Which has more room to gain, BAUG or GJUL?

From their prices on Oct 2, 2026, BAUG can gain about 14.8% before its cap and GJUL about 10.2%, so BAUG has more room left this period.

Which resets first, BAUG or GJUL?

BAUG ends its outcome period on Jul 31, 2027 and GJUL on Jul 16, 2027. A new cap is set the day after each.

Which is cheaper, BAUG or GJUL?

BAUG charges 0.79% a year and GJUL charges 0.85%, so BAUG is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Share on X Download as PDF Open live

BAUG vs GJUL: which one stands where?

As of Oct 2, 2026 GJUL can fall 3.3% before its buffer engages and BAUG 2.5%, and GJUL resets 15 days sooner. Innovator U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - Aug and FT Vest U.S. Equity Moderate Buffer ETF - July.

BAUG costs 0.06 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 2.9 points; GJUL is 1.5 times larger.

	BAUG	GJUL
Expense ratio	0.79%	0.85%
Net assets	$272m	$413m
Total return, 1 year	+13.2%	+10.3%
What it tracks	SPY	SPY
Holdings in common	not published

2.5%

BAUG can fall this far before its buffer

3.3%

GJUL can fall this far before its buffer

14.8%

BAUG can still gain

10.2%

GJUL can still gain

BAUGBetween buffer and cap

BAUG: reference +3.0% since period start, fund +2.5%; buffer 0 to −9; cap +17.8%; Between buffer and cap.

GJULBetween buffer and cap

GJUL: reference +3.5% since period start, fund +2.5%; buffer 0 to −15; cap +13.8%; Between buffer and cap.

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

BAUG 16.5

GJUL 83.8

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

A percentile among the 294 buffer ETFs with a live outcome period. It is a position in a set, not a rating, and neither end of it is a recommendation. All buffer ETFs ranked by it → How it is computed →

Where each one stands today

GJUL resets first, on Jul 16, 2027, 287 days from now; BAUG runs to Jul 31, 2027, 302 days. BAUG can still gain 14.8% before its cap, GJUL 10.2%. A fall from here reaches BAUG’s buffer after 2.5% and GJUL’s after 3.3%. 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	BAUG	GJUL	BAUG	GJUL
3 months	+3.6%	+2.8%	0.0 pts	−0.8 pts
6 months	+13.0%	+9.1%	−5.0 pts	−8.8 pts
1 year	+13.2%	+10.3%	−3.0 pts	−5.9 pts
3 years	+70.0%	+51.0%	−19.3 pts	−38.3 pts

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

On the same fields

BAUG

Innovator U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - Aug · Absorbs the first 9% of loss on SPY and caps the gain at 17.8%, over a period ending Jul 31, 2027

GJUL

FT Vest U.S. Equity Moderate Buffer ETF - July · Absorbs the first 15% of loss on SPY and caps the gain at 13.8%, over a period ending Jul 16, 2027

Issuer Innovator First Trust

Reference index SPY SPY

Buffer 9% 15%

Outcome period Jul 31, 2026 to Jul 31, 2027 Jul 20, 2026 to Jul 16, 2027

Days left 302 287

Starting cap +17.8% +13.8%

Can still gain 14.8% 10.2%

Fall before buffer 2.5% 3.3%

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

Index return this period +3.0% +3.5%

Fund return this period +2.5% +2.5%

State today Open Open

Expense ratio 0.79% 0.85%

Net assets $272m $413m

BAUG and GJUL on the same fields, as of Oct 2, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

BAUG in plain words

From its price on Oct 2, 2026, the fund can gain about 14.8% more before it reaches its cap. The fund's price can fall 2.5% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's figure. In index terms, SPY can fall 2.9% 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. 302 days remained on Oct 2, 2026. On Jul 31, 2027 the period ends and a new cap is set.

GJUL in plain words

From its price on Oct 2, 2026, the fund can gain about 10.2% more before it reaches its cap. The fund's price can fall 3.3% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's figure. In index terms, SPY can fall 3.4% 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. 287 days remained on Oct 2, 2026. On Jul 16, 2027 the period ends and a new cap is set.

Questions people ask

Which has more room to gain, BAUG or GJUL?: From their prices on Oct 2, 2026, BAUG can gain about 14.8% before its cap and GJUL about 10.2%, so BAUG has more room left this period.
Which resets first, BAUG or GJUL?: BAUG ends its outcome period on Jul 31, 2027 and GJUL on Jul 16, 2027. A new cap is set the day after each.
Which is cheaper, BAUG or GJUL?: BAUG charges 0.79% a year and GJUL charges 0.85%, so BAUG is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

BAUG vs CPSA BAUG vs CPSJ BAUG vs CTAU BAUG vs DDFG GJUL vs CPSJ GJUL vs DJUL GJUL vs FJUL GJUL vs HAUG

SPY →BAUG on its own →GJUL on its own →How every figure is computed →Standards and sources →

Where these figures came from

BAUG filings on SEC EDGAR ↗Innovator page for BAUG ↗GJUL filings on SEC EDGAR ↗First Trust page for GJUL ↗

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, BAUG against GJUL, data as of Oct 2, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/baug-vs-gjul

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.