Options Trading Volume Statistics
By VolRadar Editorial · sources reviewed May 2026
Options trading volume at a glance
Options trading volume counts the number of contracts that change hands, usually per trading day; each listed contract typically represents 100 shares. By that measure the US market has grown almost every year — to a record ~15.2 billion cleared contracts in 2025 (OCC). Three forces stand out: record total volume, a rising same-day (0DTE) share, and growing participation from individual investors. Volume is distinct from open interest, which counts contracts still outstanding at day’s end.
| Statistic | Latest figure | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Total US options volume | ~15.2B contracts | 2025 |
| Volume six years earlier | ~5.0B contracts | 2019 |
| Share traded as 0–1 day-to-expiry | ~31% | 2023 · NYSE |
| 0–1 DTE share six years earlier | ~12% | 2019 · NYSE |
US options market volume by year
Annual OCC-cleared contracts (options and futures) have risen in almost every year of the past decade — the structural backdrop to every other statistic on this page. The chart shows the last complete years; the current year is tracked through average-daily-volume context until it closes.
Product mix — equity vs index vs ETF
Listed-options volume splits across single-stock (equity) options, broad index options such as those on the S&P 500, and ETF options such as those on major index trackers. Single-stock options account for the largest count of contracts, while index and ETF options carry an outsized share of notional risk and dominate same-day trading. A fully sourced month-by-month breakdown of this split is part of the verified contract-volume layer in build; until it is signed off, this section describes the mix qualitatively rather than publishing a split we have not yet verified end-to-end.
For the single-stock balance between puts and calls today, the live Put/Call Ratio tool publishes the daily VolRadar Equity Put/Call Ratio across the tracked universe.
0DTE share of volume
Same-day and short-dated trading has become a structural part of the market. Contracts with 0–1 days to expiry grew to nearly 31% of all options volume by 2023, up from just over 12% in 2019 (NYSE). On major index products the same-day share runs higher still. This pillar treats 0DTE as a market-mix statistic — how much of total volume is same-day. The retail-behaviour angle — who is trading those contracts — lives on the Retail Options Trading Statistics pillar.
How VolRadar compiles these statistics
Headline volume figures are drawn from public exchange and clearing-house reports — chiefly OCC annual and monthly releases, with NYSE and MEMX for participation and product-mix context. Each figure carries its primary source and review date; see the Statistics Lab data standards and metric methodology.
A fully sourced month-by-month contract-volume layer (VolRadar-computed aggregates from ORATS data) is in build and publishes only after independent verification and sign-off — at which point this page adds its dataset detail and enters the index. Aggregates publish where vendor licensing permits; this page shows no raw contract-level data or bulk-export feeds.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is options trading volume, and how is it counted?
Options trading volume is the number of option contracts that change hands over a period — usually a single trading day. Each listed contract typically represents 100 shares of the underlying. Volume counts every traded contract, so a position that is opened and later closed is counted on both trades. It is distinct from open interest, which counts the contracts still outstanding at the end of the day.
How big is the US options market?
Large and still growing. US listed-options volume reached a record of about 15.2 billion cleared contracts in 2025 (OCC), up from roughly 5.0 billion in 2019 — close to a tripling in six years. Average daily volume has kept climbing into 2026. These are clearing-house figures for the whole listed market, not a single venue.
What percentage of options traders are successful?
There is no single reliable success rate, and most credible research focuses on retail option buyers, who tend to lose on average. De Silva, So & Smith found average losses of 5–9% around earnings (10–14% for high expected-volatility announcements); Bryzgalova, Pavlova & Sikorskaya found retail favoured costly weekly options and lost money on average. Results swing with holding period, trade direction and method, so treat any single percentage with caution. Educational information, not advice.
How is the VolRadar options-statistics page sourced?
Headline volume figures come from public exchange and clearing reports — chiefly OCC annual and monthly volume releases, with NYSE and MEMX for participation and product-mix context. Each figure carries its source and review date. VolRadar-computed aggregates publish only where vendor licensing permits; the per-month contract-volume detail from our ORATS-derived layer is added once it is verified and signed off.
What is a 0DTE option, and what share of volume is it?
A 0DTE option is one expiring the same day it is traded (“zero days to expiration”). Short-dated trading has become structural: contracts with 0–1 days to expiry grew to nearly 31% of all options volume by 2023, up from just over 12% in 2019 (NYSE). On major index products the same-day share is higher still. This pillar treats 0DTE as a market-mix statistic; the retail-behaviour angle lives on the Retail Options Trading Statistics page.
Does Warren Buffett use options?
Yes, on the public record. Berkshire Hathaway has used options as part of its investing — most notably selling long-dated put options on major equity indices in the mid-2000s, and selling puts on individual stocks it was willing to own. Berkshire’s shareholder letters frame these as ways to get paid premium while waiting, not short-term speculation. Educational information drawn from public filings, not advice.
Why does the annual volume chart end at last year rather than this year?
Annual totals are only final once a calendar year closes and the clearing house publishes its year-end figures. The current year is still in progress, so we show the last complete year as the headline annual number and track the in-progress year through average-daily-volume context instead.
How does this page relate to the VolRadar Put/Call Ratio?
Volume statistics here describe how much is traded across the market over months and years. The Put/Call Ratio tool zooms into one daily balance metric — put volume divided by call volume across the tracked single-stock universe — updated each trading day after the close. Use this pillar for the long-run market picture and the Put/Call Ratio tool for the current daily read.
Sources
- [1] OCC — Annual Volume Reports (cleared contracts, 2019–2025) link
- [2] NYSE — Trends in Options Trading (days-to-expiration) link
Primary-source links open in a new tab. VolRadar-computed figures carry their own attribution inline.