Why are options flow trackers gaining popularity? Retail traders are looking for any edge they can find over institutional traders. Historically, options flow has been a tool of institutions and hedge funds.

With sites like WhaleStream, the playing field is being levelled as retail traders are gaining valuable information that they never had access to before. Options flows are indicative of what larger investors are placing their bets on.

While they are far from a sure thing, especially in this type of market environment, they can provide an idea of where major inventors are anticipating the markets will go. 

Let’s take a deeper look into WhaleStream.com and see if this is the options flow tracker for you! As mentioned, WhaleStream is constantly adding new features for its growing user base. It already has most of the things options traders would want, particularly in a paid subscription app. Here are some of the major features that WhaleStream provides!

WhaleStream Dashboard

Let’s do a WhaleStream review of their dashboard. As soon as you log into the site you are launched into your WhaleStream Dashboard screen. The design of the dashboard might seem cluttered at first.

But after just a few moments of use layout really flows in a predictable manner. I found that compared to other sites, WhaleStream had a much more intuitive dashboard that was easy to learn. 

The heart and soul of WhaleStream is front and center on the dashboard. The top of the screen gives an immediate ‘at a glance’ indication of the current option flow sentiment. Right away you can see if it’s Bearish or Bullish, and to the right of that is the Call Flow compared to the Put Flow.

This is a real-time indicator of market sentiment. Since Options Flow does not necessarily affect the underlying price of the stock, it can be used as a forward-looking indicator on where big money believes certain stocks, or the market itself, is headed.

On the left-hand margin is your menu where you can pop over to any of the other shortcuts on the platform. Conveniently, WhaleStream defaults to opening each shortcut in a new tab so you can always have your dashboard up and running. 

On the right-hand side is the live chat that has been surprisingly active. A constant options flow discussion is being held by users, with the ability to tag ticker symbols directly in the chat. On top of that, WhaleStream also has its support staff directly in the chat answering any help questions. 

Dark Pool and Options Flow

In the middle of the screen are two real-time sections: one is for options flow and one is for dark pool flow. It’s important to realize and understand that the dark pool flow is not real time and on a 15 minute delay. However, the options flow is in real time. You can toggle back and forth, and customize your views of either section. Let’s take a closer look.

The thing I love most about WhaleStream is that the details are clean. It’s color-coded without being overwhelming, and everything is in a clear and logical sequence. These views are also fully customizable with a full suite of filters for your convenience.

If you want to make a Watchlist, you can easily do that and follow your favorite stocks. You can also filter by Calls, Puts, Premium Amount, and even by Underlying Sector. 

When you open up the Option Flow and Dark Pool Flow in the left-hand side menu, you get an overview of the top flows for the day. Intuitively, I thought this would bring up a larger view of the Dashboard screens.

After some thought about the site design, I don’t mind this. It seems redundant to have the same screen in two different places so the Top Flow views are a nice addition. Here’s what they look like:

 

In this screen you can even go back and look at historical option flow as well if you want to see what was going on in previous sessions. 

Overall, I think it’s a great way to have two different views of the flow data. On the Dashboard, you immediately get your real-time flow info, and in your side panel menu you get the top Option and Dark Pool Flows for the day. 

WhaleStream Top OI (Open Interest)

Let’s continue with our WhaleStream Review. WhaleStream also has a Top OI or Top Open Interest feature in the menu. For those who are wondering, Open Interest is a measure of the amount of options contracts that are open.

It’s a measure of Market Activity and how actively those options contracts are being traded. A higher Open Interest means a higher chance of getting an options contract at an Ask price that you are looking for as a seller, and a Bid price you are looking for as a buyer.

Individual Stock Charts

Yes, WhaleStream even offers integration with TradingView to pull up individual stock charts. Here you get a detailed look at each stock chart and where the top options flow is. 

I love this view. If I’m looking at a particular stock or index to trade options on, I can see all of the highest public equity support and resistance levels. 

Further down on the page you get a full 5-day view of the stock’s option and dark pool flow. It even tells you if the orders are buying or selling for Calls and Puts. 

Keep scrolling down and you get Dark Pool and Key Price Levels as well as the Open Interest graph:

Finally, WhaleStream also shows you the largest 1-day Open Interest movements and the top institutional holders of the stocks:

In all this is one of the most robust views of a stock from an options trader’s point of view. It really does provide all the necessary information in a convenient and intuitive layout.

I cannot get over how easy it was for me to learn the WhaleStream workflow. This is something that I certainly could not say for some of its competitors.

Other Features

Along the left-hand side of the screen you’ll find a surprisingly robust set of features. While it focuses on options flow and dark pool flow, WhaleStream is truly building itself to be a one–stop site for all financial news. 

You can access the latest real-time Market News, IPO Calendar, Quarterly Earnings, and What’s New with the platform. All of these features just save you from needing to constantly toggle through different news sources. You no longer need Twitter, Reddit, and CNBC all open at the same time!

WhaleStream Pricing

Ah the most important part of any subscription service: how much does it cost?

First of all, if you want to try WhaleStream you get a week for free with all of the features included.

That’s 100% access to the site without paying a dime to see if you like it! After that you can sign up for a membership for $69.00 per month or save on an annual membership for $690.00 per year. 

If you’re already a member of WhaleStream, you can send out your referral code to your friends.

For every user that signs up, you receive $10.00 per month and a further $5.00 per month for every subscriber they sign up. Bring in enough friends and you can easily pay off your monthly subscription fees! In fact, if you want to save $10 a month yourself, then sign up here.

Social Media

WhaleStream also has a very active social media presence. Its Twitter feed sends out live updates, although members get notifications instantly through the app. WhaleStream also has an active Facebook and Instagram presence.

But as we all know, the most important social media app that companies can have these days is a Discord Channel. WhaleStream’s Discord already has nearly 400 active members that are discussing options flow on a daily basis! 

Pros

A clean and intuitive platform with a smooth flow and easy to learn features. 

WhaleStream is striving to become an all in one site for market news and options flow activity.

The support staff is more than willing to help new users directly in the WhaleStream chat or in the Discord server.

A 7-Day free trial allows full access to the site before you decide to make the plunge.

Cons 

The price is a bit more than some of its competitors so some might find it pricey. 

No mobile app yet, everything is still web-based.

No educational materials yet, although it appears to be coming soon.

Final Verdict

Personally, I found WhaleStream to be efficient and easy to use which was surprising. Hence this WhaleStream review. It has a similar layout to most of its competitors, but there is just something smoother about the way the pages flow. You can watch our webinar with them here.

While the dashboard feels cluttered at first, you really get used to finding the data you need. You can also toggle things shut to make it a bit more easy to read. I’m excited for future enhancements and additions to the platform.

The one thing for me is that the price is a bit steep compared to some of its competitors. It’s not the end of the world, and I do really think WhaleStream does have a cleaner and more intuitive user interface. Some people do see the price as a dealbreaker and I don’t blame them for that.

In the end, I definitely recommend WhaleStream for options flow tracking, and am excited to see what it brings in the future!