QQQ vs SCHD: which ETF won each year?

Yearly returns side by side, one winner per year — dividends included, priced as you'd actually buy them.

QQQ tracks the Nasdaq-100 IndexSCHD tracks the Dow Jones U.S. Dividend 100 Index

What did the last 10 years do to $10,000?

You invest $10,000 at the start of the window and touch nothing — dividends reinvested, the running year not counted.

QQQ turned it into
$59,045
+19.43% per year on average · 20162025
SCHD turned it into
$29,781
+11.53% per year on average · 20162025
Difference
+$29,264
QQQ made more of the same money

QQQ vs SCHD, year by year

Calendar-year total returns (dividends included) side by side, and who took the crown each year. A dash means the fund did not exist yet.

Years compared
16
where both funds were trading
QQQ won
12
years
SCHD won
4
years
YearQQQSCHDWinner
2026 (so far)+20.16%+17.51%QQQ
2025+20.77%+4.34%QQQ
2024+25.58%+11.66%QQQ
2023+54.86%+4.54%QQQ
2022-32.58%-3.26%SCHD
2021+27.42%+29.88%SCHD
2020+48.41%+15.03%QQQ
2019+38.96%+27.29%QQQ
2018-0.13%-5.56%QQQ
2017+32.66%+20.85%QQQ
2016+7.10%+16.45%SCHD
2015+9.44%-0.30%QQQ
2014+19.18%+11.68%QQQ
2013+36.63%+32.88%QQQ
2012+18.11%+11.39%QQQ
2011+3.48%+5.31%SCHD
2010+20.14%
2009+54.68%
2008-41.73%
2007+19.03%
2006+7.14%
2005+1.57%
2004+10.54%
2003+49.67%
2002-37.37%
2001-33.34%
2000-36.11%
1999+78.95%

QQQ vs SCHD in plain words

QQQ tracks the Nasdaq-100 Index while SCHD follows the Dow Jones U.S. Dividend 100 Index, so they own different slices of the market and their years can look very different. QQQ charges 0.18% a year in running costs and SCHD charges 0.06% — SCHD is the cheaper fund to hold.

Both funds distribute: dividends land in your account as cash instead of being reinvested automatically. Across the 16 calendar years both funds were trading, QQQ finished the year ahead 12 times and SCHD 4 times. $10,000 invested at the start of 2016 was worth $59,045 in QQQ versus $29,781 in SCHD by the end of 2025, dividends reinvested.

Fund facts: QQQ vs SCHD

FactQQQSCHD
FundInvesco QQQ TrustSchwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF
TracksNasdaq-100 IndexDow Jones U.S. Dividend 100 Index
Yearly cost (TER)0.18%0.06%
DividendsDistributing — dividends paid outDistributing — dividends paid out
Launched10 Mar 199920 Oct 2011

Frequently asked

Is QQQ or SCHD better?

Across the 16 calendar years both funds were trading, QQQ finished the year ahead 12 times and SCHD 4 times. $10,000 invested at the start of 2016 was worth $59,045 in QQQ versus $29,781 in SCHD by the end of 2025, dividends reinvested. Past returns don't promise future ones — but this is what actually happened.

What is the difference between QQQ and SCHD?

QQQ tracks the Nasdaq-100 Index while SCHD follows the Dow Jones U.S. Dividend 100 Index, so they own different slices of the market and their years can look very different. QQQ charges 0.18% a year in running costs and SCHD charges 0.06% — SCHD is the cheaper fund to hold. Both funds distribute: dividends land in your account as cash instead of being reinvested automatically.

What would $10,000 in QQQ have become?

$10,000 invested in QQQ at the start of 2016 grew to $59,045 by the end of 2025, with dividends reinvested — an average of 19.4% per year.

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