Which paid more, QXQ or XISE?

Over the year to Nov 12, 2026, QXQ paid 15.1% of its starting price in cash and XISE paid 6.1%, so QXQ paid more. Cash paid is not the same as money made: the price change matters too.

Which returned more once distributions are counted, QXQ or XISE?

With every distribution reinvested, QXQ returned +12.1% and XISE +6.2% over the year to Nov 12, 2026.

Which is cheaper, QXQ or XISE?

QXQ charges 0.98% a year and XISE charges 0.85%, so XISE is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Nov 12, 2026.

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QXQ vs XISE: Dividend Yield & Total Return

Return, fees and overlap, side by side.

Return gap

+5.9 pts

1 year to Nov 12, 2026: QXQ ahead, total return

Fee gap

0.13 pts

A year: QXQ 0.98%, XISE 0.85%, per filings dated Jan 5, 2026 and Sep 21, 2026

Overlap

–

No book read for both funds

Net flow

–

Needs daily flows for both funds

Pair scorecard

XISE costs 0.13 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 5.9 points.

Points (pts) are percentage points.

QXQ vs XISE: Dividend Yield & Total Return
Measure	QXQ	XISE
Paid and earned
Measure	QXQ	XISE
Total return, 1 year	+12.1%	+6.2%
Price change, 1 year	fell 4.7%	fell 0.0%
Against its benchmark
Measure	QXQ	XISE
Benchmark	Nasdaq-100, measured through QQQ	Vanguard S&P 500 ETF, measured through VOO
Cost and size
Measure	QXQ	XISE
Expense ratio	0.98%	0.85%
Net assets, QXQ as of Aug 31, 2026 and XISE as of Nov 11, 2026	$82m	$33m
Holdings
Measure	QXQ	XISE
Holdings in common	not published

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

IQ Income Score52QXQ64.3XISE

How much of its payouts the fund's total return covered, ranked against 171 income ETFs not writing on a single company. 100 is best. How it is computed

QXQ 52

XISE 64.3

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

Key numbers

15.1%

QXQ cash paid, 1 year

6.1%

XISE cash paid, 1 year

+12.1%

QXQ total return, 1 year

+6.2%

XISE total return, 1 year

QXQ · 1 year to Nov 12, 2026 0.8 pts ahead of QQQ

QXQ

+12.1%

QQQ

+11.3%

0.8 pts ahead of QQQ

QXQ over 1 year: paid 15.1%, price −4.7%, total +12.1%, QQQ +11.3%, +0.8 pts. Data to Nov 12, 2026.

QQQ

+11.3%

QXQ

+12.1%

15.1% of it arrived as cash

0.8 pts ahead of QQQ

Total return, distributions reinvested

0.8 pts ahead of QQQ

QXQ over 1 year: paid 15.1%, price −4.7%, total +12.1%, QQQ +11.3%, +0.8 pts. Data to Nov 12, 2026.

QQQ

+11.3%

QXQ

+12.1%

15.1% as cash

0.8 pts ahead of QQQ

15.1% of it arrived as cash. Total return, distributions reinvested. QXQ over 1 year: paid 15.1%, price −4.7%, total +12.1%, QQQ +11.3%, +0.8 pts. Data to Nov 12, 2026.

Data to Nov 12, 2026.

XISE · 1 year to Nov 12, 2026 5.9 pts behind VOO

XISE

+6.2%

VOO

+12.1%

5.9 pts behind VOO

XISE over 1 year: paid 6.1%, price 0.0%, total +6.2%, VOO +12.1%, −5.9 pts. Data to Nov 12, 2026.

VOO

+12.1%

XISE

+6.2%

6.1% of it arrived as cash

5.9 pts behind VOO

Total return, distributions reinvested

5.9 pts behind VOO

XISE over 1 year: paid 6.1%, price 0.0%, total +6.2%, VOO +12.1%, −5.9 pts. Data to Nov 12, 2026.

VOO

+12.1%

XISE

+6.2%

6.1% cash

5.9 pts behind VOO

6.1% of it arrived as cash. Both charts share one scale, with zero at the line. XISE over 1 year: paid 6.1%, price 0.0%, total +6.2%, VOO +12.1%, −5.9 pts. Data to Nov 12, 2026.

