SpotGamma alternatives (2026)
every tool that sells dealer-gamma positioning, read off its own pages · SpotGamma read 2026-10-03
SpotGamma is the best-known name for options positioning: 3,500+ symbols, HIRO, a daily research note, $89 to $299 a month. Nine services, this one included, sell some version of the same levels, from free to $1,499 a month, and they differ on things the sales pages do not put next to each other: whether the history can be inspected, how the dealer side is decided, and whether a rule can be tested. This page puts them next to each other, with the date each was read. FirmTape is the site you are on; it is the first row, and it loses one column, marked amber.
| Price / month | Free tier | History | Dealer side | Backtest | MCP / API | Read on | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FirmTape | $0 archive · $49 live | 1,122 sessions + today delayed | 1,122 sessions, free | Convention on volume; tape-signed view too | Yes, out-of-sample | Live MCP + OpenAPI | live |
| OptionsDepth | $199–249 | None | 30 days intraday | Exchange-tagged (Cboe) | No | No | 2026-10-03 |
| MenthorQ | $129–349 | Free forever, delayed | 30 days, end of day | From futures-options chains | Not stated | Not stated | 2026-10-03 |
| TanukiTrade | $49.99–69.99 | 5 symbols | Web-app replay, depth not stated | OPRA-derived | No | MCP + REST planned, early access Oct 23 | 2026-10-03 |
| FlashAlpha | $0–1,499 | 5 requests/day | Since 2017, top tier | Sign convention; flow-signed on top tier | Top tier | 73 MCP tools + REST | 2026-10-03 |
| OPEX Trader | $0–999 | 3 symbols, delayed | Not stated | Derived | From $99.99 tier | API on a coming tier | 2026-10-03 |
| GammaEdge | $125–150 | Free courses, 14-day trial | Not published | Derived | No | No | 2026-10-03 |
| GammaFlip | $39–79 | 3 days, no card | Up to 90 days of heatmaps | Not stated | No | REST API, crypto only | 2026-10-03 |
| GEXDesk | Free | Everything, no account | Not published | Previous day's close | No | No | 2026-10-03 |
One line on each
- FirmTape. SPX rebuilt from the options tape every second, and 100+ more symbols from chain snapshots. 1,122 finished sessions free with no account, today's levels 15 minutes late, the LAB backtester, a live MCP server, 35 research posts with the null results in. Dealer side inferred from the tape, with the error published. $49 a month live. Full comparison.
- OptionsDepth. The one rival with a genuinely better dealer side: participant-tagged Cboe data rather than an inference. SPX and VIX, one-minute updates on the top tier, no backtester, no free tier.
- MenthorQ. 1,000+ tickers with native futures-options levels, TradingView and ten platform integrations, an academy and a 7,000-member community. Head to head: FirmTape vs MenthorQ.
- TanukiTrade. 250+ symbols delivered as six TradingView indicators, a web app and a Discord bot, with a 7-day trial. Its GEX MCP server and REST API are planned, early access listed for October 23, 2026, by waitlist.
- FlashAlpha. API-first over 6,000+ symbols and CME futures. Head to head: FirmTape vs FlashAlpha.
- OPEX Trader. A desktop app with 390+ analytics tabs across eleven modes, a built-in backtest engine from the Pro tier, and buy/sell signals, which none of the others sell.
- GammaEdge. An education business first: free courses, a daily premarket prep and a weekly newsletter, 25+ Discord bots and a web app, one subscription with a 14-day trial.
- GammaFlip. Crypto, indices, ETFs and mega-caps in one subscription, with a working replay; US open interest is the prior day's, sized on live price and IV.
- GEXDesk. Free, with a paid intraday tier announced, and levels computed from the previous day's close: a different object from a book rebuilt from the tape, which is why "free" alone settles nothing.
ES and NQ futures levels
How each vendor that states it converts its levels to the E-mini futures, read on 2026-09-30:
- FirmTape: the SPX and NDX books moved by the day's basis, measured from put-call parity on the index's quarterly options; no CME data. Against real ES over 206 sessions the median residual was +0.02 point. ES · NQ.
