Over the last 3 years, $JEPQ has crushed $JEPI on total return: 21.84% a year versus 10.05% a year at NAV, through September 30, 2026, per J.P. Morgan. $JEPQ also pays more, with a 30 day SEC yield of 11.56% versus 7.45%. $JEPI's edge is the smoother ride: a 3 year beta of 0.42 versus 0.61, and it held up far better in 2022.
"$JEPI vs $JEPQ" is the single most searched matchup cluster on this site. People type it every way you can imagine: "jepi or jepq", "jepq vs jepi dividend", "difference between jepi and jepq". So let's settle it with real numbers instead of vibes.
Same issuer. Same fee. Same monthly paycheck. Same options playbook. The only big difference is the stocks underneath, and that one difference has driven a huge gap in what investors actually earned.
The scoreboard: $JEPI vs $JEPQ total returns
These are average annual total returns at NAV, from each fund's J.P. Morgan fact sheet, for periods ended September 30, 2026. Total return means price change plus every distribution reinvested. That's the number that tells you what you actually made.
| ETF | 1 year | 3 years | 5 years | Since inception | Inception | Expense ratio | 30 day SEC yield | Net assets |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $JEPQ | 19.45% | 21.84% | n/a | 16.89% | May 3, 2022 | 0.35% | 11.56% | $44.32B |
| $JEPI | 6.62% | 10.05% | 7.78% | 10.81% | May 20, 2020 | 0.35% | 7.45% | $45.27B |
| S&P 500 Index | 15.74% | 22.89% | 13.79% | 17.72%* | ||||
| Nasdaq-100 Index | 24.00% | 28.31% | 22.03%* |
Average annual total returns at NAV for periods ended September 30, 2026. Sources: J.P. Morgan Asset Management fact sheets for $JEPI and $JEPQ. *Index since inception figures cover each fund's own inception period ($JEPI vs the S&P 500 since May 2020, $JEPQ vs the Nasdaq-100 since May 2022), so don't compare that row across funds. $JEPQ does not have a 5 year record yet. Past performance does not guarantee future results.
Over every window where both funds exist, $JEPQ wins, and it isn't close. The 1 year gap is almost 13 percentage points. The 3 year gap is almost 12 points a year.
What $10,000 turned into over 3 years
Annual percentages hide how big these gaps really are. Here's the same 3 year period in dollars, using the annualized returns above with distributions reinvested:
- $JEPQ: $10,000 grew to about $18,090.
- $JEPI: $10,000 grew to about $13,330.
That's roughly a $4,760 difference on a $10,000 starting point, in just three years. Both funds paid you every single month along the way. One of them just grew your money a lot faster while doing it.
Calendar year returns: where each one shines
Trailing returns depend a lot on the start date. Calendar years show you how each fund behaves in different kinds of markets.
| Year | $JEPI | $JEPQ | S&P 500 | Nasdaq-100 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 21.61% | Not launched | 28.71% | |
| 2022 | -3.54% | Partial year | -18.11% | |
| 2023 | 9.88% | 36.28% | 26.29% | 55.13% |
| 2024 | 12.56% | 24.82% | 25.02% | 25.88% |
| 2025 | 8.07% | 15.19% | 17.88% | 21.02% |
Calendar year total returns at NAV from J.P. Morgan's $JEPI and $JEPQ fact sheets as of September 30, 2026. Index figures are as shown on each fund's fact sheet. $JEPQ launched May 3, 2022, so it has no full 2022 calendar year.
This is the part most people miss. $JEPI's best moment was 2022. The S&P 500 fell 18.11% and $JEPI lost only 3.54%. That's what it was built to do. Then in the three strong years that followed, it trailed the S&P 500 by roughly 10 to 16 points a year.
$JEPQ is the opposite personality. It rides more of the Nasdaq rally, but it gives up a big chunk of the upside too. In 2023 the Nasdaq-100 did 55.13% and $JEPQ did 36.28%. Still a great year. Just not the full ride.
What's the difference between $JEPI and $JEPQ?
Both are run by J.P. Morgan with the same basic recipe:
- Own a basket of stocks.
- Sell call options on an index, mostly through equity linked notes (ELNs), and collect the option premium.
- Pay that income out monthly.
The difference is what's underneath.
$JEPI: defensive S&P 500 stocks
$JEPI owns a lower volatility portfolio picked from S&P 500 stocks and sells calls on the S&P 500. It held 140 positions at the end of September, and its top 10 is spread out, with no position above about 2%: $MSFT, $NVDA, $AAPL, $META, $AMZN, Trane Technologies, $JNJ, $GOOGL, $MA and $LRCX, per J.P. Morgan.
$JEPQ: Nasdaq-100 growth stocks
$JEPQ owns mostly Nasdaq-100 stocks and sells calls on the Nasdaq-100. It held 109 positions, and the top is much more concentrated: $NVDA at 7.4%, $AAPL 6.4%, $MSFT 5.2%, $MU 5.0%, $GOOG 4.7% and $AMD 4.0%, per J.P. Morgan. That's a tech fund that pays you a big monthly check.
