Cash Secured Put Calculator
Enter your put details below to calculate premium income, cash required, breakeven, and annualized return instantly.
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ApexVol vs OptionsProfitCalculator, tastytrade & OptionAlpha
How the Cash Secured Put Calculator on ApexVol compares to the three most-used free alternatives. Last refreshed 2026-05-12.
| Feature | ApexVol | OptionsProfitCalculator | tastytrade | OptionAlpha |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Live ORATS data | ✓ Institutional feed | 15-min delayed | Brokerage account required | Paid tier required |
| No signup for AAPL | ✓ Plus SPY, NVDA, TSLA, +10 more | ✓ | ✗ Account required | ✗ Account required |
| All 5 Greeks (Δ Γ Θ V ρ) | ✓ | Δ only | ✓ | ✓ |
| Live IV rank lookup | ✓ On the calculator page | ✗ | Only inside platform | Paid tier |
| Multi-leg auto-fill from chain | ✓ One-click ATM / 15Δ short | Ticker-only | ✓ | Paid tier |
| Probability of profit + POT | ✓ N(d₂) + 2×POITM | ✗ | POP only | POP only |
| IV crush calculator | ✓ With Vega impact | ✗ | ✗ | Paid tier |
| 3D vol surface viewer | ✓ Free for AAPL | ✗ | Inside platform | ✗ |
| Stress-test scenarios | ✓ Six BSM scenarios per trade | ✗ | Manual | Backtest only |
| Free tier coverage | 13 tickers · all calculators | All tickers (delayed data) | Account-gated | Limited content |
Notes: OptionsProfitCalculator (OPC) is free with 15-minute-delayed quotes; tastytrade requires a brokerage account; OptionAlpha gates most features behind a paid platform subscription. ApexVol's free tier covers 13 of the most-traded tickers with live ORATS data — see /methodology for full sourcing.
Related Options Calculators
See all free calculators →What Can You Calculate?
Premium Income
Cash received for selling the put, in dollars and as a percentage of the cash securing it. The premium is yours to keep regardless of outcome.
Cash Required
Strike price × 100 per contract — the cash you must reserve to buy the shares if assigned.
Breakeven Price
Strike minus premium — the stock price at expiration below which the position loses money overall.
Return on Cash
Premium divided by strike — your yield on the reserved capital for this expiration cycle.
Annualized Return
Cycle return scaled by 365 / DTE so you can compare puts across different expirations on equal footing.
Effective Purchase Price
If assigned, your true cost basis per share is the strike minus the premium — usually a discount to where the stock traded when you sold the put.
How Cash Secured Put Income Works
Reserve the Cash
Set aside strike × 100 per contract. This fully secures the put — if assigned, the cash buys the shares with no margin involved.
Sell the Put
Sell a put at a strike where you would genuinely be happy to own the stock. The premium hits your account immediately and is yours to keep.
Two Outcomes
Stock above the strike at expiration: the put expires worthless and you keep the full premium as income. Stock below the strike: you buy 100 shares at strike, with the premium lowering your effective cost.
Repeat or Wheel
Not assigned? Sell another put next cycle. Assigned? Many traders sell covered calls against the shares — the wheel strategy.
Cash Secured Put Formulas
- + Premium Income: Premium x 100 per contract
- $ Cash Required: Strike x 100 per contract
- = Breakeven: Strike - Premium Received
- % Return on Cash: Premium / Strike x 100
- % Annualized: Return on Cash x (365 / DTE)
- @ Effective Price if Assigned: Strike - Premium
Example: $95 Cash Secured Put
Walk through a worked example to see exactly how the calculator works.
The Setup
Stock Price: $100
Action: Sell 1 $95 put expiring in 30 days
Premium Collected: $1.80 per share ($180 total)
Cash Required: $9,500 ($95 x 100)
Breakeven: $93.20 ($95 - $1.80)
Return on Cash: 1.89% ($1.80 / $95)
The Two Outcomes
- + Stock above $95 at expiration: Put expires worthless. You keep $180 — 1.89% on the cash in 30 days, 23.0% annualized.
- + Stock below $95 at expiration: You buy 100 shares at $95 with the reserved cash. Effective cost: $93.20 per share — a 6.8% discount to the $100 the stock traded at when you sold the put.
- + Stock below $93.20: The position shows a net loss — the shares are worth less than your effective purchase price.
