Which paid more, APLY or ULTY?

Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, APLY paid 28.6% of its starting price in cash and ULTY paid 44.3%, so ULTY paid more. Cash paid is not the same as money made: the price change matters too.

Which returned more once distributions are counted, APLY or ULTY?

With every distribution reinvested, APLY returned +18.2% and ULTY −11.2% over the year to Oct 28, 2026.

Which is cheaper, APLY or ULTY?

APLY charges 1.04% a year and ULTY charges 1.30%, so APLY is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Income ETFs

APLY vs ULTY: Dividend Yield & Total Return

Share on X Download as PDF

Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, ULTY paid 44.3% of its price in cash against APLY’s 28.6%, though APLY returned more with it reinvested.

askIQ about this page

askIQ about APLY and ULTY

Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $112m for YieldMax AAPL Option Income Strategy ETF and $627m for YieldMax Ultra Option Income Strategy ETF.

APLY on its own →ULTY on its own →

At a glance

28.6%

APLY cash paid, 1 year

44.3%

ULTY cash paid, 1 year

+18.2%

APLY total return, 1 year

−11.2%

ULTY total return, 1 year

APLY · 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 10.1 pts behind AAPL

APLY

+18.2%

AAPL

+28.3%

10.1 pts behind AAPL

APLY over 1 year: paid 28.6%, price −14.2%, total +18.2%, AAPL +28.3%, −10.1 pts. Data to Oct 28, 2026.

AAPL

+28.3%

APLY

+18.2%

28.6% of it arrived as cash

10.1 pts behind AAPL

Total return, distributions reinvested

10.1 pts behind AAPL

APLY over 1 year: paid 28.6%, price −14.2%, total +18.2%, AAPL +28.3%, −10.1 pts. Data to Oct 28, 2026.

AAPL

+28.3%

APLY

+18.2%

10.1 pts behind AAPL

28.6% of it arrived as cash. Total return, distributions reinvested. APLY over 1 year: paid 28.6%, price −14.2%, total +18.2%, AAPL +28.3%, −10.1 pts. Data to Oct 28, 2026.

Data to Oct 28, 2026.

ULTY · 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 4.1 pts ahead of its own holdings

ULTY

−11.2%

Own

−15.3%

4.1 pts ahead of its own holdings

ULTY over 1 year: paid 44.3%, price −55.2%, total −11.2%, its own holdings −15.3%, +4.1 pts. Data to Oct 28, 2026.

its own holdings

−15.3%

ULTY

−11.2%

4.1 pts ahead of its own holdings

Total return, distributions reinvested

4.1 pts ahead of its own holdings

ULTY over 1 year: paid 44.3%, price −55.2%, total −11.2%, its own holdings −15.3%, +4.1 pts. Data to Oct 28, 2026.

its own holdings

−15.3%

ULTY

−11.2%

44.3% of it arrived as cash. Both charts share one scale, with zero at the line. ULTY over 1 year: paid 44.3%, price −55.2%, total −11.2%, its own holdings −15.3%, +4.1 pts. Data to Oct 28, 2026.

Data to Oct 28, 2026.

Pair scorecard

APLY costs 0.26 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 29.4 points; ULTY is 5.6 times larger.

Points (pts) are percentage points.

APLY vs ULTY: Dividend Yield & Total Return
Measure	APLY	ULTY
Paid and earned
Measure	APLY	ULTY
Total return, 1 year	+18.2%	−11.2%
Price change, 1 year	fell 14.2%	fell 55.2%
Return of capital, issuer estimate		100% of the Oct 29, 2026 payment
Against its benchmark
Measure	APLY	ULTY
Benchmark	Apple (AAPL)	its own holdings
Cost and size
Measure	APLY	ULTY
Expense ratio	1.04%	1.30%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$112m	$627m
Holdings
Measure	APLY	ULTY
Holdings in common	0%

ETFIQ Distribution Coverage Score · APLY scores higher How much of what it paid out did its total return cover?

APLY among the 74 income ETFs writing on a single company

IQ Income Score84.5APLY14.3ULTY

How much of its payouts the fund's total return covered, ranked against 74 income ETFs writing on a single company and 164 income ETFs not writing on a single company. 100 is best. How it is computed

APLY 84.5

0.7, the lowest in this set 99.3, the highest

ULTY among the 164 income ETFs not writing on a single company

ULTY 14.3

0.3, the lowest in this set 99.7, the highest

A percentile among the 74 income ETFs writing on a single company. ULTY is a percentile among the 164 income ETFs not writing on a single company, a different set, so the two marks are not on one scale. One year only, and a ratio of two published numbers: it says nothing about where a distribution came from. All income ETFs ranked by it →

Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 28, 2026. Method

Risk and return

Mar 8, 2024 to Oct 23, 2026 · 137 weekly returns

APLY ULTY

Return

Total return edge APLY +59.7% −0.3%

Annualized edge APLY +19.4% −0.1%

Price return edge APLY −28.7% −88.7%

Risk

Volatility edge APLY (slight) 21.9% 24.1%

Max drawdown edge APLY (slight) −24.1% −25.9%

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge APLY 0.73 −0.06

Sortino edge APLY 1.00 −0.08

Calmar edge APLY 0.81 0.00

Reading

APLY returned more: +59.7% to −0.3%. APLY swung slightly less: 21.9% to 24.1%. APLY fell slightly less at its worst: −24.1% to −25.9%.

