Unusual Whales
unusualwhales.com
Real-time options flow, dark pool prints, gamma exposure and congressional trades in one dashboard, with a usable free tier on delayed data.
What it is
Unusual Whales started as a feed of large and unusual options orders and has grown into a broad market-data dashboard. Alongside the options flow it shows dark pool prints, market maker gamma exposure (GEX), congressional and insider trading, news, and screeners, covering more than 11,000 US tickers.
The free plan is more than a teaser: the whole dashboard is open, but flow is delayed by two days, news by 15 minutes and alerts by 30 minutes. That makes it useful for learning how to read flow and for after-the-fact research, not for acting on trades as they print. The paid Retail plans remove the delays and differ mainly in alert limits, how much you can use the built-in AI assistant (Mr. Whale) and how often SPX market maker exposure refreshes.
The API is sold separately from the dashboard and has its own one-week trial; a paid dashboard plan does not include API access. A community Discord is available on every plan.
Key features
- Options flow
- Every options trade across the market with filters for size, premium, sweeps, expiry and moneyness. Real time on paid plans, two days delayed on the free plan.
- Dark pool prints
- Off-exchange equity trades by ticker and size, to see where large blocks changed hands.
- Market maker exposure (GEX)
- Gamma exposure heatmaps for all US tickers; SPX exposure updates every 10 minutes on Basic and Pro and every minute on Max.
- Congress and insider trading
- Disclosed trades by members of Congress and company insiders, with portfolio views per politician.
- Alerts and watchlists
- Custom alerts on flow and tickers: 25 on Retail Basic, unlimited on Pro and Max.
- Mr. Whale AI assistant
- Asks questions of the data and sends daily briefs; usage limits rise with each paid tier.
- API and MCP server
- Programmatic access to the same data, sold separately, with a one-week free trial.
Pricing
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | Full dashboard; flow delayed 2 days, news 15 minutes, alerts 30 minutes |
| Retail Basic | $50/mo or $504/yr | Real-time flow, news and alerts; GEX heatmaps; 25 alerts, 5 watchlists |
| Retail Pro | $75/mo or $756/yr | Everything in Basic, unlimited alerts and watchlists, twice the AI usage |
| Retail Max | $120/mo or $1,224/yr | Everything in Pro, 1-minute SPX market maker exposure, three times the AI usage |
The API is priced separately and has a one-week free trial. A Whale Bundle combines Retail Max, the API and other add-ons.
Free option: The full dashboard, screeners and charts with delayed data (flow 2 days, news 15 minutes, alerts 30 minutes), saved watchlists and the community Discord.
Checked September 25, 2026 on unusualwhales.com. Prices change; confirm on the provider's site before you subscribe.
Strengths
- One subscription covers options flow, dark pool, GEX, congressional trades and news
- A genuinely usable free tier for learning and research
- Annual billing saves about 16% on every retail plan
- An API and MCP server for traders who want to build on the data
Limitations
- The free tier's two-day flow delay rules it out for trading on live flow
- Dense interface with many views; expect a learning curve
- API access is not included in dashboard plans
- Flow shows what traded, not why: many large orders are hedges, not directional bets
Good fit for
- Options traders who want flow, dark pool and GEX in one place
- Traders who follow congressional and insider disclosures
- Beginners who want to learn flow on the free plan before paying
Look elsewhere if
- Traders who only want a simple, filtered flow feed (a narrower tool may be easier)
- Anyone expecting trade signals: it shows data, not recommendations
Compare
Alternatives to Unusual Whales
Unusual Whales questions
Is Unusual Whales free?
There is a free plan with the full dashboard, but options flow is delayed by two days, news by 15 minutes and alerts by 30 minutes. Real-time data starts with Retail Basic at $50 a month.
What is the difference between Retail Basic, Pro and Max?
All three have real-time flow. Pro adds unlimited alerts, watchlists and dashboards and more AI usage; Max adds one-minute SPX market maker exposure updates and the highest AI usage.
Does a dashboard plan include the API?
No. The API is a separate product with its own pricing and a one-week free trial. The Whale Bundle combines both.
Is there a mobile app?
Yes. Besides the web dashboard there are iOS and Android apps, and alerts can also arrive by email or through Discord.
Written from Unusual Whales's own website and documentation. All Trading Tools lists and compares tools; it does not recommend trades or give financial advice. Sources: unusualwhales.com, unusualwhales.com/pricing.