Options flow scanners give traders a window into what the big players are doing. When institutions drop six or seven figures on options contracts, they’re usually not messing around. These tools help you spot those moves in real-time.
The scanners track unusual options activity across all exchanges, highlighting trades that could signal major market shifts. Some come loaded with dark pool data, others lean into AI analysis, and a few specialize in multi-leg strategies.
This guide breaks down the eight best options flow scanners for 2025. We’ll cover pricing, features, and which one actually fits your trading style.
Quick Comparison: Top Options Flow Scanners
| Scanner | Best For | Starting Price | Key Feature | Trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BlackBoxStocks | Active day traders | $99.97/month | Community + real-time alerts | 30 days/$29.97 |
| FlowAlgo | Dark pool tracking | $149/month | Levels module for support/resistance | 2 weeks/$37 |
| Unusual Whales | Budget-conscious traders | $35/month | Congressional trading tracker | Free tier |
| InsiderFinance | Institutional focus | $49/month | Correlated dark pool + flow | 7 days free |
| Cheddar Flow | Clean interface fans | $65/month | TradingView integration | 7 days free |
| OptionStrat | Strategy builders | $49.99/month (flow) | Multi-leg flow detection | 7 days free |
| TrendSpider | Technical traders | $107/month | AI pattern recognition | 7 days |
| Barchart | Beginners on budget | Free + $29.95/month | Historical flow data | 30 days free |
The Top 8 Options Flow Scanners for 2025
1. BlackBoxStocks
BlackBoxStocks packs everything into one platform: real-time options flow, stock scanners, dark pool prints, and active trading rooms. The community aspect sets it apart, you’re not just getting data, you’re getting live analysis from experienced traders.
The options flow scanner uses color-coded alerts to highlight unusual activity. Green for bullish, red for bearish. Pretty straightforward. You can filter by expiration, strike price, or trade volume, which helps you zero in on what matters for your strategy.
Key Features:
- Real-time options flow with audio alerts
- Dark pool scanner for off-exchange activity
- Stock momentum scanner with volatility indicators
- Multiple trading chat rooms with moderators
- Mobile app for iOS and Android
- Go/NoGo indicator for trend confirmation
- Level 2 volatility indicator
Pricing: Monthly subscription starts at $99.97. First month often discounted to $79.97 or even $29.97. Annual plans run $959, saving you about $240 per year.
Best For: Day traders who want community interaction alongside their data. The chat rooms are genuinely active, and the moderators actually call out trades in real-time. If you value that human element, this platform delivers.
Pros:
- All-in-one platform (no juggling multiple tools)
- Excellent educational resources and webinars
- Active, helpful community
- Fast, institutional-grade charting
Cons:
- Interface can feel overwhelming at first
- Higher price point than some competitors
- Alert volume can be excessive
BlackBoxStocks feels approachable for beginners but still has enough muscle for experienced traders. The interface lays out each trade in a way that’s easy to follow, and the educational content helps you actually understand what you’re seeing.
2. FlowAlgo
FlowAlgo digs deeper than most scanners, especially when it comes to dark pool activity. The platform tracks option sweeps (multi-exchange orders that show urgency), block trades (massive private transactions), and dark pool prints across both options and equities.
What really stands out is the Levels module. It takes all those dark pool transactions and plots them as potential support and resistance levels on your charts. Institutions aren’t stupid, when they repeatedly trade at certain price levels, those levels tend to matter.
Key Features:
- Real-time sweep and block trade detection
- Dark pool equity data with Levels module
- Historical data exports to Excel
- Snapshot view for aggregated flow by ticker
- Radar feed showing daily block/dark pool volume
- Voice alerts (actually reads out unusual activity)
- Multi-exchange footprint tracking
Pricing: $149/month, $387/quarter, or $1,188/year. Two-week trial available for $37. All plans include identical features, you’re just choosing billing frequency.
Best For: Advanced traders who want to incorporate institutional positioning into their analysis. If you’re serious about tracking smart money and have the account size to justify the cost ($25k+), FlowAlgo delivers real edge.
