ThetaData ranks first of 17 on our options data ranking. A thetadata alternative here is about closing a specific gap: no Google Sheets add-on, one individual per retail account, and a local Terminal its REST API and Excel plug-in both still need. We ranked the 16 providers that fill those gaps.
We rank second on that same hub, a point and a half behind ThetaData’s 8.6. This page is fair to that fact: nothing below beats ThetaData outright, and each entry is a reason to pick something narrower instead.
Why look for a ThetaData alternative when it ranks first?
Because “first overall” hides three real gaps: ThetaData has no Google Sheets integration, its retail agreement permits exactly one individual per account, and its REST API and Excel add-in both require a persistent local Theta Terminal to run.
A team that wants to share one login, a spreadsheet workflow, or an app that cannot run a local Java process is not looking for a better options API. It is looking for a different shape of one.
Which options data providers are alternatives to ThetaData?
The options data providers ranking scores all 17, ThetaData included; this table leaves it out.
| Rank | Provider | Score | Best for | Cost of real-time US options, API |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Market Data | 7.1 | Real-time OPRA chains with Greeks | $30/mo (annual) |
| 3 | ORATS | 6.9 | Smoothed volatility surfaces for options | $299/mo |
| 4 | Tradier | 6.8 | Free real-time OPRA with Greeks | Free, partial |
| 5 | Unusual Whales | 6.1 | Real-time options flow and GEX | $150/mo |
| 6 | Massive | 5.8 | Real-time OPRA with computed Greeks | $159.2/mo (annual) |
| 7 | EODHD | 5.6 | Cheap EOD options with Greeks | Not offered |
| 8 | Intrinio | 5.5 | Full Greeks, Enterprise-priced OPRA | $150/mo |
| 8 | Sheets Finance | 5.5 | 20+ years of options history in Sheets | Not offered |
| 10 | Barchart | 5.4 | Equity and futures options with GEX | Price not published, partial |
| 10 | Databento | 5.4 | Raw tick-level options history | Price not published, partial |
| 12 | Alpaca | 5.1 | Free indicative options data | $99/mo |
| 13 | Cboe DataShop | 4.9 | Exchange-of-record OPRA history | $2,499/mo |
| 14 | MarketXLS | 4.8 | Full Excel options chains with Greeks | Not offered |
| 15 | Wisesheets | 4.7 | Cheap options access in Sheets | Not offered |
| 16 | Alpha Vantage | 3.3 | Basic real-time options endpoint | $166.58/mo (annual) |
| 17 | Yahoo Finance | 2.1 | Free but always-delayed options | Not offered |
| Feature | Market Data | ORATS | Tradier | Unusual Whales | Massive |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US options | Excellent, real-time OPRA (Trader+) | Excellent, full US options 1 | Excellent, real-time OPRA, free 2 | Excellent, 100% flow coverage | Excellent, real-time OPRA (Advanced) 3 |
| Real-time options | OPRA real-time on Trader plan+ | Yes, <10s delay, live tiers 4 | Yes, free with any account 2 | Yes, real-time flow 5 | Real-time from Advanced ($199/mo) 3 |
| Greeks and IV | Real-time only, no historical | Excellent, SMV-smoothed Greeks 4 | Yes, via ORATS, hourly refresh 6 | Excellent, GEX + volatility suite | Computed; latency follows quote tier 3 |
| Google Sheets | Native add-on, free | None 7 | No 6 | None 8 | None found 9 |
| Excel | Not yet (planned) | None; manual VBA/API workflow 10 | No 6 | None 8 | None found 9 |
| Free tier | 100 credits/day, 1yr history, delayed | None; $29/14-day paid trial only 4 | Yes, $0 min., real-time data included 11 | Yes, 2-day delayed flow 12 | 5 calls/min, 2yr history, EOD only 13 |
| Cheapest paid plan | $12/mo (Starter, annual) | $99/mo (Trading Tools Individual) 4 | $10/mo (Pro) 11 | $42/mo (Retail Basic, annual) 12 | $23.20/mo (Stocks Starter, annual) 13 |
| Cost of real-time stocks + options | $30/mo (annual) 14 | $299/mo 4 | Free, partial 11 | $150/mo 5 | $318.4/mo (annual) 13 |
Sources for this table, checked 2026-09-26
- orats.com/near-eod-data
- docs.tradier.com/docs/market-data.md
- massive.com/pricing?product=options
- orats.com/data-api
- unusualwhales.com/pricing?product=api
- docs.tradier.com/llms.txt
- orats.com/
- unusualwhales.com/public-api
- massive.com
- orats.com/blog/get-1-minute-options-data-in-excel
- tradier.com/pricing
- unusualwhales.com/pricing
- massive.com/pricing
- marketdata.app/docs/account/plan-limits/index.md
Market Data
7.1/10 Real-time OPRA chains with free Greeks/IV, but no historical Greeks and coverage stops at US options.
- Option chains, and how fresh ×2
- 8/10
- Greeks and implied volatility ×1.5
- 6/10
- Historical options data ×1.5
- 6/10
- Price for value ×2
- 8/10
- Ease of use ×1
- 7/10
- Commercial path ×0.5
- 6/10
Strengths
- Real-time OPRA on the Trader plan and above
- Full Greeks and IV on every real-time quote, no extra cost
- EOD chains back to 2010, including expired contracts
Weaknesses
- No historical Greeks/IV for backtesting
- No websocket streaming for options
We rank second on this hub. Our options API returns OPRA chains with greeks on every real-time quote, billed per contract returned, one credit each, and our Google Sheets add-on is the one thing on this page ThetaData does not sell at all.
