# Free Alternatives to OptionStrat & OptionsProfitCalculator
Source: https://theoptionsbench.com/free-alternative-to-optionstrat/

> Plain-text mirror for AI/LLM ingestion. Canonical HTML page: https://theoptionsbench.com/free-alternative-to-optionstrat/

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Updated 2 September 2026 · by Theo Chen

The two best-known web options-strategy tools are OptionStrat and OptionsProfitCalculator. Both
are real tools with real users. But if what you actually want is a clean, free calculator for the
trade you are placing today - a covered call, a cash-secured put, the wheel, an iron condor, a
spread - each of those lives on The Options Bench for free, with the math shown, no signup, and
no daily limit. Here is how the comparison plays out, honestly.

## vs OptionStrat

OptionStrat is a paid options-analytics platform: strong multi-leg visualisation, a scanner, and
a strategy-builder UI. There is a free tier with daily limits; the paid plans unlock the scanner,
alerts and deeper analytics. If your workflow involves screening thousands of contracts or living
inside a charting tool, that fee buys real features.

What The Options Bench gives you for free instead: a strategy-specific calculator for each trade
a retail seller actually places - Covered Call,
Cash-Secured Put,
Wheel,
Iron Condor,
Bull Put Spread,
Call Spread,
Calendar and
Diagonal spreads,
Butterfly and
Iron Butterfly,
Collar,
Protective Put,
Poor Man's Covered Call,
Straddle & Strangle,
Long Call/Put -
plus a free Payoff Diagram Builder for arbitrary
up-to-four-leg positions. No signup, no daily limit. The math each one uses is published openly on
How We Calculate.

## vs OptionsProfitCalculator

OptionsProfitCalculator is the established free options-profit web tool - one multi-leg calculator
with a strategy menu, supported by display ads. It is faithful at the basics: pick a strategy,
enter the legs, get the P&L curve.

Where The Options Bench differs: one calculator _per strategy_, with a plain-English verdict
on every result ("Rich premium with thin downside cushion", "Iron condor profit zone is moderate"),
a Strategy Finder that
picks one for you from a short quiz, an IV
Rank check before you sell, and the full formula behind every number. Built for the retail
income seller who wants to understand the answer, not just see it.

## What you get on The Options Bench, free

- Income strategies - covered call, cash-secured put, the wheel, rolling, and poor man's covered call.
- Defined-risk & spreads - iron condor, iron butterfly, bull put / call spreads, calendar, diagonal, butterfly, collar, protective put, straddle/strangle, long call/put.
- Decision & analysis - IV Rank, Expected Move, Probability, Black-Scholes, expiration calendar.
- Position sizing - Kelly and a Monte-Carlo simulator.
- A general payoff builder - up to four legs, with breakevens and max profit/loss.

The full grid lives on /tools/.

## When a paid tool is still worth it

Be honest with yourself. If your workflow is daily _scanning_ of hundreds of underlyings for
a specific setup, alerting on IV crush or price triggers, or interactive visualisation of complex
four-leg positions across a portfolio, a paid platform like OptionStrat (or your broker's tool, e.g.
thinkorswim or tastytrade) earns its fee. The Options Bench is built around the single trade you
are sizing up now, not around a scanner workflow - if that mismatch matters to you, the paid tools
are doing real work.

The bottom line

For sizing one trade, a free strategy-specific calculator with the formula shown does everything OptionStrat or OptionsProfitCalculator does for that job; a paid platform only earns its fee once your workflow becomes scanning many tickers or setting IV and price alerts, not pricing the position you already have in mind.

## Frequently asked questions
Is there a free alternative to OptionStrat?

Yes. For the trade-by-trade math (covered call, cash-secured put, the wheel, spreads, condors), The Options Bench has a free, no-signup calculator per strategy, plus a four-leg Payoff Diagram Builder. The formulas are published. OptionStrat's paid plans add scanning and alerting - real features for a screening workflow, but not needed for sizing one trade.

Is OptionsProfitCalculator free?

OptionsProfitCalculator is free and ad-supported. It is one general multi-leg calculator with a strategy menu. The Options Bench is also free with no signup, but built as one strategy-specific calculator per trade with a plain-English verdict on each result and the full formula open on /how-we-calculate/.

Which free options calculator is best for beginners?

For someone learning, a strategy-specific calculator is easier than picking legs in a generic tool: open the Covered Call or Cash-Secured Put calculator, enter four obvious numbers, read the plain-English verdict. If you do not know which strategy fits, the Strategy Finder picks one from a short quiz.

When is a paid options tool actually worth it?

When your workflow is screening (scanning many tickers for a setup), alerting on IV or price triggers, or interactively visualising complex multi-leg positions across a portfolio, a paid platform earns its fee. For sizing a single trade and seeing its math, a focused free calculator is enough.