IEX Slaps New Fees on Options Non-Transaction Services—Traders Yawn
Published Date: 9/29/2026
Notice
Summary
Investors Exchange LLC (IEX) is rolling out new fees for certain services related to trading options contracts. These changes affect traders using IEX’s options platform and start on October 2, 2026. The goal is to clearly set costs for non-transaction services, helping everyone know what to expect when using the exchange.
Analyzed Economic Effects
10 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 9 costs, 0 mixed.
Launch-period fee discounts for new options services
IEX Options will provide initial discounts on Trading Permit, Premium Product, Connectivity, and Market Data fees: 100% off during the first three calendar months of IEX Options' operations and a 50% discount during months four through six. IEX Options launch is scheduled to commence trading on October 2, 2026.
Order entry and clearing permit fee ($1,000/month)
Order Entry Firms and Clearing Members will be charged permit fees of $1,000 per month for each permit while certified and credentialed to use FIX or binary order entry ports or while certified to clear transactions. These fees will apply beginning with IEX Options operations (scheduled October 2, 2026).
Market Maker permit fee schedule (up to $13,000/month)
IEX will charge Market Maker permit fees by permit with the following monthly structure: $5,000 for the first permit (up to 50 classes), $3,000 for a second permit (up to 200 classes total), $2,000 for a third (201+ classes), and $1,000 each for a fourth, fifth, and sixth permit; any additional permits are free. The maximum monthly charge per Market Maker is $13,000.
Monthly Premium Product fees for specific option classes
IEX will charge Market Makers monthly Premium Product fees per MPID for certain highly traded classes: $300 each per month for SPY, QQQ, and IWM; $200 each per month for NVDA, TSLA, AAPL, and AMZN. For example, dual quoting in SPY would cost $600 per month per MPID.
Physical connectivity monthly charges ($7,000 and $3,000)
IEX will charge $7,000 per month for each 10G ultra-low latency physical port to the Primary Data Center (Secaucus, NJ) and $3,000 per month for each 10G physical port to the Disaster Recovery Data Center (Chicago, IL). Connectivity to the IEX Test Facility (ITF) via 1G or 10G physical ports is offered free of charge.
Order entry and drop-copy logical port fees ($450/month)
IEX will charge $450 per month for each Order Entry FIX or binary logical port at the Primary Data Center and $450 per month per Drop Copy port. Logical ports at the Disaster Recovery Data Center and the ITF will not be charged.
Market Maker quoting and purge port fees ($4,000/$650 and $2,500/$450)
IEX will charge Market Makers $4,000 per month for a set of 10 Market Maker quoting ports (full coverage of ten trading rings) or $650 per individual quoting session. Market Maker purge ports are $2,500 per month for a set of 10 or $450 per individual session.
Market data access and non-display fees (TOPS $750, DEEP $2,500)
IEX will offer two proprietary market data feeds: Options TOPS (top-of-book) and Options DEEP (depth-of-book). Data Subscribers credentialed for the feed will pay monthly access fees of $750 for Options TOPS and $2,500 for Options DEEP; non-display use carries the same monthly fees. The Fee Schedule defines Real-Time as access in less than 15 minutes after dissemination.
Consolidated Audit Trail (CAT) funding fees per executed equivalent share
IEX will assess CAT Funding Fees for the period May 1, 2026 through December 31, 2026 comprising: CAT Fee 2026-1 at $0.000001 per executed equivalent share and Historical CAT Assessment 1A at $0.000002 per executed equivalent share. For listed options, each executed contract counts as 100 executed equivalent shares (or other applicable multiplier).
CRD registration & processing fees for non-FINRA IEX members
IEX incorporates by reference its Additional Fees Schedule so that Web CRD registration and processing fees apply to IEX Members who are not FINRA members; FINRA members are charged CRD fees by FINRA. The Additional Fees Schedule also includes the CAT Funding Fees referenced above.
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