Before you subscribe to any options tool
Options-trading SaaS pricing is wild - anywhere from $20/mo to €169/mo to $2,500/mo. Some operators do this honestly, some don't. This checklist is what every paid provider should be able to answer YES to. We hold ourselves to it, and you should hold others to it.
Trial & refund (EU law)
- Does it offer a 14-day cooling-off period? Required under EU Consumer Rights Directive 2011/83/EU for distance contracts. Can be waived for "digital content" only with EXPLICIT acknowledgement at checkout.
- Does it allow cancellation any time without penalty?
- Is the refund policy clearly stated with concrete examples (e.g. "if you cancel on day 10 of month, you get X back")?
- Is the cancellation flow self-service (button in account settings), not "email us"?
If any of these are NO, file a complaint at signal.conso.gouv.fr (DGCCRF, France) or your country's consumer protection authority.
Auto-renewal (loi Chatel for French consumers)
- Does the provider notify you before each renewal (1-3 months in advance for B2C)? Required under French Code de la consommation L215-1 to L215-3.
- If they auto-renew silently, French law lets you cancel and request refund of all post-notification-window payments + admin fines apply to operator.
Identity & legal status
- Can you find the operator's full legal name? Required by EU e-commerce directive 2000/31/EC.
- Is there a physical address? "Independent individual in [city]" is NOT compliant.
- For B2B-able offerings, is there a VAT number? If they collect "VAT inclusive" pricing without a registered VAT ID, that's tax fraud.
- Is support reachable via company-domain email (e.g. support@company.com), not a personal Gmail?
Payment method
- Are multiple payment methods offered? PayPal-only is a yellow flag (single point of failure: if their merchant account is frozen, the business stops).
- Can you pay annually for a discount? Monthly-only with no annual option signals the operator isn't confident in retention.
Data source & freshness
- Does the provider name their data source explicitly (e.g. "Intrinio", "Polygon", "Yahoo")?
- Does every chart show a freshness timestamp?
- Are delays disclosed? "Realtime" should mean <1s. "Near-realtime" usually means 15-min delayed.
- Is there a public status page showing source health?
GDPR & data handling
- Is there a privacy policy linked from the homepage (not just buried in the terms)?
- Does it name the data controller, retention periods, third-party processors?
- If the operator is OUTSIDE the EU, can they prove GDPR compliance for EU users (Standard Contractual Clauses or equivalent)?
Pricing transparency
- Is pricing visible before signup (not "log in to see")?
- Are all fees listed (subscription + any per-feature add-ons + payment processing)?
- If "launch pricing" is advertised, is the future price stated?
Methodology & honesty
- Are the analytic formulas public (e.g. how GEX is computed)?
- Are limitations acknowledged (e.g. "this is a heuristic, not confirmed flow")?
- Is there an education/glossary section explaining what each metric means?
Our own scorecard
| Checkpoint | gex |
|---|---|
| 14-day cooling-off (when paid tier launches) | yes |
| Cancel anytime, self-service | yes |
| No tacit renewal without notice | yes |
| Operator legal identity disclosed | clairsites · Belgium (in footer) |
| Multiple payment methods (paid tier) | card + PayPal + SEPA planned |
| Annual option (paid tier) | planned, ~17% discount |
| Data source named | Yahoo Finance v7 (on every page) |
| Freshness timestamp on every chart | yes |
| Public status page | /status |
| Methodology public | /methodology |
| Privacy policy | /privacy |
This is generic consumer-protection guidance, not legal advice. If you believe a provider has violated EU consumer law, contact your national DGCCRF-equivalent or BEUC. PayPal disputes are filed in the PayPal Resolution Center.