Full scorecard

9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: APLY vs ULTY: Dividend Yield & Total Return
Measure	APLY	ULTY	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+59.7%	−0.3%	APLY	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+19.4%	−0.1%	APLY	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	−28.7%	−88.7%	APLY	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	21.9%	24.1%	APLY (slight)	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	15.9%	18.4%	APLY	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−24.1%	−25.9%	APLY (slight)	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	0.73	−0.06	APLY	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	1.00	−0.08	APLY	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Calmar	0.81	0.00	APLY	Annualized return divided by the max drawdown.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 137 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

What they share

By the books each fund has filed, APLY and ULTY hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 28, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

0% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first APLY ULTY

Only in one fund ↓

Only in APLY

United States Treasury Note/Bond 3.375% 09/15/2027 26.10%

United States Treasury Note/Bond 2.375% 05/15/2027 13.93%

AAPL 12/18/2026 310.01 C 11.68%

AAPL US 10/30/26 C352.5 0.03%

AAPL US 10/30/26 C355 0.02%

AAPL US 10/30/26 C350 -0.12%

AAPL US 10/30/26 C347.5 -0.13%

AAPL 12/18/2026 310.01 P -0.86%

Only in ULTY

Analog Devices Inc 5.44%

Alphabet Inc 4.74%

Shopify Inc 4.74%

Space Exploration Technologies Corp 4.54%

Advanced Micro Devices Inc 4.32%

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd 4.21%

Lam Research Corp 4.16%

MercadoLibre Inc 4.15%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

APLY YieldMax AAPL Option Income Strategy ETF · Synthetic covered call on AAPL, paying weekly ULTY YieldMax Ultra Option Income Strategy ETF · Synthetic covered call on its own holdings, paying weekly

Issuer YieldMax YieldMax

Strategy synthetic covered call synthetic covered call

Benchmark Apple (AAPL) ULTY's own holdings, without the options (from its filed holdings, rebalanced at each filing; latest Oct 26, 2026)

Pays weekly weekly

Payout rate, annualized 20.9% 60.7%

Expense ratio 1.04% 1.30%

Cash paid, 1 year 28.6% 44.3%

Price change, 1 year −14.2% −55.2%

Total return, 1 year +18.2% −11.2%

Benchmark return, 1 year +28.3% −15.3%

Ahead or behind −10.1 pts +4.1 pts

Return of capital, latest estimate not published 100%

Age 3.5 years 2.7 years

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $112m $627m

As of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ. Cash paid: distributions over the window, as a share of the starting price. Payout rate: the latest payment, annualized, over today’s price.

Window by window

Window by window: APLY vs ULTY: Dividend Yield & Total Return
	Total return		Cash paid		Against the benchmark
Window	APLY	ULTY	APLY	ULTY	APLY	ULTY
3 months	0.0%	+4.2%	6.7%	15.4%	−1.8 pts	−9.8 pts
6 months	+18.3%	+1.0%	17.5%	28.1%	−9.2 pts	−6.6 pts
1 year	+18.2%	−11.2%	28.6%	44.3%	−10.1 pts	+4.1 pts
3 years	+63.0%	–	73.1%	–	−44.1 pts	–
Since launchNot the same days: APLY Apr 2023 · ULTY Feb 2024	+62.0%	+4.4%	76.2%	87.8%	−47.9 pts	not measured

– means no data for this window. Open this comparison in the app →

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-59AAD34BF7

APLY and ULTY are built for the same job. How do they differ in cost, holdings and results?

Income paid. APLY paid 28.6% and ULTY 44.3% (cash paid over 1 year, as a share of its price at the start), a gap of 15.7 points.
What each is measured against. APLY is measured against Apple (AAPL) and ULTY against its own holdings.
Holdings in common. 0% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 28, 2026).

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

The two-page PDF for this pair is coming. Save the comparison to follow its changes. Free. It needs an email sign-in, once.

Your saved page · Privacy.

Alert

About each fund

APLY

Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, APLY paid 28.6% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 14.2%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +18.2%. Apple (AAPL) returned +28.3% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 10.1 pts. At its price on Oct 28, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 20.9%, paid weekly.

ULTY

Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, ULTY paid 44.3% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 55.2%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned −11.2%. ULTY's own holdings, without the options (from its filed holdings, rebalanced at each filing; latest Oct 26, 2026) returned −15.3% over the same days, so a holder was ahead by 4.1 pts. At its price on Oct 28, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 60.7%, paid weekly. YieldMax estimates that 100% of the distribution paid Oct 29, 2026 was a return of capital (its 19a-1 notice). That is a tax label, not a measure of erosion.

Questions people ask

Which paid more, APLY or ULTY?: Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, APLY paid 28.6% of its starting price in cash and ULTY paid 44.3%, so ULTY paid more. Cash paid is not the same as money made: the price change matters too.
Which returned more once distributions are counted, APLY or ULTY?: With every distribution reinvested, APLY returned +18.2% and ULTY −11.2% over the year to Oct 28, 2026.
Which is cheaper, APLY or ULTY?: APLY charges 1.04% a year and ULTY charges 1.30%, so APLY is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

APLY vs YMAX APLY vs TSLY APLY vs FEPI APLY vs AIPI ULTY vs OVLH ULTY vs MAGY ULTY vs DOGG ULTY vs SEPI

Where to next

APLY on its own →ULTY on its own →APLY dividend history →APLY holdings →ULTY dividend history →ULTY holdings →Method →Standards and sources →

Sources and dates

APLY and ULTY filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

APLY prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

APLY 19a-1 distribution notice ↗

YieldMax page for APLY ↗

ULTY prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

ULTY 19a-1 distribution notice ↗

YieldMax page for ULTY ↗

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.

Overlap adds up the smaller of the two weights for each security both funds hold.

Every number is an ETFIQ calculation with distributions reinvested.

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

ETFIQ, APLY against ULTY, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/aply-vs-ulty

Open data →

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