Which paid more, QYLD or XYLG?

Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, QYLD paid 12.3% of its starting price in cash and XYLG paid 12.7%, so XYLG 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 XYLG?

With every distribution reinvested, QYLD returned +16.5% and XYLG +15.6% over the year to Nov 4, 2026.

Which is cheaper, QYLD or XYLG?

QYLD charges 0.60% a year and XYLG charges 0.35%, so XYLG is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Income ETFs

QYLD vs XYLG: Dividend Yield & Total Return

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Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, XYLG paid 12.7% of its price in cash against QYLD’s 12.3%, though QYLD returned more with it reinvested.

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Net assets on Oct 12, 2026: $8.5bn for Global X NASDAQ 100 Covered Call ETF and $72m for Global X S&P 500 Covered Call & Growth ETF.

QYLD on its own →XYLG on its own →

At a glance

12.3%

QYLD cash paid, 1 year

12.7%

XYLG cash paid, 1 year

+16.5%

QYLD total return, 1 year

+15.6%

XYLG total return, 1 year

QYLD · 1 year to Nov 4, 2026 4.2 pts ahead of QQQ

QYLD

+16.5%

QQQ

+12.3%

4.2 pts ahead of QQQ

QYLD over 1 year: paid 12.3%, price +3.3%, total +16.5%, QQQ +12.3%, +4.2 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

QQQ

+12.3%

QYLD

+16.5%

12.3% of it arrived as cash

4.2 pts ahead of QQQ

Total return, distributions reinvested

4.2 pts ahead of QQQ

QYLD over 1 year: paid 12.3%, price +3.3%, total +16.5%, QQQ +12.3%, +4.2 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

QQQ

+12.3%

QYLD

+16.5%

12.3% as cash

4.2 pts ahead of QQQ

12.3% of it arrived as cash. Total return, distributions reinvested. QYLD over 1 year: paid 12.3%, price +3.3%, total +16.5%, QQQ +12.3%, +4.2 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

Data to Nov 4, 2026.

XYLG · 1 year to Nov 4, 2026 0.8 pts ahead of SPY

XYLG

+15.6%

SPY

+14.8%

0.8 pts ahead of SPY

XYLG over 1 year: paid 12.7%, price +1.5%, total +15.6%, SPY +14.8%, +0.8 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

SPY

+14.8%

XYLG

+15.6%

12.7% of it arrived as cash

0.8 pts ahead of SPY

Total return, distributions reinvested

0.8 pts ahead of SPY

XYLG over 1 year: paid 12.7%, price +1.5%, total +15.6%, SPY +14.8%, +0.8 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

SPY

+14.8%

XYLG

+15.6%

12.7% as cash

0.8 pts ahead of SPY

12.7% of it arrived as cash. Both charts share one scale, 0 to +16.5%. XYLG over 1 year: paid 12.7%, price +1.5%, total +15.6%, SPY +14.8%, +0.8 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

Both charts share one scale, 0 to +16.5%. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

Pair scorecard

XYLG costs 0.25 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 0.9 points; QYLD is far larger, $8.5bn against $72m.

Points (pts) are percentage points.

QYLD vs XYLG: Dividend Yield & Total Return
Measure	QYLD	XYLG
Paid and earned
Measure	QYLD	XYLG
Total return, 1 year	+16.5%	+15.6%
Price change, 1 year	rose 3.3%	rose 1.5%
Return of capital, issuer estimate	99% of the Sep 24, 2026 payment	80% of the Sep 24, 2026 payment
Against its benchmark
Measure	QYLD	XYLG
Benchmark	Nasdaq-100, measured through QQQ	S&P 500, measured through SPY
Cost and size
Measure	QYLD	XYLG
Expense ratio	0.60%	0.35%
Net assets, as of Oct 12, 2026	$8.5bn	$72m
Holdings
Measure	QYLD	XYLG
Holdings in common	54%

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

IQ Income Score72.8QYLD70.4XYLG

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

QYLD 72.8

XYLG 70.4

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

Oct 2, 2020 to Oct 30, 2026 · 317 weekly returns

QYLD XYLG

Return

Total return edge XYLG +74.8% +108.2%

Annualized edge XYLG +9.6% +12.8%

Price return edge XYLG −16.8% +14.6%

Risk

Volatility edge Tie 12.8% 12.6%

Max drawdown edge XYLG −24.5% −21.0%

Downside capture 64.8% 81.6%

Beta 0.55 0.78

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge XYLG 0.53 0.76

Sortino edge XYLG 0.75 1.10

Treynor 0.127 0.124

Calmar edge XYLG 0.39 0.61

Against the benchmark

Alpha −2.3% a year −0.3% a year

Alpha t-stat −1.37 −0.29

Information ratio −0.93 −0.71

Tracking error 10.6% 4.5%

Each against its own benchmark: QYLD against QQQ, Dec 20, 2013 to Oct 30, 2026; XYLG against SPY, Oct 2, 2020 to Oct 30, 2026.

Reading

From Oct 2020 to Oct 2026, XYLG returned more: +108.2% to +74.8%. QYLD and XYLG swung about the same: 12.8% and 12.6%. XYLG fell less at its worst: −21.0% to −24.5%.

