What is the max pain price for AAPL?

As of 2026-07-10, the max pain price for AAPL options expiring 2026-07-13 is $310. Max pain is the strike at which option buyers collectively lose the most value at expiration, computed from open interest.

What does max pain mean in options trading?

Max pain is the settlement price that minimizes the total intrinsic value paid out to option holders at expiration. Some traders watch it because prices are hypothesized to drift toward this level into expiry, though academic evidence is mixed.

AAPL Max Pain

AAPL · open interest as of 2026-07-10 · spot $315.32 (2026-07-10 close) · updated nightly

Max pain · 2026-07-13

$310

spot is +1.72% vs max pain

Put/Call OI ratio

1.091

20,850 puts / 19,104 calls

Call wall

$320

largest call OI strike

Put wall

$305

largest put OI strike

Open interest by strike — 2026-07-13

■ Call OI ■ Put OI — strikes within ±15% of max pain.

AAPL max pain by expiration

Expiration	Max pain	Spot vs MP	P/C ratio	Call wall	Put wall	Call OI	Put OI
2026-07-10	$305	+3.38%	0.7	$320	$300	178,296	124,737
2026-07-13 ·	$310	+1.72%	1.091	$320	$305	19,104	20,850
2026-07-15	$310	+1.72%	1.029	$320	$310	9,397	9,666
2026-07-17	$282.5	+11.62%	0.64	$310	$300	490,590	313,777
2026-07-20	$310	+1.72%	0.748	$315	$302.5	2,250	1,682
2026-07-22	$310	+1.72%	1.023	$320	$290	1,177	1,204
2026-07-24	$295	+6.89%	0.473	$330	$270	58,484	27,673
2026-07-31	$300	+5.11%	0.438	$320	$270	44,550	19,527
2026-08-07	$300	+5.11%	0.429	$325	$265	21,004	9,019
2026-08-14	$305	+3.38%	0.252	$310	$245	10,473	2,637
2026-08-21	$290	+8.73%	0.627	$345	$300	334,090	209,352

What is max pain?

Max pain (or "maximum pain") is the strike price at which the greatest number of option buyers would lose money if AAPL settled there at expiration. For each candidate settlement price, sum the intrinsic value of every in-the-money call and put weighted by open interest; the price that minimizes that total payout is the max pain point.

Some traders watch max pain because of the theory that prices tend to gravitate toward this level as expiration approaches ("pinning"). The academic evidence is mixed — treat it as a read on positioning, not a prediction. The call wall and put wall (largest single-strike open interest) are often watched as near-term resistance and support zones for the same reason. Full walkthrough with a worked example: what is max pain?

More AAPL options data

Same open interest, different lens: the AAPL gamma exposure (GEX) dashboard shows how dealer hedging of these contracts may dampen or amplify moves — net GEX, gamma flip level, and gamma walls.

Max pain for other tickers

NVDA max pain $197.5 TSLA max pain $400 DIA max pain $520 IWM max pain $298 QQQ max pain $720 RSP max pain $210 SMH max pain $597.5 SOXX max pain $585

Derived metrics computed from end-of-day open interest (methodology); not raw market data, not investment advice. Open interest settles once daily — intraday moves are not reflected.