SPYI vs QQQI: Comparing the Two NEOS Income ETFs

SPYI and QQQI are not rivals so much as siblings. Both are run by NEOS. Both hold an index, sell index call options against it, and hand investors the premium as a large monthly distribution that has historically been classified mostly as return of capital. Both charge the same 0.68 percent expense ratio. Even the fund names rhyme.

So the usual questions that decide a covered-call comparison — who manages the options better, whose tax treatment is friendlier, who charges less — do not apply here. The one meaningful difference is the index underneath: SPYI is the S&P 500 version; QQQI is the Nasdaq-100 version. Choosing between them means choosing which index should be your income engine.

SPYI vs QQQI at a glance

	SPYI	QQQI
Issuer	NEOS	NEOS
Benchmark	S&P 500	Nasdaq-100
Income engine	SPX index call options	NDX index call options
Distribution frequency	Monthly	Monthly
Expense ratio	0.68%	0.68%
Inception	August 2022	January 2024
YTF grade	Check live grade →	Check live grade →

Yields, fund size, and grades move, so read each fund’s live SPYI profile and QQQI profile plus their dividend histories for current numbers instead of trusting a static table.

Same family, same machinery

Both funds hold the constituents of their index and run an actively managed options overlay on top — selling index calls while buying back some upside so the fund keeps part of a strong rally. NEOS also uses both funds to harvest tax losses in the underlying portfolio. The option contracts themselves are the same type: SPX options for SPYI, NDX options for QQQI, both Section 1256 contracts taxed at a blended 60 percent long-term and 40 percent short-term rate, and both funds’ distributions have historically been classified largely as return of capital, which defers tax by reducing your cost basis rather than triggering it in the year you’re paid.

Cost cannot break the tie either. NEOS lists total annual operating expenses of 0.68 percent for both funds as of October 12, 2026, and our data agrees. That is unusual — in most ETF comparisons the fee gap quietly decides the long-run winner. Here it is exactly zero.

That is why the tax-and-cost analysis that drives JEPI vs SPYI on the S&P side, or QQQI vs JEPQ on the Nasdaq side, simply doesn’t exist in this pairing. Same issuer, same structure, same tax character, same fee. What is left is the index — and the index matters more than most comparison tables suggest.

The index is the decision

The S&P 500 spans about 500 large-cap US companies across every sector. The Nasdaq-100 is roughly 100 of the largest non-financial companies listed on Nasdaq, and it is famously top-heavy in megacap technology. In practice that means the Nasdaq-100 tends to rise harder in tech-led rallies and fall harder in tech-led selloffs, while the S&P 500’s broader mix usually softens both extremes.

For an income fund, that index personality flows straight through the options engine. Option sellers collect richer premiums when volatility is higher, so the Nasdaq-100 version generates more income. The same volatility cuts the other way in a drawdown, when the Nasdaq-100 version falls further. QQQI is the higher-octane engine; SPYI is the same engine detuned for a smoother ride. For current sector and holdings detail, NEOS publishes a fund page for SPYI and for QQQI.

Yield: QQQI pays the Nasdaq premium

The yield gap is real and structural. NEOS published a 12.21 percent distribution rate for SPYI and 14.28 percent for QQQI as of September 30, 2026. Our trailing-12-month figures show the same relationship — about 11.7 percent for SPYI and 13.6 percent for QQQI as of our October 13, 2026 data sync. Roughly two points of extra annual income per dollar invested is the volatility premium of the Nasdaq-100 showing up in your payout.

Per share, the most recent monthly distributions (both with September 16, 2026 ex-dates, per our dividend data) were $0.5338 for SPYI and $0.6339 for QQQI.

One trap to avoid: ignore the 30-day SEC yield on both fund pages. It was 0.45 percent for SPYI and actually negative for QQQI as of September 30, 2026, because the SEC yield formula only counts dividend income from the underlying stocks — not the option premium that funds nearly all of the payout. For funds like these, the distribution rate and the trailing history are the numbers that matter. This is the same reason the SEC yields look absurd in the ROCQ and ROCY comparison.

Consistency: both steady, QQQI slightly lumpier

If you are spending the income, the size of the check matters — and so does how much it wobbles. Our dividend-history data shows both funds have been steadier than most covered-call ETFs:

• SPYI has paid 49 consecutive monthly distributions since September 2022, ranging from $0.4615 to $0.5564 — a band of about 21 percent from low to high across four years.
• QQQI has paid 32 consecutive monthly distributions since February 2024, ranging from $0.5309 to $0.6589 — a band of about 24 percent across roughly two and a half years.

