Which paid more, MSFO or SPYI?

Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, MSFO paid 26.1% of its starting price in cash and SPYI paid 11.9%, so MSFO paid more. Cash paid is not the same as money made: the price change matters too.

Which returned more once distributions are counted, MSFO or SPYI?

With every distribution reinvested, MSFO returned +0.2% and SPYI +13.6% over the year to Oct 28, 2026.

Which is cheaper, MSFO or SPYI?

MSFO charges 1.03% a year and SPYI charges 0.68%, so SPYI is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Income ETFs

MSFO vs SPYI: Dividend Yield & Total Return

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, MSFO paid 26.1% of its price in cash against SPYI’s 11.9%, though SPYI returned more with it reinvested.

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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $100m for YieldMax MSFT Option Income Strategy ETF and $12.7bn for NEOS S&P 500 High Income ETF.

MSFO on its own →SPYI on its own →

At a glance

26.1%

MSFO cash paid, 1 year

11.9%

SPYI cash paid, 1 year

+0.2%

MSFO total return, 1 year

+13.6%

SPYI total return, 1 year

MSFO · 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 1.4 pts ahead of MSFT

MSFO

+0.2%

MSFT

−1.2%

1.4 pts ahead of MSFT

MSFO over 1 year: paid 26.1%, price −30.2%, total +0.2%, MSFT −1.2%, +1.4 pts. Data to Oct 28, 2026.

MSFT

−1.2%

MSFO

+0.2%

1.4 pts ahead of MSFT

Total return, distributions reinvested

1.4 pts ahead of MSFT

MSFO over 1 year: paid 26.1%, price −30.2%, total +0.2%, MSFT −1.2%, +1.4 pts. Data to Oct 28, 2026.

MSFT

−1.2%

MSFO

+0.2%

1.4 pts ahead of MSFT

26.1% of it arrived as cash. Total return, distributions reinvested. MSFO over 1 year: paid 26.1%, price −30.2%, total +0.2%, MSFT −1.2%, +1.4 pts. Data to Oct 28, 2026.

Data to Oct 28, 2026.

SPYI · 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 About even with SPY

SPYI

+13.6%

SPY

+13.6%

About even with SPY

SPYI over 1 year: paid 11.9%, price +0.8%, total +13.6%, SPY +13.6%, 0.0 pts. Data to Oct 28, 2026.

SPY

+13.6%

SPYI

+13.6%

11.9% of it arrived as cash

about even with SPY

Total return, distributions reinvested

About even with SPY

SPYI over 1 year: paid 11.9%, price +0.8%, total +13.6%, SPY +13.6%, 0.0 pts. Data to Oct 28, 2026.

SPY

+13.6%

SPYI

+13.6%

11.9% as cash

about even with SPY

11.9% of it arrived as cash. Both charts share one scale, with zero at the line. SPYI over 1 year: paid 11.9%, price +0.8%, total +13.6%, SPY +13.6%, 0.0 pts. Data to Oct 28, 2026.

Data to Oct 28, 2026.

Pair scorecard

SPYI costs 0.35 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 13.4 points; SPYI is far larger, $12.7bn against $100m.

Points (pts) are percentage points.

MSFO vs SPYI: Dividend Yield & Total Return
Measure	MSFO	SPYI
Paid and earned
Measure	MSFO	SPYI
Total return, 1 year	+0.2%	+13.6%
Price change, 1 year	fell 30.2%	rose 0.8%
Return of capital, issuer estimate	89% of the Oct 30, 2026 payment	99% of the Oct 23, 2026 payment
Against its benchmark
Measure	MSFO	SPYI
Benchmark	Microsoft (MSFT)	S&P 500, measured through SPY
Cost and size
Measure	MSFO	SPYI
Expense ratio	1.03%	0.68%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$100m	$12.7bn
Holdings
Measure	MSFO	SPYI
Holdings in common	0%

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

MSFO among the 74 income ETFs writing on a single company

IQ Income Score61.5MSFO69.2SPYI

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

MSFO 61.5

0.7, the lowest in this set 99.3, the highest

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

SPYI 69.2

0.3, the lowest in this set 99.7, the highest

A percentile among the 74 income ETFs writing on a single company. SPYI 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

What they share

By the books each fund has filed, MSFO and SPYI 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 MSFO SPYI

