$SPYI vs $QQQI: Total Return, Monthly Income and Which Is Better in 2026

So far, $QQQI has beaten $SPYI on total return and pays more: 17.97% over the last year versus 14.62%, and a 14.28% distribution rate versus 12.21%, per NEOS as of September 30, 2026. $SPYI's edge is the longer track record, a broader S&P 500 portfolio and less tech concentration. Neither one has kept up with its plain index, and that's the trade off you're signing up for.

"$SPYI vs $QQQI" keeps climbing up the search reports on this site. People type it every way: "spyi or qqqi", "qqqi vs spyi dividend", "spyi qqqi". These are the two biggest NEOS income funds, and together they hold more than $28 billion. So let's put them side by side with the issuer's own numbers.

Same issuer. Same 0.68% fee. Same monthly paycheck. Same tax angle. The difference is which index sits underneath, and that one choice changes the income, the growth and the risk.

The scoreboard: $SPYI vs $QQQI total returns

These are total returns at NAV from each fund's NEOS fund page, for periods ended September 30, 2026. Total return means price change plus every distribution reinvested. It's the number that tells you what you actually made, not just what you got paid.

Total returns at NAV, periods ended September 30, 2026; distribution rates as of September 30, 2026; net assets as of October 27, 2026. Source: NEOS fund pages for $SPYI and $QQQI. *Index since inception figures cover each fund's own start date ($SPYI from August 2022, $QQQI from January 2024), so don't compare that column across the two funds. $QQQI does not have a 3 year record yet. Past performance does not guarantee future results.

On the one window where both funds have numbers, the last 12 months, $QQQI won by about 3.4 percentage points. On $10,000, that's roughly $11,797 for $QQQI versus $11,462 for $SPYI.

Here's the honest part, though. $QQQI is not even three years old, and it hasn't lived through a long, grinding bear market like 2022. $SPYI has more than three years of history, including the choppy stretches. I'd weigh a longer record more heavily than a shorter, prettier one.

$SPYI vs $QQQI vs the plain index

This is the part most people miss. Both funds trail the index they're built on. That's not a flaw. It's the price of selling options for income.

• $SPYI vs the S&P 500, 3 years: 17.68% a year versus 22.89%. On $10,000, that's about $16,300 versus $18,560.
• $QQQI vs the Nasdaq-100, 1 year: 17.97% versus 24.00%. Since launch, NEOS shows $QQQI up 62.42% cumulative versus 76.23% for the index.

That's why searches like "spyi vs voo" come up so much. If you don't need the income today, a plain S&P 500 fund has simply compounded faster. If you do need the income, $SPYI gives you a monthly check that $VOO never will. You can line them up yourself on the $SPYI vs $VOO matchup page.

NEOS also shows each fund next to a plain buy write index (the passive version of selling calls every month). $SPYI beat the Cboe S&P 500 BuyWrite Index over 3 years (17.68% versus 14.78% a year) and since inception (14.73% versus 12.06%), though it trailed it over the last year. $QQQI is ahead of the Nasdaq-100 BuyWrite Index since launch (19.91% versus 15.36%) but behind it over the last year (17.97% versus 21.17%). So the active option strategy has added value over longer stretches, not every single year.

What's the difference between $SPYI and $QQQI?

Both funds follow the same basic NEOS recipe:

• Own the stocks in an index.
• Sell index call options against the portfolio, and sometimes buy calls too, which NEOS says can leave room for some upside in rising markets.
• Pay the income out monthly.

$SPYI: the S&P 500 version

$SPYI owns S&P 500 stocks and trades SPX index options. Its top 10 holdings on October 28, 2026 were $NVDA (7.93%), $AAPL (7.59%), $MSFT (5.91%), $AMZN (3.72%), $GOOGL (2.80%), $AVGO (2.43%), $GOOG (2.25%), $META (2.02%), $TSLA (1.72%) and $MU (1.56%), per NEOS. That's about 38% in the top 10 and the rest spread across the S&P 500.

$QQQI: the Nasdaq-100 version

$QQQI owns Nasdaq-100 stocks and trades NDX index options. Its top 10 on October 29, 2026 were $NVDA (7.99%), $AAPL (7.74%), $MSFT (6.10%), $MU (4.73%), $AMZN (4.24%), $AMD (4.04%), $TSLA (3.29%), $GOOGL (2.93%), $META (2.81%) and $GOOG (2.72%), per NEOS. That's about 47% in the top 10, and no banks, energy or healthcare giants to balance things out.

Why does $QQQI pay more? Nasdaq-100 options cost more because that index swings harder. Sell pricier options, collect more premium, pay out more. The extra yield isn't free. It comes from owning a more volatile, more concentrated basket.

$SPYI vs $QQQI dividends: which pays more?

$QQQI pays more. Here are the last few monthly payments per share, straight from NEOS:

Distributions per share from the NEOS fund pages. Ex-dates were October 21, September 16 and August 19, 2026. Amounts change every month.