Pros:
- Superior dark pool insights
- Excel export for custom analysis
- Clean, focused interface
- Voice alerts let you multitask
- Historical data for backtesting
Cons:
- Most expensive on this list
- Dark pool data has regulatory delays (hours to next day)
- Steeper learning curve
- Customer support could be more responsive
FlowAlgo lands in the premium tier for a reason. The data quality is excellent, and the Levels feature genuinely helps identify institutional zones that other platforms miss.
3. Unusual Whales
Unusual Whales built its reputation on tracking unusual options activity before it was cool. The platform focuses on big, unexpected trades, the stuff that doesn’t fit normal patterns.
Beyond options flow, they track congressional trades (because politicians seem to have impeccable timing), dark pool activity, and sector rotation. The Discord community is massive and surprisingly helpful.
Key Features:
- Unusual flow detection with custom filters
- 0DTE (same-day expiration) flow tracker
- Congressional trading tracker
- Options profit calculator
- Gamma exposure analysis
- Dark pool and whale feed
- Historical flow data downloads
Pricing: Starts at $35/month for the base plan (some sources say $30, but official site shows $35). Free limited tier available. $48/month gets you more advanced features.
Best For: Traders who want solid flow data without breaking the bank. The congressional tracker is honestly a fun bonus, and the community resources add value beyond just the scanner.
Pros:
- Most affordable premium option
- Large, active Discord community
- Clean, intuitive interface
- Strong educational content
- Mobile-friendly
Cons:
- Some features feel gimmicky (emoji trading flags)
- Less depth than premium competitors
- Can be overwhelming with so many tools
Unusual Whales hits a sweet spot between price and features. It’s accessible enough for newer traders but still packs enough data for experienced options players.
4. InsiderFinance
InsiderFinance goes heavy on institutional tracking. They process over 15 million daily prints across options and equities, then correlate unusual options activity with dark pool moves.
The platform uses TradingView for charting, which is nice if you’re already familiar with that interface. The dashboard is customizable, you can set up specific views for momentum plays, sweeps, ETFs, or whatever you’re hunting.
Key Features:
- 15M+ daily equity and options prints
- Dark pool and options correlation
- TradingView integrated charts
- Customizable one-click dashboards
- Unusual sweep detection
- Historical data analysis
- Advanced filtering by sector, volume, premium
Pricing: $49/month, $195/quarter, or $660/year. Seven-day free trial available.
Best For: Traders who want to see if institutional players are making coordinated moves across both options and dark pool markets. When you spot the same stock getting hit with unusual calls and simultaneous dark pool buys, that’s often your signal.
Pros:
- Excellent correlation between flow and dark pool
- Clean data presentation
- TradingView integration
- Strong mobile experience
- Comprehensive filtering
Cons:
- Mid-range price without top-tier features
- Learning curve for all the dashboards
- Limited community aspect
InsiderFinance delivers quality institutional data at a reasonable price. It doesn’t try to be everything to everyone, which is honestly refreshing.
5. Cheddar Flow
Cheddar Flow keeps things simple. The interface is clean, the data is clear, and you can filter down to exactly what you need without drowning in options.
They partnered with TrendSpider for bundled pricing, which can save money if you want both. The platform focuses on premium and unusual flow, with solid dark pool integration.
Key Features:
- Clean, uncluttered interface
- Premium and unusual flow filters
- Dark pool print detection
- Sentiment indicators
- Historical options database for backtesting
- Mobile app with push notifications
- TradingView charts built-in
Pricing: Starts at $65/month. Annual plans typically run $891 ($74.25/month). Seven-day free trial available. Bundle with TrendSpider for discounted pricing.
Best For: Traders who hate cluttered interfaces and just want the important stuff front and center. If you’ve tried other scanners and felt overwhelmed, Cheddar Flow strips away the noise.
Pros:
- Exceptionally clean design
- Fast, responsive platform
- Strong mobile app
- Good historical data access
- Reasonable pricing
Cons:
- Fewer features than some competitors
- Limited community/educational content
- Dark pool data less comprehensive than FlowAlgo
Cheddar Flow is a breath of fresh air if you can’t stand clutter. It helps you spot opportunities fast, without drowning you in endless data points.
