Trade Ideas vs Unusual Whales: Unusual Options Activity Inside a Real-Time Stock Scanner
Named to the Inc. 5000 list of America’s fastest-growing private companies six years in a row (2017–2022).
Investopedia: Best Short Term Stock Screener, 2024
The short answer: Unusual Whales is an options-flow service: a real-time tape of option trades, dark pool prints, gamma exposure and politician trades, from $50/mo. Trade Ideas is a real-time stock scanner that also watches unusual options activity. You can see heavy option volume next to the price and volume setup on the same stock. Then act on it with Streaming Alerts, the Top List, Holly AI Signals and OddsMaker. If you read options flow contract by contract, Unusual Whales is built for you. If you trade stocks and want options activity as a signal inside your scanner, start with Trade Ideas.
Weighing more than two tools? See the best Unusual Whales alternatives, including unusual options activity plus a full equity stack.
Trade Ideas publishes this page and makes one of the two tools.
How Trade Ideas watches unusual options activity
The same activity is available as filters you can stack on any stock scan, in Streaming Alerts (the scanner) and the Top List (the screener):
- Options Volume Today (%) compares the contracts, puts and calls, traded today with the number the same stock usually trades in an entire day. Set the minimum to 200 and you only see stocks that have already traded twice their normal daily options volume.
- Options Volume Today (Contracts) and Average Daily Options Volume for raw size and the normal baseline.
- Call Volume Today, Put Volume Today and the Put/Call Ratio to see which side is busy.
Why that matters: heavy option volume on its own is a clue. Heavy option volume on a stock that is also trading unusual share volume, making a new high or reclaiming VWAP is a setup. Trade Ideas puts both in one window. Streaming Alerts check the options filters the moment each alert fires, and Top Lists can rank stocks by them.
Trade Ideas vs Unusual Whales, side by side
Unusual Whales details come from its pricing page, checked in October 2026.
| Question | Unusual Whales | Trade Ideas |
|---|---|---|
| Core job | Options flow: a real-time options tape with unusual activity indicators and custom alerts. | Real-time stock scanning and screening, with unusual options activity alongside. |
| Options detail | Full tape, Greeks and volatility dashboards, gamma exposure heatmap, options profit calculator. | Stock-level options volume, call and put volume and put/call ratio as filters, plus the options channel. |
| Other data | Dark pool, politician trades, institutional and insider data, prediction-market data. | Price, volume, float, gaps, highs and lows, VWAP, chart patterns and more: 310 alerts and 249 filters. |
| Stock scanning | A stock and options screener. | Streaming Alerts can fire on every trade, multiple times per second, and Top Lists that update every 15 seconds. |
| AI | Mr. Whale, an AI analyst and trade finder. | Holly AI Signals with entry, stop and target (TI Premium / Apex). |
| AI Assistant (plain-English scan builder) | Check their site. | Included in every TI Pro plan |
| Backtesting | None listed on the dashboard plans; the separate API is pitched for building your own backtests. | OddsMaker (TI Premium). |
| Trading | None listed. | Paper trading, in-app trading and Auto Trading through connected brokers. |
| Runs on | Website plus a mobile app for alerts; Discord community. | TI Pro for Windows. In a browser, with no download and on a Mac too, the web Dashboard offers Top Lists, Races, TreeMaps, Market Pulse, charts with Picture in Picture, and stock details and news. |
| Monthly price | Free (delayed), $50 Retail Basic, $75 Retail Pro, $120 Retail Max. | $127 TI Standard (Core), $254 TI Premium (about $89 and $178 billed annually). |
| List price (monthly / annual) | Unusual Whales plans listed on unusualwhales.com (see costs section). | TI Standard $127/mo or $1,068/yr; TI Premium $254/mo or $2,136/yr. Holly AI Signals and OddsMaker are on TI Premium. |
Who Unusual Whales is better for
- Options-flow readers. If you want to see individual trades with strike, expiration and premium, and filter the whole tape, that is what Unusual Whales is built around.
