Best Options Screener

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 the screeners to track unusual options activity, analyze options flow and provide state of the art analysis tools.

Transparency: We may get compensated when you click on links in this article.

Best Options Screener

• InsiderFinance – Best Options Data Analytics Tool
• Black Box Stocks – Best Options Trading Community and App
• TrendSpider – Best for Technical Analysis
• Market Chameleon – Best for Detailed Options Data Analysis
• Benzinga Pro – Best All-In-One Trading Tool
• Optionsonar – Best Unusual Options Activity Screener
• Options Trading Alert Services – Best for Options Picks

1. InsiderFinance

InsiderFinance developed an effective web-based trading software focusing on dark pool activity and options flow analysis. Preset option screeners for categories like momentum plays and option sweeps make it easy to use for beginner investors. InsiderFinance is not limited to options screening. It also enables investors to analyze crypto, forex and stocks. High-quality unfiltered raw data feeds are the data pool with over 15 million options contracts and equity prints every day used for analysis purposes.

InsiderFinance created a proprietary method to pinpoint algorithmic-based trading ideas and a computerized technical analysis system to detect possible trade entries, but also profit targets and stop-loss price levels. This functionality is fully included in the subscription price, and users can easily connect their free TradingView account with 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.

The options screener can be used without the TradingView connect. Still, it is beneficial to combine InsiderFinance with a free TradingView account. This way, technical analysis and trading system features can be used at no additional cost.

In addition, the free InsiderFinance Trading Masterclass is advantageous for new subscribers. It teaches users about the core features and explains how to use the platform in detail.

All paid plans provide subscribers with full access to all features. The monthly price ranges from $55 to $75, depending on the chosen payment plan.

• Monthly payment: $75 per month
• Quarterly payment: $195 per quarter (equals $65 per month)
• Annual payment: $660 per year (equals $55 per month)

Please consider reading the Insider Finance Review for detailed insights into the options flow analysis platform. Below, you find a special offer that saves you 20% on the first subscription, independent of which plan you choose.

Best Offer: Click here for more platform details and use the promotion code DAYTRADINGZ20 during checkout to save 20% on your first order (valid for all subscriptions, if there is an active promotion, then the promotion code reduces the price by additional 20%)

2. Black Box Stocks

Black Box Stocks offers a powerful options screener, options trade alerts, options flow analysis, market news and a stock options heat map. The screener results include insights with time stamp, expiration date, value, strike price, spot type, C/P, IV, and value. In addition, Black Box Stocks also has a Discord chat room for traders and a private Twitter group where people talk about trading signals, options trading basics, stock market analysis and more.

Black Box Stocks is more of an all-in-one combination of powerful trading tools and an active community for traders. Stock- and options screeners, trading education for options and stocks, financial market discussions in the chat room and weekly educational events make them an all-in-one solution for beginner traders.

Best Offer: Full access to Black Box Stocks for only $79.97 in the first month (20% Off, the discount will be applied automatically).

3. TrendSpider

TrendSpider is primarily a visually appealing charting tool for technical analysts, but they recently included pre-defined options activity scans. In addition, TrendSpider monitors stock options and keeps track of block trades and option sweeps with the new Options Flow feature.

The Options Flow can be added as a widget to the analysis right beside the chart. It includes a heatmap, option prices, strike prices, expiration price per options contract, etc. Users can adjust the screener criteria and modify filters by using the slider controls using the mouse.

TrendSpider is an all-in-one solution for traders, where the options screener feature is only one of many. Extensive charting capabilities, a backtest engine, various screeners and user-defined trading alerts make the offer complete.

Best Offer: TrendSpider 7-Day Free Trial

4 .Market Chameleon

Stock and options traders utilize Market Chameleon’s screening and analysis features. The most popular options screener features are options activity, implied volatility, options contract volume, buy-write research, open interest analysis, and order flow sentiment.

Various options screeners, a dividend monitor, an earnings calendar, an options chain, and various web-based research tools are available. Here are some additional functionalities:

• Best option screener for covered calls and UOA
• Historical option chain values
• Dividend announcements and earnings release updates
• VWAP minute data and historical option price downloads via spreadsheet
• Block trade reports for options and trade reports

The total access package for $99 per month provides the best value with an incredible range of options screeners, stock research and data. Options Traders can also subscribe for $69 per month with options only feature access. A remarkable aspect is that subscribers can download multiple datasets to their devices for further analysis.

Best Offer: Market Chameleon 7-Day Free Trial

For more details, please consider reading the Market Chameleon review.

5. Benzinga Pro

Benzinga.com is one of the best platforms for free stock market news and research. They also offer a paid premium tool – Benzinga Pro.

The tool is primarily designed for stock traders since a wide variety of filters can be utilized to find the best match for your scanning criteria out of thousands of news per day. Options traders can use their signals tool to scan for stock option trading activities, large block trades, and also option sweeps within the signals tool feature.

An interesting feature is that users can see if an option order was executed at the bid, ask, or outside bid-ask. Similar to Black Box Stocks, Benzinga Pro comes with many different stock screeners, access to a big trading chat room and trading strategies education.

Best Offer: Benzinga Pro 14-day free trial and Benzinga Pro 35% Off

6. Optionsonar

Optionsonar is designed to follow the smart money into the most substantial option trades on Wall Street by screening and monitoring, and analyzing the options order flow of stock options. The web-based platform comes with pre-defined option screeners, and lets users discover new trading ideas. Optionsonar screens all major option trades for U.S. stocks and separates the result into two categories, the bullish and bearish trade opportunities.

Block trades, dark pool orders, and a sweep screener are integrated with Optionsonar. It also monitors stock option positions where the contract volume is higher than the open interest.

The option screener results include option prices, charts, volatility metrics, technical analysis details, the strike price and more. Also, subscribers can modify the screener details and adjust filters for things like volume, the number of traded options contracts, bid-ask-spread, days to expiration, and choose between ITM, OTM and ATM option contracts.

Graphs, net unusual options traded, company fundamentals and a watchlist feature are also integrated. Also, Optionsonar can send an SMS, email or desktop notification once an appropriate trade opportunity is detected.

Update: Optionsonar is not longer available

7. Options Trading Alert Services

Analyzing the options market takes a lot of time. That’s why some investors prefer to follow specific trade alerts directly to:

• Trade such option picks and trade ideas
• Learn more options trading strategies
• Better understand the options market.

Best Options Screener Conclusion

Using an options screener can move the needle in a favorable direction. Moreover, 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.

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.

In any case, options trading comes with high risk, and paper trading should be practiced first by using a simulated trading account or by tracking hypothetical options trades in a spreadsheet.

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