Put/Call Ratio vs VIX
The put/call ratio counts actual option contracts traded; the VIX prices a specific basket of S&P 500 options 23 to 37 days out. The two used to move tightly together.
Also known as: Equity Put/Call Ratio (put call, P/C ratio, CBOE put call) · VIX (fear index, volatility index, CBOE VIX)
Why This Comparison Matters
The put/call ratio counts actual option contracts traded; the VIX prices a specific basket of S&P 500 options 23 to 37 days out. The two used to move tightly together. The 2023 to 2025 explosion in zero-days-to-expiration options has driven a structural wedge: 0DTE options now make up 24 percent of total US listed options volume and 59 percent of SPX volume, but VIX methodology excludes them entirely. April 24, 2026 illustrates the divergence: VIX closed at 18.76, near its post-conflict low, while equity put/call activity has been elevated through the eight-week-old Iran war. Traders are hedging heavily but in instruments VIX cannot see.
How the Two Series Are Constructed
The CBOE equity put/call ratio is the simple ratio of equity put option volume to equity call option volume on the CBOE exchange, published daily. A reading of 1.0 means equal put and call volume. The 90 percent historical range from 2007 to 2022 ran from 0.72 (extreme greed) to 1.23 (extreme fear). The total put/call ratio adds index option volume and runs structurally higher because index puts dominate hedging flow.
VIX is calculated continuously from a basket of out-of-the-money SPX options with 23 to 37 days to expiration, using the variance swap approximation formalized by CBOE in 2003. The methodology weights options by the inverse square of their strike price and excludes options that fall outside the eligibility window. Critically, options expiring in less than 23 days, including all 0DTE options, are not included in the VIX calculation regardless of how much volume they represent.
The 0DTE Revolution and What VIX Misses
CBOE introduced Tuesday and Thursday SPX expirations in 2022, completing a five-day-per-week SPX 0DTE schedule. Volume in 0DTE options exploded. By the end of 2025, SPX 0DTE options accounted for 59 percent of total SPX volume, with peaks of 62.4 percent in August 2025. Across the full US listed options market, 0DTE products reached 24.1 percent of total volume in 2025, up from 21.5 percent in 2024 and roughly 5 percent before the 2022 expansion.
None of this volume enters the VIX calculation. The structural consequence: when traders hedge through 0DTE puts (which is the cheapest way to express short-term tail risk), VIX does not see it. The put/call ratio sees it because 0DTE put volume counts the same as 30-day put volume in the numerator. As 0DTE has captured a larger share of total hedging flow, the put/call ratio has become more responsive to short-term hedging demand than VIX, even though VIX is the headline "fear gauge."
The April 2026 Divergence
The Iran conflict began in late February 2026 and has run for eight weeks. WTI crude oil has averaged near $90 with peaks above $105. CPI accelerated to 3.3 percent in March 2026. SPY has pulled back roughly 2 to 3 percent from its early-April 2026 all-time high near $712.
VIX closed at 18.76 on April 24, 2026, below the historical "elevated" threshold of 20 and well below the 25 to 30 range that prior comparable shocks (Russia-Ukraine February 2022, COVID March 2020) produced. Many market participants have remarked that VIX seems puzzlingly subdued. The put/call ratio has been elevated through the same window, with multiple readings above 0.85 (the equity-only series) signaling active put-buying. The wedge between the two reflects structural shift, not market complacency: hedging is happening, but in 0DTE puts that VIX does not measure.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the current VIX level?+
VIX closed at 18.76 on April 24, 2026, near its post-Iran-war lows after peaking at 31.05 on March 27, 2026. The level is below the historical "elevated" threshold of 20 despite ongoing Strait of Hormuz tensions and oil prices above $90. Many market participants have noted that VIX seems unusually subdued for the macro backdrop. The most plausible explanation is structural: hedging activity has migrated to 0DTE options, which do not enter the VIX calculation, leaving VIX measuring a smaller and shrinking share of total option demand.
Why is VIX so low given the Iran conflict?+
Three reasons. First, the structural shift to 0DTE hedging means VIX captures a shrinking share of total option flow; the same level of hedging demand produces lower VIX readings than before 2022. Second, the SPR releases (172 million barrels in March 2026) capped the WTI rally at $105 rather than letting it run higher, which supported the equity market and prevented VIX from spiking. Third, market participants have grown accustomed to the conflict's tempo over eight weeks. The combination is real underlying uncertainty being expressed through 0DTE puts that VIX cannot see, plus a market that has priced in a moderate-but-not-catastrophic outcome.
Has 0DTE structurally broken VIX?+
It has weakened VIX as a measure of total hedging demand. VIX continues to function as designed: an estimate of 30-day implied volatility derived from SPX options 23 to 37 days out. The problem is that this measurement window now captures a smaller share of total option activity. CBOE has acknowledged the issue and discussed introducing 0DTE-specific volatility indices, but the headline VIX methodology has not changed. Practitioners increasingly supplement VIX with put/call ratios, the VVIX (VIX of VIX), and 0DTE-specific volatility metrics published by various data vendors.
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Data sourced from FRED, CoinGecko, CBOE, and other providers. This page is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Past performance does not guarantee future results.