Wheel Strategy Calculator
The options wheel alternates cash-secured puts and covered calls. If a put is assigned, the investor receives shares and may write covered calls; if the shares are called away, they may return to puts. Collecting premiums does not ensure the cycle is profitable.
This calculator compares each leg independently. Start in put mode, then switch to Covered Call when considering shares you hold. It does not simulate future assignments or calculate a combined multi-leg wheel return automatically.
Try the wheel strategy calculator
Compare the put leg first, then switch to Covered Call to compare the share-owning leg.
Type a ticker below to compare delayed option quotes across selected expirations.
Save up to 5 stocks for quick access. Saved in this browser · No login needed.
Enter a stock and see every put or covered call on one map — how much you earn, on how much committed, for how long.
Annualized returns are theoretical estimates based on the displayed option premium and DTE. They assume the premium can be repeatedly earned at the same rate and do not account for assignment, price movement, volatility changes, transaction costs, taxes, slippage, or early exercise.
Quotes are delayed and may be older outside market hours. Retrieval time is not the market quote timestamp. Estimated premiums are not guaranteed fills; annualized figures are theoretical, exclude fees and taxes, and are not risk-adjusted rankings.
The three phases of the wheel
The put leg commits cash to a possible share purchase. If the option expires without assignment, the option premium is retained, but that does not predict what the next trade will earn.
Assignment means paying the strike for the shares. Premium can lower the effective economic entry price, but the shares can be worth less immediately. In the covered-call phase, premium adds income while the strike limits potential sale proceeds. A severe decline can overwhelm multiple premiums.
Comparing strikes without hiding the risk
Use the put and call modes separately and inspect the if-assigned or if-called scenario. The app assumes current stock price for a new covered-call position; your actual share purchase price may differ. Higher annualized estimates are not risk-adjusted recommendations.
A call strike below your economic entry can realize a loss if assigned; a higher strike may pay very little premium after a fall. Neither a chosen delta nor an early-close threshold guarantees an outcome. Premium receipts are not the same as profit after closing costs and stock losses.
Measuring total cycle performance
For a completed cycle, add net option profit (premiums received minus buyback costs), realized stock profit or loss and any dividends, then subtract fees and other costs without double-counting. For an open cycle, also include unrealized stock and option liabilities. Premium divided by capital is an income measure, not total return.
For example, $550 of net option profit and a $1,500 realized stock loss produce a $950 loss before other costs, not a 5.5% gain on $10,000. With constant $10,000 capital, that is a -9.5% holding-period return. Cash-flow timing and changing capital require a consistently defined return method; simple annualization is only a comparison assumption.
The journal records individual trades. It does not automatically link put assignments, stock lots, dividends and calls into an audited wheel ledger. Keep complete brokerage records when evaluating the whole cycle or tax basis.
Further reading
See the Options Industry Council educational overview for strategy mechanics and risks. Calculator formulas above describe this app's conventions, not personalized advice.