6. OptionStrat
OptionStrat combines options flow scanning with serious strategy-building tools. The platform detects multi-leg strategies in the flow, spreads, condors, calendars, not just simple calls and puts. That’s huge, because seeing institutional traders setting up iron condors tells a different story than just seeing call buying.
The profit calculator and strategy optimizer are legitimately useful. You can test ideas, see probability distributions, and track how strategies perform without risking actual money.
Key Features:
- Multi-leg flow detection (spreads, condors, diagonals)
- 50+ built-in strategy templates
- Trade optimizer scanning thousands of combinations
- Profit/loss visualizations with probability curves
- Historical strategy tracking
- Volume overlay showing most active strikes
- Mobile app with full features
Pricing: Three tiers:
- Free: 15-minute delayed data, limited features
- Live Tools: $14.99/month (was $19.99) – real-time data, no flow
- Live Flow: $49.99/month (was $59.99) – includes unusual flow detection
Seven-day free trial for paid plans, no credit card needed.
Best For: Options traders who want to both track institutional flow and build/test their own strategies. The combination of flow data and strategy tools makes it unique. Great for intermediate to advanced traders.
Pros:
- Multi-leg flow detection (rare feature)
- Excellent strategy visualization
- Significantly improved pricing (down from $59.99 to $49.99)
- Strong mobile app
- No-commitment trial
Cons:
- Strategy builder can be complex for beginners
- Less community/educational content
- Dark pool data not included
OptionStrat’s recent price drop makes it seriously competitive. The flow detection catches complex institutional strategies that simple scanners miss entirely.
7. TrendSpider
TrendSpider isn’t purely an options flow scanner, it’s a comprehensive technical analysis platform with AI-powered pattern recognition. But their unusual options flow feature is actually pretty solid, and it fits naturally into their broader toolkit.
The AI automatically detects trendlines, chart patterns, and support/resistance levels across multiple timeframes. When you pair that with options flow data, you get a more complete picture of what’s happening.
Key Features:
- AI-powered chart pattern recognition (150+ patterns)
- Unusual options flow tracker
- Multi-timeframe trendline analysis
- Automated backtesting (no coding required)
- Smart alerts for pattern breakouts
- Trading bot integration (via SignalStack)
- Insider trading alerts
- 220+ technical indicators
Pricing: Four tiers, all include full features:
- Standard: $107/month ($85.60/month annual)
- Premium: Similar features, higher scan limits
- Enhanced: $197/month ($157.60/month annual)
- Advanced: Most comprehensive
30% discount with code “LST30”. Seven-day trial available. All plans include real-time US equity data at no extra charge for non-professionals.
Best For: Technical traders who want options flow as part of a larger analytical toolkit. If you’re already using technical analysis heavily, TrendSpider brings everything together. The AI automation saves hours of chart work.
Pros:
- Exceptional AI pattern recognition
- Multi-timeframe analysis (game-changer)
- Powerful backtesting without coding
- Automated bot trading capabilities
- Comprehensive technical tools
Cons:
- Expensive (highest base price)
- Options flow is secondary feature, not primary
- Complex interface with steep learning curve
- Professional traders pay extra exchange fees ($29/month)
TrendSpider makes sense if you’re serious about technical analysis and want options flow as a confirmation tool rather than your primary focus. The automation genuinely saves time.
8. Barchart
Barchart offers surprisingly good options flow tools considering they have a functional free tier. The Premier membership unlocks historical flow data, advanced filtering, and the ability to download everything to CSV.
They track the top 100 trades per underlying symbol with volume over 100 contracts, filtering out retail noise. Not as comprehensive as premium competitors, but way better than nothing.
Key Features:
- Options flow page highlighting large trades
- Time & Sales for detailed trade analysis
- “To Open” trade identification
- Net trade sentiment and delta imbalance charts
- Historical flow data (back to Jan 2024 for Premier)
- CSV exports for offline analysis
- 13 technical indicators with backtesting
- Unusual options activity scanner
Pricing:
- Free: Basic features, 15-minute delayed data
- Barchart Plus: Limited
- Barchart Premier: $29.95/month, $199.95/year, or $368 for two years
30-day free trial for Premier. All Premier plans include identical features.
Best For: Beginners who want to learn options flow without committing to expensive tools. Also great as a secondary scanner to complement a primary platform. The free tier lets you test the waters.
