Which paid more, KNG or QYLD?

Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, KNG paid 8.8% of its starting price in cash and QYLD paid 12.3%, so QYLD paid more. Cash paid is not the same as money made: the price change matters too.

Which returned more once distributions are counted, KNG or QYLD?

With every distribution reinvested, KNG returned +20.8% and QYLD +16.5% over the year to Nov 4, 2026.

Which is cheaper, KNG or QYLD?

KNG charges 0.74% a year and QYLD charges 0.60%, so QYLD is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Income ETFs

KNG vs QYLD: Dividend Yield & Total Return

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Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, QYLD paid 12.3% of its price in cash against KNG’s 8.8%, though KNG returned more with it reinvested.

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Net assets: $3.4bn on Nov 3, 2026 for FT Vest S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats Target Income ETF, and $8.5bn on Oct 12, 2026 for Global X NASDAQ 100 Covered Call ETF.

KNG on its own →QYLD on its own →

At a glance

8.8%

KNG cash paid, 1 year

12.3%

QYLD cash paid, 1 year

+20.8%

KNG total return, 1 year

+16.5%

QYLD total return, 1 year

KNG · 1 year to Nov 4, 2026 3.1 pts behind NOBL

KNG

+20.8%

NOBL

+23.9%

3.1 pts behind NOBL

KNG over 1 year: paid 8.8%, price +11.1%, total +20.8%, NOBL +23.9%, −3.1 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

NOBL

+23.9%

KNG

+20.8%

8.8% of it arrived as cash

3.1 pts behind NOBL

Total return, distributions reinvested

3.1 pts behind NOBL

KNG over 1 year: paid 8.8%, price +11.1%, total +20.8%, NOBL +23.9%, −3.1 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

NOBL

+23.9%

KNG

+20.8%

3.1 pts behind NOBL

8.8% of it arrived as cash. Total return, distributions reinvested. KNG over 1 year: paid 8.8%, price +11.1%, total +20.8%, NOBL +23.9%, −3.1 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

Data to Nov 4, 2026.

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

QYLD

+16.5%

QQQ

+12.3%

4.2 pts ahead of QQQ

QYLD over 1 year: paid 12.3%, price +3.3%, total +16.5%, QQQ +12.3%, +4.2 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

QQQ

+12.3%

QYLD

+16.5%

12.3% of it arrived as cash

4.2 pts ahead of QQQ

Total return, distributions reinvested

4.2 pts ahead of QQQ

QYLD over 1 year: paid 12.3%, price +3.3%, total +16.5%, QQQ +12.3%, +4.2 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

QQQ

+12.3%

QYLD

+16.5%

4.2 pts ahead of QQQ

12.3% of it arrived as cash. Both charts share one scale, 0 to +23.9%. QYLD over 1 year: paid 12.3%, price +3.3%, total +16.5%, QQQ +12.3%, +4.2 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

Both charts share one scale, 0 to +23.9%. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

Pair scorecard

QYLD costs 0.14 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 4.3 points; QYLD is 2.6 times larger.

Points (pts) are percentage points.

KNG vs QYLD: Dividend Yield & Total Return
Measure	KNG	QYLD
Paid and earned
Measure	KNG	QYLD
Total return, 1 year	+20.8%	+16.5%
Price change, 1 year	rose 11.1%	rose 3.3%
Return of capital, issuer estimate	80% of the Oct 30, 2026 payment	99% of the Sep 24, 2026 payment
Against its benchmark
Measure	KNG	QYLD
Benchmark	S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats, measured through NOBL	Nasdaq-100, measured through QQQ
Cost and size
Measure	KNG	QYLD
Expense ratio	0.74%	0.60%
Net assets, as of Oct 12, 2026	$3.3bn	$8.5bn
Holdings
Measure	KNG	QYLD
Holdings in common	5%

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

IQ Income Score91.3KNG72.8QYLD

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

KNG 91.3

QYLD 72.8

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

Risk and return

Apr 6, 2018 to Oct 30, 2026 · 447 weekly returns

KNG QYLD

Return

Total return edge KNG (slight) +113.7% +111.4%

Annualized edge Tie +9.2% +9.1%

Price return edge KNG +29.8% −23.2%

Risk

Volatility edge QYLD 16.6% 13.4%

Max drawdown edge QYLD −30.1% −24.5%

Downside capture 96.9% 64.8%

Beta 0.96 0.55

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge QYLD 0.45 0.51

Sortino edge QYLD (slight) 0.63 0.68

Treynor 0.078 0.127

Calmar edge QYLD 0.31 0.37

Against the benchmark

Alpha −0.6% a year −2.3% a year

Alpha t-stat −0.81 −1.37

Information ratio −0.42 −0.93

Tracking error 2.4% 10.6%

Each against its own benchmark: KNG against NOBL, Apr 6, 2018 to Oct 30, 2026; QYLD against QQQ, Dec 20, 2013 to Oct 30, 2026.

Reading

From Apr 2018 to Oct 2026, KNG returned slightly more: +113.7% to +111.4%. QYLD swung less: 13.4% to 16.6%. QYLD fell less at its worst: −24.5% to −30.1%.

