5 Monthly Income ETFs Paying 6.39% to 13.80% to Start Q4

Monthly payouts across this five-fund roster range from 6.4% to 13.8%, measured as trailing twelve-month (TTM) yields as of late September. A TTM yield reflects what a fund paid over the past year relative to its share price, so it looks backward and promises nothing about the next twelve months. The lineup includes NEOS Nasdaq-100 High Income ETF (NASDAQ:QQQI), NEOS S&P 500 High Income ETF (CBOE:SPYI), Global X Nasdaq 100 Covered Call ETF (NASDAQ:QYLD), JPMorgan Nasdaq Equity Premium Income ETF (NASDAQ:JEPQ) and Amplify CWP Enhanced Dividend Income ETF (NYSEARCA:DIVO). The strategy explains the gap between top and bottom, and the lowest payer here has outpaced the oldest high-yielder over the past decade.

QQQI Leads at 13.8% With Tax-Friendly Index Options

QQQI holds Nasdaq-100 stocks and sells call options on the index itself. A call gives its buyer the right to purchase at a set price; the seller pockets an upfront fee called the option premium, which funds the monthly check. The TTM yield is 13.8%, and the fund held about $13.1 billion in net assets at the end of June, per its SEC filing.

Index options generally qualify as Section 1256 contracts, taxed at a blend weighted toward long-term capital gains rates. In a taxable account, that edge matters. The limitation is history: its price record starts in January 2024, with a 63% distribution-adjusted gain since, so it has yet to survive a prolonged bear market.

SPYI Runs the Same NEOS Playbook on a Broader Index

SPYI applies the identical structure to the S&P 500, selling index calls with the same tax treatment. Its TTM yield is 11.9%. Banks, healthcare, energy, and utilities dilute the tech weighting, so a technology selloff stings less.

Monthly distributions in 2026 have come in between about $0.51 and $0.54 per share. One caveat is that the S&P 500 swings less than the Nasdaq-100, which means cheaper options and less premium, so SPYI typically trails its sibling on income.

QYLD Writes Calls on Everything and Surrenders the Most Upside

QYLD follows fixed index rules. It holds the Nasdaq-100 and each month sells options with strikes near the current index level against the entire portfolio. That is a classic covered call: an option written against shares you already own. The TTM yield is 11.5%.

At-the-money calls bring in rich premiums because nearly any monthly gain accrues to the counterparty. The tradeoff follows directly, as QYLD keeps almost all of the index’s downside while handing away most of its upside.

JEPQ Sources Its Premium From Bank-Issued Notes

JEPQ is the heavyweight, with roughly $40.7 billion in net assets at the end of June. Managers actively select stocks from the Nasdaq-100 universe, then generate income through equity-linked notes (ELNs), debt securities issued by banks whose payments are tied to calls sold on the index. The June filing lists notes from five global banks, each around 1% of net assets.

The TTM yield is 11.1%, and monthly checks rose from $0.45 per share in October 2025 to $0.68 in September 2026. One caveat is counterparty risk: if an issuing bank stumbled, a note could lose value regardless of the index.

DIVO Pays 6.4% From a Hand-Picked Dividend Portfolio

DIVO holds about 30 blue-chip dividend payers across industrials, financials, healthcare, energy, and consumer staples, writing calls selectively on individual names. Its TTM yield is 6.4%, drawn from dividends plus option income.

One caveat is that the figure includes an unusual December 2025 distribution of about $0.95 per share, against regular 2026 checks near $0.18 to $0.19. Ordinary months can run below the trailing pace.

Four Distinct Engines Behind One Monthly Check

These funds share a payment calendar and little else:

1. Same issuer, two indexes. QQQI and SPYI both come from NEOS and write index options directly. Choosing between them comes down to Nasdaq-100 concentration versus S&P 500 breadth.
2. Options by proxy. JEPQ gets option exposure through bank notes, adding issuer credit risk that the other four avoid in exchange for active stock selection.
3. Full-portfolio rules. QYLD writes options at the current index price on all holdings every month with zero discretion, maximizing premium and minimizing upside.
4. Selective writing. DIVO covers only part of its portfolio. Its June filing showed written calls on just two holdings, each a sliver of net assets. That restraint is exactly why its yield ranks last.

Why the Lowest Yield Here May Be the Smartest Holding

Scanning a yield-ranked list, most readers treat the bottom slot as the weakest. DIVO’s smaller payout is a deliberate trade: leaving most shares uncovered lets the fund keep more of its stocks’ gains when markets rise.

Adjusted for distributions, DIVO gained 73% over five years versus 56% for QYLD. Over ten years, DIVO returned 215% against 160%. The lower payer delivered more in both periods.

What Every Monthly Payout Costs You

Upside comes first. Gains above the strike are capped by each call sold, so these funds lag their indexes in strong rallies. Adjusted for distributions, JEPQ has gained 95% since May 2022, and SPYI 78% since August 2022. Payouts topping portfolio earnings come out of net asset value (NAV), the per-share worth of a fund’s holdings.

Tax character matters too. These distributions generally fall outside qualified dividend treatment. For QQQI, roughly 94% to 99% of each monthly payout in the fiscal year ended May 2025 was classified as return of capital, per its IRS Form 8937. Return of capital hands back part of your own investment and lowers your cost basis (the purchase price used to figure taxable gains), postponing tax until you sell and increasing the gain at that point.

Fees round out the list. The expense ratio, the annual cost deducted from assets, runs higher for options-based and actively managed funds than for plain index trackers, so compare each prospectus. With the 10-year Treasury at 5%, remember that all five hold stocks and can fall sharply with them.

Matching Each Tier to the Right Investor

QQQI and SPYI suit taxable-account investors seeking double-digit trailing income with efficient tax treatment, with SPYI the steadier option for those wary of tech concentration. JEPQ fits investors who value active selection and accept bank-note exposure, while QYLD suits only those prioritizing maximum current income over growth. DIVO serves retirees and long-horizon holders who want monthly income that still compounds. If a monthly paycheck is the whole point, we rounded up seven more names built around that schedule in a free report on monthly dividend payers.

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