Which paid more, QYLD or RYLD?

Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, QYLD paid 12.3% of its starting price in cash and RYLD paid 12.1%, so QYLD paid more. Cash paid is not the same as money made: the price change matters too.

Which returned more once distributions are counted, QYLD or RYLD?

With every distribution reinvested, QYLD returned +19.3% and RYLD +12.1% over the year to Oct 28, 2026.

Which is cheaper, QYLD or RYLD?

QYLD and RYLD both charge 0.60% a year, so neither is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Income ETFs

QYLD vs RYLD: Dividend Yield & Total Return

Share on X Download as PDF

Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, QYLD paid 12.3% of its price in cash against RYLD’s 12.1%, and returned more with it reinvested.

askIQ about this page

askIQ about QYLD and RYLD

Net assets on Oct 12, 2026: $8.5bn for Global X NASDAQ 100 Covered Call ETF and $1.3bn for Global X Russell 2000 Covered Call ETF.

QYLD on its own →RYLD on its own →

At a glance

12.3%

QYLD cash paid, 1 year

12.1%

RYLD cash paid, 1 year

+19.3%

QYLD total return, 1 year

+12.1%

RYLD total return, 1 year

QYLD · 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 4.1 pts ahead of QQQ

QYLD

+19.3%

QQQ

+15.2%

4.1 pts ahead of QQQ

QYLD over 1 year: paid 12.3%, price +5.8%, total +19.3%, QQQ +15.2%, +4.1 pts. Data to Oct 28, 2026.

QQQ

+15.2%

QYLD

+19.3%

12.3% of it arrived as cash

4.1 pts ahead of QQQ

Total return, distributions reinvested

4.1 pts ahead of QQQ

QYLD over 1 year: paid 12.3%, price +5.8%, total +19.3%, QQQ +15.2%, +4.1 pts. Data to Oct 28, 2026.

QQQ

+15.2%

QYLD

+19.3%

12.3% cash

4.1 pts ahead of QQQ

12.3% of it arrived as cash. Total return, distributions reinvested. QYLD over 1 year: paid 12.3%, price +5.8%, total +19.3%, QQQ +15.2%, +4.1 pts. Data to Oct 28, 2026.

Data to Oct 28, 2026.

RYLD · 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 2 pts behind IWM

RYLD

+12.1%

IWM

+14.1%

2 pts behind IWM

RYLD over 1 year: paid 12.1%, price −0.6%, total +12.1%, IWM +14.1%, −2.0 pts. Data to Oct 28, 2026.

IWM

+14.1%

RYLD

+12.1%

12.1% of it arrived as cash

2 pts behind IWM

Total return, distributions reinvested

2 pts behind IWM

RYLD over 1 year: paid 12.1%, price −0.6%, total +12.1%, IWM +14.1%, −2.0 pts. Data to Oct 28, 2026.

IWM

+14.1%

RYLD

+12.1%

12.1% cash

2 pts behind IWM

12.1% of it arrived as cash. Both charts share one scale, with zero at the line. RYLD over 1 year: paid 12.1%, price −0.6%, total +12.1%, IWM +14.1%, −2.0 pts. Data to Oct 28, 2026.

Data to Oct 28, 2026.

Pair scorecard

Both cost 0.60% a year; their one-year returns differ by 7.2 points; QYLD is 6.5 times larger.

Points (pts) are percentage points.

