Data as of .
QLDY vs SPYI: which paid, and which earned it?
Over the year QLDY paid 29.2% of its price in cash against SPYI’s 13.1%, though SPYI returned more with it reinvested.
ETFIQ Return Stability Score: SPYI scores higher
Was the payout funded by returns, or by your own capital?
A percentile among the 173 income ETFs writing on an index or proxy. It is a position in a set, not a rating, and neither end of it is a recommendation. All income ETFs ranked by it · How it is computed
What they hold in common
By the books each fund has filed, QLDY and SPYI hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.
| Only in QLDY | Only in SPYI |
|---|---|
| Ndx 12/18/2026 2001.44 C 94.80% | NVIDIA Corp 8.28% |
| First American Government Obligations Fund 12/01/2031 4.77% | Apple Inc 7.52% |
| United States Treasury Note/bond 2.375% 05/15/2027 0.53% | Microsoft Corp 5.62% |
| Ndxp Us 09/21/26 P29500 0.08% | Amazon.com Inc 3.82% |
| Xnd 12/18/2026 10.44 C 0.05% | Alphabet Inc 3.12% |
| Cash & Other -0.06% | Broadcom Inc 2.59% |
| Nasdaq-1 Put Opt 09/26 29650 -0.16% | Alphabet Inc 2.50% |
| Meta Platforms Inc 2.22% |
Weight overlap is an ETFIQ calculation: for every security both funds hold, the smaller of the two weights, summed. Above 50%, holding both is close to holding one of them twice. Holdings dated Sep 21, 2026.
Performance, window by window
| Window | Total return | Cash paid | Against the benchmark | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QLDY | SPYI | QLDY | SPYI | QLDY | SPYI | |
| 3 months | −6.6% | +3.1% | 8.3% | 3.0% | −4.1 pts | +0.9 pts |
| 6 months | +20.1% | +14.4% | 18.7% | 6.5% | −4.2 pts | −3.6 pts |
| 1 year | +10.6% | +15.3% | 29.2% | 13.1% | −11.2 pts | −1.2 pts |
| 3 years | not published | +57.2% | not published | 38.6% | not published | −21.2 pts |
| Since launch | +10.6% | +77.1% | 29.2% | 50.3% | −11.2 pts | −25.3 pts |
| QLDY Defiance Nasdaq 100 LightningSpread(TM) Income ETF Option income on QQQ, paying weekly | SPYI NEOS S&P 500(R) High Income ETF Option income on SPY, paying monthly | |
|---|---|---|
| Issuer | Defiance | NEOS |
| Strategy | option income | option income |
| Benchmark | Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) | S&P 500 (SPY) |
| Pays | weekly | monthly |
| Payout rate, annualized | 19.6% | 12.1% |
| Expense ratio | 1.04% | 0.68% |
| Cash paid, 1 year | 29.2% | 13.1% |
| Price change, 1 year | −20.3% | +1.2% |
| Total return, 1 year | +10.6% | +15.3% |
| Benchmark return, 1 year | +21.8% | +16.6% |
| Ahead or behind | −11.2 pts | −1.2 pts |
| Return of capital, latest estimate | 100% | 93% |
| Age | 365 days | 1480 days |
| Net assets | $52m | $12.2bn |
QLDY in plain words
Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, QLDY paid 29.2% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 20.3%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +10.6%. Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) returned +21.8% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 11.2 pts. At its price on Sep 18, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 19.6%, paid weekly. Defiance estimates that 100% of the distribution paid Sep 17, 2026 was a return of capital (19a-1 notice, estimated, a tax characterization rather than a measure of erosion).
SPYI in plain words
Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, SPYI paid 13.1% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 1.2%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +15.3%. S&P 500 (SPY) returned +16.6% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 1.2 pts. At its price on Sep 18, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 12.1%, paid monthly. NEOS estimates that 93% of the distribution paid Jun 18, 2026 was a return of capital (19a-1 notice, estimated, a tax characterization rather than a measure of erosion).
Questions people ask
- Which paid more, QLDY or SPYI?
- Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, QLDY paid 29.2% of its starting price in cash and SPYI paid 13.1%, 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, QLDY or SPYI?
- With every distribution reinvested, QLDY returned +10.6% and SPYI returned +15.3% over the year to Sep 18, 2026, so SPYI returned more.
- Which is cheaper, QLDY or SPYI?
- QLDY charges 1.04% a year and SPYI charges 0.68%, so SPYI is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
Other comparisons
Where these figures came from
ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure. It is not affiliated with any issuer, and a link is not an endorsement.
Cite this page. ETFIQ, QLDY against SPYI, data as of Sep 18, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/qldy-vs-spyi Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.