Data as of .
QQQI vs SPYI: which paid, and which earned it?
Over the year QQQI paid 14.2% of its price in cash against SPYI’s 12.1%, and 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 161 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, QQQI and SPYI hold 54% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.
| Holding | QQQI | SPYI |
|---|---|---|
| NVIDIA Corp | 7.66% | 7.57% |
| Apple Inc | 6.63% | 6.59% |
| Microsoft Corp | 4.38% | 4.32% |
| Amazon.com Inc | 4.05% | 3.65% |
| Alphabet Inc | 3.32% | 3.28% |
| Broadcom Inc | 2.82% | 2.80% |
| Alphabet Inc | 3.07% | 2.61% |
| Micron Technology Inc | 5.61% | 1.99% |
| Meta Platforms Inc | 2.65% | 1.92% |
| Tesla Inc | 3.35% | 1.85% |
| Advanced Micro Devices Inc | 4.12% | 1.47% |
| Intel Corp | 2.99% | 1.01% |
| Only in QQQI | Only in SPYI |
|---|---|
| ASML Holding NV 0.76% | Eli Lilly & Co 1.47% |
| Shopify Inc 0.61% | Berkshire Hathaway Inc 1.43% |
| MercadoLibre Inc 0.37% | JPMorgan Chase & Co 1.37% |
| Astera Labs Inc 0.35% | Johnson & Johnson 0.95% |
| Nebius Group NV 0.26% | Visa Inc 0.90% |
| Rocket Lab Corp 0.26% | Exxon Mobil Corp 0.89% |
| PDD Holdings Inc 0.23% | Caterpillar Inc 0.77% |
| ARM Holdings PLC 0.22% | AbbVie Inc 0.69% |
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 Jun 30, 2026.
Performance, window by window
| Window | Total return | Cash paid | Against the benchmark | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QQQI | SPYI | QQQI | SPYI | QQQI | SPYI | |
| 3 months | +0.7% | +4.0% | 3.5% | 3.0% | +1.4 pts | +0.7 pts |
| 6 months | +13.7% | +12.6% | 7.5% | 6.3% | −7.0 pts | −3.4 pts |
| 1 year | +16.9% | +15.8% | 14.2% | 12.1% | −6.1 pts | −1.7 pts |
| 3 years | not published | +56.5% | not published | 37.4% | not published | −21.3 pts |
| Since launch | +58.2% | +76.9% | 38.6% | 49.2% | −12.1 pts | −25.6 pts |
| QQQI NEOS Nasdaq-100(R) High Income ETF Covered call on QQQ, paying monthly | SPYI NEOS S&P 500(R) High Income ETF Covered call on SPY, paying monthly | |
|---|---|---|
| Issuer | NEOS | NEOS |
| Strategy | covered call | covered call |
| Benchmark | Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) | S&P 500 (SPY) |
| Pays | monthly | monthly |
| Payout rate, annualized | 14.3% | 12.2% |
| Expense ratio | 0.68% | 0.68% |
| Cash paid, 1 year | 14.2% | 12.1% |
| Price change, 1 year | +1.5% | +2.6% |
| Total return, 1 year | +16.9% | +15.8% |
| Benchmark return, 1 year | +23.0% | +17.5% |
| Ahead or behind | −6.1 pts | −1.7 pts |
| Return of capital, latest estimate | 98% | 93% |
| Age | 955 days | 1473 days |
QQQI in plain words
Over the year to Sep 11, 2026, QQQI paid 14.2% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 1.5%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +16.9%. Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) returned +23.0% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 6.1 pts. At its price on Sep 11, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 14.3%, paid monthly. NEOS estimates that 98% 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).
SPYI in plain words
Over the year to Sep 11, 2026, SPYI paid 12.1% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 2.6%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +15.8%. S&P 500 (SPY) returned +17.5% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 1.7 pts. At its price on Sep 11, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 12.2%, 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, QQQI or SPYI?
- Over the year to Sep 11, 2026, QQQI paid 14.2% of its starting price in cash and SPYI paid 12.1%, so QQQI paid more. Cash paid is not the same as money made: the price change matters too.
- Which returned more once distributions are counted, QQQI or SPYI?
- With every distribution reinvested, QQQI returned +16.9% and SPYI returned +15.8% over the year to Sep 11, 2026, so QQQI returned more.
- Which is cheaper, QQQI or SPYI?
- QQQI charges 0.68% a year and SPYI charges 0.68%, so QQQI 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, QQQI against SPYI, data as of Sep 11, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/qqqi-vs-spyi Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.