FDscanner is an options scanning and trading research tool built for stock market traders. It helps you filter and screen millions of options contracts using a bunch of different metrics.
The idea is to make options research faster and less of a headache compared to checking every single option chain one by one.
Features
FDscanner packs in several features for options traders:
Options Scanner lets you filter options by 26 different metrics. You can sort through over 10 million contracts to find what fits your trading style, metrics like implied volatility, Greeks, and percentage out-of-the-money are all there.
The Put/Call Skew Index shows you the ratio of 10% OTM calls to 10% OTM puts. This can help you spot stocks with weird supply or demand imbalances in their options pricing. It focuses on options expiring in 30 to 60 days.
Tendies Index is a custom indicator that tries to find weekly options with big return potential. It looks for options that seem underpriced compared to how the stock’s been moving in the last 10 days.
Unusual Activity Scanner hunts for options with high volume versus their open interest. If volume jumps past open interest, it usually means big players are opening new positions.
Arbitrage Scanner looks for options that stray way off from their theoretical value. It flags both underpriced contracts (where theory says they should be higher than ask) and overpriced ones (where bid is above theoretical value).
There’s also educational content, tutorials, blog posts, and market insights, for anyone who wants to get deeper into options trading strategies.
Costs
FDscanner has both free and paid options:
- Free Demo is limited to S&P 500 stocks. It’s a way to test the platform with a smaller slice of data.
- FDscanner Pro costs $45 per month and opens up the full universe of 3,702 US stocks with options. You get access to way more stocks, about 7.5 times as many as the free version, across all the tools.
- Free Trial lets new users try out FDscanner Pro and MiiAlgo (their intraday stock trading tool) for 30 days, no charge.
Pricing is simple, one paid tier gets you everything.
Summary
FDscanner gives options traders a way to search through millions of contracts in a few clicks. It was built to help you spot options for selling premium, hedging, or just plain speculation.
The platform updates its data every 15 minutes during market hours. On Fridays, there’s a final update 90 minutes after the market opens.
Tools like the Tendies Index and Skew Index aim to highlight underpriced options and market imbalances that might otherwise slip by. If you want to go beyond options, FDscanner now includes MiiAlgo, which alerts you to stocks showing unusual momentum during the trading day.
Pros and Cons
Pros:
- You can filter through millions of options contracts using 26 different metrics.
- It even offers specialized indicators like the Tendies Index to help spot underpriced options.
Cons:
- The free version only covers S&P 500 stocks, which feels a bit limiting.
- Full access costs $45 a month, so it’s not exactly cheap.