- Gamma and dealer-positioning traders. Its plans include a real-time gamma exposure heatmap for U.S. tickers and SPX market maker exposure.
- Traders who follow dark pool and political trading data. Both are part of its dashboard plans.
- Budget-first and mobile-first users. A free plan with delayed data, paid plans from $50/mo and a mobile app for alerts on the go.
- Builders. Its API sells programmatic data access for your own dashboards and backtests.
What Trade Ideas adds for stock traders
Every stock, every event, as it happens
Options flow tells you where big money might be leaning. It does not tell you when the stock itself breaks out. Trade Ideas watches every trade on every U.S. stock with live market data and reports events like a break of the premarket high or an opening range breakout the moment they happen.
The opening range alerts cover breakouts and breakdowns at 1, 2, 5, 10, 15, 30 and 60 minutes (15-minute breakout), and trend alerts like a 90-minute linear regression up trend help separate a stock that is moving from one with option volume alone. Both belong to a library of 310 alerts and 249 filters, each with a help page. Any alert pairs with any filters, each with a min and max, and 191 alerts have their own setting, such as the minimum size on Block Trades; the possible scans are effectively unlimited.
Holly AI Signals
Each night Holly's strategies are put through testing; only those that pass can send signals. Holly is on TI Premium.
OddsMaker: check whether the setup pays
Build the stock setup you trade after spotting heavy options activity, and OddsMaker replays real past events across all stocks with your entry and exit rules. You get the trades, the win rate and the profit factor before you trade it live.
Past results, including backtests, don't guarantee future results.
Trading from the same screen
Practice in simulated trading, place orders through connected brokers with live trading in TI Pro, or automate a tested strategy with Money Machine.
Also compared: FlowAlgo and Cheddar Flow
Traders who look at Unusual Whales often look at these two as well. Both are options order flow services, checked on their own sites in October 2026.
Trade Ideas vs FlowAlgo
FlowAlgo says it monitors the tape market-wide and alerts you to notable orders: intermarket sweep orders, option block trades, and equity blocks and dark pool prints. Its plan page lists real-time option order flow, dark pool data, Alpha AI Signals, voice alerts and a trader chatroom, in a web browser. Price: $149/mo monthly after a two-week $37 trial, or $99/mo billed at $1,188 a year.
The difference: FlowAlgo shows you who is placing big orders. Trade Ideas shows you which stocks are moving and lets you test the setup in OddsMaker, with unusual options activity as one more input. FlowAlgo users who trade the underlying stock often add a real-time stock scanner.
Trade Ideas vs Cheddar Flow
Cheddar Flow offers real-time options order flow, sweep tracking, dark pool data, gamma exposure and AI-driven Power Alerts that trigger on large, unusual option orders. Price: Standard at $85/mo after a 7-day free trial; Pro at $99/mo, or $75/mo on the annual Pro plan, which adds gamma exposure, dark pool data and Power Alerts.
The difference: Cheddar Flow is built for reading the options tape. Trade Ideas is built for finding and trading stocks, with options activity flagged inside the scanner, Holly AI Signals and OddsMaker testing.
What each costs
Unusual Whales annual rates are $42, $63 and $102 per month. Its free plan shows options flow two trading days late, news 15 minutes late and alerts 30 minutes late. TI Premium is where Holly, OddsMaker and Auto Trading live; TI Standard still gives you real-time Streaming Alerts, Top Lists, paper trading and the Holly AI Assistant.
Unusual Whales plans cost less per month. The TI Standard price goes into stock scanning built on a custom database Trade Ideas has run and improved for more than two decades, with Streaming Alerts that can trigger on any trade and Top Lists that reorder every 15 seconds.
