Best free
Massive (formerly Polygon.io)
Free Basic plan is $0: 5 API calls a minute, end-of-day data, and 2 years of history.
Options data APIs compared: pricing, free tiers and features
Every options data API and data source we list, side by side: what it costs to start, whether there's a free tier, how much history you get, whether data is real-time or delayed, whether Greeks and IV are included, and how the data is delivered. Facts come from each vendor's own pricing, data or docs pages, checked between 2026-11-03 and 2026-11-09. Anything we couldn't confirm says Not verified.
Quick picks
Best for beginners
MarketData.app
Free Forever plan: 100 API credits a day, 24-hour delayed options, and 1 year of history. Google Sheets add-on. Paid plans from $12/mo with an annual commitment. 30-day trial, no credit card.
Best API value
ThetaData
Options Value is $40/mo, or $32/mo billed annually. Real-time access is included on all paid tiers; streaming starts on Standard.
Best for flow data
Unusual Whales API
Real-time options flow with 100% market coverage, from $99/mo (API Options Starter). 7-day free trial for new API subscribers. REST, WebSocket, Kafka and MCP.
| API | Free tier | Starting price | Historical depth | Real-time vs delayed | Greeks / IV | Delivery |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Massive (formerly Polygon.io) | Yes: Basic $0, 5 API calls/min, end-of-day data | $29/mo, or $288/yr ($24/mo) on Starter | 2 years (Basic, Starter), 4 years (Developer $79), 5+ years (Advanced $199) | Real-time on Advanced ($199/mo); Starter and Developer are 15-minute delayed; Basic is end-of-day | Yes, Greeks and IV from Starter | REST API; WebSockets and flat files from Starter |
| ThetaData | Yes, per its docs: end-of-day options data from June 2023, delayed 1 day (not shown on the pricing page) | $40/mo, or $32/mo billed annually (Options Value) | 6 years (Value), 10 years (Standard $80), 14 years (Pro $160) | Real-time access on all paid tiers; streaming starts on Standard | IV and first-order Greeks from Standard; higher-order Greeks on Pro | Local API through the Theta Terminal app; streaming on Standard and Pro |
| Alpaca | Yes: indicative options data, 200 API calls/min | $99/mo (Algo Trader Plus) | 7+ years | Free: indicative feed, real-time via WebSocket, 15-minute delay via API. $99: real-time OPRA | Not verified | REST API and SDKs; WebSockets (free plan limited to 30 symbols) |
| MarketData.app | Yes: Free Forever, 100 API credits/day, 24h delayed options, 1 year of history | $30/mo, or $12/mo with an annual commitment (Starter) | 1 year (Free), 5 years (Starter), unlimited (Trader $75/mo or $30/mo annually) | Starter is 15-minute delayed; real-time options on Trader and up (non-pros) | Yes: IV and full Greeks on options quotes and chains | REST API and SDKs, Google Sheets add-on; full chain snapshot for 1 credit |
| EODHD | Not verified | $39.99/mo add-on ($29.99/mo for the first 3 months during beta) | 2 years | End-of-day only | Yes: IV, delta, gamma, theta, vega | REST API (JSON) with strike, expiry and trade-time filters |
| Alpha Vantage | Free key (25 requests/day) doesn't cover options; both options endpoints are Premium | $49.99/mo (Premium, 75 requests/min) | Historical chains for any date since 2008 | Realtime US options chains on Premium (plus a data entitlement step) | Yes: IV and Greeks (optional on the realtime endpoint) | REST API (JSON or CSV), spreadsheet add-ons and an MCP server |
| Intrinio | No free plan listed; free trial on the Individual plan | $150/mo (Individual, personal use, billed monthly) | 2 years of EOD historical options; ~2 years of intraday bars (separate feed) | OptionsEdge real-time synthetic midpoint prices on Individual; OPRA real-time and 15-minute delayed feeds sold separately | Yes: IV and Greeks on OptionsEdge and the historical feeds | API and WebSocket; historical also by CSV, S3 and Snowflake |
| IVolatility | No free plan verified; 7-day free trial on each plan | $63/mo billed annually (Builder) | 20+ years | End-of-day global, intraday and real-time US data listed | Yes: IV and Greeks, IVX/IVP/IVR, volatility surfaces | API and WebSocket; Excel support |
