Best Options Screeners & Scanners

Brokerage platforms are great all-in-one tools for traders with integrated functionalities for all types of investment-related activities. However, those platforms are not explicitly designed for options traders, resulting in limited options analysis functionality.

That’s where the best options screeners come into play. They are designed to serve options traders with the best possible data and analysis features. Below we have listed our favorite screeners you can use to analyze options flow with state of the art options analysis tools.

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What Is an Options Screener

Options screeners are an absolute game-changer for active traders trying to make sense of the stock options market. Think of them as your personal trading assistant. The options scanner screens through mountains of options contracts to find golden opportunities that match exactly what you’re looking for.
If you already traded for a while, you know how overwhelming it can be to manually search through thousands of options.

Options screeners do all the heavy lifting, so we as traders have more time to focus on the trade. Those scanners track everything from volume spikes to unusual trading patterns, helping spot potential trades in real time. Plus, you can tweak them to scan for specific strategies you love, whether that’s covered calls or valuable iron condor trades.

Whats is great is how these tools can pick up on unusual options activity – sometimes catching big institutional moves before they become obvious to everyone else. For serious options traders, it’s like having an extra pair of eyes on the market. Let’s get into details and look for the best ones.

Best Options Screeners

1. BlackBoxStocks

The screener results include the time stamp of the trade alert, the stock symbol, expiration date, value, strike price, spot type, C/P, IV, and value. Also options flow analysis, real time scanning for momentum stocks and social sentiment tracking are integrated.

As for pricing they have 2 main plans: a monthly plan priced at $99.97 and an annual plan for $959 (which is $79.92 per month). Both plans include access to all tools, real time data and community features.

See Also: BlackBoxStocks Review

2. InsiderFinance

In addition, InsiderFinance utilized the TradingView API and integrated functionalities for comprehensive technical analysis with charting, trading indicators, annotations like trendlines and more directly within the InsiderFinance tool. You can also join the free trading masterclass, where you learn how to use the platform step-by-step.

All paid plans provide subscribers with full access to all features and cost $75/month, $195 per quarter, or $660 annually.

Below, you find a special offer that saves you 25% on all plans, plus 20% extra with the promo code DAYTRADINGZ20.

See Also: InsiderFinance Review

3 .Market Chameleon

The total access package for $99 per month provides the best value with an incredible range of options screeners, stock research and data. A remarkable aspect is that subscribers can download multiple datasets to their devices for further analysis.

See Also: Market Chameleon Review

4. Cheddar Flow

In addition, you can also use sweep tracking (to see aggressive trades), smart money tracking, dark pool monitoring, unusual options activity detection and real-time market analysis tools. Good for options traders who want to follow institutional money.

As for the pricing, you have the choice between the Standard and Professional plan on a monthly basis for $85/$99 per month, or the Pro Plan as annual subscription for $900 (equals $75 per month).

5. FlowAlgo

FlowAlgo offers only one plan which includes all features, but for different pre-paid periods. You pay $149 if you choose the monthly plan, $387 quarterly, or $1,188 yearly. All plans include core features like real-time alerts and basic flow monitoring, higher tiers add dark pool data and advanced analytics tools.

6. Option Samurai

You can save predefined scans, save custom scans and analyze profit/loss projections. There are two pricing tiers. Beginner: $35/month (annual billing, regular price $39/month) and Advanced: $50/month (annual billing, regular price $59/month). The Beginner plan is focused on core options trading functionality and the Advanced plan is geared towards more advanced traders who need real-time data and more analysis tools. The main value adds for the Advanced plan are the intraday data, unlimited accounts and the Excel integration and premium reports.

7. OptionStrat

Key features include multi-leg options strategy visualization, risk analysis tools, IV (implied volatility) analysis and the ability to save and track multiple trade scenarios.

They have two subscription tiers: Live Flow ($59.99 per month), with options flow, strategy builder, optimizer and other benefits, and the Live Tools ($19.99 per month) which comes without the options flow analysis. They also offer annual plans at a discount.

What Is The Best Options Screener?

The BlackBox Stocks and InsiderFinance options screeners are best for active options traders traders, who are looking specifically scanning for options, including dark pool and unusual options activity.

If you are mainly interested in UOA scans, consider reading my post about the best unusual options activity scanners.

Using an options screener can move the needle in a favorable direction and having insights at hand that most traders don’t have can be beneficial. Still, the decision to use paid options screeners or free options screeners is essential.

Is It Worth It Using a Free Options Screener?

Free options screeners are often included in trading platforms from brokers like TD Ameritrade and E-Trade. However, those free integrated tools do not necessarily have the insightful features that specialized services and option screeners have.

Most of the tools mentioned in this list have a free version, a free trial or can be tested for a small fee. It is worth it to take the time to test one tool by the other to evaluate if the benefit created by using such a tool is meaningful enough to justify the associated expenses.

Remember that using free option screeners might sound good at first, but data quality plays an essential role in options trading. Using free tools offered by brokerages is most often okay, but entirely free platforms that do not monetize anything might not be able to provide high-quality data. That’s because data costs money, and exchanges charge a significant amount of money.

Therefore, it is okay to use entirely free web-based platforms to learn more about options trading. Still, a data quality evaluation is highly beneficial if the data should be used for live trading.

How Do I Screen for Stock Options?

You screen for options by using an options screener, which scans the market in real time for the setups you are looking for. Be it unusual options volume, specific spreads, options strategies, or put call ratios – a screener can help.

First, you determine the investment objectives (e.g., stock options investing or active trading), and then you define your risk tolerance (e.g., $100 risk per trade). You educate yourself by learning all options market specifics, using fundamental and technical analysis to read charts correctly, developing an options trading strategy, and then using the options screener to scan for the specific options you want to trade. In a perfect world, you then import all your trades to an options trading journal to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of your strategies and improve further.

Benefits of Stock Options

• Flexibility: You can speculate on the price of an underlying asset without actually owning it. So you can profit from rising and falling markets.
• Risk management: Options can be used to hedge against losses in your portfolio. For example, buying puts can protect against a stock you own falling.
• Leverage: Options require less upfront cash than buying the underlying asset outright. This can boost returns but also increases risk.
• Diversification: Options can be used to diversify your portfolio by adding exposure to different assets and markets. This can spread risk and improve overall performance.

Choosing the Right Options Screener

An options screener is a tool to filter and analyze options based on strike price, expiration date and implied volatility. Choosing the right options screener is important for traders and investors to find the best options trading opportunities. A good screener will help you find trades that fit your trading strategy and risk profile, so it’s a must have for options trading.

Options Screener Features To Consider

When choosing an options screener consider:

• Customization: Look for a screener that allows you to customize your search criteria based on your trading strategy and preferences. This will fit you.
• Data coverage: Make sure the screener has broad data coverage including options on various underlying assets such as stocks, ETFs and indices. More data is more.
• Implied volatility analysis: A good options screener should have implied volatility analysis so you can see what the market thinks the underlying will do. This is key to the risk and reward of an options trade.
• Fine-tune: Look for a screener that allows you to fine tune your results based on delta, gamma and theta. These advanced metrics will help you refine your strategies and get more precise.
• User interface: Choose a screener with a user friendly interface that’s easy to use and shows clear and concise results. A good interface will save you time and reduce mistakes.