: $417m for Innovator U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - Apr and $1.1bn for Innovator U.S. Equity Power Buffer ETF - Aug.

Both cost 0.79% a year; their one-year returns differ by 6.2 points; PAUG is 2.5 times larger.

Points (pts) are percentage points.

BAPR vs PAUG: Cap, Buffer & Days Left
	BAPR	PAUG
Expense ratio	0.79%	0.79%
Net assets, as of Oct 12, 2026	$417m	$1.1bn
Total return, 1 year	+18.3%	+12.1%
What it tracks	SPY	SPY
Holdings in common	not published
Index fall to the buffer	16.3%	3.9%

11.5%

BAPR can fall this far before its buffer

2.7%

PAUG can fall this far before its buffer

5.0%

BAPR can still gain

10.8%

PAUG can still gain

BAPRAt its cap

BAPR: reference +19.5% since period start, fund +12.4%; buffer 0 to −9; cap +18.5%; At its cap. Figures to Oct 13, 2026.

PAUGBetween buffer and cap

PAUG: reference +4.1% since period start, fund +2.6%; buffer 0 to −15; cap +13.8%; Between buffer and cap. Figures to Oct 13, 2026.

ETFIQ Downside Cover Score · PAUG scores higherIf the market falls into a bear market from here, how much does the buffer absorb?

BAPR 15.2

PAUG 86.3

0.2, the lowest in this set99.8, the highest

A percentile among the 292 buffer ETFs on stocks with a live outcome period. Today's position against one 20% fall; it ignores smaller falls, and stock buffers are never ranked against bond or commodity ones. All buffer ETFs ranked by it → How it is computed →

BAPR is already at its cap, so more rise in the index adds nothing to it before the period ends.

They do not reset together. BAPR has 169 days of its period left and PAUG has 291, 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

BAPR resets first, on Mar 31, 2027, 169 days from now; PAUG runs to Jul 31, 2027, 291 days. BAPR can still gain 5.0% before its cap, PAUG 10.8%. A fall from here reaches BAPR’s buffer after 11.5% and PAUG’s after 2.7%. Both track SPY, so what separates them is where each is in its own period.

Performance, window by window

Performance, window by window: BAPR vs PAUG: Cap, Buffer & Days Left
	Total return		Gap to the reference's price return
Window	BAPR	PAUG	BAPR	PAUG
3 months	+3.2%	+3.0%	−0.6 pts	−0.8 pts
6 months	+8.3%	+7.3%	−5.1 pts	−6.1 pts
1 year	+18.3%	+12.1%	−0.8 pts	−7.0 pts
3 years	+56.3%	+51.1%	−24.0 pts	−29.2 pts
Since launch Not the same days: BAPR Apr 2019 · PAUG Aug 2019	+118.0%	+90.9%	−54.2 pts	−73.0 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

BAPR

Innovator U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - Apr · Absorbs the first 9% of loss on SPY and caps the gain at 18.5%, over a period ending Mar 31, 2027

PAUG

Innovator U.S. Equity Power Buffer ETF - Aug · Absorbs the first 15% of loss on SPY and caps the gain at 13.8%, over a period ending Jul 31, 2027

Issuer Innovator Innovator

Reference index SPY SPY

Buffer 9% 15%

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

Days left 169 291

Starting cap +18.5% +13.8%

Can still gain 5.0% 10.8%

Fall before buffer 11.5% 2.7%

Protection left, index points 9.0% of 9.0% 15.0% of 15.0%

Index return this period +19.5% +4.1%

Fund return this period +12.4% +2.6%

State today At cap Open

Expense ratio 0.79% 0.79%

Net assets, as of Oct 12, 2026 $417m $1.1bn

As of Oct 13, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

About BAPR

SPY had already risen past this fund's cap of +18.5% for the period on Oct 13, 2026, so in index terms there is no more upside to collect. The fund's own price can still drift up to about 5.0% as the period runs out. The fund's price can fall 11.5% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's figure. In index terms, SPY can fall 16.3% from today's level to the point where the buffer begins. Protection left, in index points: 9.0% of the 9.0% buffer still sits below today's SPY level. 169 days remained on Oct 13, 2026. On Mar 31, 2027 the period ends and a new cap is set.

About PAUG

From its price on Oct 13, 2026, the fund can gain about 10.8% more before it reaches its cap. The fund's price can fall 2.7% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's figure. In index terms, SPY can fall 3.9% from today's level to the point where the buffer begins. Protection left, in index points: 15.0% of the 15.0% buffer still sits below today's SPY level. 291 days remained on Oct 13, 2026. On Jul 31, 2027 the period ends and a new cap is set.

Questions people ask

Which has more room to gain, BAPR or PAUG?: From their prices on Oct 13, 2026, BAPR can gain about 5.0% before its cap and PAUG about 10.8%, so PAUG has more room left this period.
Which resets first, BAPR or PAUG?: BAPR ends its outcome period on Mar 31, 2027 and PAUG on Jul 31, 2027. A new cap is set the day after each.
Which is cheaper, BAPR or PAUG?: BAPR and PAUG both charge 0.79% a year, so neither is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

BAPR vs PAPR BAPR vs FJAN BAPR vs MARM BAPR vs PBAP PAUG vs DOCT PAUG vs GJAN PAUG vs DJAN PAUG vs BSEP

SPY →BAPR on its own →PAUG on its own →How every figure is computed →Standards and sources →

Where these figures came from

BAPR and PAUG filings on SEC EDGAR ↗Innovator page for BAPR ↗Innovator page for PAUG ↗

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

How this is computed

It is a place in a set, not a rating or a recommendation.

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, BAPR against PAUG, data as of Oct 13, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/bapr-vs-paug

Open data

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