Nasdaq Prices Upgrades for Traders' New Tech Toys
Published Date: 9/29/2025
Notice
Summary
Nasdaq PHLX is rolling out new tech features and setting prices for them starting November 1, 2025. Traders and firms using the Exchange will see these changes, which help cover the costs of the upgrade. The new fees kick in right away but officially start in November, so everyone has time to get ready.
Analyzed Economic Effects
4 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 0 costs, 3 mixed.
Electronic FLEX Options per‑contract fees
If you trade electronic FLEX Options on Nasdaq PHLX, new per‑contract fees start on November 1, 2025. The Exchange will charge $0.10 per contract for FLEX Auctions (Market Makers, Lead Market Makers, Broker‑Dealers, Firms, Professionals), $0.07 per contract for FLEX PIXL and FLEX SOM for those same non‑customer categories, and $0.50 per contract for responses to FLEX PIXL and FLEX SOM for all participants; Customers are assessed $0.00 for the Auction and PIXL/SOM originating fees but $0.50 for response fees. Fees apply to both the originating and contra orders.
NDX/XND FLEX symbol fees and surcharges
For electronic FLEX trades in Nasdaq 100 products, specific symbol fees apply starting November 1, 2025. For FLEX NDX: Customers will be charged $0.25 per contract and Non‑Customers $0.75 per contract, with additional surcharges including a $0.25 per contract surcharge to Non‑Customers, a $1.50 per contract surcharge to electronic simple Non‑Customer orders that remove liquidity, a $0.50 per contract surcharge to Non‑Customer complex executions, and a $0.25 per contract surcharge for executions with premium $25.00 or greater. For FLEX XND: Customers will not be charged and Non‑Customers will be charged $0.10 per contract, plus a $0.10 per contract surcharge to Non‑Customers.
Crossing Orders fees, response charges, and break‑up rebates
Nasdaq PHLX will apply new per‑contract fees and rebates for Crossing Orders starting November 1, 2025. Non‑Customers pay $0.17 per contract for Crossing Orders (Customers pay $0.00); any response to a Crossing Order will be charged $0.50 per contract in Penny Symbols and $1.10 per contract in Non‑Penny Symbols for all participants. The Exchange will pay a facilitation/solicitation break‑up rebate of $0.20 per contract to all market participants except Market Makers and Lead Market Makers when certain originating contracts do not trade with their contra order.
Waivers for floor facilitation and volume threshold
Certain fee waivers start November 1, 2025: Floor FLEX transaction fees for a Firm will be waived when the member executes floor facilitation orders in its own proprietary account. Broker‑Dealer fees for BD‑Customer Facilitation will be waived if the member's BD‑Customer Facilitation average daily volume (including Floor FLEX and non‑Floor FLEX) exceeds 10,000 contracts per day in a given month.
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