Which has more room to gain, BAUG or PAUG?

From their prices on Oct 2, 2026, BAUG can gain about 14.8% before its cap and PAUG about 11.4%, 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 charges 0.79% a year and PAUG charges 0.79%, so BAUG is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

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BAUG vs PAUG: which one stands where?

As of Oct 2, 2026 BAUG can fall 2.5% before its buffer engages and PAUG 2.1%. Innovator U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - Aug and Innovator U.S. Equity Power Buffer ETF - Aug.

their one-year returns differ by 2.9 points; PAUG is 3.9 times larger.

	BAUG	PAUG
Expense ratio	0.79%	0.79%
Net assets	$272m	$1.0bn
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

2.1%

PAUG can fall this far before its buffer

14.8%

BAUG can still gain

11.4%

PAUG 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.

PAUGBetween buffer and cap

PAUG: reference +3.0% since period start, fund +2.1%; buffer 0 to −15; cap +13.8%; Between buffer and cap.

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

BAUG 16.5

PAUG 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 →

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, 302 days from now; PAUG runs to Jul 31, 2027, 302 days. BAUG can still gain 14.8% before its cap, PAUG 11.4%. A fall from here reaches BAUG’s buffer after 2.5% and PAUG’s after 2.1%. 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	PAUG	BAUG	PAUG
3 months	+3.6%	+2.6%	0.0 pts	−1.0 pts
6 months	+13.0%	+9.3%	−5.0 pts	−8.7 pts
1 year	+13.2%	+10.3%	−3.0 pts	−6.0 pts
3 years	+70.0%	+52.4%	−19.3 pts	−36.9 pts

BAUG and PAUG 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

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 302 302

Starting cap +17.8% +13.8%

Can still gain 14.8% 11.4%

Fall before buffer 2.5% 2.1%

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

Index return this period +3.0% +3.0%

Fund return this period +2.5% +2.1%

State today Open Open

Expense ratio 0.79% 0.79%

Net assets $272m $1.0bn

BAUG and PAUG 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.

PAUG in plain words

From its price on Oct 2, 2026, the fund can gain about 11.4% more before it reaches its cap. The fund's price can fall 2.1% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's figure. 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 Oct 2, 2026, BAUG can gain about 14.8% before its cap and PAUG about 11.4%, 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 charges 0.79% a year and PAUG charges 0.79%, so BAUG is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

BAUG vs FJUL BAUG vs GJUL BAUG vs HAUG BAUG vs JULM PAUG vs PJUN PAUG vs PMAR PAUG vs PMAY PAUG vs PNOV

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

Where these figures came from

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

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 PAUG, data as of Oct 2, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/baug-vs-paug

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.