Calculators
Options Payoff Builder
Stack calls, puts and stock into any strategy, spreads, straddles, condors, and watch the payoff diagram and breakevens build live.
Net cost
3.00 debit
Max profit
5.00
Max loss
-3.00
Breakeven(s)
101.0
Legs
Shows profit & loss at expiry versus the underlying price. A “debit” costs you money up front; a “credit” pays you up front. Breakevens are where the strategy crosses between profit and loss. Educational only, not advice.
Learn how it works
Five worked examples. Read a couple before you dive in, try to answer first, then reveal the solution.
Long call
Buy one call, strike K = $100, premium paid = $4. Find the breakeven, max loss, and max profit at expiry.
Show solution
- Breakeven = $104 (strike + premium = 100 + 4). The stock must clear $104 before you profit.
- Max loss = $4 (the premium) for any price at or below $100, the call expires worthless.
- Max profit = unlimited, rising $1 for every $1 the stock is above $104.
Example: at $110 the call is worth $10, minus the $4 paid = +$6. Small, fixed downside; open-ended upside.
Long put
Buy one put, strike K = $100, premium paid = $4. Find the breakeven, max loss, and max profit at expiry.
Show solution
- Breakeven = $96 (strike − premium = 100 − 4).
- Max loss = $4 (the premium) for any price at or above $100.
- Max profit = $96, reached only if the stock falls all the way to $0 (worth $100 at expiry minus the $4 paid).
Example: at $90 the put is worth $10, minus $4 = +$6. A put profits as the stock drops, and the gain is capped only because a stock cannot fall below zero.
Bull call spread
Buy the $100 call for $5 and sell the $106 call for $2 (same expiry). Find the net cost, max profit, max loss, and breakeven.
Show solution
- Net cost = $5 − $2 = $3 (paid up front).
- Max loss = $3 (the net cost) for any price at or below $100.
- Max profit = $3, reached at or above $106, equal to the strike width minus cost: (106 − 100) − 3 = 3.
- Breakeven = $103 (lower strike + net cost = 100 + 3).
Selling the $106 call cheapens the trade (from $5 down to $3) but caps the gain above $106. It is a defined-risk, defined-reward bet on a moderate rise, here a clean 1:1 (risk $3 to make $3).
Long straddle
Buy the $100 call and the $100 put, paying $8 in total premium. Where are the breakevens, and what is the max loss?
Show solution
- Breakevens = $92 and $108 (strike ± total premium: 100 − 8 and 100 + 8).
- Max loss = $8, at exactly $100, where both options expire worthless.
- Profit appears once the stock clears either breakeven, in either direction: unlimited on the upside, and up to $92 on the downside (if the stock goes to $0).
A straddle is a bet on a big move either way. You do not care about direction, only that the stock travels more than $8 from $100 by expiry.
Covered call
You own 100 shares bought at $100 and sell one $105 call for $3 in premium. What is your capped upside, and how much downside cushion does the premium give?
Show solution
- Downside cushion = $3: the premium lowers your effective breakeven to $97 (100 − 3). Losses only begin below $97.
- Capped gain = $8 above $105: if the stock is called away at $105 you make $5 on the shares plus the $3 premium = $8. Any rise beyond $105 is given up.
Example: at $110 you still net only $8 (shares sold at $105, plus $3), versus $10 if you had simply held the stock. You trade away the big upside for $3 of income and a small buffer against a drop.
What you'll learn
How option strategies are assembled from simple pieces, what each one's risk and reward looks like, and where it breaks even.