Short Put Calculator
Use this free short put calculator to model your trade before you place it. Enter your strike price and premium received to instantly see max profit, max loss, breakeven, and a full P&L diagram for a short put position.
How to use the short put calculator
Enter your trade details above and the calculator updates your results in real time. Here is what each input does.
Enter the strike price
Enter the strike price of the put you are selling. This is the price at which you would be obligated to buy 100 shares if the buyer exercises the option.
Enter the premium received
Enter the premium you collected per share. This credit is deposited into your account when the trade opens and is the maximum profit you can make.
Enter number of contracts
Each contract covers 100 shares. The calculator scales your total credit received and all P&L figures by the number of contracts entered.
Review your results
The calculator instantly shows max profit, max loss, your breakeven price, and a full P&L diagram across every possible stock price at expiration.
Understanding the short put strategy
A short put is a bullish to neutral options strategy where you sell a put option and collect a premium upfront. In exchange for that income, you take on the obligation to buy 100 shares of the underlying stock at the strike price if the buyer exercises. The trade profits when the stock closes above the breakeven price at expiration, letting the option expire worthless while you keep the full premium.
Unlike a short call, the risk on a short put is substantial but defined. Since a stock can only fall to zero, the worst-case loss is the strike price minus the premium received — a large number, but a known one. This makes the short put a more common strategy among retail traders compared to the naked call.
When to use a short put
Short puts work best when you have a bullish to neutral view on a stock and want to collect premium income. They are especially effective when implied volatility is elevated, since higher IV inflates the premium you collect. A common use case is selling a put below a stock’s current price at a level where you would be happy to own the shares — effectively getting paid to wait for a stock to come to you at your target price.
Assignment risk
If the stock closes below your strike price at expiration, you may be assigned and forced to buy 100 shares at the strike price. This is not always a bad outcome — if you sold the put at a price where you wanted to buy the stock anyway, assignment simply means you acquired the shares at a discount (your effective cost basis is the strike minus the premium received). If you do not want to own the shares, close the position before expiration.
Short put vs. cash-secured put
A short put and a cash-secured put are mechanically the same trade. The difference is in how the position is margined. A cash-secured put requires you to hold the full cash value of the potential stock purchase in your account. A naked short put uses margin instead. Both have identical P&L profiles and breakeven calculations — the distinction is purely about account requirements and capital usage.
Short put example with real numbers
Here is a worked example you can enter directly into the calculator above to see the full P&L diagram in action.
Trade setup: XYZ stock trading at $50.00, selling an OTM put
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Download the Free Options Trade Tracker: Calculates Your Win Rate Automatically
You modeled your short put payoff. Now find out whether your short puts are profitable over time. The Options Trade Tracker logs every entry and exit and calculates your win rate automatically.
- Log every short put trade: strike, expiry, premium collected, and net P&L in one place
- Win rate and average premium return calculated across all your short puts
- Compare your short put results to covered calls, cash-secured puts, and other income strategies
- Excel and Google Sheets included. No account required.
Short put options: frequently asked questions
A short put is an options strategy where you sell a put option and collect a premium upfront. You take on the obligation to buy 100 shares of the underlying stock at the strike price if the buyer exercises. The trade profits when the stock stays above the breakeven price at expiration, causing the option to expire worthless and letting you keep the full premium. Unlike a short call, the maximum loss on a short put is substantial but defined, since a stock can only fall to zero.
The maximum profit on a short put is the premium received when you sold the option, multiplied by 100 shares per contract. This occurs when the stock closes at or above the strike price at expiration, causing the put to expire worthless. You keep the entire credit regardless of how high the stock climbs above the strike. For example, if you sold a put for $1.50 per share, your maximum profit is $150 per contract.
The maximum loss on a short put is the strike price minus the premium received, multiplied by 100, which occurs if the stock falls to zero. For example, selling a $45 put for $1.50 gives a maximum loss of ($45 minus $1.50) times 100, or $4,350 per contract. While substantial, this loss is defined — unlike a short call whose losses are theoretically unlimited. In practice, most traders close losing short put positions well before expiration to limit drawdown.
The breakeven price for a short put is the strike price minus the premium received. For example, if you sell a $45 strike put and collect $1.50 in premium, your breakeven is $43.50. At expiration, the stock must close above $43.50 for the trade to be profitable. Between $45.00 and $43.50, you have a partial loss as the put gains intrinsic value against your collected premium. Below $43.50, every dollar the stock falls is a dollar of net loss on the position.
A short put and a cash-secured put are mechanically identical — both involve selling a put option and collecting premium. The difference is in margin and intent. A cash-secured put requires you to hold enough cash to buy the shares at the strike price if assigned, making it a conservative strategy often used to acquire stock at a target price. A naked short put uses margin instead of reserved cash. Both have the same P&L profile and breakeven calculation — the distinction is purely about account requirements and capital usage.