Pros:
- Lowest premium price ($29.95/month)
- Functional free tier
- Historical data back to 2024
- CSV exports for custom analysis
- Clean, beginner-friendly interface
- Excellent educational resources
Cons:
- Top 100 trades limit per symbol
- Less sophisticated than dedicated scanners
- 15-minute delay on free tier
- No dark pool integration
- Limited filtering on free plan
Barchart is perfect if you’re just starting with options flow or want to supplement your main scanner. The low price point removes most of the risk of trying it out.
How to Actually Use Options Flow Scanners
Looking at unusual options activity is one thing. Understanding what it means and how to act on it? That’s where most traders get lost.
Understanding Different Order Types
Not all big trades mean the same thing. The way an order gets filled tells you a lot about the trader’s urgency and conviction.
Sweeps: These are aggressive multi-exchange orders that blast across multiple venues to get filled immediately. A trader paying up to sweep calls above the ask isn’t messing around, they want in NOW. That typically signals strong conviction or insider urgency.
Blocks: Large privately negotiated trades that happen off the public exchange. Usually over 10,000 shares or $200,000 in premium. These often come from institutions setting up positions without moving the market. Less urgency than sweeps, but the size matters.
Splits: Large orders broken into smaller pieces and filled gradually across a single exchange. Can indicate a trader trying to hide their full size or accumulate without driving up premiums.
The scanner should tell you which type each trade is. Sweeps typically deserve more attention than splits.
Reading Bid/Ask Aggression
Where the trade fills relative to the bid-ask spread shows urgency:
At or above the ask (for calls) or at/below the bid (for puts): Bullish sentiment. The trader wanted the position badly enough to pay up rather than wait for a better price.
At or below the bid (for calls) or at/above the ask (for puts): Bearish sentiment. Someone’s aggressively selling/exiting positions.
Mid-price: Neutral or patient trader. Could be a spread or hedge. Less actionable than aggressive fills.
Most scanners color-code this automatically. Green for bullish fills, red for bearish fills. Pay attention to the colors.
Volume vs Open Interest Signals
This ratio helps separate new positions from profit-taking:
Volume significantly higher than open interest: New positions getting built. If you see 10,000 contracts traded on a strike with only 2,000 open interest, those are fresh positions. More meaningful.
Volume similar to open interest: Could be position adjustments or closing trades. Less clear signal.
Repeated large trades at the same strike over multiple days: Serious conviction. Institutions building a position over time to avoid moving the market. Very bullish/bearish signal.
Expiration Date Significance
Time frame tells you what kind of trade you’re seeing:
0DTE (same-day expiration): Pure speculation or day trading. These are lottery tickets. High risk, fast moves. Watch for gamma squeezes.
Weeklys (1-2 weeks out): Event-driven plays, probably earnings or pending news. Trader expects something to happen soon.
Monthlys (30-45 days): Standard options trading timeframe. Most liquid. Could be institutional hedging or directional bets.
LEAPs (6+ months): Long-term positioning. When institutions buy expensive long-dated options, they’re making a serious bet on multi-month price movement.
The closer to expiration, the more urgent the trade. Options expiring in 48 hours require immediate action if they’re going to pay off.
Strike Price Context
Where the strike sits relative to current price matters:
Deep in the money: Often used for leverage instead of buying stock. Can signal institutional positioning or dividend capture plays.
At the money: Most liquid strikes. Pure directional bet on price movement. When you see huge ATM volume, pay attention.
Out of the money: Higher risk, higher reward. Smart money buying OTM calls in size suggests they expect a significant move. But check if it’s a spread, they might be selling higher strikes.
Way out of the money: Usually lottery tickets, but occasionally you’ll see institutional tail hedges. A bank buying 10,000 SPY $200 puts for crash protection is different than retail buying the same strike for speculation.
Common Mistakes That Kill Returns
Following every alert: Not every unusual trade leads to a big move. Institutions hedge, adjust positions, and sometimes just get things wrong. Be selective.
Ignoring time decay: If you see a big call buy on options expiring in two days and you wait 36 hours to follow, theta decay has already eaten your edge.
