Invesco QQQ Trust, Series 1 vs Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETF: same stocks, cheaper unless you trade options
Options are the one reason to choose the Invesco QQQ Trust over the Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETF, and a taxable sale just to switch can cost more than the fee you would save.
Key takeaways
The Invesco QQQ Trust, Series 1, QQQ, and the Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETF, QQQM, hold the same Nasdaq-100 stocks. If you are adding money and you do not trade options, buy QQQM. It is the same portfolio for less.
The same stocks
Both funds track the Nasdaq-100. Nasdaq builds that index from 100 of the largest companies listed on its exchange, leaving out banks and other financial firms.
The portfolios match. 99.2% of the weight is the same stocks. Nvidia is the largest position in both, at about 8.3%. The ten largest positions are just under 47% of each fund.
The ten largest names are 46.9% of QQQ
QQQ holds $500.7 billion and QQQM holds $111.7 billion.
What the two have returned
The table is the price change through the close on Friday, October 9. Dividends are not included. Year to date starts at the close on Wednesday, December 31, 2025.
The three-year and five-year figures are the total change over those windows, not a yearly rate. The two totals are close because the share price at the start of each window was almost the same.
QQQM is ahead in every window. The lead is 0.05 percentage points over the trailing year and 0.42 percentage points over five years. Both funds have more than doubled over those five years.
Both pay a quarterly dividend. The last four, with ex-dates from Monday, December 22, 2025 through Monday, September 21, 2026, come to a 0.41% yield on QQQ and 0.43% on QQQM, measured against Friday's price. That is cash already paid, not a forecast.
What the extra fee buys
QQQ charges 0.18% a year. QQQM charges 0.15%. That charge, the expense ratio, comes out of the fund before you see a return. The gap is 0.03 percentage points. On $10,000, that is $3 a year. On $100,000, it is $30.
Until Monday, December 22, 2025, QQQ was a unit investment trust, an older fund structure, and it charged 0.20%.
That Monday, Invesco converted it to an open-end fund, the structure QQQM has used since it launched on Tuesday, October 13, 2020, and cut the fee to 0.18%. Invesco said the conversion did not trigger a taxable event for shareholders. The fund is still named Invesco QQQ Trust, Series 1.
U.S. News wrote on Monday, August 3 that both funds have tight bid-ask spreads, the gap between the price to buy and the price to sell, and that QQQ's can be slightly tighter because more shares trade.
ETF.com wrote on Monday, June 22 that QQQ options are among the deepest on a U.S. security, with tight spreads. It described QQQM options as thin: wide spreads, few contracts outstanding, and few strike prices to choose from.
Which fund to own
Buy QQQM with new money if you are not trading options. You get the same stocks, and you pay $30 less a year on every $100,000.
Buy QQQ if you trade options.
If you already hold QQQ in a taxable account, do not sell it just to switch. Invesco's conversion did not create a tax bill. A sale can.
U.S. News noted on August 3 that the capital-gains tax on a long-held stake may be larger than the fee you would save. Put the next contribution in QQQM.
If you hold QQQ where a sale would not cost you a tax bill, switch to QQQM unless you trade options.
ETFs in this story
Frequently asked questions
Do QQQ and QQQM hold the same stocks?
Both track the Nasdaq-100, and 99.2% of the weight is the same stocks.
How much cheaper is QQQM?
QQQM charges 0.15% a year and QQQ charges 0.18%, a gap of $30 a year on $100,000.
Why do people still use QQQ?
ETF.com wrote that QQQ options are among the deepest on a U.S. security, while QQQM options are thin.
Did converting QQQ create a tax bill?
Invesco said the conversion did not trigger a taxable event, though a sale to switch can.
