Options data vendor checklist
Use this checklist before buying an options data API. The goal is to separate vague coverage claims from workflow evidence: contracts, expirations, chains, quotes, trades, Greeks, open interest, historical bars, documentation, pricing, and integration effort.
Evaluation readiness
44%
Requirements still unclear
4 of 9 requirement groups are selected. Use the toggles below to model what your actual buying workflow must validate.
Verify before buying
Run the same symbol, expiration, timestamp, and selected contract across providers before comparing marketing pages.
Model request volume
Cost is usually driven by selected-contract quotes, trades, snapshots, and historical windows, not only chains.
Test a real workflow
Use Python examples to turn the buying checklist into a reproducible endpoint sequence.
Evaluation strategy
A good vendor checklist is a test plan, not a scorecard
The best comparison starts with the workflow your product must ship. For an options scanner, the critical objects are chains, expirations, Greeks, open interest, quotes, and selected-contract drilldowns. For a backtest, contracts with `as_of`, quote windows, trade prints, aggregates, and reproducible timestamps matter more. Use the checklist to decide what to test, then use docs and pricing to decide whether the commercial fit is acceptable.