Option Break-Even Calculator
The price the underlying must reach for a call or put to break even, with the maximum profit and loss on the position.
Result
- Position
- Long call
- Premium for the lot
- ₹11,250.00
- 75 × ₹150.00
- Maximum profit
- Unlimited
- Maximum loss
- ₹11,250.00
Break-even here is at expiry and before brokerage, STT and other charges, which move it further away. Sold options carry margin requirements and can lose more than the premium received — a short call has no defined maximum loss at all. This is arithmetic on the numbers you entered, not advice to take the position.
Estimated from the numbers you entered — not a projection of guaranteed returns.
About this calculator
An option buyer does not profit the moment the option goes in the money — the premium has to be recovered first. This calculator gives the level the underlying has to reach before the position is even, and the move that represents from where the underlying is now.
Formula
- Call break-even = Strike + Premium paid
- Put break-even = Strike − Premium paid
- Buyer: maximum loss = premium × lot size. Seller: maximum gain = premium × lot size
- A short call has no defined maximum loss — the underlying has no ceiling
Frequently asked questions
Why is the break-even not just the strike?
Because the premium is a sunk cost that has to be earned back. A call bought at ₹150 on a 25,000 strike only breaks even at 25,150 — at 25,050 the option is in the money and the buyer is still ₹100 per share down.
Does this include brokerage and STT?
No. Charges push the break-even further away, and on options STT is charged on the premium for a sale and on the settlement value for an exercised in-the-money contract. Use the trading charges calculator alongside this one.
Why does a short call show unlimited loss?
Because it is. The underlying has no upper bound, so neither does the loss on a naked short call. Any number in that box would be a false comfort, so the calculator refuses to print one.
Is a seller's maximum profit really just the premium?
Yes — that is the whole of what a seller can make, and it is why option selling is often described as picking up small, frequent gains against occasional large losses. The margin blocked is usually many times the premium received.