Both funds were trading in the low $50s in late October (about $53.25 for $SPYI and $53.81 for $QQQI, based on NEOS net assets and shares outstanding). So in rough dollar terms:

• $100,000 in $QQQI at the October payment works out to about $1,179 a month.
• $100,000 in $SPYI at the October payment works out to about $955 a month.

Treat those as ballpark numbers, not a salary. Option premiums move with volatility, so the checks move too. $SPYI's payment has drifted down from $0.5423 to $0.5087 over three months. Plan around a range, not your best month. If you're mapping these checks to your bills, MonthlyETFs.com lists every monthly payer, and DividendProjection.com shows what that income could grow to if you reinvest.

Why the SEC yield looks broken

Pull up either fund and you'll see a 30 day SEC yield of 0.45% for $SPYI and -0.06% for $QQQI (as of September 30, 2026). That's not a typo. The SEC yield only counts dividends and interest after expenses. It ignores option premium, which is where nearly all of the payout comes from. For these funds, the distribution rate and, more importantly, total return are the numbers to watch.

Is the yield being earned?

This is the first thing I check on any high income ETF. If a fund pays 12% but only returns 6%, it's handing your own money back to you while the share price slides. That's price decay, and it's the trap with a lot of high yield products.

So far, both pass. $SPYI has returned 14.73% a year since inception against a 12.21% distribution rate. $QQQI has returned 19.91% a year since launch against 14.28%. Over the last year, both also returned more than they paid out. The cushion is thinner on $SPYI, which is one reason I'd keep an eye on its payment trend. I run this same test on $JEPI, $JEPQ and $QYLD in our covered call ETF total returns since inception breakdown.

The tax angle (why NEOS funds are popular in taxable accounts)

Two things set the NEOS pair apart from a lot of covered call funds:

• Section 1256 options. NEOS says the index options these funds use are Section 1256 contracts, which get 60/40 treatment: 60% long term and 40% short term capital gains, no matter how long the option was held.
• Return of capital. NEOS states that distributions have been classified as return of capital. ROC generally isn't taxed when you receive it, but it lowers your cost basis, so the tax shows up later when you sell.

Return of capital isn't automatically good or bad. It's a tax label, not a performance score. The real question is still whether total return beats the payout, which is why I keep coming back to that test. Talk to a tax professional about your own situation.

How I'd actually think about $SPYI vs $QQQI

Here's what I actually look at: total return first, then whether the payout is covered, then how much volatility I can live with.

• Want the biggest check and the best total return so far, and fine with tech swings? $QQQI has led since it launched. Just remember it hasn't been through a 2022 style year yet.
• Want a longer track record and a broader portfolio? $SPYI owns the whole S&P 500 and has a 3 year record behind it. Expect a smaller check and a slightly smoother ride.
• Already heavy in $QQQ, $VGT or big tech? $QQQI piles on more of the same stocks. $SPYI diversifies you a bit more.
• Don't need the income yet? Look hard at a plain index fund. Both of these trailed their index, and that gap compounds.

Personally, I'd rather own an income fund that grows my money and pays me than one that pays me and shrinks. Both of these have done the first so far. I also wouldn't put everything into one options strategy. Plenty of income investors pair one of these with a dividend growth fund. Our $JEPI vs $JEPQ total return breakdown covers J.P. Morgan's version of this same S&P vs Nasdaq choice, and WeeklyETFs.com and TopDividendETFs.com track the rest of the income ETF universe.

The risks

• Capped upside. Selling calls gives away part of the gains. Both funds trailed their index over the periods above.
• Income isn't fixed. Monthly payments rise and fall with option premiums. A calm market usually means smaller checks.
• Tech concentration. Even $SPYI has about 38% in its top 10. $QQQI has about 47%, mostly in tech.
• Short history for $QQQI. It launched in January 2024, so it has no 2022 style bear market on its record. How it holds up in a long downturn is still unproven.
• Return of capital and basis. ROC lowers your cost basis, which can mean a bigger taxable gain when you sell.

The takeaway

$SPYI vs $QQQI comes down to one trade off. $QQQI has paid more and returned more since it launched in January 2024, with more tech risk and a short record. $SPYI pays a bit less, owns the broad S&P 500 and has more than three years of results behind it. Both have earned their payout so far, and both have lagged their plain index.

Don't pick either one off the headline yield. Pick the one whose total return, payout and risk fit your plan. Check the live numbers on the $SPYI total return scorecard and the $QQQI scorecard, see the $QQQI vs $SPYI head to head, or put any two funds side by side with the ETF total return comparison tool.

FAQ

Related posts and tools

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, distribution, yield, holdings and net asset data are from the NEOS fund pages for $SPYI and $QQQI (returns, distribution rates and SEC yields as of September 30, 2026; net assets as of October 27, 2026; holdings as of October 28 and 29, 2026); data as of October 29, 2026. Dollar examples are estimates. Data can be inaccurate or change. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Investing involves risk, including loss of principal.