I built a cheap options data API for algo traders — $20/mo vs $99+ (free tier available)

Options Dev — Tue, 09 Jun 2026 16:41:22 +0000

Why I built this

Most options data APIs charge $99–200/month. For retail algo traders and developers, that's a lot just to access market data.

So I built Market-Options — a real-time US equity options data API at $20/month flat.

What it does

Full option chains (all strikes, all expiries)
Real-time bid/ask, volume, open interest
Clean JSON responses
Works with any language (Python, JS, etc.)

Quick Python example

import requests

API_KEY = "your_free_key"  # Sign up free at market-option.com

response = requests.get(
    "https://market-option.com/api/v1/options/chain",
    params={
        "underlying": "AAPL",
        "option_type": "call",
    },
    headers={"X-API-Key": API_KEY}
)

data = response.json()
for contract in data["results"]:
    strike = contract["details"]["strike_price"]
    bid = contract["last_quote"]["bid"]
    ask = contract["last_quote"]["ask"]
    print(f"Strike: ${strike} | Bid: {bid} | Ask: {ask}")

Pricing

Free: 1,000 credits/day — no credit card needed
Pro: 10,000 credits/minute — $20/month

Looking for feedback

I'm looking for input from people who use options data in real strategies:

What endpoints do you need most?
What's missing vs your current solution?
Is $20/month reasonable for your use case?

Happy to give extended free access to anyone who tests it seriously.