Best SPYI Alternatives in 2026

Covered call and options-income strategies dominate this category of SPYI alternatives, with issuers ranging from mega-scale players like JPMorgan to smaller specialists such as Overlay Shares and Roundhill Investments. Among the 10 funds shown here (out of 11 total), JEPI stands out as the dominant fund by size, while newer entrants like XDTE and TSPY represent a shift toward higher-yield, higher-expense structures, including weekly distribution schedules that diverge from the monthly norm most legacy funds follow.

• JEPI holds $45.3B in AUM in the top 10 shown, dwarfing the next-largest fund, QYLD, at $8.3B.
• Among the monthly-pay funds shown, GPIX carries the lowest expense ratio at 0.29% while still yielding 8.56%.
• SVOL posts the highest yield among monthly-pay funds shown at 20.12%, more than double the category average of 11.64%.
• XDTE is the only weekly-distribution fund in the top 10 and also carries the highest expense ratio shown at 0.97%.
• DIVO shows the lowest yield in the top 10 at 4.94%, paired with a mid-range expense ratio of 0.56%.

Yield levels in this category often reflect options-based income strategies rather than traditional dividend growth, meaning high headline yields (like

• Strategy mismatch: several funds on this list track a different index or use a different income mechanism than SPYI, so swapping into one changes the exposure — upside participation, payout cadence, and tax character can all shift, not just the ticker.
• 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.
• Distribution sustainability: the average distribution rate here is 11.6%, and payouts at that level often include return of capital — when distributions persistently exceed total return, NAV erodes and shrinks the base that generates future income.
• Single-index dependence: most funds here are built on the same S&P 500 exposure, so they rise and fall together and share that index's concentration in its largest constituents — holding several of them does not diversify the underlying index risk.
• Expense drag: expense ratios in this group average 0.64% — several times what broad index funds charge — and that cost compounds directly against total return.

• Universe: a hand-curated peer set, split into close peers (8 here — same core exposure and same income mechanism, so a like-for-like swap) and broader substitutes (a different index, underlying asset, or income mechanism). Every fund is labelled in the Strategy fit column; SPYI itself is excluded.
• Eligibility: active ETFs only — liquidated, delisted, and renamed funds drop out automatically. Leveraged and inverse products are never listed: a daily-reset 2x or -1x fund is not an alternative to a long income position.
• Ranking: assets under management, used only as a fund-size ranking. Never ranked by yield — yields are shown as data, not used to order the list.
• Fit: how each fund's strategy differs from SPYI — and who each one suits — is covered in the strategy notes and FAQ below.