Missing the bigger context: A huge put buy might look bearish until you realize the company reports earnings tomorrow and this is just a hedge. Always check the catalyst calendar.
Chasing moves that already happened: By the time you see the flow alert, process it, and place your trade, the quick money has already been made. You need to be fast or patient enough to trade the follow-through.
Forgetting about spreads: That massive 5,000 call buy looks bullish until you see they also sold 5,000 calls at a higher strike. It’s a spread. Defined risk, defined reward. Read the full picture.
Building a Simple Flow-Based Strategy
Here’s a straightforward approach that actually works:
Step 1: Set Your Filters
- Minimum premium: $50,000 (filters out most retail)
- Trade type: Sweeps and blocks only
- Sentiment: Above ask (calls) or below bid (puts)
- Expiration: 1-6 weeks out
- Volume > Open Interest
Step 2: Wait for Multiple Signals Don’t trade on a single alert. Wait for:
- Multiple large trades in the same direction
- Preferably across different expiration dates
- Ideally confirmed by dark pool activity at similar prices
Step 3: Check Technical Confluence Look at the chart:
- Are they buying calls at support? More bullish.
- Buying puts at resistance? More bearish.
- Is there a clear technical setup confirming the flow direction?
Step 4: Verify Context
- Upcoming earnings? Could be a hedge.
- Recent news or analyst upgrades?
- Sector rotation happening?
- Broader market conditions supportive?
Step 5: Position Sizing and Risk Management
- Never put more than 2-3% of your account on a single flow play
- Use defined-risk strategies when possible (spreads)
- Set profit targets (50-75% of max gain on spreads)
- Have a stop loss or time stop (exit if nothing happens in 3-5 days)
Step 6: Track Your Results Keep a trading journal:
- Date, symbol, strike, expiration
- Flow signal that triggered entry
- Entry price and exit price
- What worked, what didn’t
- Win rate by scanner, filter settings, and strategy type
After 50-100 flow trades, patterns emerge. Maybe you’re better at following tech sector flow than finance. Maybe morning alerts work better than afternoon. The data tells you where your edge actually is.
Free vs Paid: What Actually Matters
The free options scanners out there (like the basic Barchart tier) are fine for learning the basics. You’ll see some unusual activity, get familiar with the concepts, and decide if flow trading fits your style.
But free tiers have real limitations:
Data delays: 15-minute delays mean you’re seeing trades long after the opportunity passed. For flow trading, that’s often fatal.
Limited filters: Can’t narrow down to the exact setups you’re hunting. You’ll waste time sifting through noise.
No historical data: Can’t backtest patterns or validate if the signals actually work.
Basic alerts only: Miss the sophisticated multi-leg strategies that often signal institutional positioning.
No dark pool integration: Half the institutional story is missing.
If you’re serious about trading options flow, a paid scanner pays for itself quickly. One good trade following institutional flow can cover months of subscription fees.
That said, you don’t need the most expensive option. Start with something in the $35-65 range (Unusual Whales, Cheddar Flow, InsiderFinance), get comfortable, then upgrade if needed.
How to Choose the Right Scanner for Your Style
If you’re brand new to options flow: Start with Barchart Premier ($29.95/month). Learn the basics with their educational content, test the free tier first, and upgrade when you’re ready. Low risk way to learn.
If you’re a day trader who loves community: BlackBoxStocks ($99.97/month) gives you real-time data plus active chat rooms where experienced traders call out setups live. Worth it if community matters to you.
If you’re a technical trader already using charts heavily: TrendSpider ($107/month) brings options flow into your existing technical analysis workflow. The AI pattern recognition saves hours. Expensive, but comprehensive.
If you trade on a smaller account ($5k-25k): Unusual Whales ($35/month) or OptionStrat Live Flow ($49.99/month) give you solid flow data without breaking the bank. Both punch above their price point.
If you specifically want dark pool insights: FlowAlgo ($149/month) is the best pure dark pool integration. The Levels module showing institutional support/resistance is legitimately useful. Premium price, premium data.
If you trade multi-leg strategies: OptionStrat ($49.99/month) is the only scanner that actually detects institutional spreads, condors, and butterflies in real-time. Essential if you trade complex strategies.
