Which paid more, QQQY or YMAG?

Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, QQQY paid 29.9% of its starting price in cash and YMAG paid 33.4%, so YMAG paid more. Cash paid is not the same as money made: the price change matters too.

Which returned more once distributions are counted, QQQY or YMAG?

With every distribution reinvested, QQQY returned +13.6% and YMAG +5.8% over the year to Nov 4, 2026.

Which is cheaper, QQQY or YMAG?

QQQY charges 1.01% a year and YMAG charges 1.34%, so QQQY is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Income ETFs

QQQY vs YMAG: Dividend Yield & Total Return

Share on X Download as PDF

Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, YMAG paid 33.4% of its price in cash against QQQY’s 29.9%, though QQQY returned more with it reinvested.

askIQ about this page

askIQ about QQQY and YMAG

Net assets on Nov 3, 2026: $178m for Defiance Nasdaq 100 Weekly Distribution ETF and $268m for YieldMax Magnificent 7 Fund of Option Income ETFs.

QQQY on its own →YMAG on its own →

At a glance

29.9%

QQQY cash paid, 1 year

33.4%

YMAG cash paid, 1 year

+13.6%

QQQY total return, 1 year

+5.8%

YMAG total return, 1 year

QQQY · 1 year to Nov 4, 2026 1.3 pts ahead of QQQ

QQQY

+13.6%

QQQ

+12.3%

1.3 pts ahead of QQQ

QQQY over 1 year: paid 29.9%, price −17.8%, total +13.6%, QQQ +12.3%, +1.3 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

QQQ

+12.3%

QQQY

+13.6%

29.9% of it arrived as cash

1.3 pts ahead of QQQ

Total return, distributions reinvested

1.3 pts ahead of QQQ

QQQY over 1 year: paid 29.9%, price −17.8%, total +13.6%, QQQ +12.3%, +1.3 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

QQQ

+12.3%

QQQY

+13.6%

29.9% as cash

1.3 pts ahead of QQQ

29.9% of it arrived as cash. Total return, distributions reinvested. QQQY over 1 year: paid 29.9%, price −17.8%, total +13.6%, QQQ +12.3%, +1.3 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

Data to Nov 4, 2026.

YMAG · 1 year to Nov 4, 2026 1.2 pts ahead of its own holdings

YMAG

+5.8%

Own

+4.6%

1.2 pts ahead of its own holdings

YMAG over 1 year: paid 33.4%, price −29.4%, total +5.8%, its own holdings +4.6%, +1.2 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

its own holdings

+4.6%

YMAG

+5.8%

33.4% of it arrived as cash

1.2 pts ahead of its own holdings

Total return, distributions reinvested

1.2 pts ahead of its own holdings

YMAG over 1 year: paid 33.4%, price −29.4%, total +5.8%, its own holdings +4.6%, +1.2 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

its own holdings

+4.6%

YMAG

+5.8%

1.2 pts ahead of its own holdings

33.4% of it arrived as cash. Both charts share one scale, with zero at the line. YMAG over 1 year: paid 33.4%, price −29.4%, total +5.8%, its own holdings +4.6%, +1.2 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

Data to Nov 4, 2026.

Pair scorecard

QQQY costs 0.33 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 7.8 points; YMAG is 1.5 times larger.

Points (pts) are percentage points.

QQQY vs YMAG: Dividend Yield & Total Return
Measure	QQQY	YMAG
Paid and earned
Measure	QQQY	YMAG
Total return, 1 year	+13.6%	+5.8%
Price change, 1 year	fell 17.8%	fell 29.4%
Return of capital, issuer estimate	81% of the Oct 30, 2026 payment	11% of the Nov 5, 2026 payment
Against its benchmark
Measure	QQQY	YMAG
Benchmark	Nasdaq-100, measured through QQQ	its own holdings
Cost and size
Measure	QQQY	YMAG
Expense ratio	1.01%	1.34%
Net assets, as of Nov 3, 2026	$178m	$268m
Holdings
Measure	QQQY	YMAG
Holdings in common	0%

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

IQ Income Score33.8QQQY23.1YMAG

How much of its payouts the fund's total return covered, ranked against 167 income ETFs not writing on a single company. 100 is best. How it is computed

QQQY 33.8

YMAG 23.1

0.3, the lowest in this set 99.7, the highest

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 →

Method

Risk and return

Feb 9, 2024 to Oct 30, 2026 · 142 weekly returns

QQQY YMAG

Return

Total return edge YMAG +35.3% +59.6%

Annualized edge YMAG +11.7% +18.7%

Price return edge YMAG −60.8% −48.9%

Risk

Volatility edge QQQY 15.4% 19.5%

Max drawdown edge QQQY −18.3% −23.7%

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge YMAG 0.51 0.75

Sortino edge YMAG 0.72 1.13

Calmar edge YMAG 0.64 0.79

Reading

From Feb 2024 to Oct 2026, YMAG returned more: +59.6% to +35.3%. QQQY swung less: 15.4% to 19.5%. QQQY fell less at its worst: −18.3% to −23.7%.