Strike Selection, Assignment & Management
Picking Strikes by Delta
- 30-delta (the convention): ~30% chance of finishing ITM, balanced premium vs assignment risk
- 15-20 delta: Lower income, rarely assigned — conservative
- 40-50 delta: Rich premium, frequent assignment — only on stocks you want
- 30-45 DTE is the standard sweet spot for theta decay
- Avoid selling puts through earnings unless that is the trade
Assignment Mechanics
- Assignment almost always happens at expiration, not before
- Early assignment is rare — mostly deep ITM puts with no time value left
- You buy 100 shares per contract at the strike; the reserved cash settles it
- Your cost basis for taxes is strike minus premium received
- Assignment is not a failure — it is half of the wheel
When to Roll
- Take profits at 50-75% of max premium — re-deploy the cash
- If the strike is breached, roll down and out for a net credit
- Never roll for a debit — take assignment instead
- Roll before the last week to avoid gamma risk near expiry
- If the thesis broke, close the put — do not roll a falling knife
Cash Secured Put vs Covered Call
A cash secured put and a covered call at the same strike and expiration are synthetically equivalent — both are short a put, economically. The covered call (long stock + short call) has the exact same payoff shape as the short put: capped profit above the strike, increasing losses below breakeven. The practical differences are entry and intent.
Cash Secured Put
- You do not own shares yet — premium pays you to wait for a lower entry
- Capital sits in cash (can earn money-market interest at many brokers)
- One commission to enter; shares only arrive if assigned
- Used as the entry phase of the wheel strategy
Covered Call
- You already own shares — premium adds yield to an existing holding
- Keeps dividends and long-term holding periods intact
- Same risk profile: capped upside, downside cushioned by premium only
- Used as the exit phase of the wheel after a put assignment
Already own the shares? Use the Covered Call Calculator · New to assignment? Read the options assignment guide
Cash Secured Put Formulas Reference
Our calculator does the math automatically, but here are the formulas behind each calculation for verification or spreadsheet use.
| Metric | Formula | Example ($95 strike, $1.80 premium, 30 DTE) |
|---|---|---|
| Premium Income | Premium x 100 | $1.80 x 100 = $180 |
| Cash Required | Strike x 100 | $95 x 100 = $9,500 |
| Breakeven | Strike - Premium | $95 - $1.80 = $93.20 |
| Return on Cash | Premium / Strike x 100 | $1.80 / $95 = 1.89% |
| Annualized Return | Return on Cash x (365 / DTE) | 1.89% x (365 / 30) = 23.0% |
| Effective Price if Assigned | Strike - Premium | $95 - $1.80 = $93.20 per share |
| Max Loss | (Strike - Premium) x 100 (stock to $0) | ($95 - $1.80) x 100 = $9,320 |
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you calculate cash secured put returns?
Return on cash = Premium received / Strike price x 100. Selling a $95 put for $1.80 with 30 days to expiration yields $1.80 / $95 = 1.89% on the $9,500 of cash securing the put. Annualized, that is 1.89% x (365 / 30) = 23.0%. The calculator above runs both numbers instantly, along with breakeven and the effective purchase price if you are assigned.
What is the breakeven on a cash secured put?
Breakeven = Strike - Premium received. Sell a $95 put for $1.80 and your breakeven is $93.20. Above $93.20 at expiration the position makes money overall (full premium if above $95, partial if between $93.20 and $95 after assignment). Below $93.20, the assigned shares are worth less than your effective cost and the position shows a net loss.
How much cash do you need to sell a cash secured put?
Strike x 100 per contract. One $95 put requires $9,500 of reserved cash so the shares can be purchased if assigned. Some brokers net out the premium received ($9,320 in this example). Margin accounts may only require 20-25% of the strike value to sell the same put — but then it is a naked put, not a cash secured one, and losses can force liquidations elsewhere in the account.
What annualized return is good for cash secured puts?
Most income-focused sellers target 12-30% annualized on the secured cash. Selling 30-delta puts 30-45 days out on liquid large caps typically lands in the 15-25% range under normal volatility. Quoted yields above 40-50% annualized usually signal elevated IV — earnings events, biotech binaries, or high-beta names — where the extra premium is compensation for real assignment and drawdown risk, not free income.
What happens if a cash secured put is assigned?
You buy 100 shares per contract at the strike price using the reserved cash, and you keep the premium. Your effective purchase price = strike - premium ($93.20 on a $95 put sold for $1.80). From there you can hold the shares, sell them, or sell covered calls against them — turning the position into the wheel strategy. See our options assignment guide for the full mechanics.
Related Strategies & Tools
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Wheel Strategy Guide
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Wheel Strategy Calculator
Model the full wheel cycle — CSP premium, covered call premium, and called-away P&L.
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