QYLD vs RYLD: Dividend Yield & Total Return
Measure	QYLD	RYLD
Paid and earned
Measure	QYLD	RYLD
Total return, 1 year	+19.3%	+12.1%
Price change, 1 year	rose 5.8%	fell 0.6%
Return of capital, issuer estimate	99% of the Sep 24, 2026 payment	100% of the Sep 24, 2026 payment
Against its benchmark
Measure	QYLD	RYLD
Benchmark	Nasdaq-100, measured through QQQ	Russell 2000, measured through IWM
Against its benchmark, same days	ahead by 4.1 pts	behind by 2.0 pts
Cost and size
Measure	QYLD	RYLD
Expense ratio	0.60%	0.60%
Net assets, as of Oct 12, 2026	$8.5bn	$1.3bn
Holdings
Measure	QYLD	RYLD
Holdings in common	0%

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

IQ Income Score82QYLD57.6RYLD

How much of its payouts the fund's total return covered, ranked against 164 income ETFs not writing on a single company. 100 is best. How it is computed

QYLD 82

RYLD 57.6

0.3, the lowest in this set 99.7, the highest

A percentile among the 164 income ETFs not writing on a single company. 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 →

Holdings in common uses holdings dated Jul 31, 2026. Method

Risk and return

May 3, 2019 to Oct 23, 2026 · 390 weekly returns

QYLD RYLD

Return

Total return edge QYLD +93.2% +45.4%

Annualized edge QYLD +9.2% +5.1%

Price return edge QYLD −21.3% −40.0%

Risk

Volatility edge QYLD 13.4% 15.4%

Max drawdown edge QYLD −24.5% −38.1%

Downside capture 64.8% 62.8%

Beta 0.55 0.54

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge QYLD 0.51 0.22

Sortino edge QYLD 0.69 0.27

Treynor 0.129 0.063

Calmar edge QYLD 0.37 0.13

Against the benchmark

Alpha −2.3% a year −1.3% a year

Alpha t-stat −1.36 −0.43

Information ratio −0.94 −0.38

Tracking error 10.6% 13.9%

Each against its own benchmark: QYLD against QQQ, Dec 20, 2013 to Oct 23, 2026; RYLD against IWM, May 3, 2019 to Oct 23, 2026.

Reading

QYLD returned more: +93.2% to +45.4%. QYLD swung less: 13.4% to 15.4%. QYLD fell less at its worst: −24.5% to −38.1%.

Full scorecard

19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: QYLD vs RYLD: Dividend Yield & Total Return
Measure	QYLD	RYLD	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+93.2%	+45.4%	QYLD	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+9.2%	+5.1%	QYLD	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	−21.3%	−40.0%	QYLD	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	13.4%	15.4%	QYLD	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	10.0%	12.6%	QYLD	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−24.5%	−38.1%	QYLD	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Upside capture	37.8%	33.1%		Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose.
Downside capture	64.8%	62.8%		Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better.
Beta	0.55	0.54	Not an edge	How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves.
R squared	0.77	0.73	Not an edge	Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	0.51	0.22	QYLD	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	0.69	0.27	QYLD	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Treynor	0.129	0.063		Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta.
Calmar	0.37	0.13	QYLD	Annualized return divided by the max drawdown.
Against the benchmark
Benchmark	QQQ	IWM		The ETF each fund is measured against.
Alpha	−2.3% a year	−1.3% a year	Not significant	Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts.
Alpha t-stat	−1.36	−0.43	Not an edge	How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance.
Alpha range	−5.5% to +1.0%	−7.0% to +4.5%	Includes zero	The 95% range for the yearly alpha.
Information ratio	−0.94	−0.38		Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error.
Tracking error	10.6%	13.9%	Not an edge	How far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 390 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

What they share

By the books each fund has filed, QYLD and RYLD hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Jul 31, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

0% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first QYLD RYLD

Only in one fund ↓

Only in QYLD

NVIDIA CORPORATION 8.20%

APPLE INC. 7.65%

MICROSOFT CORPORATION 5.82%

AMAZON.COM, INC. 4.93%

MICRON TECHNOLOGY, INC. 4.32%

ADVANCED MICRO DEVICES, INC. 3.62%

ALPHABET INC. 3.50%

ALPHABET INC. 3.28%

Only in RYLD

Global X Russell 2000 ETF 100.94%

N/A 0.00%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

QYLD Global X NASDAQ 100 Covered Call ETF · Covered call on QQQ, paying monthly RYLD Global X Russell 2000 Covered Call ETF · Covered call on IWM, paying monthly

