A
vs
B
Share
Open in the appCompare their flowsAsk IQ about these two funds

QLDY vs VAIE: Dividend Yield & Total Return

QLDY and VAIE both write options for income. Net assets on Oct 19, 2026: $56m for Defiance Nasdaq 100 LightningSpread Income ETF and $67m for VegaShares US Equity Autocallable Income ETF.

Ask IQ about this page

Ask IQ about QLDY and VAIE

Answers cite the figures on this page.

VAIE costs 0.30 points a year less; VAIE is 1.2 times larger.

Points (pts) are percentage points.

QLDY vs VAIE: Dividend Yield & Total Return
QLDYVAIE
Expense ratio1.04%0.74%
Net assets, as of Oct 19, 2026$56m$67m
Total return, 1 year+14.3%not published
BenchmarkNasdaq-100, measured through QQQnot published
Holdings in commonnot published
Price changefell 23.4% (1 year)fell 3.6% (since May 12, 2026)
35.3%
QLDY cash paid, 1 year
6.8%
VAIE cash paid, since launch, May 12, 2026
+14.3%
QLDY total return, 1 year
+3.3%
VAIE total return, since launch, May 12, 2026

Get the week's ETF fund flows by email, every Monday.

Plus the Friday ETF note. Confirm from the link that arrives, and unsubscribe in one click. See Privacy.

QLDY · 1 year to Oct 20, 20263.6 pts behind QQQ
QLDY
+14.3%
QQQ
+17.9%

3.6 pts behind QQQ

QLDY over 1 year: paid 35.3%, price −23.4%, total +14.3%, QQQ +17.9%, −3.6 pts. Figures to Oct 20, 2026.

QQQ

+17.9%

QLDY

+14.3%

35.3% of it arrived as cash

3.6 pts behind QQQ

Total return, distributions reinvested

3.6 pts behind QQQ

QLDY over 1 year: paid 35.3%, price −23.4%, total +14.3%, QQQ +17.9%, −3.6 pts. Figures to Oct 20, 2026.

QQQ

+17.9%

QLDY

+14.3%

35.3% as cash

3.6 pts behind QQQ

35.3% of it arrived as cash. Total return, distributions reinvested. QLDY over 1 year: paid 35.3%, price −23.4%, total +14.3%, QQQ +17.9%, −3.6 pts. Figures to Oct 20, 2026.

Figures to Oct 20, 2026.

VAIE · since launch to Oct 20, 2026Not measured
VAIE
+3.3%
none

Not measured

VAIE since launch: paid 6.8%, price −3.6%, total +3.3%, not measured against a benchmark. Figures to Oct 20, 2026.

VAIE

+3.3%

6.8% as cash

Total return, distributions reinvested

Not measured

VAIE since launch: paid 6.8%, price −3.6%, total +3.3%, not measured against a benchmark. Figures to Oct 20, 2026.

VAIE

+3.3%

6.8% of it arrived as cash. Both charts share one scale, with zero at the line. VAIE since launch: paid 6.8%, price −3.6%, total +3.3%, not measured against a benchmark. Figures to Oct 20, 2026.

Figures to Oct 20, 2026.

Performance, window by window

Performance, window by window: QLDY vs VAIE: Dividend Yield & Total Return
Total returnCash paidAgainst the benchmark
WindowQLDYVAIEQLDYVAIEQLDYVAIE
3 months−1.2%+2.5%9.5%4.1%−2.5 ptsnot measured
6 months+9.1%–20.0%–−2.5 pts–
1 year+14.3%–35.3%–−3.6 pts–
Since launch
Not the same days: QLDY Sep 2025 · VAIE May 2026
+17.0%+3.3%37.6%6.8%−4.3 ptsnot measured

Source: ETFIQ. – means no data for this window, usually because the fund is younger than it. Open this comparison in the app →

On the same fields

QLDY
Defiance Nasdaq 100 LightningSpread Income ETF · Option income on QQQ, paying weekly
VAIE
VegaShares US Equity Autocallable Income ETF · Autocallable, paying weekly
Issuer Defiance VegaShares
Strategy option income autocallable
Benchmark Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) none
Pays weekly weekly
Payout rate, annualized 20.5% 16.8%
Expense ratio 1.04% 0.74%
Cash paid, 1 year 35.3% 6.8% (since launch, May 12, 2026)
Price change, 1 year −23.4% −3.6% (since launch, May 12, 2026)
Total return, 1 year +14.3% +3.3% (since launch, May 12, 2026)
Benchmark return, 1 year +17.9% not published
Ahead or behind −3.6 pts not available
Return of capital, latest estimate 100% not published
Age 1.1 years 161 days
Net assets, as of Oct 19, 2026 $56m $67m

As of Oct 20, 2026. Source: ETFIQ. Cash paid is what the fund distributed over the window, as a share of its price at the start. Payout rate is its latest payment, annualized, over today’s price.

About QLDY

Over the year to Oct 20, 2026, QLDY paid 35.3% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 23.4%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +14.3%. Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) returned +17.9% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 3.6 pts. At its price on Oct 20, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 20.5%, paid weekly. Defiance estimates that 100% of the distribution paid Oct 19, 2026 was a return of capital (its 19a-1 notice). That is a tax label, not a measure of erosion.

About VAIE

Over the period from its first trade on May 12, 2026 to Oct 20, 2026, VAIE paid 6.8% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 3.6%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +3.3%. At its price on Oct 20, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 16.8%, paid weekly.

Questions people ask

Which is cheaper, QLDY or VAIE?
QLDY charges 1.04% a year and VAIE charges 0.74%, so VAIE is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
Other comparisons
QLDY vs DOGGQLDY vs YLDEQLDY vs SIOOQLDY vs DJIAVAIE vs QQQYVAIE vs TDAQVAIE vs CAIQVAIE vs XQQI
Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) →All income ETFs ranked by the Distribution Coverage Score →How the scores are computed →QLDY on its own →VAIE on its own →QLDY dividend history →QLDY holdings →VAIE dividend history →How every figure is computed →Standards and sources →
Where these figures came from
QLDY filings on SEC EDGAR ↗QLDY prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗QLDY 19a-1 distribution notice ↗Defiance page for QLDY ↗VAIE filings on SEC EDGAR ↗VAIE prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗VegaShares page for VAIE ↗

ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure; a link is not an endorsement. A comparison is not a recommendation.

How this is computed

Every figure is an ETFIQ calculation with distributions reinvested.

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

ETFIQ, QLDY against VAIE, data as of Oct 20, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/qldy-vs-vaie

Open data

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