Pick a strategy, enter your numbers, and see exactly where you profit, where you lose, and your breakeven price at expiration, visualized instantly.
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Choose a Strategy
Long Call
Buy a call option, betting the stock rises
Current Stock Price$100
Strike Price$105
Second Strike Price$115
Premium Paid (per share)$3.50
Second Premium (per share)$1.20
Number of Contracts1
1 contract = 100 shares
Breakeven Price at Expiration
$108.50
Stock needs to close above this for profit
Max Profit
Unlimited
Max Loss
$350
Cost / Credit
$350 debit
Profit / Loss at Expiration
Breakeven
What Is a Long Call?
A long call gives you the right, but not the obligation, to buy 100 shares per contract at the strike price, any time before expiration. You profit if the stock rises above your strike plus the premium you paid. Your risk is limited to the premium, no matter how far the stock falls.
How to Read a Payoff Diagram
The chart above shows your profit or loss (vertical axis) at every possible stock price at expiration (horizontal axis). Anywhere the line sits above the zero line, you're profitable. Anywhere below, you're losing money. The point where the line crosses zero is your breakeven, the exact price the stock needs to reach for you to neither gain nor lose money, before accounting for commissions.
Every strategy here assumes you hold the position until expiration and that all prices shown are per-share, multiplied automatically by 100 and your contract count in the results above.
Why These 7 Strategies
These cover the core building blocks nearly every other options strategy is built from. Long calls and puts are the simplest directional bets. Covered calls and protective puts pair an option with stock you already own, one for income, one for insurance. Spreads cap both your risk and your reward in exchange for a lower cost. A straddle profits from a big move in either direction, useful around events like earnings when you expect volatility but aren't sure which way the stock will move.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does this calculator account for time value or only expiration?+
This tool shows the payoff at expiration only, the standard way to evaluate a strategy's risk and reward. Before expiration, an option's actual market price also includes time value and implied volatility, which this calculator does not model. Think of this as the "final answer" diagram, not a live pricing tool.
What does "unlimited" max profit or loss actually mean?+
For a long call, there's no cap on how high a stock can rise, so profit is theoretically unlimited. For a short/naked position (not covered here), losses can be unlimited for the same reason. In practice, "unlimited" just means the strategy's ceiling or floor isn't fixed by the position itself.
Why do covered calls and protective puts need a stock price input twice?
They don't, that's intentional. These two strategies combine an options position with 100 shares of stock you already own, so the "cost" shown includes your effective stock cost basis plus or minus the premium, not just the option alone.
Is a spread always safer than a single option?
Safer in the sense that both your max profit and max loss are capped and known in advance. But that safety comes at a cost, your maximum possible profit is also much smaller than an uncapped long call or put. Spreads trade unlimited upside for lower cost and defined risk.
When do traders typically use a straddle?
Straddles are common around known catalysts, earnings reports, FDA decisions, major announcements, where a big price move is expected but the direction is uncertain. The strategy profits if the stock moves far enough in either direction to cover the combined cost of both options.