If you want everything and don’t mind paying: BlackBoxStocks or FlowAlgo give you the most complete picture. You’ll have real-time flow, dark pool data, community, and professional-grade tools.
If you’re testing the concept: Use Barchart Free or Unusual Whales Free Tier for a month. See if flow trading fits your style before spending money.
Advanced Strategy: Combining Multiple Scanners
Some serious traders use two scanners:
Primary scanner: Their main flow tool (BlackBoxStocks, FlowAlgo, etc.)
Secondary scanner: Barchart Premier as a backup for historical comparison and CSV exports for custom analysis.
When both scanners flag the same unusual activity, it’s stronger confirmation. Also helps catch alerts one scanner might miss.
The extra $30/month for Barchart as backup is cheap insurance if you’re trading flow with any size.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much money do I need to trade options flow? Realistically, you want at least $5,000 to trade flow effectively. With smaller accounts, even if you correctly identify institutional positioning, you can’t allocate enough size to make it worth the scanner subscription. Plus you need room for multiple positions and risk management.
That said, you can learn with less. Just understand that scanners costing $50-150/month need to pay for themselves through better trades.
Do institutional traders always get it right? Nope. Institutions are bigger and better informed, but they’re not fortune tellers. They make losing trades too. The advantage is they typically have information ahead of retail (analyst meetings, industry contacts) and use sophisticated models. Following smart money improves your odds, it doesn’t guarantee wins.
How fast do I need to act on flow alerts? It depends. For same-day expiration plays? Minutes matter. For longer-dated options? You often have hours or even days to confirm the setup with technical analysis before entering.
That said, the best opportunities typically get priced in quickly. If you’re consistently too slow, consider alerts on your phone and having orders ready to fire.
What’s the difference between options flow and unusual options activity? They’re basically the same thing, but with subtle differences in usage. “Options flow” generally refers to the continuous stream of all options trades. “Unusual options activity” specifically highlights trades that are statistically abnormal, larger size, higher premium, volume exceeding open interest, etc.
Most scanners track both but emphasize the unusual stuff since that’s where the actionable intel lives.
Should I copy institutional trades exactly? Not usually. By the time you see the alert and place your trade, you’re getting worse pricing. Plus you don’t know their exit plan, time horizon, or whether it’s a hedge.
Better approach: Use institutional flow as confirmation for your own analysis. If you were already considering bullish call spreads on a stock, and then you see institutions buying calls, that’s confirmation to pull the trigger.
Do these scanners work for stocks too? Some do. FlowAlgo, BlackBoxStocks, InsiderFinance, and TrendSpider track equity block trades and dark pool prints. Those can be useful for swing trading stocks. But the primary value is on the options side.
Can I use these scanners for crypto or forex? Generally no. These are designed for U.S. equity options. TrendSpider includes crypto charting, but their options flow is equity-only. If you trade crypto or forex, you need different tools.
Are options flow scanners legal? Completely legal. You’re seeing the same trade data that anyone with market access can see. These platforms just aggregate it and make it easier to identify meaningful trades.
The confusion comes from dark pool data, which sounds sketchy but is just off-exchange transactions reported to FINRA. Everything is above board.
What happens if I just follow every alert? You’ll lose money. Guaranteed. Alert fatigue is real, and most unusual trades don’t lead to profitable opportunities. You need filters, confirmation, and selectivity.
Good traders might act on 5-10% of flow alerts after applying their filters and confirmation process. The scanner shows you possibilities, your job is picking which ones are actually trades.
Final Thoughts
Options flow scanners give you real intel on institutional trading activity. That information is valuable, but it’s not magic. You still need to filter the noise, confirm with your own analysis, and manage risk properly.
Start with a scanner that fits your budget and learning stage. Barchart works for beginners, Unusual Whales for budget-conscious traders, and FlowAlgo or BlackBoxStocks for serious flow traders with capital to deploy.
Most platforms offer trials, use them. Spend a week tracking flow alerts without trading them. See which patterns actually lead to moves. Build your own filters and confirmation process.
And remember: options flow should be one piece of your trading puzzle, not the entire picture. Combine it with technical analysis, fundamentals, and your own market experience.
The tools exist. Now it’s about putting in the screen time to learn what works for your specific trading style.