CompareHistorical options dataUpdated September 2026
ORATS vs OptionMetrics
IvyDB
I am evaluating data vendors to replace Bloomberg as the primary source for options analytics and volatility surface data, and ORATS has been highly recommended by several professional peers.
ORATS sells institutional-grade US options history from 2007, with one-minute data from August 2020, at published individual prices.
Best for ORATS
- One-minute chains with greeks since August 2020
- A REST API, a CLI, and an MCP server
- An individual license with published prices, bought online
OptionMetrics sells IvyDB, an end-of-day options database, by quote.
Feature comparison
OptionMetrics details are from their public pages, read on September 29, 2026.
| Feature | ORATS | OptionMetrics |
|---|---|---|
| Intraday history | ORATS Every minute since August 2020, on the Live Intraday API plan or as files | OptionMetrics Three snapshots a day since January 2018 |
| API | ORATS REST, with an OpenAPI spec, a CLI, and an MCP server | OptionMetrics No API for IvyDB |
| Price | ORATS $599 once for 2007 to today; $99/mo for files from today on | OptionMetrics Not published; sold by quote |
| Volatility forecasts | ORATS Volatility and skew forecasts, with history, on a Data API plan | OptionMetrics No volatility or skew forecasts on any product page; dividend forecasts from Woodseer |
| Earnings analytics | ORATS Implied earnings move and earnings effect, with history, on a Data API plan | OptionMetrics No earnings dates or analytics on any product page |
| Backtesting and scanning | ORATS In Trading Tools ($99/mo) or as API add-ons | OptionMetrics No; you run backtests in your own software |
| Tick-level trades and quotes | ORATS Trade prints since September 2022, as an add-on; no tick quotes | OptionMetrics No; order flow is aggregated at 5 and 30 minutes |
Pricing
OptionMetrics sells IvyDB by quote and names institutions and universities as its customers. ORATS sells near end-of-day history, taken 14 minutes before the close, with greeks and implied volatility on every strike, at a published individual price: $599 once for 2007 to today.
OptionMetrics prices as of September 29, 2026.
OptionMetrics publishes no prices. ORATS file prices are for an individual license; forecasts, earnings fields, and IV rank come with a Data API plan, from $199/mo.
ORATS
- Near end-of-day history, 2007 to today
- Every strike, about 500GB, downloaded from S3 within 14 days
- $599 once
- Near end-of-day, ongoing
- Each day's snapshot from 14 minutes before the close, delivered over FTP each night
- $99/mo
- One-minute history, August 2020 to today
- About 50TB over S3; S3 storage and transfer fees run $1,000 to $2,000
- $1,500 once
- One-minute, ongoing
- Every minute of the session, over S3
- $199/mo
- Institutions and professionals
- Use for a firm or clients, redistribution, or shared access
- Quote
OptionMetrics
- IvyDB US and every other dataset
- No price on any product page; no order form or checkout
- Not published
- Trial or sample data
- None on the product, contact, or support pages
- Not on its site
- Academic access
- Through a university's WRDS subscription for IvyDB US and Europe
- Contact
Common questions
Does OptionMetrics have an API?
Not for IvyDB. OptionMetrics states that access is not tied to any particular API or platform: IvyDB is delivered as zipped text files over FTP each night, with WRDS for universities and Snowflake since August 2026. Its Woodseer dividend data is the exception, delivered by API among other channels. ORATS serves its data over REST with one token, publishes an OpenAPI spec, and ships a CLI with an MCP server.
How much does OptionMetrics cost?
OptionMetrics does not publish prices. There is no price list, order form, or online checkout on optionmetrics.com, and no product page shows a price, so IvyDB is priced by quote. Academics usually get access through a university's WRDS subscription. ORATS publishes individual prices: $599 once for near end-of-day history from 2007 to today, and $99 a month for new daily files.
Can an individual buy OptionMetrics data?
Not on the site: OptionMetrics has no online checkout and sells every dataset by quote. It names institutional investors, risk managers, and academic researchers as its customers, and its site does not say individuals are excluded. ORATS sells an individual license at checkout on orats.com; firms and professionals get a quote.
Is ORATS an OptionMetrics alternative?
For US options research from 2007 onward, yes: ORATS has published individual prices, a REST API, and one-minute chains since August 2020.
Where do these facts come from?
OptionMetrics details come from their public pages, read on September 29, 2026, and may have changed since. If something here is out of date, email support@orats.com and we will correct it. OptionMetrics product names and trademarks belong to their owners.
- IvyDB US
- IvyDB US brochure
- IvyDB US Intraday
- IvyDB TradeFlow
- Woodseer dividend forecasts
- OptionMetrics about us (access not tied to any API)
- OptionMetrics data products (no prices or checkout)
- OptionMetrics who we serve
- OptionMetrics contact page (no trial or sample data offered)
- OptionMetrics site map (no screener, scanner, or backtester)
- OptionMetrics on Snowflake
- WRDS vendor page for OptionMetrics
- ORATS near end-of-day data and pricing
- ORATS one-minute data and pricing
- ORATS API documentation
