Which is cheaper, NLSI or QYLD?

NLSI charges 2.89% 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

NLSI vs QYLD: Dividend Yield & Total Return

NLSI and QYLD both write options for income.

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Net assets: $5.3m on Oct 28, 2026 for NEOS Long/Short Equity Income ETF, and $8.5bn on Oct 12, 2026 for Global X NASDAQ 100 Covered Call ETF.

NLSI on its own →QYLD on its own →

At a glance

5.0%

NLSI cash paid, since launch, Dec 10, 2025

12.3%

QYLD cash paid, 1 year

+17.7%

NLSI total return, since launch, Dec 10, 2025

+16.5%

QYLD total return, 1 year

NLSI · since launch to Nov 4, 2026 5 pts ahead of SPY

NLSI

+17.7%

SPY

+12.7%

5 pts ahead of SPY

NLSI since launch: paid 5.0%, price +12.0%, total +17.7%, SPY +12.7%, +5.0 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

SPY

+12.7%

NLSI

+17.7%

5.0% as cash

5 pts ahead of SPY

Total return, distributions reinvested

5 pts ahead of SPY

NLSI since launch: paid 5.0%, price +12.0%, total +17.7%, SPY +12.7%, +5.0 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

SPY

+12.7%

NLSI

+17.7%

5 pts ahead of SPY

5.0% of it arrived as cash. Total return, distributions reinvested. NLSI since launch: paid 5.0%, price +12.0%, total +17.7%, SPY +12.7%, +5.0 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%

12.3% as cash

4.2 pts ahead of QQQ

12.3% of it arrived as cash. Both charts share one scale, 0 to +17.7%. 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 +17.7%. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

Pair scorecard

QYLD costs 2.29 points a year less; QYLD is far larger, $8.5bn against $4.7m.

Points (pts) are percentage points.

NLSI vs QYLD: Dividend Yield & Total Return
Measure	NLSI	QYLD
Paid and earned
Measure	NLSI	QYLD
Total return, 1 year	not published	+16.5%
Price change	rose 12.0% (since Dec 10, 2025)	rose 3.3% (1 year)
Return of capital, issuer estimate	100% of the Oct 30, 2026 payment	99% of the Sep 24, 2026 payment
Against its benchmark
Measure	NLSI	QYLD
Benchmark	S&P 500, measured through SPY	Nasdaq-100, measured through QQQ
Against its benchmark, same days	ahead by 5.0 pts	ahead by 4.2 pts
Cost and size
Measure	NLSI	QYLD
Expense ratio	2.89%	0.60%
Net assets, as of Oct 12, 2026	$4.7m	$8.5bn
Holdings
Measure	NLSI	QYLD
Holdings in common	9%

Method

What they share

By the books each fund has filed, NLSI and QYLD hold 9% 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

9% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first NLSI QYLD

Micron Technology Inc 12.00% 4.32%

Seagate Technology Holdings PLC 4.06% 0.90%

Western Digital Corp 2.46% 0.88%

T-Mobile US Inc 4.14% 0.87%

AppLovin Corp 2.75% 0.56%

Intuit Inc 4.45% 0.40%

NXP Semiconductors NV 3.23% 0.27%

Diamondback Energy Inc 4.22% 0.27%

PayPal Holdings Inc 4.29% 0.24%

Teradyne Inc -1.31% 0.26%

Applied Materials Inc -1.44% 1.88%

Alphabet Inc -1.47% 3.50%

Only in one fund ↓

Only in NLSI

Marathon Petroleum Corp 5.94%

Valero Energy Corp 5.14%

Chevron Corp 4.51%

Walt Disney Co 4.42%

Phillips 66 4.39%

Comfort Systems USA Inc 4.30%

American International Group Inc 4.28%

KKR & Co Inc 4.25%

Only in QYLD

NVIDIA CORPORATION 8.20%

APPLE INC. 7.65%

MICROSOFT CORPORATION 5.82%

ADVANCED MICRO DEVICES, INC. 3.62%

ALPHABET INC. 3.28%

BROADCOM INC. 3.11%

TESLA, INC. 2.62%

INTEL CORPORATION 2.11%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

NLSI NEOS Long/Short Equity Income ETF · Option income on SPY, paying monthly QYLD Global X NASDAQ 100 Covered Call ETF · Covered call on QQQ, paying monthly

Issuer NEOS Global X

Strategy option income covered call

Benchmark S&P 500 (SPY) Nasdaq-100 (QQQ)

Pays monthly monthly

Payout rate, annualized 5.6% 12.2%

Expense ratio 2.89% 0.60%

Cash paid, 1 year 5.0% (since launch, Dec 10, 2025) 12.3%

Price change, 1 year +12.0% (since launch, Dec 10, 2025) +3.3%

Total return, 1 year +17.7% (since launch, Dec 10, 2025) +16.5%

Benchmark return, 1 year +12.7% (since launch, Dec 10, 2025) +12.3%

Ahead or behind +5.0 pts (since launch, Dec 10, 2025) +4.2 pts

Return of capital, latest estimate 100% 99%

Age 329 days 12.9 years

Net assets, NLSI as of Oct 28, 2026 and QYLD as of Oct 12, 2026 $5.3m $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: NLSI vs QYLD: Dividend Yield & Total Return
	Total return		Cash paid		Against the benchmark
Window	NLSI	QYLD	NLSI	QYLD	NLSI	QYLD
3 months	+6.7%	+2.4%	1.4%	3.0%	+6.9 pts	+5.9 pts
6 months	+21.4%	+5.4%	3.0%	6.0%	+16.4 pts	+5.8 pts
1 year	–	+16.5%	–	12.3%	–	+4.2 pts
3 years	–	+52.7%	–	37.9%	–	−38.6 pts
Since launchNot the same days: NLSI Dec 2025 · QYLD Dec 2013	+17.7%	+194.8%	5.0%	117.5%	+4.9 pts	−610.5 pts

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Alert

About each fund

NLSI

Over the period from its first trade on Dec 10, 2025 to Nov 4, 2026, NLSI paid 5.0% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 12.0%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +17.7%. S&P 500 (SPY) returned +12.7% over the same days, so a holder was ahead by 5.0 pts. At its price on Nov 4, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 5.6%, paid monthly. NEOS estimates that 100% 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 is cheaper, NLSI or QYLD?: NLSI charges 2.89% a year and QYLD charges 0.60%, so QYLD is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

NLSI vs GPIQ NLSI vs QQQI NLSI vs JEPQ NLSI vs FTQI QYLD vs TPRY QYLD vs OCTJ QYLD vs OCTH QYLD vs SPUT

Where to next

S&P 500 (SPY) →Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) →All income ETFs ranked by the Distribution Coverage Score →How the scores are computed →NLSI on its own →QYLD on its own →NLSI dividend history →NLSI holdings →QYLD dividend history →QYLD holdings →Method →Standards and sources →

Sources and dates

NLSI filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

NLSI prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

NLSI 19a-1 distribution notice ↗

NEOS page for NLSI ↗

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

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

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