ORATS
6.9/10 Proprietary SMV-smoothed Greeks and surfaces back to 2007, with no free tier.
- Option chains, and how fresh ×2
- 8/10
- Greeks and implied volatility ×1.5
- 9/10
- Historical options data ×1.5
- 9/10
- Price for value ×2
- 5/10
- Ease of use ×1
- 5/10
- Commercial path ×0.5
- 1/10
Strengths
- SMV-smoothed Greeks and IV surfaces, methodology named
- EOD history to 2007, 1-minute intraday since 2020
- Hosted backtester (Trading Tools)
Weaknesses
- No free tier, $29 paid trial only
- Redistribution forbidden
ORATS sells the volatility surfaces and pre-computed analytics ThetaData leaves to the buyer. Its Data API starts at $199 a month, well above ThetaData’s $40, for work you would otherwise build yourself on ThetaData’s raw ticks.
Tradier
6.8/10 Real-time OPRA with ORATS Greeks, free with any brokerage account, but history excludes expired contracts.
- Option chains, and how fresh ×2
- 9/10
- Greeks and implied volatility ×1.5
- 6/10
- Historical options data ×1.5
- 2/10
- Price for value ×2
- 10/10
- Ease of use ×1
- 6/10
- Commercial path ×0.5
- 3/10
Strengths
- Real-time OPRA options free with any account
- Greeks/IV via ORATS, refreshed hourly
Weaknesses
- Options history excludes expired contracts
- Trustpilot 2.0/5 (28 reviews)
Tradier’s real-time OPRA options come free with any brokerage account, the cheapest real-time entry on this page, cheaper even than ThetaData’s $40-a-month Options Value tier. It is a broker first, and its history leaves out expired contracts.
Unusual Whales
6.1/10 100% real-time options flow coverage with a GEX/volatility suite, but only about 2 years of history.
- Option chains, and how fresh ×2
- 8/10
- Greeks and implied volatility ×1.5
- 8/10
- Historical options data ×1.5
- 3/10
- Price for value ×2
- 5/10
- Ease of use ×1
- 6/10
- Commercial path ×0.5
- 7/10
Strengths
- 100% market-coverage real-time options flow
- GEX and volatility suite included
- Official hosted MCP server
Weaknesses
- Options history limited to about 2 years
- No Google Sheets or Excel integration
Unusual Whales sells options-flow signals and dark pool data, not the raw ticks ThetaData does. It is the pick if you want gamma exposure computed for you instead of built from tick history yourself.
Massive
5.8/10 Real-time OPRA from $199/mo, with computed Greeks and up to 5+ years of history.
- Option chains, and how fresh ×2
- 8/10
- Greeks and implied volatility ×1.5
- 6/10
- Historical options data ×1.5
- 5/10
- Price for value ×2
- 3/10
- Ease of use ×1
- 8/10
- Commercial path ×0.5
- 6/10
Strengths
- Real-time OPRA options from $199/mo
- Up to 5+ years of options history on Advanced+
Weaknesses
- Trustpilot 2.3/5 (6 reviews)
- Real-time gated behind the $199/mo Advanced tier
Massive needs no local Terminal at any tier. Its options plans start at $29 a month with delayed data, and real-time options need the $199 Advanced plan, against ThetaData’s $40. ThetaData’s tick history also reaches further back, to 2012.
Does a ThetaData alternative need a local Terminal?
No, and that is the point of this page. ThetaData’s REST API and Excel add-in both require the Theta Terminal running locally, though its new Python library, shipped May 2026, connects to ThetaData’s servers directly over gRPC and skips it. Every other provider here is a plain REST call.
Which ThetaData alternative fits which need?
For a Google Sheets workflow, ours, since none of the others has one either. For pre-built volatility surfaces instead of raw ticks, ORATS. For the cheapest real-time entry, Tradier, if a brokerage account works for you. For options-flow signals instead of raw data, Unusual Whales. For no local process at any tier and the broadest asset list, Massive.
If you specifically need an Excel add-in, ThetaData itself remains the strongest fit among everything ranked here; our own Excel stock data page tracks what exists for Excel today. In 2024, 2025, and again in 2025, three different prospects asked, in nearly identical words, whether we had an Excel add-in. We still don’t.
How much does a full options chain cost on our plans?
It depends on the chain, because we bill real-time options at one credit per contract returned. The Trader plan’s 100,000 daily credits cover polling a few contracts all session.
A full SPX chain is another matter: at more than 22,000 contracts, pulling it every minute needs the Quant or Prime plan. We gave a developer exactly that answer in September 2026.
How do you test our real-time options before you commit?
Not on our trial. In September 2026 a prospect asked whether he could try real-time options on the 30-day trial before paying $75 for a month. Real-time options need the OPRA entitlement, and only a paid Trader plan can sign it, so trial options data is at least a day old.
What covers that test instead is our refund: a full refund within 14 days of purchase. Even after paying, two steps come before real-time options switch on, the OPRA subscriber agreement and a self-certification of non-professional status, usually approved within a business day.
When should you stick with ThetaData?
Keep ThetaData if you want the deepest options tick history here, back to 2012, higher-order greeks up to Vanna, Charm and Speed, a native Excel add-in, and real-time options from $40 a month. ThetaData’s own pricing page lists every retail and commercial tier, and our options data page describes what we sell instead.
The ranking of financial data providers compares all 19 providers we’ve researched on more than options.
If ThetaData is one of several providers on your list, our pages on Databento alternatives and Unusual Whales alternatives use the same rankings.