Which has more room to gain, BAUG or PAUG?

From their prices on Nov 4, 2026, BAUG can gain about 14.8% before its cap and PAUG about 11.1%, so BAUG has more room left this period.

Which resets first, BAUG or PAUG?

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

Which is cheaper, BAUG or PAUG?

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

Data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Buffer ETFs

BAUG vs PAUG: Cap, Buffer & Days Left

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As of Nov 4, 2026 BAUG can fall 2.6% before its buffer engages and PAUG 2.4%.

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Net assets on Nov 4, 2026: $270m for Innovator U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - Aug and $1.0bn for Innovator U.S. Equity Power Buffer ETF - Aug.

BAUG on its own →PAUG on its own →

At a glance

2.6%

BAUG can fall this far before its buffer

2.4%

PAUG can fall this far before its buffer

14.8%

BAUG can still gain

11.1%

PAUG can still gain

BAUG Between buffer and cap

BAUG: reference +2.6% since period start, fund +2.4%; buffer 0 to −9; cap +17.8%; Between buffer and cap. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

PAUG Between buffer and cap

PAUG: reference +2.6% since period start, fund +2.2%; buffer 0 to −15; cap +13.8%; Between buffer and cap. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

Pair scorecard

Both cost 0.79% a year; their one-year returns differ by 2.8 points; PAUG is 3.7 times larger.

Points (pts) are percentage points.

BAUG vs PAUG: Cap, Buffer & Days Left
Measure	BAUG	PAUG
Return
Measure	BAUG	PAUG
Total return, 1 year	+12.9%	+10.1%
Drawdown
Measure	BAUG	PAUG
Index fall to the buffer	2.5%
Benchmark
Measure	BAUG	PAUG
What it tracks	SPY	SPY
Cost and size
Measure	BAUG	PAUG
Expense ratio	0.79%	0.79%
Net assets	$270m	$1.0bn
Holdings
Measure	BAUG	PAUG
Holdings in common	not published

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

IQ Buffer Score20.5BAUG83.2PAUG

How much of a bear-market fall the buffer would absorb from today's level, ranked against 292 buffer ETFs on stocks with a live outcome period. 100 is best. How it is computed

BAUG 20.5

PAUG 83.2

0.3, the lowest in this set 99.7, the highest

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 →

Method

Risk and return

Aug 9, 2019 to Oct 30, 2026 · 377 weekly returns · each against SPY

BAUG PAUG

Return

Total return edge BAUG +122.6% +89.6%

Annualized edge BAUG +11.7% +9.2%

Price return edge BAUG +122.6% +87.1%

Risk

Volatility edge PAUG 12.6% 9.2%

Max drawdown edge PAUG −23.3% −17.3%

Downside capture 73.4% 54.2%

Beta 0.67 0.48

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge BAUG (slight) 0.71 0.69

Sortino edge BAUG (slight) 1.03 1.00

Treynor 0.133 0.132

Calmar edge PAUG (slight) 0.50 0.53

Against the benchmark

Alpha −0.1% a year −0.1% a year

Alpha t-stat −0.07 −0.10

Information ratio −0.69 −0.72

Tracking error 6.5% 9.9%

Reading

From Aug 2019 to Oct 2026, BAUG returned more: +122.6% to +89.6%. PAUG swung less: 9.2% to 12.6%. PAUG fell less at its worst: −17.3% to −23.3%.

