Options Breakeven Calculator
Pick a structure, enter the strikes and premiums, and get the exact price the position breaks even at expiration — with the distance from the current stock price in dollars and percent.
What is an options breakeven?
an options breakeven is the underlying price at which a position finishes expiration with neither a profit nor a loss. A long call breaks even at strike + premium paid; a long put at strike - premium paid. Structures holding both a call and a put, such as straddles, strangles and iron condors, have two breakevens.
This calculator applies the correct formula for 13 common structures and shows how far each breakeven sits from the current stock price.
Enter premiums per share, the way they are quoted — $3.20, not the $320 a one-lot costs. Breakeven is a price, so contract count does not change it.
Breakeven
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How to use this calculator
1. Pick the structure. The dropdown changes which inputs appear and which formula runs. A bull call spread and a bull put spread are both bullish, but their breakevens come off different strikes and move in opposite directions, so the structure has to be right before the numbers mean anything.
2. Enter the strikes. Single-leg trades need one. Vertical spreads need the long and the short strike. Strangles and iron condors need the put-side and the call-side strike. Covered calls and collars use your stock cost basis, not the current price, because that is the price your profit is measured against.
3. Enter premiums per share. Use the mid-price you expect to fill at rather than the last trade. On a wide market the gap between bid and ask moves breakeven more than a day of theta does.
4. Read the distance, not just the price. A breakeven of $106.50 means nothing on its own. The calculator shows how far that sits from spot in dollars and percent, which is the number you compare against the stock's expected move over the life of the trade.
Options breakeven formulas: full reference
Every formula below is a price at expiration, with all premiums quoted per share. Net debit is the long premium minus the short premium; net credit is the short premium minus the long premium. Note that a long call and a short call at the same strike and premium share one breakeven price — the buyer profits above it and the seller below it.
| Structure | Breakeven formula | Worked example |
|---|---|---|
| Long call | Strike + premium paid | $100 strike, $3.20 paid → $103.20 |
| Long put | Strike − premium paid | $100 strike, $2.80 paid → $97.20 |
| Short call (naked) | Strike + premium received | $105 strike, $1.80 received → $106.80 |
| Short put / cash-secured put | Strike − premium received | $95 strike, $1.60 received → $93.40 |
| Covered call | Stock cost basis − premium received | $100 basis, $2.50 received → $97.50 |
| Collar | Stock basis + put premium − call premium | $100 basis, $2.20 put, $1.60 call → $100.60 |
| Bull call spread (debit) | Long call strike + net debit | Long $100, $1.90 debit → $101.90 |
| Bear put spread (debit) | Long put strike − net debit | Long $100, $1.90 debit → $98.10 |
| Bull put spread (credit) | Short put strike − net credit | Short $95, $1.10 credit → $93.90 |
| Bear call spread (credit) | Short call strike + net credit | Short $105, $1.10 credit → $106.10 |
| Long straddle | Strike + total premium Strike − total premium |
$100 strike, $6.00 total → $106.00 and $94.00 |
| Long strangle | Call strike + total premium Put strike − total premium |
$105 call / $95 put, $3.50 total → $108.50 and $91.50 |
| Iron condor | Short call strike + net credit Short put strike − net credit |
Short $105 call / $95 put, $1.50 credit → $106.50 and $93.50 |
Short straddles and short strangles use the same two formulas as their long versions; the profitable region is between the breakevens instead of outside them. A short put's breakeven is also the effective purchase price if you are assigned, which is why the cash-secured put calculator reports it as both.
The breakeven price is only half the answer
A breakeven tells you where the position turns; the distance from the current stock price tells you whether it is reachable. A $103.20 breakeven on a $100 stock needs a 3.2% move. Whether that is a demanding ask or a trivial one depends entirely on how long you have and how much the stock actually moves.
The comparison worth making is breakeven distance against the expected move over the same period — roughly the at-the-money straddle price, or the stock's implied volatility scaled to the days remaining. If the breakeven sits well outside the expected move, the market is pricing that outcome as unlikely, and the position needs an unusual move rather than an ordinary one to work. The expected move calculator produces that range for a given ticker and expiration.
One caveat on timing: breakeven is an expiration figure. Before expiration a long option can be profitable well inside its breakeven if implied volatility rises, and a short option can be losing well inside its own.
Frequently asked questions
How do you calculate the breakeven price of an option?
A long call breaks even at strike + premium paid; a long put at strike − premium paid. Short calls and short puts use the same two formulas, because buyer and seller share one breakeven price and differ only in which side of it profits. Premiums are quoted per share, so enter $3.20, not the $320 a one-lot costs.
What is the breakeven on a vertical spread?
Debit spreads break even at the long strike moved by the net debit: bull call = long call strike + net debit, bear put = long put strike − net debit. Credit spreads break even at the short strike moved by the net credit: bull put = short put strike − net credit, bear call = short call strike + net credit.
Why do straddles, strangles and iron condors have two breakevens?
They hold a call and a put, so the payoff changes direction twice and crosses zero twice. A $100-strike straddle costing $6.00 breaks even at $94.00 and $106.00. A strangle uses its own strikes on each side; an iron condor uses the short put strike − net credit and the short call strike + net credit.
Does breakeven include commissions, dividends and assignment?
No. These are the standard textbook breakevens at expiration. Commissions and fees, dividends received or owed, financing on a stock leg, and early assignment on American-style options all shift the real number. Add your own per-share costs to the premium before entering it if you want an after-cost figure.
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