OptionNET Explorer

Windows options backtester that replays positions on 5-minute US option history.

by OptionNET

Last updated

Visit OptionNET Explorer
From
£535/yr
Free tier
No
Latency
Eod
Non-US markets
No

What it is

OptionNET Explorer, ONE for short, is a Windows program for laying out an options position on a past trading day and walking it forward. You set the trading date and time, pick strikes from the chain as it was quoted then, and step the clock in 5-minute increments with the risk profile, price chart, greeks and P&L updating as you go. Adjustments and commissions are tracked across the life of each position, and a report groups realized P&L by account and month.

The same window switches to live mode. Connected to a broker's software, it monitors open positions on current prices, with visual cues the vendor says mark when an adjustment is due, and on two brokers sends the order. The vendor computes its own implied volatility and greeks from raw prices, and warns they will not match a broker's figures.

Accounts, trades and settings live on the vendor's servers, not on your disk, so the same login works from a second PC. ONE is published by OptionNET LLP, registered in England; the software is owned by THJ Systems Ltd, its supplier. Version 2 is in beta, the latest build posted on 23 March 2026, and the help videos still show version 1.

Pricing

Two prepaid terms, quoted in pounds and exclusive of VAT: 165 GBP for three months, 535 GBP for twelve. There is no monthly option, and the support site says the vendor offers no payment plans. Historical data, upgrades and support are in the price, and live data costs nothing extra because it comes from your broker.

The trial is ten days for 10 GBP, one per customer; a second attempt is charged a 10 GBP administration fee. The pricing page labels these prices an exclusive discount that expires if the subscription lapses. Purchases are final once the download starts. The support site announced an increase on some subscriptions from April 2023, the first in over ten years by its account.

Data & coverage

The pricing page promises 5-minute historical data for all optionable US equities and indices. The user guide, last revised in October 2012, dates it: end-of-day from 1 January 2005 to 30 September 2010, 5-minute intraday from 1 October 2010. Before that cutover you cannot pick a time of day. A session's intraday data arrives only after the next session opens, which the vendor puts down to exchange rules, so a Friday is first replayable on Monday morning.

The support site's news feed posts data delays as they happen, the latest for 25 June 2026. A 2015 support article says imports accept equity and index options only, not futures or futures options. New option series, weeklies included, appear the day after they list.

Integrations

Live or delayed prices come from thinkorswim, Interactive Brokers or Tradier, and the broker's desktop software has to be running on the same machine; for Interactive Brokers that means TWS, not the web trader. A paper account at the broker feeds delayed prices. Orders go to Interactive Brokers and Tradier only.

The support site documents trade import from a thinkorswim account statement and an Interactive Brokers Flex Query, each in a fixed column order. There is no API, no webhook and no file export: the trade log copies to the clipboard for pasting into Excel.

Limitations

  • Windows only. No Mac build; on Apple silicon only the 32-bit version runs under Parallels.
  • Manual replay. No vendor page describes a rule run automatically across many dates.
  • No current date for the history. Only the 2012 user guide gives one, and it still documents TradeKing and TradeMonster connections that no longer exist.
  • Personal, non-commercial licence. One computer at a time, and two logins at once is a breach. Commercial use, a newsletter, blog or course included, needs prior permission, and published screenshots must follow the vendor's attribution rules.
  • The licence calls your evaluation results confidential. Publishing them needs the vendor's written consent.
  • No refunds once the download has begun.

Alternatives

ORATS sells an intraday backtester as an add-on to its options API, from $99 a month, running on a one-minute snapshot of about 140 symbols. OptionStrat models a position before you place it, in a browser, with no history to replay. LiveVol Pro replays one underlying's option tape for any day back to 2011, which shows what printed rather than what a position did. To backtest in your own code, ThetaData and Cboe DataShop sell the history.

Specs

Interfaces
none
Export
None
Asset classes
Stocks, ETF, Options, Indices
Markets
US
Platforms
Desktop win
AI features
None
Capabilities
Charting, Backtesting, Live trading, Paper trading, Broker import, Options analysis
Pricing verified
Capabilities verified
Coverage verified

Also worth comparing

  • Option Samurai — US options strategy scanner you configure, with an Excel and Sheets add-in. No API.
  • OptionStrat — Option P&L visualizer, target-price optimizer and unusual-flow feed. No API.
  • IVolatility API — Options chains with raw IV, greeks and IVX surfaces over REST, US history to 2005.
  • LiveVol — Cboe's browser options platform - scanners, skew, earnings moves, option tape to 2011.
  • Market Chameleon — Earnings-move statistics and option strategy screeners in a browser. No API.
  • ORATS — Smoothed options greeks and IV surfaces over REST, end-of-day back to 2007.

FAQ

How much does OptionNET Explorer cost?

165 GBP for three months or 535 GBP for twelve, exclusive of VAT, with the historical data included. There is no monthly plan. New customers start with a 10-day trial that costs 10 GBP and is limited to one per customer, and a purchase is final once the download has started.

How far back does the OptionNET Explorer historical data go?

The vendor's user guide gives end-of-day prices from 1 January 2005 and 5-minute intraday prices from 1 October 2010. The current pricing page promises 5-minute data for all optionable US equities and indices but prints no start date. A trading day's intraday data appears only after the next session opens.

Does OptionNET Explorer run on a Mac?

Not natively. It is a Windows application, with Windows 10 or 11 listed as the requirement. The vendor says it runs on a Mac under Parallels or VMware Fusion, and on Apple silicon only the 32-bit build works; the 64-bit build does not.

Do I need a broker account to use OptionNET Explorer?

Not for backtesting, which runs on the vendor's own historical data. Live or delayed prices come only from a broker account at thinkorswim, Interactive Brokers or Tradier, whose desktop software has to be running on the same machine, and orders can be sent only to Interactive Brokers and Tradier.

Does OptionNET Explorer backtest a strategy automatically?

Not on any page the vendor publishes. You set the clock to a date and a 5-minute interval, enter the position on that day's chain, then step forward and make each adjustment by hand. The user guide lists an automated AutoExplorer feature as not yet available.