Narrow the window to the last thirteen months (September 2025 through September 2026) and the two look very similar: QQQI’s largest payment was about 8 percent above its smallest, SPYI’s about 6 percent. On average over that stretch, QQQI paid about $0.637 per share monthly against SPYI’s $0.528 — roughly 20 percent more income per share, mirroring the yield gap.

QQQI’s slightly wider band is not a flaw. Its premium scales with Nasdaq volatility, so its payout breathes a little more. If a fixed monthly bill is the job, that extra wobble is the cost of two points of extra yield. Check both dividend histories for the current pattern — past steadiness does not promise future steadiness.

Drawdowns: the S&P 500 version fell less

Here is where the calmer index earns its keep. Using our price data through the October 12, 2026 close, and starting both funds from the same date — QQQI’s January 30, 2024 inception — so the comparison is apples to apples:

• QQQI’s worst peak-to-trough decline in closing price was about -21.9 percent, from its February 19, 2025 peak to the April 8, 2025 trough.
• SPYI’s worst drawdown over the same window was about -18.5 percent, from its December 6, 2024 peak to the same April 2025 low.

Both bottoms landed in the same broad-market shock, which is worth internalizing: the S&P 500 version fell less, but it did not escape. There is no version of this strategy that dodges an equity bear market.

On the other question everyone should ask about a fund paying double-digit yield — is the price holding up, or is the payout quietly draining the NAV? — both pass the test so far. Over that same common window, SPYI’s share price went from $48.93 to $54.10 (about +10.6 percent) and QQQI’s from $49.84 to $56.00 (about +12.4 percent), while both paid out enormous cumulative distributions along the way. Price that holds roughly flat while the distributions flow is the signature of a working premium engine rather than a melting one. Keep watching it — NAV trend is the honest health check for return-of-capital-heavy funds.

Total return: the index you pick matters

NEOS publishes average annual total returns on each fund page (NAV basis, as of September 30, 2026), and they capture the trade neatly:

Period (NAV)	SPYI	S&P 500	QQQI	Nasdaq-100
1 year	14.62%	15.74%	17.97%	24.00%
3 years	17.68%	22.89%	—	—
Since inception, annualized	14.73%	18.64%	19.91%	23.63%

(SPYI inception August 2022; QQQI inception January 2024, so no 3-year figure yet. On a since-inception annualized basis both funds also beat their plain buy-write benchmark indexes — SPYI 14.73 percent against the Cboe S&P 500 BuyWrite’s 12.06 percent, QQQI 19.91 percent against the Cboe Nasdaq-100 BuyWrite’s 15.36 percent — so the active overlay is earning something.)

Read the table twice. Yes, both funds trail their index — that is the permanent price of selling upside for income, and it is steeper on the Nasdaq side, where the index runs harder. But also notice that QQQI’s total return has beaten SPYI’s over its shorter life, because the Nasdaq’s extra upside more than offset its deeper drawdowns during a period that favored tech. Over the long run the index you choose will likely matter more than the fund wrapper. Picking QQQI is a bet that Nasdaq-100’s growth engine keeps running; picking SPYI is a bet on broad-market steadiness with income attached.

Our own adjusted-price data agrees with the issuer’s table: over the common window since January 2024, total return including reinvested distributions works out to about +62 percent for QQQI and +51 percent for SPYI through October 12, 2026.

How to choose

1. Check your account type first — then stop thinking about tax. Both funds share the same Section 1256 and return-of-capital treatment, so tax cannot decide between them. Inside an IRA or 401(k), neither payout is taxed as you receive it anyway. Confirm the current composition in each fund’s latest 19a-1 notice.
2. Match the engine to your temperament. Want roughly two points more income and can tolerate double-digit drawdowns in a tech selloff? That is QQQI. Want the smoother, more diversified version and accept the smaller check? That is SPYI.
3. Look at the distribution history, not just the headline rate. Both funds have paid steadily; QQQI’s band is a touch wider. If a fixed monthly bill depends on the payout, wobble is a cost.
4. Consider owning both. An S&P 500 income sleeve plus a Nasdaq-100 income sleeve is a coherent pairing — it diversifies the index bet while keeping the tax character and monthly rhythm identical. Just remember both fall together in a broad selloff, so size the combination as one equity-income allocation.
5. Verify the live numbers. Distribution rates, trailing yields, fund size, and grades all move. Start from the live SPYI and QQQI profiles rather than any fixed figure here.

If you are still sorting out how a fund like this fits a wider plan, building a 40/30/30 income portfolio shows where high-yield positions sit next to dividend growth, and the monthly dividend ETF category is the place to compare every monthly payer side by side.

Open live profiles: SPYI · QQQI · Full dividend histories: SPYI · QQQI · Compare view

Educational only, not investment advice. Confirm any tax treatment with a qualified advisor.