Which paid more, LJUL or OCTJ?

Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, LJUL paid 5.2% of its starting price in cash and OCTJ paid 5.3%, so OCTJ paid more. Cash paid is not the same as money made: the price change matters too.

Which returned more once distributions are counted, LJUL or OCTJ?

With every distribution reinvested, LJUL returned +5.3% and OCTJ +5.8% over the year to Nov 4, 2026.

Which is cheaper, LJUL or OCTJ?

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

Data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Income ETFs

LJUL vs OCTJ: Dividend Yield & Total Return

Share on X Download as PDF

Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, OCTJ paid 5.3% of its price in cash against LJUL’s 5.2% and the two finished level on total return.

askIQ about this page

askIQ about LJUL and OCTJ

Net assets on Nov 4, 2026: $9.0m for Innovator Premium Income 15 Buffer ETF - July and $15m for Innovator Premium Income 30 Barrier ETF - October.

LJUL on its own →OCTJ on its own →

At a glance

5.2%

LJUL cash paid, 1 year

5.3%

OCTJ cash paid, 1 year

+5.3%

LJUL total return, 1 year

+5.8%

OCTJ total return, 1 year

LJUL · 1 year to Nov 4, 2026 9.5 pts behind VOO

LJUL

+5.3%

VOO

+14.8%

9.5 pts behind VOO

LJUL over 1 year: paid 5.2%, price 0.0%, total +5.3%, VOO +14.8%, −9.5 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

VOO

+14.8%

LJUL

+5.3%

5.2% of it arrived as cash

9.5 pts behind VOO

Total return, distributions reinvested

9.5 pts behind VOO

LJUL over 1 year: paid 5.2%, price 0.0%, total +5.3%, VOO +14.8%, −9.5 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

VOO

+14.8%

LJUL

+5.3%

9.5 pts behind VOO

5.2% of it arrived as cash. Total return, distributions reinvested. LJUL over 1 year: paid 5.2%, price 0.0%, total +5.3%, VOO +14.8%, −9.5 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

Data to Nov 4, 2026.

OCTJ · 1 year to Nov 4, 2026 9 pts behind SPY

OCTJ

+5.8%

SPY

+14.8%

9 pts behind SPY

OCTJ over 1 year: paid 5.3%, price +0.3%, total +5.8%, SPY +14.8%, −9.0 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

SPY

+14.8%

OCTJ

+5.8%

5.3% of it arrived as cash

9 pts behind SPY

Total return, distributions reinvested

9 pts behind SPY

OCTJ over 1 year: paid 5.3%, price +0.3%, total +5.8%, SPY +14.8%, −9.0 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

SPY

+14.8%

OCTJ

+5.8%

9 pts behind SPY

5.3% of it arrived as cash. Both charts share one scale, 0 to +14.8%. OCTJ over 1 year: paid 5.3%, price +0.3%, total +5.8%, SPY +14.8%, −9.0 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

Both charts share one scale, 0 to +14.8%. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

Pair scorecard

Both cost 0.79% a year; their one-year returns differ by 0.5 points; OCTJ is 1.7 times larger.

Points (pts) are percentage points.

LJUL vs OCTJ: Dividend Yield & Total Return
Measure	LJUL	OCTJ
Paid and earned
Measure	LJUL	OCTJ
Total return, 1 year	+5.3%	+5.8%
Price change, 1 year	fell 0.0%	rose 0.3%
Return of capital, issuer estimate	40% of the Nov 2, 2026 payment	36% of the Oct 2, 2026 payment
Against its benchmark
Measure	LJUL	OCTJ
Benchmark	Vanguard S&P 500 ETF, measured through VOO	S&P 500, measured through SPY
Against its benchmark, same days	behind by 9.5 pts	behind by 9.0 pts
Cost and size
Measure	LJUL	OCTJ
Expense ratio	0.79%	0.79%
Net assets	$9.0m	$15m
Holdings
Measure	LJUL	OCTJ
Holdings in common	0%

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

IQ Income Score57.8LJUL65OCTJ

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

LJUL 57.8

OCTJ 65

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, LJUL and OCTJ hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Jul 31, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

0% in common

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

LJUL Innovator Premium Income 15 Buffer ETF - July · Buffer with income on VOO, paying monthly OCTJ Innovator Premium Income 30 Barrier ETF - October · Defined income on SPY, paying quarterly

Issuer Innovator Innovator

Strategy buffer with income defined income

Benchmark Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) S&P 500 (SPY)

Pays monthly quarterly

Payout rate, annualized 5.3% 5.3%

Expense ratio 0.79% 0.79%

Cash paid, 1 year 5.2% 5.3%

Price change, 1 year 0.0% +0.3%

Total return, 1 year +5.3% +5.8%

Benchmark return, 1 year +14.8% +14.8%

Ahead or behind −9.5 pts −9.0 pts

Return of capital, latest estimate 40% 36%

Age 2.3 years 3.1 years

Net assets $9.0m $15m

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: LJUL vs OCTJ: Dividend Yield & Total Return
	Total return		Cash paid		Against the benchmark
Window	LJUL	OCTJ	LJUL	OCTJ	LJUL	OCTJ
3 months	+1.1%	+1.0%	1.3%	1.3%	+1.3 pts	+1.2 pts
6 months	+2.8%	+2.4%	2.6%	2.6%	−2.3 pts	−2.7 pts
1 year	+5.3%	+5.8%	5.2%	5.3%	−9.5 pts	−9.0 pts
3 years	–	+18.1%	–	17.0%	–	−64.8 pts
Since launchNot the same days: LJUL Jul 2024 · OCTJ Oct 2023	+14.0%	+19.6%	12.6%	17.2%	−30.5 pts	−66.5 pts

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

Alert

About each fund

LJUL

Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, LJUL paid 5.2% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 0.0%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +5.3%. Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) returned +14.8% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 9.5 pts. At its price on Nov 4, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 5.3%, paid monthly. Innovator estimates that 40% of the distribution paid Nov 2, 2026 was a return of capital (its 19a-1 notice). That is a tax label, not a measure of erosion.

OCTJ

Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, OCTJ paid 5.3% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 0.3%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +5.8%. S&P 500 (SPY) returned +14.8% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 9.0 pts. At its price on Nov 4, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 5.3%, paid quarterly. Innovator estimates that 36% of the distribution paid Oct 2, 2026 was a return of capital (its 19a-1 notice).

Questions people ask

Which paid more, LJUL or OCTJ?: Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, LJUL paid 5.2% of its starting price in cash and OCTJ paid 5.3%, so OCTJ paid more. Cash paid is not the same as money made: the price change matters too.
Which returned more once distributions are counted, LJUL or OCTJ?: With every distribution reinvested, LJUL returned +5.3% and OCTJ +5.8% over the year to Nov 4, 2026.
Which is cheaper, LJUL or OCTJ?: LJUL and OCTJ both charge 0.79% a year, so neither is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

LJUL vs OCTH LJUL vs SPUT LJUL vs SCLZ LJUL vs QUSA OCTJ vs LOCT OCTJ vs XIDE OCTJ vs XIMR OCTJ vs XISE

Where to next

Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) →S&P 500 (SPY) →LJUL on its own →OCTJ on its own →LJUL dividend history →OCTJ dividend history →Method →Standards and sources →

Sources and dates

LJUL and OCTJ filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

LJUL prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

LJUL 19a-1 distribution notice ↗

Innovator page for LJUL ↗

OCTJ prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

OCTJ 19a-1 distribution notice ↗

Innovator page for OCTJ ↗

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, LJUL against OCTJ, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/ljul-vs-octj

Open data →

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