Is high open interest always good?

No. It can indicate liquidity or concentration, but spread and quote freshness still matter.

Does open interest update intraday?

Open interest is generally an after-clearing measure, not the same as intraday volume.

How should I use open interest in a scanner?

Use it as a filter with volume, bid/ask spread, expiration, strike distance, and Greeks.

API And Data Model Questions

What Is Open Interest in Options Data?

How open interest fits into options chains, scanners, and expiration research.

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Quick answerLast verified April 28, 2026

Open interest is the number of outstanding option contracts that remain open after prior trading sessions. It is different from volume, which measures contracts traded during a session. In options data, open interest helps filter liquidity, identify crowded strikes, and segment expiration exposure.

Open interest

Outstanding contracts

Position stock after prior sessions, not same-day volume.

Volume

Today activity

Contracts traded during the session.

Use

Liquidity context

Common filter for chains and expiration concentration.

Why open interest is not volume

Volume resets by session. Open interest updates after clearing and describes how many contracts remain open. A contract can have high open interest and low current volume, or high current volume and modest open interest.

For scanners, open interest is a useful liquidity and concentration filter, but it should be paired with spreads, quote freshness, and trade activity.

Open interest versus volume

MetricMeaningUse

Open interestOutstanding contractsStrike and expiration concentration.

VolumeSession trading activityCurrent activity and flow context.

Bid/ask spreadExecutable market widthLiquidity quality and fill realism.

API example

Verify the answer with listed data

open interest from chain

curl "https://api.cutemarkets.com/v1/options/chain/SPY/?expiration_date=2026-05-15&limit=50" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"

Last verified

This Q&A page was last reviewed on April 28, 2026. Date-sensitive market calendars, provider docs, and listed contracts can change, so production workflows should verify the live source before trading or publishing an automated answer.