Full scorecard

19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: QYLD vs XYLG: Dividend Yield & Total Return
Measure	QYLD	XYLG	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+74.8%	+108.2%	XYLG	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+9.6%	+12.8%	XYLG	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	−16.8%	+14.6%	XYLG	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	12.8%	12.6%	Tie	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	9.0%	8.7%	XYLG (slight)	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−24.5%	−21.0%	XYLG	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Upside capture	37.8%	67.5%		Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose.
Downside capture	64.8%	81.6%		Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better.
Beta	0.55	0.78	Not an edge	How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves.
R squared	0.77	0.95	Not an edge	Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	0.53	0.76	XYLG	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	0.75	1.10	XYLG	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Treynor	0.127	0.124		Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta.
Calmar	0.39	0.61	XYLG	Annualized return divided by the max drawdown.
Against the benchmark
Benchmark	QQQ	SPY		The ETF each fund is measured against.
Alpha	−2.3% a year	−0.3% a year	Not significant	Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts.
Alpha t-stat	−1.37	−0.29	Not an edge	How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance.
Alpha range	−5.5% to +1.0%	−2.5% to +1.9%	Includes zero	The 95% range for the yearly alpha.
Information ratio	−0.93	−0.71		Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error.
Tracking error	10.6%	4.5%	Not an edge	How far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 317 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

What they share

54%

By the books each fund has filed, QYLD and XYLG hold 54% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Jul 31, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

54% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first QYLD XYLG

NVIDIA CORPORATION 8.20% 7.60%

APPLE INC. 7.65% 7.09%

MICROSOFT CORPORATION 5.82% 5.39%

AMAZON.COM, INC. 4.93% 4.15%

ALPHABET INC. 3.50% 3.26%

BROADCOM INC. 3.11% 2.88%

ALPHABET INC. 3.28% 2.63%

META PLATFORMS, INC. 2.78% 1.91%

MICRON TECHNOLOGY, INC. 4.32% 1.45%

TESLA, INC. 2.62% 1.36%

ADVANCED MICRO DEVICES, INC. 3.62% 1.21%

WALMART INC. 2.53% 0.76%

Only in one fund ↓

Only in QYLD

SPACE EXPLORATION TECHNOLOGIES CORP. 0.97%

ASML Holding N.V. 0.70%

SHOPIFY INC. 0.67%

ARM Holdings PLC 0.47%

MercadoLibre, Inc. 0.45%

PDD Holdings Inc. 0.26%

Astera Labs Inc 0.24%

COCA-COLA EUROPACIFIC PARTNERS PLC 0.23%

Only in XYLG

JPMORGAN CHASE & CO. 1.47%

BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INC. 1.46%

ELI LILLY AND COMPANY 1.41%

EXXONMOBIL HOLDINGS CORPORATION 1.00%

JOHNSON & JOHNSON 0.96%

VISA INC. 0.94%

MASTERCARD INCORPORATED 0.72%

ABBVIE INC. 0.69%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

QYLD Global X NASDAQ 100 Covered Call ETF · Covered call on QQQ, paying monthly XYLG Global X S&P 500 Covered Call & Growth ETF · Covered call on SPY, paying monthly

Issuer Global X Global X

Strategy covered call covered call

Benchmark Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) S&P 500 (SPY)

Pays monthly monthly

Payout rate, annualized 12.2% 4.4%

Expense ratio 0.60% 0.35%

Cash paid, 1 year 12.3% 12.7%

Price change, 1 year +3.3% +1.5%

Total return, 1 year +16.5% +15.6%

Benchmark return, 1 year +12.3% +14.8%

Ahead or behind +4.2 pts +0.8 pts

Return of capital, latest estimate 99% 80%

Age 12.9 years 6.1 years

Net assets, as of Oct 12, 2026 $8.5bn $72m

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: QYLD vs XYLG: Dividend Yield & Total Return
	Total return		Cash paid		Against the benchmark
Window	QYLD	XYLG	QYLD	XYLG	QYLD	XYLG
3 months	+2.4%	+1.4%	3.0%	1.1%	+5.9 pts	+1.5 pts
6 months	+5.4%	+6.7%	6.0%	2.5%	+5.8 pts	+1.7 pts
1 year	+16.5%	+15.6%	12.3%	12.7%	+4.2 pts	+0.8 pts
3 years	+52.7%	+65.6%	37.9%	44.3%	−38.6 pts	−17.4 pts
Since launchNot the same days: QYLD Dec 2013 · XYLG Sep 2020	+194.8%	+116.0%	117.5%	69.8%	−610.5 pts	−38.4 pts

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Alert

About each fund

QYLD

Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, QYLD paid 12.3% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 3.3%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +16.5%. Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) returned +12.3% over the same days, so a holder was ahead by 4.2 pts. At its price on Nov 4, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 12.2%, 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.

XYLG

Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, XYLG paid 12.7% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 1.5%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +15.6%. S&P 500 (SPY) returned +14.8% over the same days, so a holder was ahead by 0.8 pts. At its price on Nov 4, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 4.4%, paid monthly. Global X estimates that 80% of the distribution paid Sep 24, 2026 was a return of capital (its 19a-1 notice).

Questions people ask

Which paid more, QYLD or XYLG?: Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, QYLD paid 12.3% of its starting price in cash and XYLG paid 12.7%, so XYLG 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 XYLG?: With every distribution reinvested, QYLD returned +16.5% and XYLG +15.6% over the year to Nov 4, 2026.
Which is cheaper, QYLD or XYLG?: QYLD charges 0.60% a year and XYLG charges 0.35%, so XYLG is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

QYLD vs XSPI QYLD vs APRH QYLD vs DRKY QYLD vs SCLZ XYLG vs GPIQ XYLG vs JEPQ XYLG vs FTQI XYLG vs ROCQ

Where to next

Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) →S&P 500 (SPY) →QYLD on its own →XYLG on its own →QYLD dividend history →QYLD holdings →XYLG dividend history →XYLG holdings →Method →Standards and sources →

Sources and dates

QYLD and XYLG filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

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

QYLD 19a-1 distribution notice ↗

Global X page for QYLD ↗

XYLG 19a-1 distribution notice ↗

Global X page for XYLG ↗

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 XYLG, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/qyld-vs-xylg

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