What is the max pain price for RSP?

As of 2026-07-10, the max pain price for RSP options expiring 2026-07-17 is $210. 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.

RSP Max Pain

Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF · open interest as of 2026-07-10 · spot $214.3 (2026-07-10 close) · updated nightly

Max pain · 2026-07-17

$210

spot is +2.05% vs max pain

Put/Call OI ratio

0.709

17,870 puts / 25,195 calls

Call wall

$215

largest call OI strike

Put wall

$205

largest put OI strike

Open interest by strike — 2026-07-17

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

RSP max pain by expiration

Expiration	Max pain	Spot vs MP	P/C ratio	Call wall	Put wall	Call OI	Put OI
2026-07-10	$210	+2.05%	0.439	$215	$210	3,002	1,318
2026-07-17 ·	$210	+2.05%	0.709	$215	$205	25,195	17,870
2026-07-24	$210	+2.05%	1.015	$217.5	$210	2,931	2,975
2026-07-31	$210	+2.05%	0.031	$222.5	$210	57,475	1,794
2026-08-07	$215	-0.33%	0.848	$215	$212.5	1,453	1,232
2026-08-14	$215	-0.33%	2.476	$205	$215	42	104
2026-08-21	$210	+2.05%	0.978	$215	$205	2,710	2,651

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 RSP 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?

Own RSP as a fund holding?

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

Max pain for other tickers

DIA max pain $520 IWM max pain $298 QQQ max pain $720 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.