Getting Started
Welcome! This guide will give you a quick introduction on how to navigate OptionCharts and use our tools for options analysis and research.
What is OptionCharts?
OptionCharts provides charts and tools designed specifically for option traders. Our mission is to help you gain insights into the options market and make more informed trading decisions. Whether you're a new or experienced trader, our platform offers valuable resources to enhance your understanding of options and improve your trading outcomes. OptionCharts achieves this by providing unique data and insights into the options market, presented through user-friendly charts and visuals.
Quickstart
Start by browsing our charts to get familiar with our platform and the types of data we offer. Try out different charts and tools to see which ones are most helpful for your trading style.
Searching and Viewing Options for a Ticker
You can search for options data for specific tickers by using our search feature. Simply click the search icon in the app header and enter the ticker symbol or company name of the security you're interested in.
search by ticker or company name
For quick access to the search feature, use the keyboard shortcut Cmd + K (Mac) or Ctrl + K (Windows).
Creating an account and upgrading
You can use OptionCharts for free with basic features. We offer two paid plans:
- Premium: Unlock all charts and features to enhance your options analysis.
- Ultimate: Everything in Premium plus real-time options data with no delay, providing the most current market information for making trading decisions.
Navigating Option Charts
Market trends
Use market trends to view which tickers and option contracts are trending based on highest option volume, open interest, or unusual activity. This tool enables you to quickly analyze the options market and spot potential trade ideas.
market trends
Charts by Ticker
These charts show option charts for a particular ticker. For each stock ticker we organize charts into these main tabs:
- Overview: View aggregated options data and statistics for a given ticker.
- Profit & Loss Chart: View the payoff diagram of various option strategies.
- Option Charts: View the following charts for one or more expiration dates:
- Open Interest: Displays the total number of outstanding option contracts at each strike price.
- Volume: Shows the options volume at each strike.
- Max Pain: Based on the max pain theory, illustrates the price where option buyers experience the maximum losses.
- Implied Volatility Skew: Shows Implied Volatility (IV) at each strike.
- Probability Distribution: Shows the probability of ending prices based on current option prices and Black-Scholes pricing model.
- Greeks (Delta, Gamma, Theta, Vega): Presents the Options Greeks across strikes.
- Unusual Options: Shows unusual trading as measured by Volume divided by Open Interest.
- Gamma Exposure (GEX): Shows the estimated dollar amount that market makers must hedge for every 1% change in the spot price to remain gamma neutral.
- Delta Exposure (DEX): Shows the estimated dollar amount that market makers must hedge for every 1% change in the spot price to remain delta neutral.
- Option Chain: Lists all available option contracts for a given security at various strike prices and expiration dates in a table format.
- Option Contract: View details of a particular option contract, including the option's price history and volume.
Features
Learn more about some of the core features OptionCharts provides:
Chart Features
Interactive tools for filtering, zooming, and customizing your chart views. Add annotations, technical indicators, and more.
Real-time Options Data
Access real-time options data for our charts.
Watchlists
Create and manage custom lists to monitor key options metrics for the stocks you care about.
Saving Trades
Save your option strategies and track their performance over time.