Best Of
Best High Dividend ETFs in 2026
Quality-screened equity income ETFs — above-market yields from established, diversified funds, ranked by assets rather than headline rate.
Data updated September 2026 · 50 ETFs
Who this page is for
Best for
- Income investors who want above-market yield from diversified, established funds
- Retirees and near-retirees balancing current income against capital preservation
- Anyone building a core income sleeve around funds like SCHD, VYM, or JEPI
Not a fit for
- Maximum-yield seekers — single-stock option funds paying 20-80% live on the high-yield list, not here
- Pure dividend-growth investors happy with 1-2% yields today (see the dividend growth list)
- Traders looking for short-term price momentum rather than income
Analysis
Best High Dividend ETFs in 2026 covers a broad universe of 50 funds spanning traditional dividend-growth strategies, real estate exposure, and options-income strategies, with an average yield of 6.37% and average expense ratio of 0.45% across the category. The top 10 shown illustrate this range well: established issuers like Schwab, Vanguard, iShares, and State Street anchor the category with large, low-cost, quarterly-paying funds such as SCHD and VNQ, while JPMorgan (JEPI, JEPQ) and NEOS (QQQI, SPYI) represent a newer wave of monthly-pay, derivative-income products offering substantially higher yields. This split between conventional dividend equity funds and covered-call/income strategies is a defining trend in the category, alongside notable AUM concentration in a handful of large, established names.
- SCHD carries the lowest expense ratio in the top 10 shown at 0.06%, alongside the largest AUM at $110.4 billion.
- QQQI and SPYI tie for the highest expense ratio among the top 10 funds shown, both at 0.68%.
AI-generated analysis — AI can make mistakes. Verify important information independently. Not investment advice. AI risk disclosure
Risks specific to this category
- Capped upside: covered-call and option-overlay funds in this group keep the option premium in a rally but surrender gains above the strike, so they can trail the very index they write options against.
- Dividend-cut lag: dividend indexes rebalance after a cut is announced, so a passive fund typically rides the stock down and locks in the reduced payout before its screen removes the name.
- Sector tilts: dividend screens overweight financials, utilities, and consumer staples relative to the broad market, so these funds share rate-cycle sensitivity that a total-market fund does not.
- Distributions are not contractual: each payout is declared period by period, so the yields on this page can fall without notice when portfolio income, option premium, or fund policy changes.
- Methodology divergence: every fund here follows its own index rules or mandate, so two funds with similar headline yields can hold very different portfolios and diverge sharply in a drawdown — category membership is not interchangeability.
See this list inside your portfolio
A ranked list is a starting point. Dividend Vision turns it into a plan — forecasting the income your holdings actually generate and putting each fund's yield next to its total return and risk.
- Income forecasting — know what your holdings pay monthly, quarterly, and yearly
- Yield vs. total return — weigh each distribution against price performance, not the headline rate
- Screen & compare — line up any income ETFs side by side on yield, cost, and strategy
- Portfolio risk — see income concentration, issuer overlap, and volatility across your holdings
- AI ETF comparison — ask plain-language questions to compare yield, risk, and income potential
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Top picks
The three largest high dividend ETFs on this list by assets under management.
Yield distribution
Expense ratio distribution
Income projection
Estimated income if the current average distribution rate of 6.37% held for a full year with share prices unchanged. Distribution rate is not total return—a fund can pay a large distribution while its share price falls—so treat these as an upper-bound illustration, not a forecast.
| Investment | Annual income | Monthly income | Weekly income |
|---|---|---|---|
| $10,000 | $637 | $53 | $12 |
| $25,000 | $1,591 | $133 | $31 |
| $50,000 | $3,183 | $265 | $61 |
| $100,000 | $6,365 | $530 | $122 |
Issuer breakdown
Distribution of ETFs by fund issuer, showing how concentrated or varied the sponsor lineup is.
