Free CME Max Pain - CME Group Max Pain
Use free CME Max Pain to find the candidate strike with the lowest combined call and put intrinsic value for CME Group at one selected expiration. Compare the full pain curve alongside business context that includes trading activity, market volatility, listings, and transaction volumes.
How to use the CME Max Pain tool
Confirm CME
CME is already entered. Keep it or search another ticker.
Choose an expiration
Select the expiration you want the calculation to use.
Calculate Max Pain
Generate the result, then compare Max Pain with price and the full pain chart.
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What is Max Pain?
Max Pain is the strike price at which option sellers (market makers) would lose the least amount of money if the stock expired at that price. The theory suggests stocks tend to gravitate toward this price near expiration.
Chart Legend:
- Green bars: Call option pain per strike
- Red bars: Put option pain per strike
- Blue line: Max Pain strike
- Red line: Current underlying price
Key levels
CME max pain in detail
Computed
Spot
$263.74
Max pain strike
$270
2.4% above spot
Expiration
2026-10-02
Lowest total pain by strike
| Strike | Call pain | Put pain | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| $270 | $83K | $20K | $103K |
| $272.50 | $189K | $0 | $189K |
| $267.50 | $33K | $318K | $351K |
| $275 | $351K | $0 | $351K |
| $277.50 | $538K | $0 | $538K |
Reviewed by the QuantWheel research team. Computed from listed CME open interest for the expiration shown; a reference level, not a forecast. Read how we compute CME max pain.
Continue with CME options analysis
Open the Max Pain workspace when you want to keep the calculation alongside your other options tools.
Understanding CME Max Pain
The CME options chain represents CME Group. Evaluate its open-interest distribution alongside business context that includes trading activity, market volatility, listings, and transaction volumes. Compare Max Pain across available expirations because the distribution can differ from one expiration to another.
For CME, the calculator tests each candidate strike against call and put open interest for the selected expiration. Review the full curve with the result. The calculation describes the selected chain and does not predict where CME Group will trade.
How the CME Max Pain calculation works
QuantWheel tests each strike as a possible expiration price. It adds the intrinsic value of open calls and puts at that price, weighted by open interest and the contract multiplier. The strike with the lowest combined value is displayed as CME Max Pain.
This calculation uses the selected options chain. It does not measure dealer inventory, intent, future order flow or the probability that CME will finish at the calculated strike.
Related CME options tools
Compare expiration pain with the CME GEX chart with .
CME Max Pain FAQ
What is CME Max Pain?
CME Max Pain is the candidate expiration price where the combined intrinsic value of outstanding CME calls and puts is lowest for the selected expiration. It is a calculation based on open interest, not a prediction of where CME will trade.
How is CME Max Pain calculated?
For each candidate price, QuantWheel calculates call and put intrinsic value across the selected CME options chain, multiplies each value by open interest and the 100-share contract multiplier, then adds the totals. The candidate price with the lowest combined total is the Max Pain strike.
Which CME expiration should I select?
Select the exact CME expiration you want to examine. Weekly and monthly expirations can have different open-interest distributions, so compare them separately instead of applying one result to every date.
How should I use CME Max Pain?
Compare the calculated strike with CME price and the full call and put pain chart for the same expiration. Use it as expiration context alongside liquidity, gamma exposure and your own risk plan rather than as a standalone trading signal.
Is CME Max Pain a price target?
No. CME Max Pain does not forecast price and does not prove that traders or market makers will move CME toward a particular strike. News, volatility, liquidity and positioning can outweigh any expiration-related pinning effect.
Is the CME Max Pain calculator free?
Yes. QuantWheel provides a limited number of free CME Max Pain calculations. The calculator shows how many free calculations remain before you run another expiration.