CompareOptions data APIsUpdated September 2026
ORATS vs ThetaData
I had no clue how simple your API is. I was up and running with all my data in about 15 minutes.
ORATS sells institutional-grade options data: greeks and implied volatility on every strike, plus volatility forecasts, daily since 2007 on every plan.
Best for ORATS
- Daily history from 2007 on every plan
- Greeks and implied volatility from a smoothed, arbitrage-free surface
- A hosted REST API with nothing to install
ThetaData sells OPRA options data, with history from 2012, 2016, or 2020 depending on the plan.
How far back the data goes
Start dates are from ThetaData's subscriptions doc. ORATS daily history since 2007 comes with every API plan.
ORATS
Daily chains with greeks and IV
Since 2007
ThetaData
Options data on Pro ($160/mo)
Since Jun 2012
Options data on Standard ($80/mo)
Since Jan 2016
Options data on Value ($40/mo)
Since Jan 2020
Feature comparison
ThetaData details are from their public pages, read on September 29, 2026.
| Feature | ORATS | ThetaData |
|---|---|---|
| Greeks and implied volatility | ORATS Every strike, live and historical, from a smoothed surface | ThetaData Black-Scholes per contract, dividends ignored by default; from $80/mo |
| Volatility surface | ORATS Arbitrage-free, per expiration and at constant maturities | ThetaData No |
| Volatility forecasts | ORATS Volatility and skew forecasts, with history | ThetaData No |
| Earnings analytics | ORATS Implied earnings move and earnings effect, with history | ThetaData No; the API has no earnings dates |
| How you connect | ORATS Hosted REST, JSON or CSV, with nothing to install | ThetaData A local Java app serves REST; the Python library connects directly |
| Backtesting | ORATS One-minute backtester and 300M+ precomputed backtests, as API add-ons | ThetaData No; QuantConnect and Lumibot can backtest on its data |
Pricing
ThetaData's plans cost less, and the history and greeks you get depend on the tier. Every ORATS plan includes greeks and implied volatility from a smoothed surface on every strike since 2007, and adds volatility forecasts and earnings analytics that ThetaData does not sell.
ThetaData prices as of September 29, 2026.
ThetaData prices are monthly; annual billing costs less. Its retail plans are for individual use only and are non-refundable.
ORATS
- Delayed Data API
- 15-minute delayed, daily history since 2007, 20,000 requests a month
- $199/mo
- Live Data API
- Live data, 100,000 requests a month
- $299/mo
- Live Intraday API
- One-minute history since August 2020, 1,000,000 requests a month
- $599/mo
- All-In API
- Live Intraday plus the four Tools APIs
- $899/mo
ThetaData
- Options Free
- End-of-day only, one day delayed, from June 2023, no greeks
- $0
- Options Value
- Real-time quotes, open interest, and one-minute bars from January 2020; no greeks or streaming
- $40/mo
- Options Standard
- Adds tick trades, IV and first-order greeks, and streaming; from January 2016
- $80/mo
- Options Pro
- Adds second and third order greeks, trade-time greeks, the full trade stream, and seven-day flat files; from June 2012
- $160/mo
Common questions
Does ThetaData have greeks and implied volatility?
Yes. ThetaData computes them with Black-Scholes for each contract separately, ignoring dividends unless you pass an annual dividend yourself; SOFR is the default rate. Implied volatility and first-order greeks need the $80 Standard plan, and second and third order greeks need the $160 Pro plan. ORATS derives greeks, implied volatility, and theoretical values for every strike from a smoothed, arbitrage-free surface, on every plan.
How far back does ThetaData options history go?
To June 2012, and only on the $160 Pro plan. ThetaData's subscriptions doc starts Standard in January 2016, Value in January 2020, and the free end-of-day tier in June 2023, though the same doc also describes the free tier as one year of data. ORATS daily history starts in 2007 on every plan.
Do I have to run the Theta Terminal to use ThetaData?
Yes, unless you use its Python library, which connects to their servers directly. The Theta Terminal is a Java 21 application that runs on your machine and serves the API from localhost. ORATS is a hosted REST API with one token and nothing to install.
Can I backtest options strategies with ThetaData?
Not inside ThetaData, which has no backtester, screener, or scanner; backtests run in QuantConnect, Lumibot, or your own code. ORATS Trading Tools ($99 a month) includes an end-of-day backtester with 45 strategies. Over the API, the Intraday Backtester (18 strategies on one-minute data since October 2020) and the Backtest Finder (300M+ precomputed backtests) are add-ons, and both come with the $899 All-In plan.
Which is cheaper, ORATS or ThetaData?
ThetaData, at list prices. Its free tier returns end-of-day data, $40 a month adds real-time quotes and one-minute bars, and $80 adds tick trades plus implied volatility and first-order greeks. ORATS starts at $199 a month because every plan includes greeks and implied volatility from a smoothed surface on every strike back to 2007, and adds volatility forecasts and earnings analytics that ThetaData does not sell. ORATS also sells its near-EOD strikes files from 2007 to today for $599 with an individual license, downloadable for 14 days.
Where do these facts come from?
ThetaData 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. ThetaData product names and trademarks belong to their owners.
- ThetaData pricing
- ThetaData options data overview
- ThetaData docs: subscriptions, tier limits, and first-access dates
- ThetaData docs: option greeks
- ThetaData docs: all greeks history endpoint
- ThetaData v3 OpenAPI specification
- ThetaData docs index (no backtester, screener, or scanner)
- ThetaData docs: getting started (Theta Terminal, Java 21)
- ThetaData docs: Python library
- QuantConnect LEAN CLI: Theta Data dataset
- Lumibot: ThetaData backtesting
- ThetaData subscriber agreement (personal use, no redistribution)
- ThetaData terms and conditions (no refunds)
- ThetaData docs: flat files
- ORATS Data API pricing
- ORATS API documentation