Full scorecard

9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: QQQY vs YMAG: Dividend Yield & Total Return
Measure	QQQY	YMAG	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+35.3%	+59.6%	YMAG	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+11.7%	+18.7%	YMAG	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	−60.8%	−48.9%	YMAG	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	15.4%	19.5%	QQQY	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	11.0%	13.0%	QQQY	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−18.3%	−23.7%	QQQY	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	0.51	0.75	YMAG	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	0.72	1.13	YMAG	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Calmar	0.64	0.79	YMAG	Annualized return divided by the max drawdown.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 142 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

What they share

By the books each fund has filed, QQQY and YMAG hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Nov 4, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

0% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first QQQY YMAG

Only in one fund ↓

Only in QQQY

Ndx 12/18/2026 1000.34 C 98.45%

Ndx 11/05/2026 28516.79 C 0.38%

Ndx 11/05/2026 28437.17 C -0.51%

Only in YMAG

YieldMax MSFT Option Income Strategy ETF 15.10%

YieldMax AAPL Option Income Strategy ETF 15.04%

YieldMax Amzn Option Income ETF 14.92%

YieldMax Tsla Option Income ETF 14.83%

YieldMax NVDA Option Income Strategy ETF 13.66%

YieldMax Meta Option Income Strategy ETF 13.26%

YieldMax GOOGL Option Income Strategy ETF 12.23%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

QQQY Defiance Nasdaq 100 Weekly Distribution ETF · Option income on QQQ, paying weekly YMAG YieldMax Magnificent 7 Fund of Option Income ETFs · Synthetic covered call on its own holdings, paying weekly

Issuer Defiance YieldMax

Strategy option income synthetic covered call

Benchmark Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) YMAG's own holdings, without the options (from its filed holdings, rebalanced at each filing; latest Nov 2, 2026)

Pays weekly weekly

Payout rate, annualized 31.5% 31.4%

Expense ratio 1.01% 1.34%

Cash paid, 1 year 29.9% 33.4%

Price change, 1 year −17.8% −29.4%

Total return, 1 year +13.6% +5.8%

Benchmark return, 1 year +12.3% +4.6%

Ahead or behind +1.3 pts +1.2 pts

Return of capital, latest estimate 81% 11%

Age 3.1 years 2.8 years

Net assets, as of Nov 3, 2026 $178m $268m

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: QQQY vs YMAG: Dividend Yield & Total Return
	Total return		Cash paid		Against the benchmark
Window	QQQY	YMAG	QQQY	YMAG	QQQY	YMAG
3 months	−3.5%	+3.3%	7.3%	9.1%	−0.1 pts	+0.3 pts
6 months	+0.4%	+1.9%	15.4%	18.1%	+0.7 pts	−0.2 pts
1 year	+13.6%	+5.8%	29.9%	33.4%	+1.3 pts	+1.2 pts
3 years	+51.9%	–	88.2%	–	−39.4 pts	–
Since launchNot the same days: QQQY Sep 2023 · YMAG Jan 2024	+49.8%	+70.3%	88.1%	91.7%	−37.0 pts	not measured

– means no data for this window. Open this comparison in the app →

Client brief:

The two-page PDF for this pair is coming. Save the comparison to follow its changes. Free. It needs an email sign-in, once.

Your saved page · Privacy.

Alert

About each fund

QQQY

Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, QQQY paid 29.9% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 17.8%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +13.6%. Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) returned +12.3% over the same days, so a holder was ahead by 1.3 pts. At its price on Nov 4, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 31.5%, paid weekly. Defiance estimates that 81% 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.

YMAG

Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, YMAG paid 33.4% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 29.4%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +5.8%. YMAG's own holdings, without the options (from its filed holdings, rebalanced at each filing; latest Nov 2, 2026) returned +4.6% over the same days, so a holder was ahead by 1.2 pts. At its price on Nov 4, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 31.4%, paid weekly. YieldMax estimates that 11% of the distribution paid Nov 5, 2026 was a return of capital (its 19a-1 notice).

Questions people ask

Which paid more, QQQY or YMAG?: Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, QQQY paid 29.9% of its starting price in cash and YMAG paid 33.4%, so YMAG paid more. Cash paid is not the same as money made: the price change matters too.
Which returned more once distributions are counted, QQQY or YMAG?: With every distribution reinvested, QQQY returned +13.6% and YMAG +5.8% over the year to Nov 4, 2026.
Which is cheaper, QQQY or YMAG?: QQQY charges 1.01% a year and YMAG charges 1.34%, so QQQY is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

QQQY vs ULTY QQQY vs SIXH QQQY vs ODTE QQQY vs YYY YMAG vs QYLG YMAG vs BALQ YMAG vs ACQQ YMAG vs QRMI

Where to next

Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) →QQQY on its own →YMAG on its own →QQQY dividend history →QQQY holdings →YMAG dividend history →YMAG holdings →Method →Standards and sources →

Sources and dates

QQQY and YMAG filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

QQQY prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

QQQY 19a-1 distribution notice ↗

Defiance page for QQQY ↗

YMAG prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

YMAG 19a-1 distribution notice ↗

YieldMax page for YMAG ↗

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, QQQY against YMAG, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/qqqy-vs-ymag

Open data →

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