Option Payoff and Breakeven Calculator | Tradetron
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Option payoff and breakeven calculator

An option breakeven is the price of the underlying at expiry where the position neither gains nor loses: for one bought call it is the strike plus the premium paid, and for one bought put the strike minus the premium.

Add up to four legs below to see every breakeven, the payoff at expiry and the most the position can gain or lose.

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Presets
Option Buy or sell Strike Premium per unit Lots Remove
Breakeven at expiry–
Maximum gain–
Maximum loss–
Net premium–
Payoff at expiry ($) against the price of the underlying. Premiums only: no commissions, fees or slippage.

Calculations are illustrative, for education only, and are not investment advice.

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How to use it
  1. [ 01 ]

    Enter the contract size in units per contract. A standard US equity or index option covers 100 shares; check the contract specification for the one you trade.

  2. [ 02 ]

    Pick a preset or build your own legs: call or put, buy or sell, the strike, the premium per unit and the number of contracts.

  3. [ 03 ]

    Read the breakevens, the maximum gain and loss and the net premium. The chart shows the payoff at expiry across a range of prices.

  4. [ 04 ]

    Change a strike or a premium and the results update as you type.

Questions

Common questions.

How do you calculate the breakeven of a bought call?
Add the premium you paid to the strike. A 600 call bought for 5 breaks even at 605 at expiry. Above that price the call is worth more than it cost.
How do you calculate the breakeven of a bought put?
Subtract the premium you paid from the strike. A 600 put bought for 4 breaks even at 596 at expiry.
Why does a short straddle have two breakevens?
You sell a call and a put at the same strike and collect both premiums. The position loses once the underlying moves past the strike by more than the total premium, in either direction, so there is one breakeven above the strike and one below.
Does this calculator include commissions, fees or slippage?
No. It shows the payoff at expiry from the strikes and premiums you enter. Commissions, exchange and regulatory fees and slippage reduce the result, and the value of an option before expiry also depends on time and volatility.
What contract size should I enter?
The number of shares one contract covers. A standard US equity or index option covers 100; enter 1 to see the payoff per share.
What does unlimited mean in the results?
The payoff keeps rising or falling as the price moves further in one direction. A sold call with no bought call above it has an unlimited maximum loss, because the underlying has no upper limit.
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From a calculation to a strategy

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Calculations are illustrative, for education only, and are not investment advice.