Which stocks pay dividends monthly?

Imagine getting an extra paycheck in your bank account every single month, not from a side hustle or a part-time job, but from your investments. While many believe the only way to make money in the stock market is by selling a stock for more than you paid, a special category of companies can make this monthly income a reality.

This income comes from something called a dividend. Think of it like being a small co-owner of a successful business. When that company earns a profit, it can choose to share a piece of those earnings with you as a cash payment. That’s a dividend—your slice of the pie, paid out simply for being an owner. It’s a powerful way to generate monthly income from investments.

In practice, most publicly traded companies that pay dividends only do so every three months. Because our own financial lives run on a monthly schedule, the benefits of receiving dividends monthly are clear—they can help pay bills or simply create a predictable, steady stream of cash. This alignment is what makes these stocks so appealing to many people.

This guide will introduce you to the types of companies that commonly offer them, explore why they are structured this way, and walk you through the core concepts you need to get started safely.

Why Most Stocks Pay Every 3 Months, Not Every Month

If you’re used to monthly bills and a monthly paycheck, you might assume dividend stocks operate the same way. The reality, however, is that most companies march to a different beat: the quarterly rhythm. The business world largely runs on a three-month calendar. Companies report their performance and update their owners every quarter, so it’s natural and efficient for them to pay out dividends on that same schedule.

Beyond just following the corporate calendar, there’s a practical reason for this frequency. Processing and sending cash payments to thousands, or even millions, of individual shareholders is a significant administrative task. Doing this twelve times a year instead of four simply creates more work and cost for the company. For most, it’s a matter of efficiency; paying quarterly gets the job done without the extra hassle.

This is exactly why finding stocks that pay monthly dividends feels like discovering a hidden gem—they are the exception, not the rule. So, which companies are willing to do that extra work? Often, they are special types of businesses whose entire model is built around generating consistent, monthly cash flow, much like a landlord collecting rent.

Meet the ‘Landlords’ of the Stock Market: REITs That Pay Monthly

Among the most common sources of monthly dividend stocks are special companies whose entire business model is built around collecting rent. This group is known as Real Estate Investment Trusts, or REITs. They are one of the primary answers to the question of which stocks pay dividends monthly.

The easiest way to think about a REIT is as a company that owns and operates properties that generate income. Instead of making products, they own things like apartment complexes, giant shopping malls, medical offices, or warehouses. When you buy a share of a REIT, you are essentially becoming a part-owner—a landlord—of all those properties combined, getting your tiny slice of the total rent collected.

Because their primary income is rent—which, as we all know, is typically paid monthly—it’s natural for many of these companies to pass that income along to their shareholders on the same schedule. In fact, to maintain their special tax status, REITs are required by law to pay out most of their taxable profits to shareholders as dividends. This rule is a key reason they are so popular with income-focused investors.

This unique setup makes investing in certain REITs feel like collecting rent without the headaches of fixing a leaky faucet. It’s a powerful concept, and some of the most well-known monthly payers fall into this exact category.

3 Examples of Monthly Dividend Stocks You Can Research

To see how this works in the real world, let’s look at a few examples. To find these stocks in a brokerage account or on a financial news site, you’ll use their “ticker symbol”—a short, unique code, like a nickname for the company on the stock market. Seeing these examples can help make the idea of earning monthly dividend income feel much more concrete.

Here are three well-known companies that have a history of paying monthly dividends. While they aren’t the only options, they represent the categories we’ve discussed and are often considered some of the best-known monthly dividend stocks for income investors to study.

• Realty Income (Ticker: O): Often calling itself “The Monthly Dividend Company,” this REIT owns thousands of standalone retail properties across the country, like your local Walgreens, Dollar General, or 7-Eleven.
• STAG Industrial (Ticker: STAG): This is another REIT, but it focuses on a different area. It owns and rents out massive industrial warehouses and distribution centers—the kinds of buildings essential for e-commerce companies.
• Main Street Capital (Ticker: MAIN): As a Business Development Company (BDC), this firm acts like a bank for medium-sized businesses, lending them money and then sharing the interest it collects with its shareholders.

Researching individual companies like these is a fantastic way to learn, but picking the right ones can feel like a lot of work. If you like the idea of monthly income but prefer a more hands-off approach, there might be an even easier way to get started.

An Easier Way to Start: Monthly Dividend ETFs

Picking individual stocks can feel like trying to find a needle in a haystack. It takes time, research, and a bit of luck to choose the right companies. But what if you could buy dozens—or even hundreds—of different dividend stocks all at once, with a single click? This is where a powerful tool called an Exchange-Traded Fund, or ETF, comes into play.

Think of an ETF as a pre-made basket of investments. Instead of buying a single share of one company, you’re buying one share of the ETF, which gives you a tiny slice of all the companies held inside that basket. This strategy is a simple way to achieve diversification—the classic investing advice to not put all your eggs in one basket. If one company in the fund has a bad month, the others can help balance it out, spreading your risk automatically.

For investors seeking monthly income, the great news is that there are specific ETFs designed to pay monthly dividends. These funds do the hard work for you; they gather a collection of stocks known for paying dividends and then pass those payments along to you. This approach helps you build a monthly dividend portfolio without having to research and manage dozens of individual companies yourself.

By bundling many stocks together, an ETF offers a simpler path to receiving those regular payments. It’s a popular choice for beginners who want the benefit of dividend income without the pressure of stock-picking. However, even this simplified approach isn’t completely risk-free.

What’s the Catch? The 2 Big Risks You Must Understand

After hearing about monthly income from stocks and ETFs, you might be asking, “Okay, what’s the catch?” While the idea of a monthly investment paycheck is appealing, it’s crucial to understand that dividend stocks are not the same as a high-interest savings account. They come with risks you need to be aware of.

First, the dividend payment itself isn’t guaranteed. Think of it like a performance bonus at a job; when the company is profitable and has extra cash, it can choose to share it. However, if that company’s business struggles, it may decide to reduce or even eliminate the dividend to save money. This is called a dividend cut, and it means your expected monthly income could suddenly shrink or disappear.

The second, and more familiar, risk is that the value of your investment can fall. Just like any other stock, the price of a monthly dividend stock or ETF can go down. It’s entirely possible for the stock’s price to drop more than what you receive in dividends, meaning you could end up with less money than you started with. This is the key difference from a savings account, where your initial deposit is safe.

Knowing these risks is part of being an empowered, smart investor. Being aware of both the potential rewards and the potential downsides allows you to take a more informed first step into the world of dividend investing.

Your First Step Toward Monthly Investment Income

The idea of getting a “monthly paycheck” from stocks no longer needs to feel like a distant, confusing goal. You now understand what a dividend is, why most are paid quarterly, and which specific types of companies, like REITs, are structured to provide monthly income. You’ve moved from wondering if it’s possible to understanding how it works.

Your best first step isn’t to risk money, but to build confidence through observation. Consider opening a free brokerage account with a well-known company. This isn’t a commitment to buy; it’s a safe place to learn. Once inside, you can start your own “watchlist” and add the ticker symbols of companies that pay monthly dividends to see how they perform in the real world.

This simple action marks a powerful shift. You’re no longer just reading about investing—you’re actively participating in your own education. By watching and learning, you are laying the groundwork for getting started with dividend investing, transforming abstract knowledge into practical experience, one day at a time.