# Price Return vs Total Return in ETFs

> As of Nov 4, 2026, the median income ETF paid 16.5% in cash over a year but its price moved -9.6%, for a total return of 6.4%. Plain words, dated numbers.

Data as of Nov 4, 2026. Rebuilt every trading night.

## What is the difference between price return and total return?

Data as of Nov 4, 2026. Rebuilt every trading night.

As of Nov 4, 2026, the median income ETF paid 16.5% in cash over a year but its price moved -9.6%, for a total return of 6.4%.

### In plain words

Price return is the change in the fund’s price. Total return adds the cash it paid, as if reinvested. A fund that pays a lot can have a negative price return and still a positive total return, and the reverse.

Among 264 income ETFs with a full year, the median paid 16.5% in cash, the price moved -9.6%, and the total return was 6.4%. 189 of them ended the year with a lower price. ETFIQ shows both over the same dates, with the benchmark’s total return beside them.

### Questions

Which number answers my question? Total return answers what you got. Price return and cash show how you got it.

Does total return assume I reinvest? Yes. It adds each payment back on the day it was paid.

Where do I see both? On every income fund page, over the same window.

### Where to next

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Source: ETFIQ, independent ETF data. Recomputed nightly from public filings and prices.
Cite: ETFIQ, What is the difference between price return and total return?, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/learn/what-is-the-difference-between-price-return-and-total-return
Licence: https://etfiq.com/license/ Data ETFIQ computes is free to use with attribution: ETFIQ (etfiq.com). Issuer data stays under its owner's terms.
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