Max Pain Today
Max pain for every F&O index and stock, from live open interest: the expiry price where option writers pay the least. NIFTY max pain is below; pick any symbol for its own chart and every expiry.
NIFTY max pain today · 19 Oct 2026 expiry
As of 15 Oct 2026, 10:56 IST · updates every minute in market hours
The future trades 122.60 (0.54%) above max pain with 4 days to expiry. Max pain moved to 22,800 from 22,600 last session. It sits inside the ±1 SD expected move.
Writers’ payout at each settlement price
Lowest bar is max pain. ₹ crore owed by option writers if expiry settles there; today’s change in OI below.
Bank Nifty, Sensex and other index max pain
Index max pain
Stock max pain 213
What is max pain?
At expiry, option writers pay buyers the intrinsic value of every in-the-money option. Max pain is the settlement price where that total payout is lowest - the level that hurts option buyers the most and writers the least.
How to read the max pain chart
Each bar is the total writers would pay if the index settled at that strike: calls in one colour, puts in the other. The payout is lowest at max pain and rises on both sides - steeply where a lot of open interest sits. A narrow, deep valley means writers are concentrated near max pain; a flat one means the level carries less weight.
How traders use max pain
Large writers hedge around the strikes where they hold the most open interest, so the price often drifts toward max pain in the last few sessions before expiry. Traders compare it with the future: a wide gap with few days left is worth watching, and a max pain that keeps shifting session after session shows open interest still moving. Read it with the put-call ratio, the expected move and open interest - not on its own.
Today NIFTY max pain is 22,800 with the future at 22,922.60, 4 days before the 19 Oct 2026 expiry, and it sits inside the ±1 SD expected move of 22,617–23,228.
How we calculate it
For each strike we add up what call writers and put writers would owe if the underlying settled exactly there, using the open interest of that expiry: calls pay (settlement − strike) × OI above their strike, puts pay (strike − settlement) × OI below it. Max pain is the settlement price where that total is lowest. The payouts shown are in ₹ crore.
Unlock 30+ free options tools
Max pain for every F&O index and stock - every strike, live change in OI and alerts at your levels - next to the option chain, open interest, strategy builder and FII/DII data. One free account, no payment.
Used by 17 lakh+ traders · Real-time NSE & BSE · No payment required
Create free account- Max pain / option pain
- Option chain + Greeks
- Open interest analysis
- Multi-strike OI chart
- PCR & Modified PCR
- Strategy builder
- FII / DII data
- IV analysis
- Futures OI
- OI buildup
- Trade with 16 brokers
- Alerts & triggers
Learn it on video
15:17Nifty Expiry Explained: OI, Max Pain and IV
29:39Expiry Day Trading: Option Pain aur Option Gain (Hindi)
15:19Using the Option Pain Tool and Max Pain Levels (Marathi)Frequently asked questions
What is NIFTY max pain today?
22,800 for the 19 Oct 2026 expiry, 4 days away, with the NIFTY future at 22,922.60 - 122.60 points above it (as of 15 Oct 2026, 10:56 IST).
What is max pain in options?
Max pain is the expiry price at which the total payout option writers owe buyers is lowest - where the most options expire worthless. It is calculated from the open interest of every strike of one expiry.
How is max pain calculated?
At expiry, option writers pay buyers the intrinsic value of every in-the-money option. For each strike we add up what call writers and put writers would owe if the underlying settled exactly there, using the open interest of that expiry. Max pain is the settlement price where that total is lowest.
Does NIFTY expire at max pain?
Sometimes, not reliably. The price often drifts toward max pain in the last sessions before expiry, when writers hedge around the strikes they have sold, but trend days, news and large fresh positions carry it well away. Use it with the PCR and the expected move, not on its own.
Is max pain a reliable indicator?
It works best close to expiry and in range-bound markets. Early in the expiry cycle it moves as open interest builds, so watch how it shifts from session to session as well as where it is.
Which symbols have max pain on Quantsapp?
All 9 F&O indices (NIFTY, BANKNIFTY, FINNIFTY, MIDCPNIFTY, NIFTYNXT50, SENSEX and BANKEX) and 213 F&O stocks, for every open expiry.
How often is max pain updated?
Every minute during market hours, from live open interest; outside market hours it shows the last session’s closing reading.
More F&O tools
Data is for information only and is not investment advice. Derivatives trading carries substantial risk. Disclaimer