What Is It
The 0DTE (Zero Days to Expiration) Rankings is a dedicated leaderboard for options contracts that expire on the current trading day. These contracts are among the most volatile and fastest-moving instruments in the market, and this ranking helps traders identify which 0DTE contracts are seeing the most dramatic price changes.
Because 0DTE options can swing from nearly worthless to highly valuable (or vice versa) within minutes, they occupy a unique niche in options trading. This ranking tool surfaces the contracts experiencing the biggest moves so you do not have to hunt for them manually.
Where to Find It
- Web: Navigate to ainvest.com/options and scroll to the 0DTE section, marked with a fire icon.
- Mobile: Open the Market tab, tap Options, then select the 0DTE tab (the third tab after Market and Trade Idea).
Platform differences: The web version displays a full table with all columns and pagination. The mobile version shows a card-style list with the symbol (including expiration and strike), Chg%, Volume, and a star icon for adding to your watchlist.
Web 0DTE Rankings section showing contracts sorted by percentage change with extreme Chg% values
Web 0DTE Rankings table with additional contract details including IV, Spread, and OI columns
How It Works
The table lists 0DTE options sorted by percentage change (Chg%) by default, highlighting the contracts with the most dramatic intraday price movement. Since every contract in this table expires today, the data reflects purely same-day activity.
How to Read the Data
0DTE data behaves differently from standard options rankings due to the extreme time dynamics involved. Here is what to watch for:
Extreme Chg% values are normal. These contracts can go from nearly worthless to valuable (or the reverse) within minutes as the underlying price moves toward or away from the strike. A contract priced at $0.01 that rises to $0.50 shows a +4,900% gain. This is a function of the math, not necessarily a sign of a profitable opportunity.
Volume without OI. Since these contracts expire today, many will have zero open interest from the previous day. All the activity you see is new positions opened during the current session. This makes volume the primary activity metric for 0DTE contracts, since Vol/OI is often undefined or extremely high.
High IV is expected. 0DTE contracts typically have elevated implied volatility due to extreme gamma -- the sensitivity of the option's price to changes in the underlying. IV above 100% is not unusual for same-day expiration contracts and does not carry the same interpretation as high IV on a longer-dated option.
Watch the spread carefully. 0DTE contracts often have wider bid-ask spreads because market makers demand more compensation for the risk of holding these fast-decaying positions. Be cautious with contracts showing spreads above 40-50%, as the execution cost can consume a significant portion of any potential profit.
Practical Example
The 0DTE table shows "U PUT 20260130 35.5" at the top with Chg% of +75,500%, Volume of 2.10K, and IV of 226.55%. Unity (U) is trading near $35.50 and this at-the-money put has surged as the stock declined intraday. The massive percentage change reflects the contract going from nearly worthless to in-the-money as the stock moved through the $35.50 strike.
The high volume (2,100 contracts) confirms active trading interest -- other participants are also trading this contract. However, the 40.80% spread suggests caution on entry. At that spread, you would immediately lose a significant portion of value just from the bid-ask gap.
Even if you choose not to trade this specific contract, the data is informative: it tells you that Unity is experiencing significant bearish options activity today, which may be useful context for stock or longer-dated options decisions.
Tips
- 0DTE options are extremely high-risk due to rapid time decay (theta) and extreme price sensitivity (gamma). If you are new to options trading, observe these rankings to learn how 0DTE contracts behave before committing capital.
- Use 0DTE rankings to read the market, not just to trade. The underlying stocks appearing in these rankings are seeing the most aggressive intraday options positioning. This information can inform stock trading decisions or longer-dated options strategies even if you never trade a 0DTE contract.
- Do not chase extreme Chg% values. A contract moving from $0.01 to $0.50 shows a spectacular percentage gain, but may have been impossible to enter at the $0.01 price. Focus on volume and spread to assess whether a contract is realistically tradeable.
Try it on Ainvest: View 0DTE Rankings — find the most active same-day expiration contracts.
