Is QUAL or SCHD a better dividend investment in 2026?

QUAL currently yields 1.01% with a 5% 5-year dividend growth rate. SCHD yields 3.46% with 13.05% growth. The better choice depends on your goal: SCHD offers higher current income.

What is the dividend yield difference between QUAL and SCHD?

QUAL has a forward dividend yield of 1.01% ($1.89/share annually). SCHD yields 3.46% ($1.06/share annually). The yield gap is 2.45 percentage points.

Home › Compare › QUAL vs SCHD

QUAL vs SCHD: Dividend Comparison 2026

QUAL yields 1.01% · SCHD yields 3.46%● Live data

vsPost on X →

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

🏆 SCHD wins by $7.9K in total portfolio value

INVESTMENT

TIME HORIZON10 years

QUAL

● Live price

1.01%

Share price

$186.49

Annual div

$1.89

5Y div CAGR

Payout ratio

50%

After 10 yrs · $10,000 · DRIP

Portfolio value

$21.1K

Annual income

$108.12

Full QUAL calculator →

SCHD

Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF

● Live price

3.46%

Share price

$30.48

Annual div

$1.06

5Y div CAGR

Payout ratio

50%

After 10 yrs · $10,000 · DRIP

Portfolio value

$29.0K

Annual income

$425.95

Full SCHD calculator →

Portfolio growth — QUAL vs SCHD

📍 SCHD pulled ahead of the other in Year 1

Annual dividend income

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Recession Test — Did They Cut Dividends?

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

Crisis Period	QUAL	SCHD
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%.

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Dividend Calendar Overlap

Combined, QUAL + SCHD cover 0 of 12 months — good coverage

Jan

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Feb

—

Mar

—

Apr

—

May

—

Jun

—

Jul

—

Aug

—

Sep

—

Oct

—

Nov

—

Dec

—

QUAL pays

SCHD pays

Both pay

Neither

💰

Tax Bracket Optimizer

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

QUAL

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

$86.06/yr

After 10yr DRIP, annual income (after tax)

$91.90/yr

SCHD

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

$294.40/yr

After 10yr DRIP, annual income (after tax)

$362.06/yr

At 15% tax rate, SCHD beats the other by $270.16/year in after-tax income after 10 years on $10,000

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Lazy Portfolio Split Optimizer

What's the optimal mix of QUAL + SCHD for your $10,000?

QUAL: 50%SCHD: 50%

100% SCHD50/50100% QUAL

Portfolio after 10yr

$25.1K

Annual income

$267.03/yr

Blended yield

1.07%

🏛️

Copy Congress — What Are Politicians Buying?

Senate & House STOCK Act disclosures (last 90 days)

QUAL buys

SCHD buys

Politician	Chamber	Ticker	Type	Amount	Date
Virginia Foxx	🏢 House	$SCHD	▼ Sell	$50,001 - $100,000	2023-03-08
Steve Cohen	🏢 House	$SCHD	▲ Buy	$50,001 - $100,000	2022-07-29
Hakeem S. Jeffries	🏢 House	$SCHD	▲ Buy	$15,001 - $50,000	2021-04-12
Mikie Sherrill	🏢 House	$SCHD	▲ Buy	$100,001 - $250,000	2020-02-21

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

MetricQUALSCHD

Forward yield	1.01%	3.46% ✓
Annual dividend / share	$1.89 ✓	$1.06
Payout ratio	50%	50%
1-year div growth	0%	0%
5-year div CAGR	0%	0%
Portfolio after 10y	$21.1K	$29.0K ✓
Annual income after 10y	$108.12	$425.95 ✓
Total dividends collected	$1.1K	$3.9K ✓
Payment frequency	quarterly	quarterly
Sector	ETF	ETF

Year-by-year: QUAL vs SCHD ($10,000, DRIP)

Year	QUAL Portfolio	QUAL Income/yr	SCHD Portfolio	SCHD Income/yr	Gap
1← crossover	$10,801	$101.24	$11,226	$346.36	$425.00 → SCHD
2	$11,660	$102.20	$12,572	$357.38	$912.00 → SCHD
3	$12,579	$103.10	$14,046	$367.84	$1.5K → SCHD
4	$13,563	$103.96	$15,660	$377.73	$2.1K → SCHD
5	$14,617	$104.76	$17,425	$387.07	$2.8K → SCHD
6	$15,746	$105.51	$19,354	$395.86	$3.6K → SCHD
7	$16,955	$106.23	$21,461	$404.13	$4.5K → SCHD
8	$18,248	$106.90	$23,762	$411.89	$5.5K → SCHD
9	$19,633	$107.53	$26,272	$419.15	$6.6K → SCHD
10	$21,116	$108.12	$29,010	$425.95	$7.9K → SCHD

QUAL vs SCHD: Complete Analysis 2026

QUAL — ETF

The iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF seeks to track the investment results of an index composed of U.S. large- and mid-capitalization stocks with quality characteristics as identified through certain fundamental metrics.

Full QUAL Calculator →

SCHD — ETF

The fund’s goal is to track as closely as possible, before fees and expenses, the total return of the Dow Jones U.S. Dividend 100 Index.

Full SCHD Calculator →

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