Only in one fund ↓

Only in MSFO

United States Treasury Note/Bond 2.375% 05/15/2027 25.91%

United States Treasury Note/Bond 3.375% 09/15/2027 13.60%

MSFT 11/20/2026 480.01 C 11.13%

MSFT US 10/30/26 C535 1.14%

MSFT US 10/30/26 C530 0.73%

MSFT US 10/30/26 C532.5 0.70%

MSFT 11/20/2026 480.01 P -0.54%

MSFT US 10/30/26 C522.5 -1.01%

Only in SPYI

NVIDIA Corp 7.82%

Apple Inc 7.50%

Microsoft Corp 5.89%

Amazon.com Inc 3.74%

Alphabet Inc 2.83%

Broadcom Inc 2.50%

Alphabet Inc 2.28%

Meta Platforms Inc 1.99%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

MSFO YieldMax MSFT Option Income Strategy ETF · Synthetic covered call on MSFT, paying weekly SPYI NEOS S&P 500 High Income ETF · Option income on SPY, paying monthly

Issuer YieldMax NEOS

Strategy synthetic covered call option income

Benchmark Microsoft (MSFT) S&P 500 (SPY)

Pays weekly monthly

Payout rate, annualized 34.0% 11.4%

Expense ratio 1.03% 0.68%

Cash paid, 1 year 26.1% 11.9%

Price change, 1 year −30.2% +0.8%

Total return, 1 year +0.2% +13.6%

Benchmark return, 1 year −1.2% +13.6%

Ahead or behind +1.4 pts 0.0 pts

Return of capital, latest estimate 89% 99%

Age 3.2 years 4.2 years

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $100m $12.7bn

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: MSFO vs SPYI: Dividend Yield & Total Return
	Total return		Cash paid		Against the benchmark
Window	MSFO	SPYI	MSFO	SPYI	MSFO	SPYI
3 months	+31.5%	+6.4%	12.5%	3.1%	−4.8 pts	+0.3 pts
6 months	+20.2%	+8.7%	19.5%	6.1%	−5.4 pts	−0.4 pts
1 year	+0.2%	+13.6%	26.1%	11.9%	+1.5 pts	0.0 pts
3 years	+57.1%	+70.2%	79.1%	41.0%	−7.7 pts	−24.8 pts
Since launchNot the same days: MSFO Aug 2023 · SPYI Aug 2022	+64.8%	+79.8%	83.2%	51.3%	−3.4 pts	−25.4 pts

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Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-FA5399C049

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

Income paid. MSFO paid 26.1% and SPYI 11.9% (cash paid over 1 year, as a share of its price at the start), a gap of 14.2 points.
What each is measured against. MSFO is measured against Microsoft (MSFT) and SPYI against S&P 500 through SPY.
Holdings in common. 0% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 28, 2026).

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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About each fund

MSFO

Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, MSFO paid 26.1% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 30.2%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +0.2%. Microsoft (MSFT) returned −1.2% over the same days, so a holder was ahead by 1.4 pts. At its price on Oct 28, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 34.0%, paid weekly. YieldMax estimates that 89% 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.

SPYI

Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, SPYI paid 11.9% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 0.8%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +13.6%. S&P 500 (SPY) returned +13.6% over the same days, so a holder was about even. At its price on Oct 28, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 11.4%, paid monthly. NEOS estimates that 99% of the distribution paid Oct 23, 2026 was a return of capital (its 19a-1 notice).

Questions people ask

Which paid more, MSFO or SPYI?: Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, MSFO paid 26.1% of its starting price in cash and SPYI paid 11.9%, so MSFO paid more. Cash paid is not the same as money made: the price change matters too.
Which returned more once distributions are counted, MSFO or SPYI?: With every distribution reinvested, MSFO returned +0.2% and SPYI +13.6% over the year to Oct 28, 2026.
Which is cheaper, MSFO or SPYI?: MSFO charges 1.03% a year and SPYI charges 0.68%, so SPYI is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

MSFO vs XYLD MSFO vs BALI MSFO vs AIPI MSFO vs DIVO SPYI vs PCOV SPYI vs RECI SPYI vs VOOY SPYI vs VAIE

Where to next

S&P 500 (SPY) →MSFO on its own →SPYI on its own →MSFO dividend history →MSFO holdings →SPYI dividend history →SPYI holdings →Method →Standards and sources →

Sources and dates

MSFO filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

MSFO prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

MSFO 19a-1 distribution notice ↗

YieldMax page for MSFO ↗

SPYI filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

SPYI prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

SPYI 19a-1 distribution notice ↗

NEOS page for SPYI ↗

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, MSFO against SPYI, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/msfo-vs-spyi

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