- MenthorQ: real CME futures-options chains, or a ratio or spread conversion.
- SpotGamma: a basis offset, with a precomputed ES column.
- GEXBot: an API multiplier plus an additive, refreshed every 15 minutes.
- TanukiTrade: ES from SPX and NQ from QQQ; the method is not disclosed.
- ZeroGEX: SPX at carry fair value.
- GexVision: a live futures-to-index ratio.
Before the open
What each vendor that states it shows before 09:30 ET, read on 2026-10-09:
- FirmTape: PREMARKET, in LIVE, from 04:00 ET: the market on the chart estimated from its stand-in ETF's live price and yesterday's closing ratio, against yesterday's flip and walls, with the share of its average daily range (ATR) used and the morning's releases marked, and the premarket drawn left of 09:30 from 20:00 the evening before. Every number is labelled an estimate.
- TanukiTrade: a premarket toggle in its web app, with a premarket spot snapshot at 06:30 ET and data refreshing from 06:40 ET.
Where SpotGamma is still ahead
- Breadth with a research desk. 3,500+ stocks and the indices, the Founder's Note every day, live weekly webinars and a Discord. Only MenthorQ and GammaEdge in this list compete on the education side, and none of the SPX-only tools do.
- HIRO. A real-time hedging-flow indicator that traders have used since 2021, described by SpotGamma as proprietary research rather than the public GEX recipe.
- Name recognition. When an assistant is asked for the best gamma tool, SpotGamma's own comparison page is the one it cites most; that page names six rivals and none of the free ones above.
Questions people ask
- What is the best free SpotGamma alternative for SPX gamma levels?
- FirmTape gives away every finished SPX session since 2022 (1,122 sessions) with no account, and today's levels 15 minutes late at /now. GEXDesk is free too, computed from the previous close. MenthorQ and FlashAlpha have permanent free tiers on delayed data; TanukiTrade's free tier is five demo symbols.
- Which SpotGamma alternative has better dealer positioning?
- OptionsDepth is the one that reads participant-tagged data from Cboe rather than inferring the dealer side; it costs $199 to $249 a month with no free tier. Every other tool in the field, FirmTape included, derives or infers the dealer side, and only FirmTape publishes measurements of how often its inference is wrong.
- Which alternatives cover more than SPX?
- All of them, FirmTape included since September 2026: 4 indexes, 41 ETFs and 60 stocks carry the volume and open-interest books at /gex, free, while the tape-signed book, the Lab and the long archive stay SPX. GEXDesk covers SPY, QQQ, IWM and five mega-caps. MenthorQ covers 1,000+ tickers with futures options; FlashAlpha 6,000+ equities plus CME futures; TanukiTrade 250+; GammaFlip adds crypto; OPEX Trader up to unlimited symbols on its top tiers.
- Which alternatives can backtest a rule?
- FirmTape's LAB, with an out-of-sample holdout and a baseline; OPEX Trader from its $99.99 tier; FlashAlpha on its $1,499 tier. The rest state none.
- Which alternatives work inside ChatGPT or Claude?
- FirmTape (a live MCP server listed in the official registry) and FlashAlpha (73 MCP tools). TanukiTrade lists an MCP server as planned, with early access from October 23, 2026, by waitlist.
- How much does SpotGamma cost?
- Standard is $89 a month, Pro $129 and Alpha $299, with first months at $17, $25 and $49; annual plans are $801, $1,161 and $2,691 a year (read 2026-10-03).
Check the archive first See pricing
Head to head
“Not stated” means the vendor's own public pages did not state it when they were read; it is not a claim that the thing does not exist. Competitor details were read from the vendor's own public pages on the dates in the table's last column; the ES/NQ futures row on 2026-09-30, and a blank there means that reading did not cover the vendor. The details are reproduced for comparison only. They change without notice, so check the source before relying on any of them. No affiliation with, or endorsement by, any product named. Not investment advice.