Best SPYI Alternatives in 2026

The SPYI Alternatives category brings together 11 income-focused ETFs built primarily around covered-call and options-overlay strategies, with an average yield of 11.54% and average expense ratio of 0.63%. JPMorgan's JEPI anchors the group with $45.9B in AUM — dwarfing every other fund shown — while Global X contributes two sizable covered-call funds (QYLD, XYLD) and newer entrants like Goldman Sachs' GPIX, TappAlpha's TSPY, and Roundhill's XDTE reflect continued issuer diversification into options-income products. Distribution frequency is split between monthly payers (nine of the ten shown) and a weekly payer (XDTE), highlighting a structural trend toward more frequent income delivery in this space.

• SVOL posts the highest yield among the top 10 shown at 20.92%, well above the category's 11.54% average.
• DIVO has the lowest yield in this group at 4.85%, despite a relatively modest 0.56% expense ratio.

• 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 11.5%, 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 0.63% — 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.