And here's why $JEPQ yields more: Nasdaq-100 options are more expensive than S&P 500 options because that index moves around more. Sell pricier options, collect more premium, pay out more income. There's no free lunch in that extra yield, though. It comes from taking on more volatility.
$JEPI vs $JEPQ dividends: which pays more?
$JEPQ pays more right now. Using the 30 day SEC yields as of September 30, 2026:
- $100,000 in $JEPQ at 11.56% is roughly $11,560 a year, or about $963 a month.
- $100,000 in $JEPI at 7.45% is roughly $7,450 a year, or about $621 a month.
Two big caveats. First, both funds pay monthly, but the amount changes every month because option premiums change with market volatility. A calm market means smaller checks. Second, the SEC yield is a snapshot, not a promise. Treat these as ballpark numbers, not a paycheck you can set your budget to.
If you're building a monthly income plan, MonthlyETFs.com lists every ETF that pays monthly, and DividendProjection.com lets you model what your income could grow to with reinvesting.
Is the yield being earned?
This is the question I always ask with any high income ETF. If a fund pays 11% but only returns 5%, you're watching your own money get handed back to you while the share price slides. That's price decay, and it's the trap.
Both funds pass this test. $JEPQ's 16.89% a year since inception is well above its 11.56% SEC yield. $JEPI's 10.81% a year since inception is above its 7.45% SEC yield. Neither one is eating itself to fund the payout. I dig into this exact test across the bigger covered call funds in our covered call ETF total returns since inception breakdown.
Volatility: the honest case for $JEPI
The numbers aren't all one sided. Here's the risk side from the same fact sheets, 3 year figures as of September 30, 2026:
| Measure (3 year) | $JEPI | S&P 500 | $JEPQ | Nasdaq-100 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beta | 0.42 | 1.00 | 0.61 | 1.00 |
| Standard deviation | 7.78 | 12.42 | 11.26 | 17.24 |
Source: J.P. Morgan fact sheets for $JEPI and $JEPQ as of September 30, 2026. Each fund's beta is measured against its own benchmark.
$JEPI moves about 40% as much as the S&P 500. For someone who's retired, living off the checks and losing sleep over a 20% drop, that matters. A fund you can actually hold through a bear market beats a "better" fund you panic sell at the bottom.
$JEPQ is calmer than the Nasdaq-100, but it's still a tech heavy fund. If the Nasdaq has a 2022 style year, expect $JEPQ to fall a lot more than $JEPI.
How I'd actually think about $JEPI vs $JEPQ
Here's what I actually look at: total return first, yield second, and how much volatility I can live with.
- Want the most income and total return, and you're fine with tech swings? $JEPQ has been the clear winner since it launched.
- Want a smoother ride and less tech concentration? $JEPI is the defensive one. Expect it to lag in strong markets and hold up better in bad ones.
- Already own a lot of $QQQ, $VGT or big tech? $JEPQ just piles on more of the same stocks. $JEPI diversifies you a bit more.
- Can't decide? Plenty of income investors own both. They share some top holdings, but the stock portfolios and the index the calls are sold on are different, so they don't behave the same.
Personally, I'd rather own a fund that grows my money and pays me than one that pays me and shrinks. Both of these have done that so far. $JEPQ has just done a lot more of the growing.
It's also worth asking whether you need an options income fund at all. If you're years away from living off the income, compare these with a plain dividend growth fund. Our $JEPI vs $SCHD total return comparison and $JEPQ vs $QYLD comparison are good places to start, and TopDividendETFs.com ranks the top dividend ETFs side by side.
The risks
- Capped upside. Selling calls caps part of the gains. Both funds trailed their index in every strong year in the tables above.
- Income isn't fixed. Monthly payments rise and fall with option premiums. Don't plan around the highest month.
- Tech concentration in $JEPQ. Its top five holdings add up to about 29% of the fund. A tech selloff hits it hard.
- ELN and counterparty risk. Much of the income comes through notes issued by banks. That adds a layer of credit risk you don't have in a plain stock ETF.
- Taxes. A lot of the income from these funds is typically taxed as ordinary income, so where you hold them matters. Talk to a tax professional about your situation.
The takeaway
$JEPI vs $JEPQ comes down to one trade off. $JEPQ has delivered much higher total return and a bigger monthly check, with more volatility and more tech risk. $JEPI has delivered lower returns with a much smoother ride, and it proved its worth in 2022.
Neither is a bad fund. Both have earned their yield since inception. Just don't pick one because of the headline yield alone. Pick it because the total return and the volatility fit your plan. You can check either fund's live numbers on the $JEPQ total return scorecard and the $JEPI scorecard, or put them side by side with the ETF total return comparison tool.
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Disclaimer: This post is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not financial advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any security, and I am not a financial advisor. Do your own research and consider a licensed professional before investing. Performance, yield, holdings, beta and standard deviation data are from J.P. Morgan Asset Management's $JEPI and $JEPQ fact sheets as of September 30, 2026; data as of October 27, 2026. Data can be inaccurate or change. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Investing involves risk, including loss of principal.