NIFTY Max Pain Calculator.
The strike where option writers lose the least — and, historically, where price gravitates into expiry. Free snapshot, 15-minute delayed. The full real-time chain across all strikes lives in the terminal.
Strikes near spot
| Strike | Call OI | Put OI | Total OI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 23,950 | 184,730 | 3,567,395 | 3,752,125 |
| 24,000 | 5,261,490 | 16,478,605 | 21,740,095 |
| 24,050 | 787,735 | 5,121,155 | 5,908,890 |
| 24,100 | 3,618,290 | 9,977,370 | 13,595,660 |
| 24,150 | 4,648,930 | 7,392,255 | 12,041,185 |
| 24,200MAX PAIN | 16,956,615 | 12,492,870 | 29,449,485 |
| 24,250 | 12,971,270 | 3,151,070 | 16,122,340 |
| 24,300 | 22,247,550 | 6,364,670 | 28,612,220 |
| 24,350 | 9,737,260 | 1,785,875 | 11,523,135 |
| 24,400 | 13,368,875 | 2,773,810 | 16,142,685 |
| 24,450 | 7,693,140 | 493,610 | 8,186,750 |
How Max Pain works
At expiry, option writers (not buyers) are the ones settling in aggregate profit most of the time — Max Pain is the strike where the total payout to option holders is smallest, i.e. where writers as a group lose the least. It's calculated from open interest alone, not price action: for every candidate strike, sum what every ITM call and put would be worth if expiry settled there, then find the strike that minimizes that total.
The full worked calculation, why it isn't a guarantee, and when it tends to fail is covered in Max Pain, explained →
Related reading
Max Pain Explained →
The worked calculation, step by step, and when the signal fails.
PCR Explained →
Put-Call Ratio — the positioning signal that pairs with Max Pain.
OI Buildup Explained →
Reading fresh positioning from open-interest change, not just OI levels.
Want Max Pain live, every tick, across all six indices — plus PCR, OI Buildup and autotrade? Login to the terminal →