Home › Guides › Long Straddle

Long straddle calculator
betting on movement, not direction

A long straddle buys a call and a put at the same strike. You profit if the underlying moves far enough in either direction — the classic position for an event whose outcome you cannot predict but whose magnitude you can. The cost is that you pay for both sides, so the move has to be large enough to cover two premiums.

Outlook: Volatile — direction unknown

Max profit

—

best case at expiry

Max loss

—

worst case at expiry

Breakeven

—

where the trade turns even

Net debit / credit

—

to open the position

Your long straddle

Per-share premiums. One contract = 100 shares.

Underlying price

Long call @ strike

Premium paid

Long put @ strike

Premium paid

Contracts

100 shares per contract

Profit at expiry Loss at expiry Breakeven Strikes & spot

How a long straddle pays

Total cost = call premium + put premium Upper breakeven = strike + total cost Lower breakeven = strike − total cost Max loss = total cost × 100 × contracts (at the strike) Max gain = unlimited to the upside

You need a big move, not just any move. Two premiums means the breakevens sit well apart. A 3% move on a position that needs 8% still loses.
The worst case is nothing happening. Maximum loss occurs at exactly the strike — the outcome where you were wrong about volatility, not direction.
Implied volatility is the real trade. Straddles are long vega. Buying one into an event usually means buying inflated IV, and the collapse afterwards can lose money even on a decent move.

Worth naming. This is the position most often ruined by IV crush. Buying a straddle the day before earnings means paying peak implied volatility; the announcement resolves the uncertainty, IV collapses, and both legs lose value even when the stock gaps. Check the implied move against your breakevens before assuming a big print is enough.

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.

For the full version — Greeks, marks and what-if scenarios — that is what the GreeksView desk does, in your browser, against option-chain figures from our licensed market-data feed.

Frequently asked questions

How far does the stock need to move for a straddle to profit?

Further than the combined premium, in either direction. A 100-strike straddle costing $7.80 total needs the stock above $107.80 or below $92.20 at expiry — nearly 8% either way. That is the number to compare against the market's implied move, not against your gut.

What is the maximum loss on a long straddle?

The entire premium paid, which happens if the underlying finishes exactly at the strike. Both options expire worthless. It is one of the few positions where the worst case is the market doing nothing at all.

Why did my straddle lose money after earnings even though the stock moved?

Implied volatility crush. Before the announcement, options price in uncertainty; once it resolves, IV collapses across the chain. If the actual move was smaller than the implied move you paid for, both legs lose value despite the stock gapping.

Is a straddle or a strangle better?

Neither strictly. A straddle costs more and has closer breakevens; a strangle is cheaper with wider breakevens, needing a larger move. If you expect a very large move, the strangle is more efficient; if you expect a moderate one, the straddle's tighter breakevens are worth the extra cost.

Why does my broker show a different number than this calculator?

Because you are comparing a mark-to-market value against an expiry value. Until expiry your options still carry time value, and your broker prices them at what the market will pay right now. Time passing, or implied volatility falling, can show a loss on a position that would be profitable if expiry were today.

See it on a real chain

The numbers above are the ones you typed. Here is a long straddle built from SPY's own chain at the last close — real strikes, real premiums, with its breakevens and probability of profit.

SPY long straddle, priced from the close →

Run this on the GreeksView desk against a real option chain

GreeksView builds positions from real option chains, with Greeks labelled by source and delay, gamma exposure and what-if scenarios — in your browser, on figures from our licensed market-data feed.

Start free — no card required

Nothing to install or configure. Free tier has no time limit.

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.