Enter strike, Call OI and Put OI. The total payout to option writers at every strike, the max pain strike and PCR follow.
The chart belongs to this page; no external library is used. The whole computation happens in your browser.
Strike, Call OI and Put OI
Sample data — not any actual day’s option chain. It is there only to show what the chart and the table look like. For real figures, fill in strike, Call OI and Put OI from your own data source.
| # | Strike | Call OI | Put OI | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ||||
| 2 | ||||
| 3 | ||||
| 4 | ||||
| 5 |
Rows: 5 / 25
Result
- Max pain strike
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- PCR (OI)
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- Writers’ payout at that strike
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- Strike with the highest Call OI
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- Strike with the highest Put OI
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- Total Call OI
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- Total Put OI
- —
- Strikes counted
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The chart shows the total payout to writers at every strike; the lowest point is max pain. The Y-axis does not start at zero — only the range between the lowest and highest values is drawn. The table below carries the same numbers.
| Strike | Writers payout |
|---|
Quick Answers
- How is max pain calculated?
- For each strike, the total value of open call and put contracts that would expire in the money is added up. The 1 strike where that total is lowest is the max pain strike.
- What data does the max pain calculation need?
- Strike-wise open interest for both calls and puts. This page works from the 2 columns of open interest you paste in, or from its clearly labelled sample data.
The Max Pain Computation
At any expiry price K, the total payout to writers adds two parts for every strike S. The first part is Call OI(S) × max(K − S, 0). The second part is Put OI(S) × max(S − K, 0). Max pain is the K at which that total is lowest.
Two conditions sit inside this computation: that expiry is at that price, and that open interest stays as it is until then. Neither is true today — so this number is a count of today’s open interest and nothing beyond it.
The Definition of PCR
PCR (OI) = total Put OI ÷ total Call OI. It is the ratio of two sums. No conclusion is written alongside it on this page.
All these numbers are a count. They are not investment advice of any kind.
Related pages
Frequently Asked Questions
What is max pain?
Max pain is the strike at which the total intrinsic payout to option writers is lowest. This holds only if expiry were at that price and if open interest stayed as it is. Both of those are conditions, not facts, and nothing in the number says what will happen.
How is the payout computed?
At a price K, two amounts are added for every strike S. The first is Call OI(S) × max(K − S, 0). The second is Put OI(S) × max(S − K, 0). The call writer pays when K is above S; the put writer pays when K is below S. The sum of both is the total payout at that price.
What unit is the payout number in?
Open interest is in contracts — so this number is contracts × points as well, not rupees. Its only use is to compare one strike against another; the number on its own carries no meaning.
What if two strikes have an equal payout?
In that case the LOWEST strike is taken. This is a fixed rule. Without it, the answer would depend on the order in which the rows were entered. That would not be an answer at all.
How is PCR calculated?
PCR (OI) = total Put OI ÷ total Call OI. It is only a ratio — a count. If Call OI is zero, PCR cannot be derived at all, and the page shows nothing in that place.
Which day is the sample data from?
No day at all. It is a made-up example whose only purpose is to show what the chart and the table look like. For real daily figures there are the option chain pages linked below.
Are the numbers I enter sent anywhere?
No. The whole computation happens in your browser. No number goes to any server and nothing is saved anywhere.