| ORATS | No free plan listed; no free trial; free historical samples via ORATS University | $199/mo (Delayed Data API); Live $299, Live Intraday $599, All-In $899 | End-of-day back to 2007 (all plans); 1-minute from August 2020 (Live Intraday); tick-level time and sales from September 2022 (add-on) | Delayed plan runs 15 minutes behind; live data from $299/mo after signing data agreements | Yes: Greeks and IV on chains; time and sales prints come with Greeks | REST API (JSON or CSV) and a CLI; hard-drive delivery for history |
| FlashAlpha | Yes: 5 requests/day, 15-minute data, no card | $79/mo, or $63/mo billed annually (Basic) | Not verified | Free is 15-minute data; Basic and up are 15-second. WebSocket streaming is a commercial plan from $4,500/mo | Yes: Greeks and IV, plus GEX/DEX exposures and vol surfaces | REST API with official SDKs (Python, JS, C#, Go, Java) |
| Unusual Whales API | No free API plan; 7-day free trial for new API subscribers | $99/mo (API Options Starter); Basic $150, Advanced $375 | 1-year lookback (Options Starter); 2 years (Basic, Advanced) | Real-time options flow with 100% market coverage | Flow is enriched with Greeks; Greek exposure endpoints | REST, WebSocket, Kafka and MCP; bulk history sold separately in its Data Shop |
| Tradier | Lite brokerage plan $0/mo | $10/mo (Pro brokerage plan) | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified | API access on every plan (needs a Tradier brokerage account) |
| gexbot | 30 research charts a day; no free API | API on Quant: $350/mo or $3,150/yr | 90-day rolling history over REST (Quant) | Real-time WebSocket feed (Quant) | Greek exposures (GEX, DEX, vanna, charm); IV not verified | WebSocket (protobuf + zstd) and REST on Quant |
| LiveVol Pro (Cboe) | No free plan; free trial available | $350/mo per user on annual ($420 month-to-month) | Time and sales back to 2011 | Streaming trade tape | Not verified | Platform with an Excel add-on (not a REST API); bulk data via Cboe DataShop |
| optionsDX | Some downloads are $0 (product price ranges start at $0) | One-time downloads, $0 to $50 per symbol and year | SPY chains for 2010 to 2023 (per product page) | Historical files only; no live feed listed | Yes: Greeks and IV included in each chain | Bulk files: monthly CSVs, end-of-day to 1-minute quotes |
| Databento | No free plan; $125 in free credits for new users | Usage-based ($/GB) for historical data; plan price for the OPRA dataset not verified | Not verified | Live and historical over the same API; live data adds pass-through exchange license fees | Not verified | Historical and live APIs (Python, C++, Rust); CSV, JSON or binary DBN; batch downloads |
| Cboe DataShop | Free sample files | Price not listed (priced per order in the cart) | Option EOD Summary from January 2012 | Historical files and daily-file subscriptions | Optional Calcs add-on: IV and Greeks at 15:45 ET | Downloadable files, per day or per month |
| Algoseek | Sandbox with up to a year of data, no credit card | $1,000/mo (delayed minute bars feed); history from $1,550/mo | From 2015 with daily updates | Real-time OPRA trades + NBBO $2,750/mo plus exchange fees; 15-minute delayed bars $1,000/mo | Not verified | Historical datasets and Mercury real-time feeds |
| OptionMetrics IvyDB | Not verified | Price not listed (contact sales) | US equity and index options from 1996 | End-of-day, updated daily | Yes: IV and Greeks, plus a standardized volatility surface | IvyDB databases |
How to choose an options data API
- Just testing an idea? Start free: Massive (formerly Polygon.io) Basic (end-of-day, 5 calls a minute), Alpaca's free plan (indicative data), FlashAlpha's free key (5 requests a day), or ThetaData's free end-of-day data.
- Backtesting on history: look at history depth first. IVolatility lists 20+ years, ORATS has end-of-day data back to 2007, ThetaData Pro covers 14 years, and optionsDX sells one-time CSV files if you don't want a subscription.
- Live trading bots: you need real-time data. On the plans we checked, that means ThetaData (real-time from $40/mo, streaming from $80), Alpaca's $99 plan, or Massive's $199 Advanced plan. ORATS live data starts at $299/mo. If your broker is Tradier, its API is included with the brokerage plans.
- Greeks and IV without doing the math yourself: Massive (from Starter), ThetaData (from Standard), ORATS, IVolatility and FlashAlpha all list them.
- GEX and dealer positioning: FlashAlpha and gexbot sell precomputed exposures rather than raw chains.
- Options flow: the Unusual Whales API ($99/mo to start) streams flow over REST, WebSocket, Kafka or MCP.
