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Volatility Surface 3D
A three dimensional map of implied volatility across every strike and expiration at once, showing skew and term structure together.
What is a 3D implied volatility surface?
A 3D implied volatility surface is quoted IV plotted across strike and expiration at the same time. On EZPZ, Volatility Surface 3D is one searchable name with two tabs: Raw Contracts and Smoothed Mesh. Type e.g. SPY, then Go. Raw Contracts starts on. It is not a buy or sell.
On EZPZ, the live page title is Volatility Surface 3D. Placeholder is e.g. SPY. Go loads the name. Info opens the axis cards. Raw Contracts starts on and shows Contracts, Expirations, Strikes, and Updated, then Raw Per-Contract Cloud with a LIVE chip. The screenshot uses SPY with 12,197 contracts, 32 expirations, and 4,833 strikes. Info says that cloud plots strike on X, expiration on Y, and quoted IV on Z, with no fitting. The color and height scale is capped near 2.0 so stale or wide quotes do not wash out the bulk. Smoothed Mesh shows Vertices, Faces, IV Range, and Updated, then Logarithmic Smoothed Mesh. The extra screenshot uses 5,580 vertices, 10,740 faces, and an IV Range of 0.09 to 1.20. Info says that mesh uses log-moneyness, square root of years to expiration, and fitted IV. A peak can still be a hedge or a stale quote. Neither plot is an order.
On EZPZ, this page is the live 3D implied volatility cloud and mesh for any ticker you search. Volatility Analysis is Volatility By Open Interest, Open Interest, and Implied Volatility Smile, not this 3D plot. Historical Volatility is 10D through 90D Volatility versus Price, not implied IV. IV Rank Explorer is Current IV (30D), IV Rank (1Y), period rank, and IV Percentile (1Y), not a surface. Greeks is Call and Put Delta, Theta, and IV across five expiries, then Delta, Theta, Vega, and Gamma Maturity. Expected Move is the DEM and VEM band chart by expiration. Ticker Explorer keeps Implied Volatility (30 D), IV Rank, and IV Percentile as one-symbol cards. Largest Premium By Tickers has a High IV Rank leaderboard when you do not have a ticker yet. Top 20 Optionable ranks listed-option names by Vol. * Price and shows IV Rank on the row. Put to Call Ratio is the Intraday Put/Call Ratio chart of Traded PCR, OI PCR, and Sentiment PCR. Max Pain is Intraday Max Pain with O-Max Pain, P-Max Pain, and V-Max Pain. Gamma Exposure is the searchable strike table with Call Wall and Put Wall. GEX and DEX is the Intraday GEX and DEX chart pair with Gamma Flip. Spot Gamma and Delta is the ($) Open Interest versus ($) Volume bar pair with a Spot line. GEX Heatmap is the strike-by-expiration GEX grid with a GEX Details table. Greeks Heatmap is the strike-by-expiration grid with Gravity Magnet Score. Option Depth Flow is the searchable strike-by-time Bubble or Gradient chart. Market Maker Exposure is the SPX Flip Level chart with Call Wall, Put Wall, and Expected Move(VEM) and DEM. Market Cross Flow is the SPY, SPXW, and QQQ GEX grid next to candles. Open Interest Scan is the OI per Strike and OI per Expiration chart pair. Volume Scan is the Volume by Strike and Volume by Expiration chart pair. Index Trader is the index dashboard with Premium Traffic Lights. Market Wave is the Current Day chart of Net Call Premium versus Net Put Premium. Net Flow Graph is one ticker you search with Filter ticker, plus Cumulative Volume Delta. Historical Net Premium is the 15D Cumulative lookback with a daily table. 0DTE Graph is the same-day premium chart with Filter ticker. The 0DTE dropdown is the lock. Weekly-DTE Graph is the WTE chart of premium that expires by Friday. 7-DTE Graph is the 7DTE chart of premium in the next 7 days. Supply and Demand X-ray is the ITM Call and Put chart of Price, Supply, and Demand. Money Sentiment is Bought Ratio, Net Sentiment, and Netflow Graph for one ticker. Net Premium Heatmap is the strike-by-expiration grid of Net Premium for one ticker. Movers and Shakers Tide is that same chart job for about 18 mega-cap names. Option Chain is the listed book, where implied volatility sits on a contract row. Live Flow is the tape of prints. Unusual Activity keeps only large, sweep, and block prints. Unusual Activity Intraday is the session scan with a date range. $1M Plus Flow keeps only million-dollar premium. 0DTE Flow keeps only prints that expire today. SPX and SPY Flow locks the tape to SPX, SPXW, and SPY.
How Volatility Surface 3D works on EZPZ
Search a ticker, then read Raw Per-Contract Cloud first. It is not a score. Most people start on Contracts, Expirations, and Strikes, then rotate the cloud. Open Info if you want the X, Y, and Z cards again. Click Smoothed Mesh when you want the fitted surface instead of the points. Do not treat SPY as a default thesis.
