Which paid more, ACEI or APRJ?

Over the year to Sep 30, 2026, ACEI paid 11.1% of its starting price in cash and APRJ paid 6.2%, so ACEI paid more. Cash paid is not the same as money made: the price change matters too.

Which returned more once distributions are counted, ACEI or APRJ?

With every distribution reinvested, ACEI returned +5.9% and APRJ +6.1% over the year to Sep 30, 2026.

Which is cheaper, ACEI or APRJ?

ACEI charges 0.79% a year and APRJ charges 0.79%, so ACEI is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

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ACEI vs APRJ: which paid, and which earned it?

Over the year ACEI paid 11.1% of its price in cash against APRJ’s 6.2% and the two finished level on total return. Innovator Equity Autocallable Income Strategy ETF and Innovator Premium Income 30 Barrier ETF - April.

11.1%

ACEI cash paid, 1 year

6.2%

APRJ cash paid, 1 year

+5.9%

ACEI total return, 1 year

+6.1%

APRJ total return, 1 year

ACEI · 1 year to Sep 30, 20269.8 pts behind SPY

ACEI

+5.9%

SPY

+15.7%

9.8 pts behind SPY

ACEI over 1 year: paid 11.1%, price −5.7%, total +5.9%, SPY +15.7%, −9.8 pts.

SPY

+15.7%

ACEI

+5.9%

11.1% of it arrived as cash

9.8 pts behind SPY

Total return, distributions reinvested

9.8 pts behind SPY

ACEI over 1 year: paid 11.1%, price −5.7%, total +5.9%, SPY +15.7%, −9.8 pts.

SPY

+15.7%

ACEI

+5.9%

9.8 pts behind SPY

11.1% of it arrived as cash. Total return, distributions reinvested. ACEI over 1 year: paid 11.1%, price −5.7%, total +5.9%, SPY +15.7%, −9.8 pts.

APRJ · 1 year to Sep 30, 20269.6 pts behind SPY

APRJ

+6.1%

SPY

+15.7%

9.6 pts behind SPY

APRJ over 1 year: paid 6.2%, price −0.2%, total +6.1%, SPY +15.7%, −9.6 pts.

SPY

+15.7%

APRJ

+6.1%

6.2% of it arrived as cash

9.6 pts behind SPY

Total return, distributions reinvested

9.6 pts behind SPY

APRJ over 1 year: paid 6.2%, price −0.2%, total +6.1%, SPY +15.7%, −9.6 pts.

SPY

+15.7%

APRJ

+6.1%

9.6 pts behind SPY

6.2% of it arrived as cash. Both charts share one scale, 0 to +15.7%. APRJ over 1 year: paid 6.2%, price −0.2%, total +6.1%, SPY +15.7%, −9.6 pts.

ETFIQ Return Stability Score · APRJ scores higherWas the payout funded by returns, or by your own capital?

ACEI 34.9

APRJ 43.7

4.0, the lowest in this set97.4, the highest

A percentile among the 175 income ETFs writing on an index or proxy. It is a position in a set, not a rating, and neither end of it is a recommendation. All income ETFs ranked by it → How it is computed →

What they hold in common

By the books each fund has filed, ACEI and APRJ hold 95% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Above 50%, holding both is close to holding one of them twice. Holdings dated Apr 30, 2026.

50%

half

95% in common

Positions both hold, largest shared weight first

Holding ACEI APRJ

TREASURY BILL 100.00% 95.06%

Only in ACEI

Only in APRJ

TREASURY BILL 1.66%

TREASURY BILL 1.65%

TREASURY BILL 1.64%

Weight overlap is an ETFIQ calculation: for every security both funds hold, the smaller of the two weights, summed.

Performance, window by window

	Total return		Cash paid		Against the benchmark
Window	ACEI	APRJ	ACEI	APRJ	ACEI	APRJ
3 months	+5.4%	+1.1%	3.3%	1.7%	+2.8 pts	−1.4 pts
6 months	+5.6%	+3.9%	6.5%	3.5%	−11.4 pts	−13.1 pts
1 year	+5.9%	+6.1%	11.1%	6.2%	−9.8 pts	−9.6 pts
3 years	not published	+19.5%	not published	17.8%	not published	−65.5 pts
Since launch ACEI Sep 2025 · APRJ Apr 2023	+6.0%	+23.8%	11.1%	21.1%	−11.2 pts	−70.0 pts

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

On the same fields

ACEI

Innovator Equity Autocallable Income Strategy ETF · Autocallable on SPY, paying monthly

APRJ

Innovator Premium Income 30 Barrier ETF - April · Defined income on SPY, paying quarterly

Issuer Innovator Innovator

Strategy autocallable defined income

Benchmark S&P 500 (SPY), used as a default proxy S&P 500 (SPY)

Pays monthly quarterly

Payout rate, annualized 13.0% 6.9%

Expense ratio 0.79% 0.79%

Cash paid, 1 year 11.1% 6.2%

Price change, 1 year −5.7% −0.2%

Total return, 1 year +5.9% +6.1%

Benchmark return, 1 year +15.7% +15.7%

Ahead or behind −9.8 pts −9.6 pts

Return of capital, latest estimate not published not published

Age 370 days 1276 days

Net assets $50m $28m

ACEI and APRJ on the same fields, as of Sep 30, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

ACEI in plain words

Over the year to Sep 30, 2026, ACEI paid 11.1% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 5.7%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +5.9%. S&P 500 (SPY), used as a default proxy returned +15.7% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 9.8 pts. At its price on Sep 30, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 13.0%, paid monthly.

APRJ in plain words

Over the year to Sep 30, 2026, APRJ paid 6.2% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 0.2%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +6.1%. S&P 500 (SPY) returned +15.7% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 9.6 pts. At its price on Sep 30, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 6.9%, paid quarterly.

Questions people ask

Which paid more, ACEI or APRJ?: Over the year to Sep 30, 2026, ACEI paid 11.1% of its starting price in cash and APRJ paid 6.2%, so ACEI paid more. Cash paid is not the same as money made: the price change matters too.
Which returned more once distributions are counted, ACEI or APRJ?: With every distribution reinvested, ACEI returned +5.9% and APRJ +6.1% over the year to Sep 30, 2026.
Which is cheaper, ACEI or APRJ?: ACEI charges 0.79% a year and APRJ charges 0.79%, so ACEI is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

ACEI vs SCA ACEI vs TLA ACEI vs ACII ACEI vs ACQQ APRJ vs DDDD APRJ vs DIVO APRJ vs DJIA APRJ vs DOGG

S&P 500 (SPY) →ACEI on its own →APRJ on its own →How every figure is computed →Standards and sources →

Where these figures came from

ACEI and APRJ filings on SEC EDGAR ↗ACEI prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗Innovator page for ACEI ↗APRJ prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗Innovator page for APRJ ↗

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, ACEI against APRJ, data as of Sep 30, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/acei-vs-aprj

Open data

Free to use with attribution. Every figure is calculated from a named public source; the method is at etfiq.com/methodology.