Which one fits you
Choose Unusual Whales, FlowAlgo or Cheddar Flow if the options tape is your main input. Choose Trade Ideas if you trade stocks and want unusual options activity flagged next to the setup, Holly AI Signals all session, and OddsMaker to check the idea first.TI Premium carries both Holly AI Signals, each with an entry, a stop and a target, and OddsMaker. On the scanning side, the AI Assistant builds a window from plain English, a point-and-click menu lets you combine 310 alerts and 249 filters, and the Formula Editor handles any custom filter you want to add and test. Just getting started? Trade Ideas offers the premium experience, and nothing has to be configured. On day one you have the Channel Bar, the AI Assistant and the free Trading Room to lean on. See Trade Ideas for beginners. See also the full list of Trade Ideas alternatives and the best stock scanners for day trading.
Trade Ideas vs Unusual Whales FAQ
Does Trade Ideas show unusual options activity?
Yes. Trade Ideas also monitors unusual options activity across all stocks. Its dedicated channel, built on the Unusual Options Volume % filter, runs in TI Pro and the Web Dashboard. You can also add options filters, such as Options Volume Today (%), Call Volume Today, Put Volume Today and Put/Call Ratio, to any Streaming Alerts or Top List window.
Is Trade Ideas a replacement for Unusual Whales?
Not for every trader. Unusual Whales is built around the options tape itself, with a real-time options flow feed, dark pool data, gamma exposure, Greeks dashboards and politician trade data. Trade Ideas is a real-time stock scanner and screener that flags unusual options activity next to the price and volume setup, with Holly AI Signals and OddsMaker. Options-flow specialists often keep both.
How much does Unusual Whales cost compared with Trade Ideas?
Unusual Whales lists a free plan with delayed data, Retail Basic at $50/mo, Retail Pro at $75/mo and Retail Max at $120/mo, with lower annual rates. On Trade Ideas you pay $127 a month for TI Standard or $254 for TI Premium, which drops to about $89 or $178 a month if you pay yearly. Prices checked Oct 2026.
What about FlowAlgo and Cheddar Flow?
Both are options order flow services. FlowAlgo tracks sweeps, option blocks, equity blocks and dark pool prints, and lists $149/mo monthly or $99/mo billed annually. Cheddar Flow offers real-time options order flow, dark pool data, gamma exposure and AI Power Alerts, with a Standard plan at $85/mo after a 7-day trial and Pro at $99/mo. Like Unusual Whales, neither is a full-market stock scanner.
Can I find stocks with unusual options volume in real time on Trade Ideas?
Yes. Add the Options Volume Today (%) filter to a Top List or Streaming Alerts window and enter 200 in the minimum field to see stocks that have already traded at least twice their usual daily options volume. Streaming Alerts check the filter the moment each alert fires, and Top Lists can sort by it.
Is Trade Ideas good for beginners?
Yes. It fits a new trader who wants the premium experience. You can start right away, since nothing needs configuring. Included in TI Pro with every plan: the Channel Bar and the Holly AI Assistant. Channels are set up by theme, so big momentum movers or S&P 500 stocks moving up fast are a click away. Stock Races make it easy to see stocks racing in real time. Barrie Einarson's free Trading Room welcomes you into a whole community of traders. Use paper trading to practice before risking money. Later you can grow into Money Machine, 310 alerts and 249 filters, OddsMaker and Holly AI Signals. See our guide for beginners.
How we checked
- Three flow tools, three sources. Unusual Whales, FlowAlgo and Cheddar Flow facts each come from that company's own home and pricing pages.
- Stock focus kept separate. Where Trade Ideas covers options, we say exactly what it does: it flags unusual options activity next to the stock setup.
Prices checked Oct 2026. Sources: unusualwhales.com/pricing; flowalgo.com; cheddarflow.com; cheddarflow.com/pricing. Trade Ideas: trade-ideas.com/pricing.
On our side, TI Standard lists at $127 per month, or $1,068 per year (about $89 a month), and TI Premium at $254 per month, or $2,136 per year (about $178 a month); Holly AI Signals, OddsMaker backtesting and Auto Trading are Premium features. All four companies adjust prices, so check each site first.