Max pain by ticker
| Ticker | Current Price | Max Pain Strike | Distance | Expiry |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SPY | $747.03 | $740.00 | +0.9% | 03 Aug 2026 |
| QQQ | $687.99 | $679.00 | +1.3% | 03 Aug 2026 |
| DIA | $524.32 | $522.00 | +0.4% | 07 Aug 2026 |
What this is
Max pain is the strike price at which the largest dollar value of options would expire worthless, calculated across every open call and put for a given expiration. The theory behind it is that option writers, who are typically the better-capitalized side of the market, have some ability to influence price toward that strike as expiration approaches, since it minimizes their combined payout obligation. This page shows a delayed snapshot of the max-pain strike for SPY, QQQ, and DIA against their current price, for the nearest upcoming expiration on each, so a reader can see at a glance how far the current market sits from that level and how soon the relevant contracts expire.
How to read it
For each underlying and its nearest upcoming expiration, every open strike's cumulative call and put premium is totalled, and the strike that minimizes the combined writer payout across all open contracts is selected as max pain. Distance is shown as the percentage gap between the current price and that strike. Max pain is a historical tendency observed around monthly and weekly expirations, not a guaranteed outcome or a trading signal. Real price action on expiration day is driven by far more than options positioning, and many expirations settle well away from the calculated max-pain strike. Treat the figure as one input describing where options writers are positioned, not as a prediction of where the underlying will actually close.
FAQ
Does price actually gravitate toward the max-pain strike?
It's a documented tendency around some expirations, not a rule. Broader market moves, news, and other flow regularly override it, especially on volatile days.
Why only SPY, QQQ, and DIA?
These are the three most liquid broad-market ETF options underlyings, where the calculation is most stable. Max pain on a thinly traded single stock is far noisier and less meaningful.
Which expiration does this use?
The nearest upcoming expiration for each underlying at the time of the snapshot, shown explicitly in the table.
Is this the same as an options open-interest chart?
No, max pain is a single derived strike calculated from the full open-interest curve, not the curve itself. It summarizes the distribution into one number.
Related terms & tools
Further reading
Informational only, not investment advice. Figures on this page are delayed by approximately 30 minutes, truncated to the top 3 rows, and refreshed periodically. They are not a real-time feed and are not affiliated with any exchange. For live, full-depth data across equities, crypto, forex, options, and macro, see the OpticAlpha terminal.