- Options data in Google Sheets: MarketData.app has a Sheets add-on and a free plan; paid plans start at $12/mo with an annual commitment.
- End-of-day chains on a budget: EODHD's options add-on is $39.99/mo ($29.99 for the first three months during its beta) with Greeks and two years of history.
- Institutional history and tick data: Algoseek (OPRA from 2015, from $1,000/mo), Databento (usage-based), Cboe DataShop (files priced per order) and OptionMetrics IvyDB (end-of-day from 1996, price on request).
- Licensing: entry plans are usually for individual use. Check the license before you redistribute data or build a commercial product.
Options data API FAQ
Which options data APIs have a free tier?
Massive's Basic plan is $0 with 5 API calls a minute and end-of-day data. Alpaca's free plan includes indicative options data at 200 API calls a minute. FlashAlpha's free key allows 5 requests a day with 15-minute data. MarketData.app's Free Forever plan gives 100 API credits a day with 24-hour delayed options data and a year of history. ThetaData's docs list free end-of-day options data from June 2023, delayed one day, though its pricing page doesn't show it. Alpha Vantage's free key doesn't cover options: both of its options endpoints are Premium.
What is the cheapest real-time options data API?
ThetaData's pricing page lists real-time access on its $40/month Options Value plan ($32/month billed annually); streaming starts on the $80 Standard plan. Alpaca's $99/month Algo Trader Plus plan includes real-time OPRA options data. Massive is real-time on its $199/month Advanced plan. Its Starter and Developer plans are 15 minutes delayed. MarketData.app includes real-time options for non-professionals on its Trader plan, $75/month or $30/month with an annual commitment.
Which options data APIs include Greeks and implied volatility?
Massive includes Greeks and IV from its $29/month Starter plan. ThetaData includes IV and first-order Greeks from its $80 Standard plan and higher-order Greeks on Pro. ORATS, IVolatility and FlashAlpha also list Greeks and IV, and optionsDX includes Greeks and IV in its downloadable chains.
Which options data source has the longest history?
OptionMetrics IvyDB has end-of-day US equity and index options from 1996, but its price isn't public. IVolatility lists 20+ years of history. Alpha Vantage's premium historical endpoint accepts any date since 2008, and ORATS end-of-day data goes back to 2007 on every Data API plan. ThetaData Pro covers 14 years, and optionsDX sells SPY chains for 2010 to 2023.
Can I download options data as bulk files instead of calling an API?
Yes. Massive includes flat files from its Starter plan. optionsDX sells monthly CSV files from end-of-day to 1-minute quotes. ORATS offers hard-drive delivery for history, and Unusual Whales sells bulk history through its Data Shop. Cboe DataShop sells end-of-day, interval and trade files priced per order, and Intrinio delivers historical options by CSV, S3 or Snowflake.
Can I use these APIs in a commercial product?
Not on the entry plans we checked. Massive lists its plans for individual use, and ThetaData's plans are for individual use. FlashAlpha's standard plans are for personal or single-team internal use with no redistribution. Check each vendor's license before building a product.
Sources
Checked between 2026-11-03 and 2026-11-09 on each vendor's own pages:
- Massive (formerly Polygon.io): massive.com/pricing?product=options
- ThetaData: www.thetadata.net/pricing, www.thetadata.net/docs/Articles/Getting-Started/Subscriptions.html
- Alpaca: alpaca.markets/data
- MarketData.app: www.marketdata.app/pricing
- EODHD: eodhd.com/marketplace/unicornbay/options
- Alpha Vantage: www.alphavantage.co/premium, www.alphavantage.co/documentation
- Intrinio: intrinio.com/pricing, intrinio.com/options
- IVolatility: www.ivolatility.com/data-cloud-api
- ORATS: orats.com/data-api
- FlashAlpha: flashalpha.com/pricing
- Unusual Whales API: unusualwhales.com/public-api
- Tradier: tradier.com/individuals/pricing
- gexbot: www.gexbot.com/pricing
- LiveVol Pro (Cboe): www.livevol.com/options-trading-analysis-software
- optionsDX: www.optionsdx.com/shop, www.optionsdx.com/product/spy-option-chains
- Databento: databento.com/pricing, databento.com/datasets/OPRA.PILLAR
- Cboe DataShop: datashop.cboe.com/option-eod-summary
- Algoseek: www.algoseek.com/pricing.html
- OptionMetrics IvyDB: optionmetrics.com, optionmetrics.com/equities
See also the options data API category and our free options tools list. Spot a change? Tell us.