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Options Breakeven Calculator

Enter the strike and the premium to see where a long call or long put starts making money.

How it is calculated

This is for a long (bought) option held to expiry. Enter the strike, the premium per share and the number of contracts. The tool computes call breakeven = strike + premium and put breakeven = strike − premium, both in price per share. Total premium = premium × 100 × contracts, because one contract covers 100 shares. The move needed = premium / strike is shown as a percentage of the strike. If contracts is left empty the tool uses 1; contracts must be a whole number of at least 1. Strike must be above zero, and the premium cannot be negative or larger than the strike (a put can never cost more than its strike), otherwise there is no result. Amounts are shown in dollars. Commissions, early exercise and the value of the option before expiry are not included, and the figures do not apply to sold (short) options.

Worked example

Strike 150, premium 4.50 per share, 3 contracts. Call breakeven = 150 + 4.50 = $154.50. Put breakeven = 150 − 4.50 = $145.50. Total premium paid = 4.50 × 100 × 3 = $1,350.00. The move needed is 4.50 / 150 = 3.00% of the strike. A call buyer therefore needs the stock above $154.50 at expiry to profit, a put buyer needs it below $145.50.

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Common mistakes

  • Entering the whole contract price (for example 450) as the premium: the field is the per-share quote, and the tool multiplies by 100 itself. A premium above the strike shows no result.
  • Reading the call breakeven as the level where you start to profit before expiry: it applies only at expiry, when the option has no time value left.
  • Using the put breakeven for a call, or the other way around: they sit on opposite sides of the strike.
  • Typing a fractional number of contracts such as 2.5, or 0. Only whole contracts of at least 1 are accepted.
  • Applying the numbers to a sold option or forgetting commissions: for a short position the premium is income and profit and loss are reversed, and commissions move the real breakeven slightly further away.

About this calculator

The breakeven price of an option at expiry is the underlying stock price at which the position exactly recovers the premium paid, with no profit or loss. For a long call, breakeven equals the strike price plus the premium paid, because the stock must rise past the strike by at least the premium amount before the position turns profitable. For a long put, breakeven equals the strike price minus the premium paid, since the stock must fall below the strike by at least the premium before the put generates a profit.

Options traders calculate breakeven before entering a position because it translates an abstract premium cost into a concrete price target the underlying stock actually has to reach — it's the number used to judge whether a bullish or bearish thesis needs a “big move” or just a modest one to pay off, and it's distinct from (and usually less favorable than) the strike price alone.

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