What is 0DTE?
Updated 3 September 2026 · by Theo Chen
0DTE stands for zero days to expiration — an option that expires today, the same trading day you're looking at it. On the handful of underlyings that list one, there's a fresh "today" contract every single trading day, not just the third Friday of the month.
Now you know what it is. The harder question — should you actually sell one — has a real answer, and it isn't "yes, for the daily theta." Read the case against 0DTE and where 30-45 DTE fits instead.
Read: 0DTE, Weeklies, Monthlies — Which Expiration to Sell →Why does an option expire today?
Historically, US equity options expired weekly or monthly — a fixed, predictable calendar. SPX and SPY 0DTE volume grew large enough that the CBOE started listing a genuine expiration for every weekday on those products, so a trader could always find a contract that expires today, not just on a Friday. Once the daily listings existed on the deepest index products, several of the most liquid ETFs and single names followed the same pattern.
Which underlyings actually have 0DTE options?
SPX, SPY, QQQ and IWM all list a genuine same-day expiration on every trading day. A small, growing list of the most liquid mega-cap single names has added daily or near-daily expirations too. Most individual stocks have not — they still expire only weekly or monthly, so "daily expiring options" describes a handful of names, not the whole market. Check your own broker's chain before assuming a stock you trade has one.
What makes a 0DTE option different from a regular one?
Two things happen at once, and both are extreme. Theta — the daily price decay — is enormous in percentage terms, because the entire remaining premium has to decay to zero within a single trading session. Gamma — how fast the option's delta moves — is equally enormous, because a small move in the underlying produces a large change in the option's price with almost no time left to smooth it out. A 30-45 day option gives you room to roll or close if the trade moves against you; a 0DTE option gives you none — the expiration is today.
0DTE vs weeklies vs monthlies
All three are just points on the same calendar. 0DTE expires today. A weekly expires within roughly 1-14 days. A monthly expires around 30-45 days out, on the standard third-Friday cycle. The shorter the window, the faster the daily decay looks on paper — and the less time you have to react if the underlying moves against you before it decays. That trade-off, and which window actually suits an income seller, is the subject of the companion guide linked above.
The bottom line
0DTE means an option expiring the same trading day - SPX, SPY, QQQ and a growing list of others now list one for every session, so 'options that expire daily' isn't a typo or a glitch, it's the modern chain; whether you should actually trade one is a separate, much harder question.
Frequently asked questions
What does 0DTE mean in options trading?
0DTE stands for zero days to expiration — an option contract that expires the same trading day you're looking at it. On SPX, SPY, QQQ and a growing set of other names, the exchange lists a fresh expiration for every single trading session, not just the third Friday of the month, so "today's options" and "0DTE options" mean the same thing on those names.
What are options that expire daily?
They are 0DTE options — contracts that expire at the close of the current trading session rather than on a weekly or monthly cycle. The underlyings with the deepest liquidity (SPX, SPY, QQQ, IWM and a handful of mega-cap single names) now list a new expiration every weekday, so there is a "today" contract available on almost every trading day of the year, not just Fridays.
Why do some options expire every day instead of just on Fridays?
Exchange demand, not a quirk. SPX and SPY 0DTE volume grew so large that the CBOE and other exchanges started listing an expiration for every weekday to meet it — traders wanted same-day exposure without waiting for the standard weekly cycle to line up. Once the daily listings existed on the index products, several of the most liquid ETFs and single names followed.
Are 0DTE options good for beginners?
No. The entire premium decays in a single session, which means gamma — how fast the option's delta moves — is enormous, and a small move in the underlying can swing the position's value violently with almost no time to react or roll. It is an institutional, screen-bound trade, not a beginner's introduction to selling options; start with 30-45 DTE instead.
Which stocks and ETFs have daily expiring options?
SPX, SPY, QQQ and IWM all list a genuine 0DTE expiration on every trading day. A small, growing list of the most liquid single names has added daily or near-daily expirations too, but the vast majority of individual stocks still expire only weekly or monthly — check your broker's chain for the underlying you actually trade rather than assuming it has one.
Related questions
- Which expiration should you actually sell - 0DTE, weeklies or monthlies?
- How does theta decay actually work?
- What is gamma, and why does it matter most near expiration?
- When is the next options expiration date?
Related tools and guides
Decide which expiration to actually sell in 0DTE, Weeklies, Monthlies: Which Expiration to Sell, see the full monthly and weekly calendar in the Options Expiration Calendar, read up on the decay that pays a seller in Theta Decay Explained, or look up any term in the options glossary.
Educational explainer only — not financial advice. Examples are illustrative and exclude commissions, early assignment and dividends. Confirm the mechanics and size positions to your own risk tolerance.