Full scorecard

19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: BAUG vs PAUG: Cap, Buffer & Days Left
Measure	BAUG	PAUG	SPY	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+122.6%	+89.6%	+187.9%	BAUG	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+11.7%	+9.2%	+15.7%	BAUG	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	+122.6%	+87.1%	+159.1%	BAUG	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	12.6%	9.2%	18.4%	PAUG	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	8.7%	6.4%	12.6%	PAUG	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−23.3%	−17.3%	−31.8%	PAUG	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Upside capture	55.6%	35.9%	100.0%	BAUG	Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose.
Downside capture	73.4%	54.2%	100.0%	PAUG	Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better.
Beta	0.67	0.48	1.00	PAUG lower	How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves.
R squared	0.96	0.92	1.00	Not an edge	Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	0.71	0.69	0.73	BAUG (slight)	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	1.03	1.00	1.06	BAUG (slight)	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Treynor	0.133	0.132	0.134	Tie	Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta.
Calmar	0.50	0.53	0.49	PAUG (slight)	Annualized return divided by the max drawdown.
Against the benchmark
Benchmark	SPY	SPY	SPY		The ETF each fund is measured against.
Alpha	−0.1% a year	−0.1% a year	0.0%	Not significant	Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts.
Alpha t-stat	−0.07	−0.10		Not an edge	How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance.
Alpha range	−1.8% to +1.7%	−2.0% to +1.8%		Both include zero	The 95% range for the yearly alpha.
Information ratio	−0.69	−0.72		BAUG (slight)	Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error.
Tracking error	6.5%	9.9%	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, 377 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

Window by window

Window by window: BAUG vs PAUG: Cap, Buffer & Days Left
	Total return		Gap to the reference's price return
Window	BAUG	PAUG	BAUG	PAUG
3 months	+0.5%	+0.7%	+0.9 pts	+1.1 pts
6 months	+5.7%	+4.5%	+1.2 pts	0.0 pts
1 year	+12.9%	+10.1%	−0.7 pts	−3.5 pts
3 years	+66.1%	+49.7%	−10.4 pts	−26.7 pts
Since launchBAUG Aug 2019 · PAUG Aug 2019	+122.4%	+90.1%	−37.7 pts	−69.9 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

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 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 Jul 31, 2026 to Jul 31, 2027 Jul 31, 2026 to Jul 31, 2027

Days left 269 269

Starting cap +17.8% +13.8%

Can still gain 14.8% 11.1%

Fall before buffer 2.6% 2.4%

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

Index return this period +2.6% +2.6%

Fund return this period +2.4% +2.2%

State today Open Open

Expense ratio 0.79% 0.79%

Net assets $270m $1.0bn

As of Nov 4, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

Both are Innovator funds, so the difference between them is the terms rather than the house.

Where each one stands today

BAUG resets first, on Jul 31, 2027, 269 days from now; PAUG runs to Jul 31, 2027, 269 days. BAUG can still gain 14.8% before its cap, PAUG 11.1%. A fall from here reaches BAUG’s buffer after 2.6% and PAUG’s after 2.4%. Both track SPY, so what separates them is where each is in its own period.

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About each fund

BAUG

From its price on Nov 4, 2026, the fund can gain about 14.8% more before it reaches its cap. The fund's price can fall 2.6% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's number. In index terms, SPY can fall 2.5% 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. 269 days remained on Nov 4, 2026. On Jul 31, 2027 the period ends and a new cap is set.

PAUG

From its price on Nov 4, 2026, the fund can gain about 11.1% more before it reaches its cap. The fund's price can fall 2.4% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's number. Protection left, in index points: 15.0% of the 15.0% buffer still sits below today's SPY level.

Questions people ask

Which has more room to gain, BAUG or PAUG?: From their prices on Nov 4, 2026, BAUG can gain about 14.8% before its cap and PAUG about 11.1%, so BAUG has more room left this period.
Which resets first, BAUG or PAUG?: BAUG ends its outcome period on Jul 31, 2027 and PAUG on Jul 31, 2027. A new cap is set the day after each.
Which is cheaper, BAUG or PAUG?: BAUG and PAUG both charge 0.79% a year, so neither is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

BAUG vs FJUL BAUG vs DJUL BAUG vs GJUL BAUG vs UAUG PAUG vs UJUL PAUG vs DAPR PAUG vs PMAR PAUG vs PMAY

Where to next

SPY →BAUG on its own →PAUG on its own →Method →Standards and sources →

Sources and dates

BAUG and PAUG filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

Innovator page for BAUG ↗

Innovator page for PAUG ↗

Links are sources, not endorsements. 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 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, BAUG against PAUG, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/baug-vs-paug

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