What is the max pain price for IWM?

As of 2026-07-10, the max pain price for IWM options expiring 2026-07-13 is $298. 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.

IWM Max Pain

iShares Russell 2000 ETF · open interest as of 2026-07-10 · spot $295.99 (2026-07-10 close) · updated nightly

Max pain · 2026-07-13

$298

spot is -0.67% vs max pain

Put/Call OI ratio

1.926

27,250 puts / 14,149 calls

Call wall

$300

largest call OI strike

Put wall

$285

largest put OI strike

Open interest by strike — 2026-07-13

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

IWM max pain by expiration

Expiration	Max pain	Spot vs MP	P/C ratio	Call wall	Put wall	Call OI	Put OI
2026-07-10	$297	-0.34%	1.26	$300	$294	122,260	154,042
2026-07-13 ·	$298	-0.67%	1.926	$300	$285	14,149	27,250
2026-07-14	$297	-0.34%	1.899	$302	$288	9,219	17,507
2026-07-15	$296	0%	2.279	$301	$293	7,600	17,318
2026-07-16	$297	-0.34%	0.649	$302	$280	9,072	5,888
2026-07-17	$291	+1.71%	5.155	$295	$290	302,105	1,557,298
2026-07-20	$297	-0.34%	2.86	$300	$280	2,096	5,994
2026-07-21	$298	-0.67%	5.168	$305	$286	822	4,248
2026-07-22	$295	+0.34%	0.418	$298	$288	2,220	927
2026-07-23	$296	0%	3.822	$295	$290	157	600
2026-07-24	$294	+0.68%	1.113	$305	$280	43,093	47,976
2026-07-31	$296	0%	9.028	$320	$290	24,928	225,043
2026-08-07	$297	-0.34%	0.907	$320	$280	21,723	19,701
2026-08-14	$297.5	-0.51%	0.214	$315	$300	19,591	4,200
2026-08-21	$290	+2.07%	2.855	$295	$285	184,453	526,534

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 IWM 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 IWM options data

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

Own IWM as a fund holding?

IWM is also one of the 73 ETFs we track for portfolio overlap. See which ETFs overlap most with IWM before adding it next to funds you already hold.

Max pain for other tickers

DIA max pain $520 QQQ max pain $720 RSP max pain $210 SMH max pain $597.5 SOXX max pain $585 SPY max pain $750 VOO max pain $675 XBI max pain $145

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.