Which has more room to gain, BOCT or PAPR?

From their prices on Oct 9, 2026, BOCT can gain about 18.4% before its cap and PAPR about 3.9%, so BOCT has more room left this period.

Which resets first, BOCT or PAPR?

BOCT ends its outcome period on Sep 30, 2027 and PAPR on Mar 31, 2027. A new cap is set the day after each.

Which is cheaper, BOCT or PAPR?

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

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BOCT vs PAPR: Cap, Buffer & Days Left

As of Oct 9, 2026 PAPR can fall 8.9% before its buffer engages and BOCT 1.5%, and PAPR resets 183 days sooner. Net assets on Oct 9, 2026: $307m for Innovator U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - Oct and $964m for Innovator U.S. Equity Power Buffer ETF - Apr.

Both cost 0.79% a year; their one-year returns differ by 1.9 points; PAPR is 3.1 times larger.

Points (pts) are percentage points.

BOCT vs PAPR: Cap, Buffer & Days Left
	BOCT	PAPR
Expense ratio	0.79%	0.79%
Net assets	$307m	$964m
Total return, 1 year	+14.9%	+13.0%
What it tracks	SPY	SPY
Holdings in common	not published
Index fall to the buffer	2.0%	16.5%

1.5%

BOCT can fall this far before its buffer

8.9%

PAPR can fall this far before its buffer

18.4%

BOCT can still gain

3.9%

PAPR can still gain

BOCTBetween buffer and cap

BOCT: reference +2.1% since period start, fund +1.5%; buffer 0 to −9; cap +20.2%; Between buffer and cap. Figures to Oct 9, 2026.

PAPRAt its cap

PAPR: reference +19.7% since period start, fund +9.2%; buffer 0 to −15; cap +14.0%; At its cap. Figures to Oct 9, 2026.

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

BOCT 19.2

PAPR 52.6

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 →

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

They do not reset together. PAPR has 173 days of its period left and BOCT has 356, 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

PAPR resets first, on Mar 31, 2027, 173 days from now; BOCT runs to Sep 30, 2027, 356 days. BOCT can still gain 18.4% before its cap, PAPR 3.9%. A fall from here reaches BOCT’s buffer after 1.5% and PAPR’s after 8.9%. Both track SPY, so what separates them is where each is in its own period.

Performance, window by window

Performance, window by window: BOCT vs PAPR: Cap, Buffer & Days Left
	Total return		Gap to the reference's price return
Window	BOCT	PAPR	BOCT	PAPR
3 months	+4.5%	+2.4%	+1.4 pts	−0.7 pts
6 months	+12.7%	+6.6%	−1.9 pts	−8.0 pts
1 year	+14.9%	+13.0%	−1.1 pts	−3.0 pts
3 years	+55.6%	+40.5%	−23.6 pts	−38.7 pts
Since launch Not the same days: BOCT Oct 2018 · PAPR Apr 2019	+127.7%	+77.3%	−39.2 pts	−95.1 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

BOCT

Innovator U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - Oct · Absorbs the first 9% of loss on SPY and caps the gain at 20.2%, over a period ending Sep 30, 2027

PAPR

Innovator U.S. Equity Power Buffer ETF - Apr · Absorbs the first 15% of loss on SPY and caps the gain at 14.0%, over a period ending Mar 31, 2027

Issuer Innovator Innovator

Reference index SPY SPY

Buffer 9% 15%

Outcome period Sep 30, 2026 to Sep 30, 2027 Mar 31, 2026 to Mar 31, 2027

Days left 356 173

Starting cap +20.2% +14.0%

Can still gain 18.4% 3.9%

Fall before buffer 1.5% 8.9%

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

Index return this period +2.1% +19.7%

Fund return this period +1.5% +9.2%

State today Open At cap

Expense ratio 0.79% 0.79%

Net assets $307m $964m

As of Oct 9, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

About BOCT

From its price on Oct 9, 2026, the fund can gain about 18.4% more before it reaches its cap. The fund's price can fall 1.5% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's figure. In index terms, SPY can fall 2.0% 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. 356 days remained on Oct 9, 2026. On Sep 30, 2027 the period ends and a new cap is set.

About PAPR

SPY had already risen past this fund's cap of +14.0% for the period on Oct 9, 2026, so in index terms there is no more upside to collect. The fund's own price can still drift up to about 3.9% as the period runs out. The fund's price can fall 8.9% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's figure. In index terms, SPY can fall 16.5% 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. 173 days remained on Oct 9, 2026. On Mar 31, 2027 the period ends and a new cap is set.

Questions people ask

Which has more room to gain, BOCT or PAPR?: From their prices on Oct 9, 2026, BOCT can gain about 18.4% before its cap and PAPR about 3.9%, so BOCT has more room left this period.
Which resets first, BOCT or PAPR?: BOCT ends its outcome period on Sep 30, 2027 and PAPR on Mar 31, 2027. A new cap is set the day after each.
Which is cheaper, BOCT or PAPR?: BOCT and PAPR both charge 0.79% a year, so neither is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

BOCT vs PDEC BOCT vs PFEB BOCT vs PJUN BOCT vs PAUG PAPR vs UJUL PAPR vs UJAN PAPR vs GJAN PAPR vs DJAN

SPY →BOCT on its own →PAPR on its own →How every figure is computed →Standards and sources →

Where these figures came from

BOCT and PAPR filings on SEC EDGAR ↗Innovator page for BOCT ↗Innovator page for PAPR ↗

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, BOCT against PAPR, data as of Oct 9, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/boct-vs-papr

Open data

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