Issuer Global X Global X

Strategy covered call covered call

Benchmark Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) Russell 2000 (IWM)

Pays monthly monthly

Payout rate, annualized 11.9% 11.5%

Expense ratio 0.60% 0.60%

Cash paid, 1 year 12.3% 12.1%

Price change, 1 year +5.8% −0.6%

Total return, 1 year +19.3% +12.1%

Benchmark return, 1 year +15.2% +14.1%

Ahead or behind +4.1 pts −2.0 pts

Return of capital, latest estimate 99% 100%

Age 12.9 years 7.5 years

Net assets, as of Oct 12, 2026 $8.5bn $1.3bn

As of Oct 28, 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: QYLD vs RYLD: Dividend Yield & Total Return
	Total return		Cash paid		Against the benchmark
Window	QYLD	RYLD	QYLD	RYLD	QYLD	RYLD
3 months	+10.4%	−0.3%	3.1%	2.9%	+0.6 pts	+1.9 pts
6 months	+9.4%	+6.8%	6.1%	6.2%	−0.5 pts	+2.9 pts
1 year	+19.3%	+12.1%	12.3%	12.1%	+4.1 pts	−2.1 pts
3 years	+62.2%	+38.8%	39.3%	35.9%	−51.5 pts	−40.5 pts
Since launchNot the same days: QYLD Dec 2013 · RYLD Apr 2019	+202.5%	+49.0%	117.5%	68.4%	−646.8 pts	−50.0 pts

Open this comparison in the app →

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-768C8C6F9A

QYLD and RYLD are built for the same job. How do they differ in cost, holdings and results?

What each is measured against. QYLD is measured against Nasdaq-100 through QQQ and RYLD against Russell 2000 through IWM.
Holdings in common. 0% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Jul 31, 2026).
One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 QYLD returned +19.3% and RYLD +12.1% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 7.2 points.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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

QYLD

Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, QYLD paid 12.3% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 5.8%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +19.3%. Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) returned +15.2% over the same days, so a holder was ahead by 4.1 pts. At its price on Oct 28, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 11.9%, paid monthly. Global X estimates that 99% of the distribution paid Sep 24, 2026 was a return of capital (its 19a-1 notice). That is a tax label, not a measure of erosion.

RYLD

Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, RYLD paid 12.1% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 0.6%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +12.1%. Russell 2000 (IWM) returned +14.1% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 2.0 pts. At its price on Oct 28, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 11.5%, paid monthly. Global X estimates that 100% of the distribution paid Sep 24, 2026 was a return of capital (its 19a-1 notice).

Questions people ask

Which paid more, QYLD or RYLD?: Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, QYLD paid 12.3% of its starting price in cash and RYLD paid 12.1%, so QYLD paid more. Cash paid is not the same as money made: the price change matters too.
Which returned more once distributions are counted, QYLD or RYLD?: With every distribution reinvested, QYLD returned +19.3% and RYLD +12.1% over the year to Oct 28, 2026.
Which is cheaper, QYLD or RYLD?: QYLD and RYLD both charge 0.60% a year, so neither is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

QYLD vs NVDY QYLD vs MSTY QYLD vs SDVD QYLD vs FEPI RYLD vs QQQI RYLD vs JEPQ RYLD vs QDTE RYLD vs GPIQ

Where to next

Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) →Russell 2000 (IWM) →QYLD on its own →RYLD on its own →QYLD dividend history →QYLD holdings →RYLD dividend history →RYLD holdings →Method →Standards and sources →

Sources and dates

QYLD and RYLD filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

QYLD and RYLD prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

QYLD 19a-1 distribution notice ↗

Global X page for QYLD ↗

RYLD 19a-1 distribution notice ↗

Global X page for RYLD ↗

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, QYLD against RYLD, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/qyld-vs-ryld

Open data →

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