Which paid more, FTQI or QLDY?

Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, FTQI paid 12.1% of its starting price in cash and QLDY paid 35.3%, so QLDY paid more. Cash paid is not the same as money made: the price change matters too.

Which returned more once distributions are counted, FTQI or QLDY?

With every distribution reinvested, FTQI returned +16.5% and QLDY +9.1% over the year to Nov 4, 2026.

Which is cheaper, FTQI or QLDY?

FTQI charges 0.75% a year and QLDY charges 1.04%, so FTQI is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Income ETFs

FTQI vs QLDY: Dividend Yield & Total Return

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Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, QLDY paid 35.3% of its price in cash against FTQI’s 12.1%, though FTQI returned more with it reinvested.

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Net assets on Nov 3, 2026: $997m for First Trust Nasdaq BuyWrite Income ETF and $53m for Defiance Nasdaq 100 LightningSpread Income ETF.

FTQI on its own →QLDY on its own →

At a glance

12.1%

FTQI cash paid, 1 year

35.3%

QLDY cash paid, 1 year

+16.5%

FTQI total return, 1 year

+9.1%

QLDY total return, 1 year

FTQI · 1 year to Nov 4, 2026 4.2 pts ahead of QQQ

FTQI

+16.5%

QQQ

+12.3%

4.2 pts ahead of QQQ

FTQI over 1 year: paid 12.1%, price +3.5%, total +16.5%, QQQ +12.3%, +4.2 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

QQQ

+12.3%

FTQI

+16.5%

12.1% of it arrived as cash

4.2 pts ahead of QQQ

Total return, distributions reinvested

4.2 pts ahead of QQQ

FTQI over 1 year: paid 12.1%, price +3.5%, total +16.5%, QQQ +12.3%, +4.2 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

QQQ

+12.3%

FTQI

+16.5%

12.1% as cash

4.2 pts ahead of QQQ

12.1% of it arrived as cash. Total return, distributions reinvested. FTQI over 1 year: paid 12.1%, price +3.5%, total +16.5%, QQQ +12.3%, +4.2 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

Data to Nov 4, 2026.

QLDY · 1 year to Nov 4, 2026 3.2 pts behind QQQ

QLDY

+9.1%

QQQ

+12.3%

3.2 pts behind QQQ

QLDY over 1 year: paid 35.3%, price −27.2%, total +9.1%, QQQ +12.3%, −3.2 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

QQQ

+12.3%

QLDY

+9.1%

35.3% of it arrived as cash

3.2 pts behind QQQ

Total return, distributions reinvested

3.2 pts behind QQQ

QLDY over 1 year: paid 35.3%, price −27.2%, total +9.1%, QQQ +12.3%, −3.2 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

QQQ

+12.3%

QLDY

+9.1%

35.3% cash

3.2 pts behind QQQ

35.3% of it arrived as cash. Both charts share one scale, with zero at the line. QLDY over 1 year: paid 35.3%, price −27.2%, total +9.1%, QQQ +12.3%, −3.2 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

Data to Nov 4, 2026.

Pair scorecard

FTQI costs 0.29 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 7.4 points; FTQI is 18.8 times larger.

Points (pts) are percentage points.

FTQI vs QLDY: Dividend Yield & Total Return
Measure	FTQI	QLDY
Paid and earned
Measure	FTQI	QLDY
Total return, 1 year	+16.5%	+9.1%
Price change, 1 year	rose 3.5%	fell 27.2%
Return of capital, issuer estimate	99% of the Oct 30, 2026 payment	0% of the Nov 2, 2026 payment
Against its benchmark
Measure	FTQI	QLDY
Benchmark	Nasdaq-100, measured through QQQ	Nasdaq-100, measured through QQQ
Cost and size
Measure	FTQI	QLDY
Expense ratio	0.75%	1.04%
Net assets, as of Nov 3, 2026	$997m	$53m
Holdings
Measure	FTQI	QLDY
Holdings in common	0%

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

IQ Income Score74FTQI24.9QLDY

How much of its payouts the fund's total return covered, ranked against 167 income ETFs not writing on a single company. 100 is best. How it is computed

FTQI 74

QLDY 24.9

0.3, the lowest in this set 99.7, the highest

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 →

Method

What they share

By the books each fund has filed, FTQI and QLDY hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Nov 3, 2026 and Nov 4, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

0% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first FTQI QLDY

Only in one fund ↓

Only in FTQI

Apple Inc. 8.98%

NVIDIA Corporation 6.22%

Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. 4.73%

Amazon.com, Inc. 4.23%

Cisco Systems, Inc. 3.10%

Tesla, Inc. 3.05%

Meta Platforms, Inc. (Class A) 2.67%

Palantir Technologies Inc. (Class A) 2.60%

Only in QLDY

Ndx 12/18/2026 2001.44 C 92.84%

United States Treasury Note/bond 2.375% 05/15/2027 0.49%

Exchange Put Opt 11/26 28320 0.15%

Xnd 12/18/2026 10.44 C 0.05%

Nasdaq-1 Put Opt 11/26 28470 -0.24%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

FTQI First Trust Nasdaq BuyWrite Income ETF · Covered call on QQQ, paying monthly QLDY Defiance Nasdaq 100 LightningSpread Income ETF · Option income on QQQ, paying weekly

Issuer First Trust Defiance

Strategy covered call option income

Benchmark Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) Nasdaq-100 (QQQ)

Pays monthly weekly

Payout rate, annualized 12.3% 19.7%

Expense ratio 0.75% 1.04%

Cash paid, 1 year 12.1% 35.3%

Price change, 1 year +3.5% −27.2%

Total return, 1 year +16.5% +9.1%

Benchmark return, 1 year +12.3% +12.3%

Ahead or behind +4.2 pts −3.2 pts

Return of capital, latest estimate 99% 0%

Age 12.8 years 1.1 years

Net assets, as of Nov 3, 2026 $997m $53m

As of Nov 4, 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: FTQI vs QLDY: Dividend Yield & Total Return
	Total return		Cash paid		Against the benchmark
Window	FTQI	QLDY	FTQI	QLDY	FTQI	QLDY
3 months	+0.4%	−4.5%	3.0%	9.5%	+3.8 pts	−1.1 pts
6 months	+6.6%	−3.1%	6.0%	18.5%	+6.9 pts	−2.8 pts
1 year	+16.5%	+9.1%	12.1%	35.3%	+4.3 pts	−3.2 pts
3 years	+60.8%	–	38.1%	–	−30.5 pts	–
Since launchNot the same days: FTQI Jan 2014 · QLDY Sep 2025	+138.8%	+13.2%	81.1%	39.1%	−641.3 pts	−3.7 pts

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Alert

About each fund

FTQI

Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, FTQI paid 12.1% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 3.5%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +16.5%. Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) returned +12.3% over the same days, so a holder was ahead by 4.2 pts. At its price on Nov 4, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 12.3%, paid monthly. First Trust estimates that 99% of the distribution paid Oct 30, 2026 was a return of capital (its 19a-1 notice). That is a tax label, not a measure of erosion.

QLDY

Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, QLDY paid 35.3% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 27.2%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +9.1%. Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) returned +12.3% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 3.2 pts. At its price on Nov 4, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 19.7%, paid weekly. Defiance estimates that 0% of the distribution paid Nov 2, 2026 was a return of capital (its 19a-1 notice).

Questions people ask

Which paid more, FTQI or QLDY?: Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, FTQI paid 12.1% of its starting price in cash and QLDY paid 35.3%, so QLDY paid more. Cash paid is not the same as money made: the price change matters too.
Which returned more once distributions are counted, FTQI or QLDY?: With every distribution reinvested, FTQI returned +16.5% and QLDY +9.1% over the year to Nov 4, 2026.
Which is cheaper, FTQI or QLDY?: FTQI charges 0.75% a year and QLDY charges 1.04%, so FTQI is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

FTQI vs QDTY FTQI vs XQQI FTQI vs ROCQ FTQI vs QDTE QLDY vs ROCQ QLDY vs QYLG QLDY vs QQQY QLDY vs GPIQ

Where to next

Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) →FTQI on its own →QLDY on its own →FTQI dividend history →FTQI holdings →QLDY dividend history →QLDY holdings →Method →Standards and sources →

Sources and dates

FTQI filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

FTQI prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

FTQI 19a-1 distribution notice ↗

First Trust page for FTQI ↗

QLDY filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

QLDY prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

QLDY 19a-1 distribution notice ↗

Defiance page for QLDY ↗

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, FTQI against QLDY, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/ftqi-vs-qldy

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