What is the max pain price for QQQ?

As of 2026-07-10, the max pain price for QQQ options expiring 2026-07-13 is $720. 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.

QQQ Max Pain

Invesco QQQ Trust · open interest as of 2026-07-10 · spot $725.51 (2026-07-10 close) · updated nightly

Max pain · 2026-07-13

$720

spot is +0.77% vs max pain

Put/Call OI ratio

2.929

138,064 puts / 47,138 calls

Call wall

$722

largest call OI strike

Put wall

$495

largest put OI strike

Open interest by strike — 2026-07-13

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

QQQ max pain by expiration

Expiration	Max pain	Spot vs MP	P/C ratio	Call wall	Put wall	Call OI	Put OI
2026-07-10	$720	+0.77%	1.585	$730	$480	236,074	374,061
2026-07-13 ·	$720	+0.77%	2.929	$722	$495	47,138	138,064
2026-07-14	$717	+1.19%	1.878	$755	$716	32,250	60,569
2026-07-15	$715	+1.47%	0.724	$730	$700	43,852	31,739
2026-07-16	$715	+1.47%	1.675	$740	$715	11,230	18,812
2026-07-17	$712	+1.9%	1.657	$800	$675	579,728	960,594
2026-07-20	$715	+1.47%	0.91	$740	$675	12,839	11,685
2026-07-21	$713	+1.75%	1.081	$730	$650	4,838	5,229
2026-07-22	$715	+1.47%	0.927	$730	$685	5,140	4,764
2026-07-23	$720	+0.77%	0.933	$760	$670	1,482	1,383
2026-07-24	$720	+0.77%	2.157	$735	$650	63,035	135,990
2026-07-31	$720	+0.77%	1.092	$736	$700	255,799	279,425
2026-08-07	$715	+1.47%	1.451	$760	$675	26,261	38,111
2026-08-14	$715	+1.47%	2.316	$730	$600	8,140	18,853
2026-08-21	$705	+2.91%	1.628	$900	$680	344,267	560,605

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 QQQ 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 QQQ options data

Same open interest, different lens: the QQQ 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 QQQ as a fund holding?

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

Max pain for other tickers

DIA max pain $520 IWM max pain $298 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.