Data to Nov 12, 2026.

Side by side

QXQ SGI Enhanced Nasdaq-100 ETF · Covered call on QQQ, paying quarterly XISE FT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer & Premium Income ETF - September · Buffer with income on VOO, paying monthly

Issuer SGI First Trust

Strategy covered call buffer with income

Benchmark Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO)

Pays quarterly monthly

Payout rate, annualized 1.0% 6.8%

Expense ratio 0.98% 0.85%

Cash paid, 1 year 15.1% 6.1%

Price change, 1 year −4.7% 0.0%

Total return, 1 year +12.1% +6.2%

Benchmark return, 1 year +11.3% +12.1%

Ahead or behind +0.8 pts −5.9 pts

Return of capital, latest estimate not published 0%

Age 2.4 years 3.2 years

Net assets, QXQ as of Aug 31, 2026 and XISE as of Nov 11, 2026 $82m $33m

As of Nov 12, 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: QXQ vs XISE: Dividend Yield & Total Return
	Total return		Cash paid		Against the benchmark
Window	QXQ	XISE	QXQ	XISE	QXQ	XISE
3 months	−5.4%	+0.9%	0.2%	1.6%	+0.5 pts	+3.3 pts
6 months	−3.8%	+2.3%	0.5%	3.1%	+0.4 pts	+0.6 pts
1 year	+12.1%	+6.2%	15.1%	6.1%	+0.8 pts	−5.8 pts
3 years	–	+20.4%	–	19.0%	–	−58.4 pts
Since launchNot the same days: QXQ Jun 2024 · XISE Sep 2023	+47.7%	+21.8%	22.8%	19.7%	+2.2 pts	−55.6 pts

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

Alert

About each fund

QXQ

Over the year to Nov 12, 2026, QXQ paid 15.1% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 4.7%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +12.1%. Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) returned +11.3% over the same days, so a holder was ahead by 0.8 pts. At its price on Nov 12, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 1.0%, paid quarterly.

XISE

Over the year to Nov 12, 2026, XISE paid 6.1% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 0.0%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +6.2%. Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) returned +12.1% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 5.9 pts. At its price on Nov 12, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 6.8%, paid monthly. First Trust estimates that 0% of the distribution paid Nov 3, 2026 was a return of capital (its 19a-1 notice). That is a tax label, not a measure of erosion.

Questions people ask

Which paid more, QXQ or XISE?: Over the year to Nov 12, 2026, QXQ paid 15.1% of its starting price in cash and XISE paid 6.1%, so QXQ paid more. Cash paid is not the same as money made: the price change matters too.
Which returned more once distributions are counted, QXQ or XISE?: With every distribution reinvested, QXQ returned +12.1% and XISE +6.2% over the year to Nov 12, 2026.
Which is cheaper, QXQ or XISE?: QXQ charges 0.98% a year and XISE charges 0.85%, so XISE is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

QXQ vs OVL QXQ vs SDTY QXQ vs XIMR QXQ vs XIJN XISE vs BALQ XISE vs QYLG XISE vs TDAQ XISE vs CAIQ

Where to next

Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) →Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) →QXQ on its own →XISE on its own →QXQ dividend history →XISE dividend history →XISE holdings →Method →Standards and sources →

Sources and dates

QXQ filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

QXQ prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

SGI website ↗

XISE filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

XISE prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

XISE 19a-1 distribution notice ↗

First Trust page for XISE ↗

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.

Every number is an ETFIQ calculation with distributions reinvested.

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

ETFIQ, QXQ against XISE, data as of Nov 12, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/qxq-vs-xise

Open data →

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

Net assets: $82m on Aug 31, 2026 for SGI Enhanced Nasdaq-100 ETF, and $33m on Nov 11, 2026 for FT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer & Premium Income ETF - September.

QXQ on its own →XISE on its own →

Growth of 100

QXQ and XISE

Total return, distributions reinvested, 1 year.

QXQ +12.1%XISE +6.2%

Nov 12, 2025Nov 12, 2026

QXQ +12.1%, XISE +6.2%: QXQ +5.9 pts ahead, 1 year, Nov 12, 2025 to Nov 12, 2026.