Options Profit Calculator
Calculate profit, break-even, maximum profit and maximum loss for a long or short call or put at expiry.
An option position's profit at expiry is straightforward arithmetic once expiry arrives: the option is worth its intrinsic value and nothing else, so the result is that value less what was paid, or the premium received less that value if the option was written. This options profit calculator does that for a single call or put leg, long or short.
Formula: profit = (intrinsic value - premium) x shares, less commission
Your figures
100 on US equity options.
The price to evaluate the position at.
Charged on entry and exit.
Option currency to your account currency. 1 when they match.
Results
Profit at expiry
+US$500.00
at an underlying price of US$110.00
- Premium paid
- US$500.00
- Break-even at expiry
- US$105.00
- Shares controlled
- 100
- Intrinsic value at this priceFinishes in the money.
- US$10.00
- Maximum profit
- Unlimited
- Maximum loss
- US$500.00
- Return on capital committed
- +100.00%
What this means
Buying 1 call contract controls 100 shares and breaks even at US$105.00. The most that can be lost is US$500.00, while the upside is unbounded.
- Values the position at expiry only. Before expiry the option also carries time value, so closing early gives a different result.
- Assumes the option is held to expiry and exercised or expires worthless. American options can be assigned early, which particularly affects short positions.
- Excludes margin requirements on short positions, which brokers set individually and which can be substantial.
Profit at expiry: +US$500.00
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About the Options Profit calculation
What makes options worth calculating carefully is the asymmetry. Call option profit on a long position has no upper bound, while the risk stays capped at the premium paid. Writing that same call inverts it exactly — the premium is the most that can ever be made, and the loss has no upper bound at all.
It computes the result at any underlying price you specify, along with the break-even and both extremes — the maximum profit and the max loss the options position can reach — so the shape of the trade is visible before it is opened rather than after.
Options Profit formula
at expiry an option is worth only intrinsic value:
call = max(underlying − strike, 0)
put = max(strike − underlying, 0)
long: profit = (intrinsic − premium) × shares − commission
short: profit = (premium − intrinsic) × shares − commission
break-even: long call = strike + premium
long put = strike − premium- shares
- Contracts × the multiplier, normally 100 on US equity options.
- premium
- Price per share, so a 5.00 premium costs 500 for one 100-share contract.
- intrinsic
- What the option is worth at expiry. Never negative.
The multiplier is where most arithmetic errors come from. An option quoted at 5.00 costs 500 for a single contract, because each contract covers 100 shares. Every figure here is scaled by contracts × multiplier for that reason.
The four single-leg positions have genuinely different shapes. A long call caps the loss at the premium and leaves the profit unbounded. A long put caps the loss at the premium and the profit at the strike falling to zero. A short call caps the profit at the premium and leaves the loss unbounded. A short put caps the profit at the premium and the loss at the underlying reaching zero.
That third case deserves emphasis: an uncovered short call has no maximum loss, because the underlying can rise without limit. It is the only one of the four where the downside cannot be stated as a number.
Break-even shifts by the commission, and in opposite directions for a buyer and a seller — the buyer needs slightly more movement, the seller slightly less.
Options Profit: a worked example
Buying one call contract, strike 100, premium 5.00 per share, with the underlying at 110 at expiry.
- Shares controlled1 × 100 = 100
- Premium paid5.00 × 100 = 500
- Intrinsic at expirymax(110 − 100, 0) = 10.00
- Value at expiry10.00 × 100 = 1,000
- Profit1,000 − 500 = 500
- Break-even100 + 5 = 105
- Maximum loss500 — the premium
500 profit, a 100% return on the premium, from a 10% move in the underlying. Below 105 the position loses, and below 100 it loses the entire 500 — which is the whole risk and no more.
How to use the Options Profit calculator
- Choose the option type and whether you are buying or writing it.
- Enter the strike and the premium per share as quoted, not the total cost.
- Enter the number of contracts and the shares each covers — 100 on US equity options.
- Enter the underlying price you want to evaluate at. Try several to see the shape of the payoff.
- Read the maximum profit and loss carefully. “Unlimited” on either side is not a figure to skim past.
Limitations of the Options Profit calculator
Every calculation makes assumptions. These are the ones that matter here.
- Values the position at expiry only. Before expiry the option also carries time value, so closing early gives a different result — the options pricing calculator covers that case.
- Assumes the option is held to expiry and either exercised or expires worthless. American options can be assigned early, which particularly affects short positions.
- Excludes margin on short positions, which brokers set individually and which can be large relative to the premium received.
- Covers single legs only. Spreads, straddles and condors combine several of these and have quite different payoff shapes.
- Assumes exercise and assignment happen cleanly. Pin risk near the strike at expiry can produce an outcome that is not known until after the close.
Frequently asked questions about Options Profit
Why is the premium multiplied by 100?
Because each contract covers 100 shares on US equity options. A premium quoted at 5.00 costs 500 for one contract. Getting this wrong understates both the cost and the risk by a factor of a hundred, which is the most common error in options arithmetic.
Is the maximum loss on a short call really unlimited?
Yes, if the call is uncovered. The underlying can rise without limit, and the writer is obliged to deliver at the strike whatever it costs to buy. Writing calls against shares you already own — a covered call — bounds it, because the shares are delivered instead.
What happens between now and expiry?
The option carries time value on top of intrinsic value, so its price will differ from the expiry payoff shown here. That difference is largest at the money and shrinks to zero as expiry approaches. Use the pricing calculator to value the position before expiry.
How is the return percentage calculated?
For a buyer, against the premium paid, since that is the capital committed. For a seller, against the maximum loss, which stands in for the margin the position requires — a short position commits capital even though it receives cash on opening.
Can I use this as a put option profit calculator?
Yes — select put and the payoff switches to max(strike − underlying, 0). Break-even moves to the strike less the premium, the profit on a long put is capped at the strike falling to zero rather than being unbounded, and everything else is scaled by contracts and multiplier as before.
How does an options break-even calculator account for commission?
Break-even without costs is the strike plus the premium on a long call and the strike less the premium on a long put. Commission per contract moves that level outward for a buyer, who has to cover it out of the payoff, and inward for a writer, who pays it from the premium received.
Does this option payoff calculator handle spreads?
Not yet — it covers single legs. A vertical spread is two of these positions combined, so calculating each leg and adding the results gives the right answer in the meantime.
Last reviewed . See our methodology and editorial policy.
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