QQQ vs QQQM Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
QQQ and QQQM are the same Nasdaq-100 index in two different price wrappers. QQQ charges 0.20% for institutional liquidity and the deepest options market; QQQM charges 0.15% for long-term buy-and-hold investors. Invesco created QQQM precisely to give retail investors a cheaper alternative to QQQ without abandoning the flagship's institutional trading ecosystem.
QQQ vs QQQM is the simplest decision in ETF investing: if you trade or use options, use QQQ; if you buy and hold, use QQQM — same index, lower cost, same Invesco fund family.
QQQM holds the edge across 4 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. QQQM has delivered stronger 1-year price return (+12.30% vs +12.27% for QQQ).
- actively trade the Nasdaq-100 and need the world's most liquid ETF intraday
- use QQQ options for income generation, hedging, or tactical position management
- manage large institutional portfolios where bid-ask spread quality matters for execution costs
- are willing to pay the extra 0.05% for the deepest options market in the ETF universe
- want the same Nasdaq-100 exposure as QQQ at a 0.05% lower annual expense ratio
- are long-term buy-and-hold investors who don't need QQQ's institutional liquidity
- prefer to follow Invesco's own recommendation for retail investors in the Nasdaq-100
- are in retirement or taxable accounts where annual cost savings compound over decades
| Metric | QQQ | QQQM |
|---|---|---|
| ETF scorei | 29.2 | 26.2 |
| Latest closei | $691.95 | $284.92 |
| 1M returni | -8.50% | -8.50% |
| 3M returni | -3.43% | -3.43% |
| 6M returni | -0.34% | -0.30% |
| 1Y returni | +12.27% | +12.30% |
The ETF score weights long-term returns and risk-adjusted performance most heavily, but still rewards low expense ratios, larger fund size, and broader diversification — so it can favor low-cost, broad, mega-cap funds over smaller thematic or actively-managed funds even when the latter have delivered stronger returns.
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | QQQ | QQQM |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $11.28K (+12.8%) started 2025-11-04 | $11.28K (+12.8%) started 2025-11-04 |
| 5Y ago | $18.43K (+84.3%) started 2021-11-05 | $18.53K (+85.3%) started 2021-11-05 |
| 10Y ago | $68.25K (+582.5%) started 2016-11-07 | $25.35K (+153.5%) started 2020-10-13 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | QQQ | QQQM |
|---|---|---|
| Expense ratioi | 0.18% | 0.15% |
| Total assets (AUM)i | $463.83B | $106.03B |
| Dividend yieldi | 0.45% | 0.46% |
| Trailing P/Ei | 28.50 | 28.50 |
| Betai | 1.26 | 1.26 |
| 52-week change | 12.27% | 12.30% |
| Metric | QQQ | QQQM |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y returni | +12.27% | +12.30% |
| 6M returni | -0.34% | -0.30% |
| 3M returni | -3.43% | -3.43% |
| 1M returni | -8.50% | -8.50% |
| 1Y Sharpe ratio | 0.45 | 0.46 |
| Betai | 1.26 | 1.26 |
| Dividend yieldi | 0.45% | 0.46% |
| 5Y CAGR | +12.34% | +12.42% |
Over the past year, QQQ and QQQM have moved strongly in the same direction (correlation of 1.00), based on daily returns.
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
| Period | Metric | QQQ | QQQM |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growthi | +12.27% | +12.30% |
| CAGRi | +12.27% | +12.31% | |
| Volatilityi | 20.20% | 20.06% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.45 | 0.46 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.64 | 0.65 | |
| Max drawdowni | 11.72% | 11.73% | |
| Current drawdowni | 8.91% | 8.90% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 3.13% | 3.13% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 4.10% | 4.10% | |
| Max daily dropi | 4.80% | 4.78% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 6.79% | 6.75% | |
| 5Y | Growthi | +78.86% | +79.49% |
| CAGRi | +12.34% | +12.42% | |
| Volatilityi | 23.10% | 22.95% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.43 | 0.43 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.61 | 0.61 | |
| Max drawdowni | 35.12% | 35.04% | |
| Current drawdowni | 8.91% | 8.90% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 9.24% | 9.21% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 13.61% | 13.58% | |
| Max daily dropi | 6.21% | 6.11% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 11.98% | 11.92% | |
| 10Y | Growthi | +536.40% | +144.19% |
| CAGRi | +20.35% | +15.88% | |
| Volatilityi | 22.63% | 22.18% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.74 | 0.57 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 1.04 | 0.82 | |
| Max drawdowni | 35.12% | 35.04% | |
| Current drawdowni | 8.91% | 8.90% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 6.25% | 7.95% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 10.39% | 12.39% | |
| Max daily dropi | 11.98% | 6.11% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 16.20% | 11.92% |
| Category | QQQ | QQQM |
|---|---|---|
| Fund name | Invesco QQQ Trust | Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETF |
| Type | ETF | ETF |
| Expense ratioi | 0.18% | 0.15% |
| Total assets (AUM)i | $463.83B | $106.03B |
| Dividend yieldi | 0.45% | 0.46% |
- World's most traded ETF by dollar volume providing unmatched intraday execution
- Deepest options chain with the tightest bid-ask spreads of any equity ETF
- Settled benchmark — QQQ is the institutional reference for Nasdaq-100 exposure
- 0.15% expense ratio is 25% less than QQQ for the identical Nasdaq-100 index
- Same index, same holdings, same Invesco fund family as QQQ
- Designed explicitly for retail long-term investors — Invesco's direct recommendation for this use case
- 0.20% expense ratio is 33% more expensive than QQQM for the same index exposure
- For buy-and-hold investors, the expense ratio difference costs $500/year per $1M invested
- Invesco itself recommends retail long-term investors use QQQM instead
- Lower daily trading volume than QQQ — not suitable for institutional block trading
- Smaller options market if options strategies are desired
- Relatively new fund (2020) versus QQQ's 1999 history
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