By Realtime Options ResearchUpdated
Premium Heatmap and Open Interest dashboard
The Premium Heatmap and Open Interest dashboard places net premium by strike above call and put open interest by strike. It helps researchers compare current traded activity with contracts that remained open after the previous clearing cycle, while preserving the crucial distinction between intraday flow and once-daily open interest.
- Research question
- Where does fresh premium meet existing positioning?
- Best used for
- Comparing intraday activity with published open interest
- Data timing
- Near-real-time Pro; 15-minute delayed trial
- Product access
- Included in the single $25/month plan
What the premium heatmap and open interest dashboard shows
The paired view prevents two common mistakes: treating a large premium print as meaningful without checking the chain, and treating large open interest as new activity when it may have accumulated over many sessions.
The screenshot above is from the working product, not a mockup. The visible controls and fields are the same ones trial and Pro users research with; only the market-data timing changes between the two access levels.
- Net premium heatmap grouped by strike.
- Call open interest and put open interest shown separately.
- Underlying price relative to the active strike range.
- Selected ticker and expiry context.
How to read this dashboard
Read the dashboard as one step in a sequence. Record what it directly shows first, then use the next view to test the interpretation rather than turning a color or ranking into a conclusion.
- Locate strikes with both meaningful premium and meaningful open interest.
- Separate call and put open interest before using a combined total.
- Remember that today's volume is intraday while open interest is the latest published snapshot.
- Check the next session's open-interest change before describing activity as a new position.
What this view cannot establish
Open interest is neither real-time nor inherently bullish or bearish. It counts outstanding contracts after opening and closing transactions are paired by the clearing process, and each open contract has both a long and a short side.
Realtime Options describes observed and derived market data for independent research. It does not identify a trader, reveal intent with certainty, predict a price move or issue a recommendation.
Questions people ask about this
What is open interest in options?
Open interest is the number of outstanding contracts in an option series that have not been closed or exercised. OCC calculates it after clearing opening and closing activity.
Is options open interest updated in real time?
No. Open interest is published after the clearing process, so intraday dashboards use the latest available daily figure.
Does high call open interest mean bullish positioning?
No. Every open call has a buyer and seller, and open interest alone does not reveal which side is directional or whether the contract is part of a spread or hedge.
Sources and further reading
Realtime Options is a data analytics and visualisation platform. It does not provide financial advice or trading recommendations, and it is not a registered investment advisor or broker-dealer. Options trading involves substantial risk of loss and is not suitable for all investors.