VRP TERMINAL
Volatility research terminal

A universe of stocks.
Mapped by volatility.

Every listed name carries an option surface — the market's live price of fear. VRP Terminal measures the variance risk premium across that universe: where option sellers are overpaid, where the premium is thin, and where it has flipped against them.

No sign-up needed — explore 5 ticker dashboards on us, then create a free account to keep going.

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01 · THE SURFACE

Every stock has one of these.

Implied volatility, plotted across strike and tenor — the option surface. It is the market's standing quote for future turbulence in a single name. In a calm tape the surface sits low, with a gentle smile and an upward-sloping term structure.

02 · SKEW

The crash bid lifts the put wing.

Investors pay up for downside protection. That persistent demand tilts the surface — low strikes trade at a premium to calls, and short-dated skew steepens first. The shape tells you what the market fears before the news does.

03 · STRESS

In a shock, the whole surface erupts.

Level explodes, the term structure inverts, and realized volatility briefly overtakes what options had priced. This is when short-volatility positions lose — and why knowing the regime matters more than knowing the average.

04 · THE PREMIUM

Implied settles above realized. That gap is the harvest.

After the storm, option prices stay elevated while the underlying calms down. The spread between the surface and realized volatility — the variance risk premium — is what disciplined sellers are paid to underwrite.

Illustrative surface — schematic, not live data
The core idea

What is the variance risk premium?

Implied volatility is the market's price of future movement — what option buyers pay for protection. Realized volatility is what the underlying actually did. On average, implied sits above realized: buyers overpay for insurance and sellers collect the difference. That structural edge is the variance risk premium.

Implied vs. realized volatility
Implied volatility (option-priced) Realized volatility (what happened)
0204060

In calm regimes implied rides above realized — the shaded gap is the premium sellers harvest. During a shock, realized blows out above implied and the premium briefly turns negative.

Why it exists

Investors pay up to hedge crashes. That demand for protection keeps implied vol structurally above what tends to be realized.

Why it matters

A positive VRP is the engine behind selling options, variance swaps, and covered strategies — you are paid to underwrite fear.

When it bites

The premium is not free money: in a vol spike realized overtakes implied and short-vol positions lose. Knowing the regime is everything.

Measured, not assumed

The premium itself, over time

Subtract realized from implied and you get the VRP directly. It is positive most of the time — a steady harvest — punctuated by sharp negative dislocations when the market is caught short volatility.

Variance risk premium  (implied − realized vol, points)
-20-10010

Above the zero line, option sellers are being overpaid. The deep dip is a crisis where realized volatility exceeded what options had priced in. Illustrative — schematic of a typical cycle.

The toolkit

Inside the terminal

Purpose-built dashboards over the full option chain — every backtest number is net of your real spread and commission assumptions, not theoretical mid-price edge.

VRP scanner

Rank the universe by mean VRP, IV rank, term slope and the share of days the premium paid — find the rich names fast.

Term structure & skew

ATM-IV curves and 25-delta skew straight from the live chain — see where the premium concentrates by expiry and strike.

Vol surface

The full implied surface for any covered name — the same object you just scrolled through, on live data.

Earnings & forward vol

Forward-vol and skew metrics around catalysts, with an earnings calendar across your coverage.

Net-of-cost backtests

Straddle-selling backtests charged your actual spread and commissions — edge that survives execution, or doesn't.

Price, financials & insiders

Intraday candles with near-the-money option overlays, fundamentals and insider transactions per ticker.

Start mapping the premium.

Preview 5 ticker dashboards free — no account needed. A free account unlocks the scanner, watchlists, backtests and the full analysis toolkit.