How this differs from Volatility Analysis
Volatility Analysis is three 2D strike charts: Volatility By Open Interest, Open Interest, and Implied Volatility Smile. Each card has Strikes Min and Max plus one expiry. This page has no IV × OI and no one-expiry smile. It is Raw Contracts and Smoothed Mesh for the whole chain at once. Use Volatility Analysis when you want IV by strike on one date. Use this page when you want the live 3D cloud or mesh. Use Historical Volatility when you want 10D through 90D versus Price. Use IV Rank Explorer when you want Current IV (30D) and IV Rank (1Y). Use Greeks when you want Call IV Distribution across five expiries. Use Expected Move when you want DEM versus VEM. Use Ticker Explorer when you want Implied Volatility (30 D) beside quote and unusual activity. Use Largest Premium By Tickers when you want the High IV Rank list. Use Top 20 Optionable when you want IV Rank on a Vol. * Price row. Use Put to Call Ratio when you want Traded PCR. Use Max Pain when you want V-Max Pain. Use Gamma Exposure when you want Call Wall and Put Wall. Use GEX and DEX when you want Gamma Flip. Use Spot Gamma and Delta when you want ($) Open Interest versus ($) Volume. Use GEX Heatmap when you want pinning versus volatility cells. Use Greeks Heatmap when you want Gravity Magnet Score. Use Option Depth Flow when you want strike by time. Use Market Maker Exposure when you want SPX Flip Level. Use Market Cross Flow when you want SPY, SPXW, and QQQ side by side. Use Open Interest Scan when you want standing contracts. Use Volume Scan when you want Call and Put volume. Use Index Trader when you want traffic lights. Use Market Wave when you want Current Day Net Call Premium versus Net Put Premium. Use Net Flow Graph when you want Filter ticker plus Cumulative Volume Delta. Use Historical Net Premium when you want the 15D table. Use 0DTE Graph when you want same-day premium. Use Weekly-DTE Graph when you want Friday. Use 7-DTE Graph when you want the next 7 days. Use Supply and Demand X-ray when you want Price, Supply, and Demand. Use Money Sentiment when you want Bought Ratio and Net Sentiment. Use Net Premium Heatmap when you want the strike-by-expiration grid. Use Movers and Shakers Tide when you want the 18-name basket. Use Option Chain when you want IV on a contract row. Use Live Flow when you want the prints.
Anatomy of the two tabs
You do not need both tabs on every session. Use the map if you want the fields.
Raw Contracts starts on. The chart label is Raw Per-Contract Cloud. Info says there is no mesh on this tab, only points.
| On the page | What you are looking at |
|---|---|
| Contracts | How many listed contracts sit in the cloud. |
| Expirations | How many distinct expiration dates are in that cloud. |
| Strikes | How many distinct strike prices are in that cloud. |
| Updated | When the live cloud last refreshed, in your local time. |
| LIVE | The chip on Raw Per-Contract Cloud. The plot is the live contract set. |
| X / Y / Z | Info: strike price in dollars, real expiration date, quoted IV with no fitting. |
Click Smoothed Mesh to load Logarithmic Smoothed Mesh. Info says this tab is a full triangulated mesh.
| On the page | What you are looking at |
|---|---|
| Vertices | How many points sit in the fitted mesh. |
| Faces | How many triangles make up that solid surface. |
| IV Range | The low and high fitted implied volatility on the mesh. |
| Updated | When the live mesh last refreshed, in your local time. |
| LIVE | The chip on Logarithmic Smoothed Mesh. |
| X / Y / Z | Info: log-moneyness, square root of years to expiration, fitted implied volatility as height and color. Zero log-moneyness is at the money. |
Header and tabs
- e.g. SPY / Go: Type a ticker. Placeholder is e.g. SPY. Go loads the name.
- Info: Opens What this is, then the Raw Contracts and Smoothed Mesh axis cards.
- Raw Contracts: Starts on. Per-contract cloud, no mesh.
- Smoothed Mesh: Fitted logarithmic surface with vertices and faces.
Controls on this page
The header has ticker search, Go, and Info. The two tabs change the plot. Rotate the 3D scene to read strike versus expiration. Do not treat the height as a score.
- e.g. SPY / Go: Load another name. Placeholder is e.g. SPY.
- Info: Axis cards for Raw Contracts and Smoothed Mesh.
- Raw Contracts / Smoothed Mesh: The only two plot modes on this page.
How people actually use it
Count the book first
Read Contracts, Expirations, and Strikes on Raw Contracts before you rotate the cloud. A thin book is a thin surface.
Then open Smoothed Mesh
Click Smoothed Mesh when you want the fitted shape. Read Vertices, Faces, and IV Range, then rotate Logarithmic Smoothed Mesh.
Use Info for the axes
Open Info when X, Y, and Z stop being obvious. Raw Contracts is dollars and dates. Smoothed Mesh is log-moneyness and square root of time.
Use it next to the smile and the book
This page is the 3D surface. Open Volatility Analysis if you want Implied Volatility Smile on one expiry. Open Option Chain if you want IV on a contract row.