Full scorecard

19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: KNG vs QYLD: Dividend Yield & Total Return
Measure	KNG	QYLD	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+113.7%	+111.4%	KNG (slight)	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+9.2%	+9.1%	Tie	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	+29.8%	−23.2%	KNG	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	16.6%	13.4%	QYLD	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	11.8%	10.1%	QYLD	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−30.1%	−24.5%	QYLD	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Upside capture	91.7%	37.8%		Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose.
Downside capture	96.9%	64.8%		Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better.
Beta	0.96	0.55	Not an edge	How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves.
R squared	0.98	0.77	Not an edge	Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	0.45	0.51	QYLD	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	0.63	0.68	QYLD (slight)	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Treynor	0.078	0.127		Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta.
Calmar	0.31	0.37	QYLD	Annualized return divided by the max drawdown.
Against the benchmark
Benchmark	NOBL	QQQ		The ETF each fund is measured against.
Alpha	−0.6% a year	−2.3% a year	Not significant	Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts.
Alpha t-stat	−0.81	−1.37	Not an edge	How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance.
Alpha range	−2.1% to +0.9%	−5.5% to +1.0%	Includes zero	The 95% range for the yearly alpha.
Information ratio	−0.42	−0.93		Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error.
Tracking error	2.4%	10.6%	Not an edge	How far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 447 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

What they share

By the books each fund has filed, KNG and QYLD hold 5% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and Nov 3, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

5% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first KNG QYLD

Walmart Inc. 1.52% 2.53%

Linde Plc 1.46% 1.03%

PepsiCo, Inc. 1.46% 0.89%

Automatic Data Processing, Inc. 1.44% 0.50%

Cintas Corporation 1.45% 0.38%

Fastenal Company 1.43% 0.26%

Roper Technologies, Inc. 1.70% 0.18%

Only in one fund ↓

Only in KNG

Pentair plc 1.89%

Erie Indemnity Company 1.58%

The Clorox Company 1.58%

PPG Industries, Inc. 1.57%

Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. 1.57%

Abbott Laboratories 1.56%

General Dynamics Corporation 1.55%

Lowe's Companies, Inc. 1.55%

Only in QYLD

NVIDIA CORPORATION 8.20%

APPLE INC. 7.65%

MICROSOFT CORPORATION 5.82%

AMAZON.COM, INC. 4.93%

MICRON TECHNOLOGY, INC. 4.32%

ADVANCED MICRO DEVICES, INC. 3.62%

ALPHABET INC. 3.50%

ALPHABET INC. 3.28%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

KNG FT Vest S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats Target Income ETF · Dividend stocks with call overlay on NOBL, paying monthly QYLD Global X NASDAQ 100 Covered Call ETF · Covered call on QQQ, paying monthly

Issuer First Trust Global X

Strategy dividend stocks with call overlay covered call

Benchmark S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats (NOBL) Nasdaq-100 (QQQ)

Pays monthly monthly

Payout rate, annualized 8.0% 12.2%

Expense ratio 0.74% 0.60%

Cash paid, 1 year 8.8% 12.3%

Price change, 1 year +11.1% +3.3%

Total return, 1 year +20.8% +16.5%

Benchmark return, 1 year +23.9% +12.3%

Ahead or behind −3.1 pts +4.2 pts

Return of capital, latest estimate 80% 99%

Age 8.6 years 12.9 years

Net assets, KNG as of Nov 3, 2026 and QYLD as of Oct 12, 2026 $3.4bn $8.5bn

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: KNG vs QYLD: Dividend Yield & Total Return
	Total return		Cash paid		Against the benchmark
Window	KNG	QYLD	KNG	QYLD	KNG	QYLD
3 months	+5.2%	+2.4%	2.0%	3.0%	−0.5 pts	+5.9 pts
6 months	+13.5%	+5.4%	4.3%	6.0%	−1.4 pts	+5.8 pts
1 year	+20.8%	+16.5%	8.8%	12.3%	−3.1 pts	+4.2 pts
3 years	+41.8%	+52.7%	26.9%	37.9%	−6.7 pts	−38.6 pts
Since launchNot the same days: KNG Mar 2018 · QYLD Dec 2013	+120.8%	+194.8%	61.2%	117.5%	−19.0 pts	−610.5 pts

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Client brief:

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Alert

About each fund

KNG

Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, KNG paid 8.8% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 11.1%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +20.8%. S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats (NOBL) returned +23.9% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 3.1 pts. At its price on Nov 4, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 8.0%, paid monthly. First Trust estimates that 80% 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.

QYLD

Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, QYLD paid 12.3% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 3.3%. 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 12.2%, paid monthly. Global X estimates that 99% of the distribution paid Sep 24, 2026 was a return of capital (its 19a-1 notice).

Questions people ask

Which paid more, KNG or QYLD?: Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, KNG paid 8.8% of its starting price in cash and QYLD paid 12.3%, so QYLD paid more. Cash paid is not the same as money made: the price change matters too.
Which returned more once distributions are counted, KNG or QYLD?: With every distribution reinvested, KNG returned +20.8% and QYLD +16.5% over the year to Nov 4, 2026.
Which is cheaper, KNG or QYLD?: KNG charges 0.74% a year and QYLD charges 0.60%, so QYLD is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

KNG vs QQQI KNG vs QDTE KNG vs ROCQ KNG vs XQQI QYLD vs RDVI QYLD vs OVLH QYLD vs MAGY QYLD vs VAIE

Where to next

S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats (NOBL) →Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) →KNG on its own →QYLD on its own →KNG dividend history →KNG holdings →QYLD dividend history →QYLD holdings →Method →Standards and sources →

Sources and dates

KNG filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

KNG prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

KNG 19a-1 distribution notice ↗

First Trust page for KNG ↗

QYLD filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

QYLD prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

QYLD 19a-1 distribution notice ↗

Global X page for QYLD ↗

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, KNG against QYLD, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/kng-vs-qyld

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