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Cash-secured put calculator
get paid to set your buy price

Selling a cash-secured put means agreeing to buy shares at your strike, holding the cash to do it, and collecting a premium for the commitment. If the stock stays above the strike you keep the premium; if it falls below, you buy the shares at a price you already decided was acceptable — with the premium reducing what you effectively pay.

Outlook: Bullish / willing to own

Max profit

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best case at expiry

Max loss

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worst case at expiry

Breakeven

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where the trade turns even

Net debit / credit

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to open the position

Your cash-secured put

Per-share premiums. One contract = 100 shares.

Underlying price

Short put @ strike

Premium collected

Contracts

100 shares per contract

Profit at expiry Loss at expiry Breakeven Strikes & spot

How a cash-secured put pays

Cash to secure = strike × 100 × contracts Max profit = premium × 100 × contracts Breakeven = strike − premium (your effective cost if assigned) Return on cash = premium ÷ strike Max loss = (strike − premium) × 100 × contracts (stock to zero)

Only sell these on stocks you want to own. Assignment is not a failure of the trade — it is the outcome you agreed to when you sold the put.
Your effective cost is below the strike. The premium reduces what you pay, which is why the breakeven sits under your strike.
The cash must genuinely be there. "Cash-secured" means the capital is committed and unavailable for anything else while the put is open.

Worth naming. The risk profile is nearly identical to owning the shares outright, with your upside capped at the premium. A cash-secured put on a stock that halves loses almost as much as buying it would have. Its reputation as conservative comes from the discipline it imposes, not from smaller risk.

What this does not model

Every figure here is the payoff at expiry. Before then your position is marked at market prices that still carry time value, so a trade can show a loss while sitting exactly where you wanted it — falling implied volatility alone will do that.

Short legs carry assignment risk. American-style options can be exercised at any time, most commonly on in-the-money calls just before an ex-dividend date. The diagram assumes you hold every leg to expiry.

For the live version — real Greeks, current marks and what-if scenarios against actual chain data — that is what the GreeksView desk does, in your browser, on your own broker keys.

Frequently asked questions

What is the breakeven on a cash-secured put?

The strike minus the premium collected. Selling the 95 put for $2.00 means an effective cost of $93.00 per share if assigned — that is your real entry price, and the number to compare against what you think the stock is worth.

How much cash do I need?

The strike times 100 per contract. A 95-strike put requires $9,500 set aside per contract, because that is what you will owe if assigned. Brokers may permit a margin-secured version with less, but that changes the risk profile substantially.

What happens if the stock falls well below my strike?

You are assigned and buy at the strike regardless of where the stock trades — the same downside as having bought the shares at your breakeven price. If the stock falls to $70 on a 95-strike put, you own shares at an effective $93 that are worth $70.

Is this better than just buying the stock?

It is better if the stock stays flat or falls slightly, since you collect premium and buy lower. It is worse if the stock rallies, because your gain is capped at the premium while a shareholder captures the whole move. It suits a view that a stock is worth owning but not urgently.

Are commissions included in these numbers?

No — every figure is gross. On multi-leg positions this matters more than people expect: four legs to open and four to close is eight commissions against what may be a couple of hundred dollars of credit. Check your broker's per-contract rate against the max profit shown here before deciding a trade is worth putting on.

Run this against a live chain

GreeksView builds positions from real option chains with live Greeks, gamma exposure and what-if scenarios — in your browser, on your own broker keys.

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Educational tool only — not investment advice, and not a recommendation to enter any position. Options involve substantial risk and are not suitable for every investor. Figures are theoretical, exclude commissions and taxes, and assume the position is held to expiry. GreeksView is not a broker and does not hold funds.