How this list is built
Every fund here passed the same screens, designed to surface established, income-focused equity ETFs rather than the largest headline number:
- Dividend-focused equity ETFs only — funds with a dividend or covered-call mandate or an explicit income objective; bond, money-market, and commodity funds are excluded
- Distribution rate of at least 2.4% — roughly double the S&P 500's recent yield — and no higher than 15%, which hands ultra-high payers to the high-yield list
- Expense ratio of 0.75% or less
- At least $100 million in assets under management
- No leveraged, inverse, or single-stock option funds
- Ranked by assets under management, not yield, so the market's most established income funds surface first
All 50 ETFs
| Ticker | Name | Issuer | Yield | Expense ratio | AUM | Frequency |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SCHD | Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF | Schwab | 3.00% | 0.06% | $110.4B | Quarterly |
| JEPI | JPMorgan Equity Premium Income ETF | JPMorgan | 7.93% | 0.35% | $45.3B | Monthly |
| JEPQ | JPMorgan Nasdaq Equity Premium Income ETF | JPMorgan | 13.60% | 0.35% | $42.8B | Monthly |
| VNQ | Vanguard Real Estate ETF | Vanguard | 3.68% | 0.13% | $37.1B | Quarterly |
| DVY | iShares Select Dividend ETF | iShares | 3.36% | 0.38% | $23.1B | Quarterly |
| VYMI | Vanguard International High Dividend Yield ETF | Vanguard | 3.17% | 0.07% | $21.8B | Quarterly |
| SDY | SPDR S&P Dividend ETF | State Street | 2.57% | 0.35% | $21.1B | Quarterly |
| QQQI | NEOS Nasdaq-100 High Income ETF | NEOS | 13.99% | 0.68% | $14.5B | Monthly |
| SPYI | NEOS S&P 500 High Income ETF | NEOS | 12.07% | 0.68% | $11.9B | Monthly |
| FDVV | Fidelity High Dividend ETF | Fidelity Investments | 3.35% | 0.15% | $10.3B | Quarterly |
| IGF | iShares Global Infrastructure ETF | iShares | 2.96% | 0.37% | $10.2B | Semi-Annual |
| EZU | iShares MSCI Eurozone ETF | iShares | 3.61% | 0.50% | $9.5B | Semi-Annual |
| IDV | iShares International Select Dividend ETF | iShares | 4.85% | 0.50% | $8.6B | Quarterly |
| QYLD | Global X Nasdaq 100 Covered Call ETF | Global X | 11.83% | 0.60% | $8.3B | Monthly |
| FDL | First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund | First Trust | 3.70% | 0.43% | $7.9B | Quarterly |
| FVD | First Trust Value Line Dividend Index Fund | First Trust | 2.40% | 0.62% | $7.9B | Quarterly |
| DIVO | Amplify CWP Enhanced Dividend Income ETF | Amplify ETFs | 4.94% | 0.56% | $7.8B | Monthly |
| SPYD | SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 High Dividend ETF | State Street | 4.56% | 0.07% | $7.4B | Quarterly |
| LVHI | Franklin International Low Volatility High Dividend Index ETF | Franklin Templeton | 3.42% | 0.40% | $5.9B | Quarterly |
| GPIX | Goldman Sachs S&P 500 Core Premium Income ETF | Goldman Sachs | 8.56% | 0.29% | $5.7B | Monthly |
| GPIQ | Goldman Sachs Nasdaq-100 Core Premium Income ETF | Goldman Sachs | 10.48% | 0.29% | $5.7B | Monthly |
| CGDG | Capital Group Dividend Growers ETF | Capital Group | 4.10% | 0.47% | $5.7B | Quarterly |
| DEM | WisdomTree Emerging Markets High Dividend Fund | WisdomTree | 5.15% | 0.63% | $4.2B | Quarterly |
| RDVI | FT Vest Rising Dividend Achievers Target Income ETF | First Trust | 8.81% | 0.75% | $3.7B | Monthly |
| GCOW | Pacer Global Cash Cows Dividend ETF | Pacer | 3.73% | 0.60% | $3.6B | Quarterly |
| MLPX | Global X MLP & Energy Infrastructure ETF | Global X | 4.09% | 0.45% | $3.6B | Quarterly |
| XYLD | Global X S&P 500 Covered Call ETF | Global X | 8.94% | 0.60% | $3.4B | Monthly |
| SPHD | Invesco S&P 500 High Dividend Low Volatility ETF | Invesco | 5.25% | 0.30% | $3.3B | Monthly |
| KNG | FT Vest S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats Target Income ETF | First Trust | 8.80% | 0.74% | $3.3B | Monthly |
| SCHY | Schwab International Dividend Equity ETF | Schwab | 4.39% | 0.08% | $2.6B | Quarterly |
| FTHI | First Trust BuyWrite Income ETF | First Trust | 9.01% | 0.75% | $2.5B | Monthly |
| HDEF | Xtrackers MSCI EAFE High Dividend Yield Equity ETF | DWS | 2.73% | 0.09% | $2.3B | Quarterly |
