There is an interesting shift going on which started a few years back. Many of the active day traders out there are including options in their day trades more and more. Options in general have increased in popularity tremendously over the past 7 years or so and active traders have noticed. There are a few reasons that they are using options in their day trades and today we will highlight them.
The first, and probably the most attractive is the elimination of the pattern day trader rule. Many traders around the world have the ability to day trade with as little capital in their account as they wish. Some countries (the US) included require you to always maintain a $25,000 balance to be able to day trade. The rule for those that do not have more than $25,000 is that you can have no more than 4 day trades in a 5 day. With such a steep requirement traders have moved over to day trading options to avoid this rule. With all the varying strike prices one can trade the same symbol all day long using options and not break this rule.
Another reason, and probably the most obvious is capital. To trade options requires very little in the way of capital or buying power. As a buyer of options you are only responsible for the value of an option. Unlike a stock, an option is only worth what you pay (as a buyer) so that is your risk. If an option is trading at $1.00 and you buy one contract then you are only required to put up $100 for the trade. Now this leverage is a double edged sword so be careful here. The leverage is misleading and may cause you to over commit to a trade. Think of the capital required to place the trade as your max loss and be sure you are comfortable with that max loss.
Should you consider the world of day trading options then you will definitely want to be sure you understand option volume. There are only a handful of stocks and ETF's that day trading options is even viable.