Is PAYA or HDV a better dividend investment in 2026?

PAYA currently yields 20.53% with a 5% 5-year dividend growth rate. HDV yields 2.92% with 4.8% growth. The better choice depends on your goal: PAYA offers higher current income.

What is the dividend yield difference between PAYA and HDV?

PAYA has a forward dividend yield of 20.53% ($2.00/share annually). HDV yields 2.92% ($3.96/share annually). The yield gap is 17.61 percentage points.

Home › Compare › PAYA vs HDV

PAYA vs HDV: Dividend Comparison 2026

PAYA yields 20.53% · HDV yields 2.92%● Live data

vsPost on X →

After 10 years · $10,000 invested · DRIP enabled

🏆 HDV wins by $886.00 in total portfolio value· pulled ahead in Year 8

INVESTMENT

TIME HORIZON10 years

PAYA

● Live price

20.53%

Share price

$9.74

Annual div

$2.00

5Y div CAGR

-50%

Payout ratio

50%

After 10 yrs · $10,000 · DRIP

Portfolio value

$23.4K

Annual income

$2.39

Full PAYA calculator →

HDV

iShares Core High Dividend ETF

● Live price

2.92%

Share price

$135.39

Annual div

$3.96

5Y div CAGR

Payout ratio

50%

After 10 yrs · $10,000 · DRIP

Portfolio value

$24.3K

Annual income

$352.73

Full HDV calculator →

Portfolio growth — PAYA vs HDV

📍 HDV pulled ahead of the other in Year 8

Annual dividend income

🛡️

Recession Test — Did They Cut Dividends?

How each stock treated shareholders during the 3 biggest crises of the last 20 years

Crisis Period	PAYA	HDV
2008–2009 GFC	— No data	— No data
2020 Q1–Q2 COVID	— No data	— No data
2022 Q4 Rate Hike	— No data	— No data

Based on dividend payment history. "Increased" = dividend grew during crisis. "Maintained" = held within 3%. "Cut" = reduced by more than 3%.

📅

Dividend Calendar Overlap

Combined, PAYA + HDV cover 0 of 12 months — good coverage

Jan

—

Feb

—

Mar

—

Apr

—

May

—

Jun

—

Jul

—

Aug

—

Sep

—

Oct

—

Nov

—

Dec

—

PAYA pays

HDV pays

Both pay

Neither

💰

Tax Bracket Optimizer

Which stock is actually better after tax? Adjust your rate to find out.

PAYA

Annual income on $10K today (after 15% tax)

$1,745.38/yr

After 10yr DRIP, annual income (after tax)

$2.03/yr

HDV

Annual income on $10K today (after 15% tax)

$248.52/yr

After 10yr DRIP, annual income (after tax)

$299.82/yr

At 15% tax rate, HDV beats the other by $297.79/year in after-tax income after 10 years on $10,000

⚖️

Lazy Portfolio Split Optimizer

What's the optimal mix of PAYA + HDV for your $10,000?

PAYA: 50%HDV: 50%

100% HDV50/50100% PAYA

Portfolio after 10yr

$23.9K

Annual income

$177.55/yr

Blended yield

0.74%

📊

Analyst Conviction Gap

Where Wall Street is most bullish on PAYA right now

PAYA

Analyst Ratings

Buy

Hold

Consensus: Hold

Price Target

$9.21

-5.4% upside vs current

Range: $8.00 — $10.00

Altman Z

2.3

Piotroski

7/9

HDV

No analyst data

Analyst ratings via FMP. Altman Z-Score: >3.0 safe, 1.81–3.0 grey zone, <1.81 distress. Piotroski: 7–9 strong, 0–3 weak.

🏛️

Copy Congress — What Are Politicians Buying?

Senate & House STOCK Act disclosures (last 90 days)

PAYA buys

HDV buys

No recent congressional trades found for PAYA or HDV in the last 90 days.

STOCK Act mandates disclosure within 45 days of transaction. Data via FMP.Full tracker →

MetricPAYAHDV

Forward yield	20.53% ✓	2.92%
Annual dividend / share	$2.00	$3.96 ✓
Payout ratio	50%	50%
1-year div growth	0%	0%
5-year div CAGR	-50%	0% ✓
Portfolio after 10y	$23.4K	$24.3K ✓
Annual income after 10y	$2.39	$352.73 ✓
Total dividends collected	$2.2K	$3.2K ✓
Payment frequency	quarterly	quarterly
Sector	Stock	ETF

Year-by-year: PAYA vs HDV ($10,000, DRIP)

Year	PAYA Portfolio	PAYA Income/yr	HDV Portfolio	HDV Income/yr	Gap
1	$11,727	$1,026.69	$11,002	$292.38	+$725.00 → PAYA
2	$13,110	$562.60	$12,084	$300.36	+$1.0K → PAYA
3	$14,322	$293.91	$13,250	$308.02	+$1.1K → PAYA
4	$15,474	$150.04	$14,506	$315.35	+$968.00 → PAYA
5	$16,633	$75.75	$15,858	$322.35	+$775.00 → PAYA
6	$17,836	$38.05	$17,313	$329.04	+$523.00 → PAYA
7	$19,103	$19.07	$18,878	$335.42	+$225.00 → PAYA
8← crossover	$20,450	$9.54	$20,560	$341.49	$110.00 → HDV
9	$21,886	$4.77	$22,367	$347.25	$481.00 → HDV
10	$23,421	$2.39	$24,307	$352.73	$886.00 → HDV

PAYA vs HDV: Complete Analysis 2026

PAYA — Stock

Paya Holdings Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates as an independent integrated payments platform. It operates through two segments, Integrated Solutions and Payment Services. The company processes payments through credit and debit card, automated clearing house, and check payments. It serves customers through distribution partners with focus on targeted verticals, such as B2B goods and services, healthcare, faith-based and non-profit, government and utilities, and education markets. The company is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia with additional offices in Reston, Virginia; Fort Walton Beach, Florida; Dayton, Ohio; Mt. Vernon, Ohio; Dallas, Texas; and Tempe, Arizona.

Full PAYA Calculator →

HDV — ETF

The iShares Core High Dividend ETF seeks to track the investment results of an index composed of relatively high dividend paying U.S. equities.

Full HDV Calculator →

📬

Get this PAYA vs HDV comparison by email

Save your analysis + weekly dividend insights. Free forever.

More comparisons

PAYA vs SCHD PAYA vs JEPI PAYA vs O PAYA vs KO PAYA vs MAIN PAYA vs VYM PAYA vs DVY PAYA vs SPHD

⚠️ Educational purposes only. Not financial advice. Congressional trades sourced from SEC STOCK Act filings via FMP. Past performance does not guarantee future results.