| DIVB | iShares Core Dividend ETF | iShares | 2.53% | 0.05% | $2.0B | Quarterly |
| ACYN | FT Vest Laddered Autocallable Barrier & Income ETF | First Trust | 9.98% | 0.75% | $2.0B | Monthly |
| CSHI | NEOS Enhanced Income 1-3 Month T-Bill ETF | NEOS | 4.99% | 0.38% | $1.8B | Monthly |
| QDPL | Pacer Metaurus US Large Cap Dividend Multiplier 400 ETF | Pacer | 5.27% | 0.60% | $1.8B | Monthly |
| TLTW | iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond BuyWrite Strategy ETF | iShares | 7.49% | 0.35% | $1.8B | Monthly |
| DGS | WisdomTree Emerging Markets SmallCap Dividend Fund | WisdomTree | 5.25% | 0.58% | $1.7B | Quarterly |
| FGD | First Trust Dow Jones Global Select Dividend Index Fund | First Trust | 5.96% | 0.55% | $1.6B | Quarterly |
| BKGI | BNY Mellon Global Infrastructure Income ETF | BNY Mellon | 5.26% | 0.55% | $1.6B | Quarterly |
| DHS | WisdomTree U.S. High Dividend Fund | WisdomTree | 3.28% | 0.38% | $1.6B | Monthly |
| RDIV | Invesco S&P Ultra Dividend Revenue ETF | Invesco | 3.52% | 0.39% | $1.5B | Quarterly |
| IDVO | Amplify International Enhanced Dividend Income ETF | Amplify ETFs | 6.12% | 0.65% | $1.4B | Monthly |
| SDOG | ALPS Sector Dividend Dogs ETF | ALPS | 3.59% | 0.36% | $1.4B | Quarterly |
| BALI | iShares Blackrock Advantage Large Cap Income ETF | iShares | 7.46% | 0.35% | $1.4B | Monthly |
| RYLD | Global X Russell 2000 Covered Call ETF | Global X | 12.60% | 0.60% | $1.4B | Monthly |
| CAIE | Calamos Autocallable Income ETF | Calamos Investments | 14.11% | 0.74% | $1.3B | Monthly |
| IWMI | NEOS Russell 2000 High Income ETF | NEOS | 14.58% | 0.68% | $1.3B | Monthly |
| DVYE | iShares Emerging Markets Dividend ETF | iShares | 7.44% | 0.49% | $1.2B | Quarterly |
| ISPY | ProShares S&P 500 High Income ETF | ProShares | 5.79% | 0.56% | $1.2B | Monthly |
Frequently asked questions
What are the best high dividend ETFs?
This page lists the top 50 ETFs in this category ranked by key metrics. The list includes funds from issuers like Schwab, JPMorgan, Vanguard, iShares and more.
How often is this list updated?
The data on this page is refreshed regularly using the latest available distribution rates, expense ratios, and AUM figures. Last updated September 2026.
What is the average yield of these ETFs?
The average distribution yield across the 50 ETFs on this list is 6.37%. Individual yields range from 2.40% to 14.58%.
What counts as a high dividend ETF?
There is no official definition, but in practice it means a fund whose yield is well above the broad market's — the S&P 500 has recently yielded roughly 1-1.5%, so this list requires at least a 2.4% distribution rate. Classic examples include SCHD, VYM, SPYD, and DVY, along with diversified covered-call funds like JEPI that push payouts higher using options premium.
How is this list different from the high-yield ETF list?
The high-yield list ranks every ETF paying 8% or more by raw distribution rate, so single-stock option funds with very large — and often unsustainable — payouts dominate the top. This page inverts that approach: it screens for established, diversified, low-cost dividend funds first, caps yields at 15%, and ranks by fund size. Same goal (income), opposite starting point (quality).
Are covered call ETFs like JEPI really high dividend ETFs?
They pay large, regular distributions, so most income investors treat them as part of the category — but the income source differs. A traditional dividend ETF passes through cash dividends paid by profitable companies; a covered call ETF generates most of its distribution by selling options against its holdings, which caps upside in strong rallies and can include return of capital. Both can fit an income portfolio; they just behave differently.
Explore more
This list screens for quality first. If the goal is the biggest possible payout instead, the high-yield list ranks every ETF paying 8% or more — alongside the risk context those numbers deserve.
Learn the method
The metrics and risks behind this list, explained in the Academy.
From the blog
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