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Dividend ETF comparisons, head-to-head

A single fund's calculator answers "what could this pay?" — but most real decisions are between two funds, not about one. This directory collects the side-by-side comparisons, each of which runs both tickers through the same scenario, contribution, horizon, and account, then ranks them on after-tax income and terminal value rather than on headline yield. That matters because the funds people weigh against each other are usually taxed differently or financed differently: a growing qualified dividend behaves nothing like an option-premium distribution taxed as ordinary income or deferred through return-of-capital. Pick the pairing that matches the trade-off you are actually deciding — income now versus a payout that grows, ordinary tax versus qualified, a capped-upside income fund versus the index it writes calls on — and read the metric you care about under your own inputs. Comparisons are grouped below by the anchor fund and the question each one settles, so you can find the right head-to-head without scanning the whole list.

17 comparisons · 3 groups yields asOf 2026-06 Updated 2026-07-22

Dividend-growth funds

Qualified · growing payout

These pairings weigh a quality dividend-growth screen — usually SCHD — against a broader high-yield basket, a lower-yield faster grower, a REIT's higher ordinary payout, or a growth-tilted index. The recurring question is whether a growing qualified dividend is worth a lower starting yield than the alternative.

Dividend vs index

SCHD vs VOO

Cash paid out along the way set against reinvested price growth in the index SCHD is measured against.

 Income vs growth

SCHD vs SCHG

A quality dividend screen versus large-cap growth — a spendable payout now, or compounding you only capture on sale.

 Growth vs breadth

SCHD vs VYM

Faster per-share growth against a broader high-yield basket starting near the same yield.

 Yield vs growth tilt

SCHD vs DGRO

A higher starting yield against a lower-yield screen that grows its per-share dividend faster.

 Dividend vs REIT

SCHD vs O

A growing qualified ETF dividend against a monthly REIT's higher but ordinary-income payout.

 Dividend vs growth

SCHD vs QQQ

A dividend screen against a growth-tilted Nasdaq-100 index — cash today vs deferred price gains.

 Three-way

SCHD vs VYM vs DGRO

Three dividend-growth screens side by side — starting yield, per-share growth rate, and expense.

Covered-call & income funds

⚠ Ordinary / option-premium · NAV-erosion risk

These pairings compare high-distribution funds whose yield is option-premium driven, usually anchored on JEPI. The distinctions that decide them are tax character (ordinary income vs §1256 + return-of-capital), how hard the model's total-return cap bites, and what a capped upside costs against the index or the growing dividend on the other side.

Growth vs income

SCHD vs JEPI

How much of JEPI's higher headline yield survives ordinary-income tax once both are held in a taxable account.

 Income vs income

JEPI vs JEPQ

Two sibling covered-call funds on different underlyings — how the Nasdaq's swings change premium and erosion.

 Tax efficiency

JEPI vs SPYI

Ordinary-income ELN premium against §1256 gains + return-of-capital — which keeps more after tax.

 Income vs income

JEPI vs QYLD

Two covered-call funds at ~8.5% vs ~11.8% yield — and very different NAV erosion behind each.

 Income vs index

JEPI vs VOO

Covered-call income against the total-return S&P 500 — trading long-run growth for current cash flow.

 Income vs index

JEPQ vs QQQ

Nasdaq-100 covered-call income against the index it writes calls on — the capped-upside cost.

Broad-index funds

Qualified · total-return, low yield

These pairings are between total-return funds held for price growth, not income, so the income line barely moves and the decision comes down to expense ratio, structure, breadth, and geography. The value line does the work here.

Same index

VOO vs SPY

Two S&P 500 funds — the 0.03% vs 0.0945% expense gap and SPY's unit-investment-trust structure.

 S&P vs total market

VOO vs VTI

Large-cap S&P 500 versus the whole U.S. market — the mid- and small-cap slice is the only real difference.

 Index vs growth

VOO vs QQQ

Broad market versus a tech-heavy growth index — the concentration you take on and the expense you pay for it.

 US vs global

VTI vs VXUS

Total U.S. market against total international — yield, currency, and the foreign-tax-credit angle.
How to read a head-to-head — and why one engine matters ›

Each comparison sets one scenario — the same starting amount, monthly contribution, horizon, DRIP choice, and account — and runs it through both funds, so the two projections are directly comparable rather than pulled from separate defaults. Every output is a low / base / high scenario range, net of each fund's expense ratio and modeled after tax for the account you choose, because forward growth is an assumption you set, not a prediction. The reason the pages rank on after-tax income and terminal value, not headline yield, is that yield alone hides the two things that most often flip a decision: the tax character of the distribution, and whether the distribution plus assumed price growth exceeds what the model lets the underlying earn. A covered-call fund can post a higher number and still leave you with less after tax and erosion than a lower-yielding dividend grower — which is exactly what the side-by-side is built to surface.

If you already know the single fund you want to model, start from its own calculator in the ticker calculator directory instead; use this page when the question is which of two funds to hold.

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