Iron condor calculator
Work out max profit, max loss, breakevens and risk/reward for an iron condor.
Runs 100% in your browser- Max profit
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- Max loss
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- Risk / reward
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- Lower breakeven
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- Upper breakeven
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- Profit zone
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How to calculate an iron condor
- Enter the put spread. Set the short put strike and the lower long put strike.
- Enter the call spread. Set the short call strike and the higher long call strike.
- Add credit and contracts. Enter the net credit per share and number of contracts to see max profit, max loss and breakevens.
Four legs, one range bet
An iron condor is a bull put spread and a bear call spread sold at the same time: you collect premium by selling an out-of-the-money put and an out-of-the-money call, then buy a further-out put and call as protective "wings." The position is a bet that the stock stays between your two short strikes until expiry, where every option expires worthless and you keep the full net credit. It is a short-volatility, neutral strategy — you want quiet, range-bound price action and falling implied volatility, which is why sellers favour it when IV is elevated and likely to contract.
Max profit, max loss and the breakevens
Max profit is simply the net credit × 100 × contracts, earned anywhere inside the short strikes. Max loss is the wider wing's width minus the credit, again × 100 × contracts — so the protection caps the damage but the loss still exceeds the credit you took in. The two breakevens are the short put minus the credit (lower) and the short call plus the credit (upper); the stock is profitable only in the zone between them. The calculator also shows the risk/reward ratio (max loss ÷ max profit), which on a typical condor is lopsided — you risk several dollars to make one. That is the trade-off for a high probability of the small win.
Placing the strikes
Sellers usually anchor the short strikes around — or just beyond — the expected move, trading a smaller credit for a wider profit zone, or tighter strikes for a fatter credit and a higher chance of being tested. Wider wings raise both the credit and the max loss. Watch assignment risk and commissions on four legs, and remember a deep move through one side realises close to the full loss. Check a single leg in isolation with the options profit calculator.
Educational tool only — not financial advice. The maximum loss exceeds the credit received; multi-leg spreads also carry assignment and commission costs. Options trading carries a high level of risk.
Frequently asked questions
- An iron condor is a defined-risk, market-neutral options trade: you sell an out-of-the-money put spread and an out-of-the-money call spread on the same stock and expiration, collecting a net credit. You profit if the stock stays between the two short strikes.
- Max profit is the net credit received × 100 per contract, kept if the stock expires between the short strikes. Max loss is (the wider spread width − the credit) × 100 per contract, hit if the stock finishes beyond a long strike.
- Lower breakeven = short put strike − net credit. Upper breakeven = short call strike + net credit. Between them the trade is profitable at expiration.
- They profit from a stock going nowhere and from falling volatility/time decay, with risk capped by the long wings. The trade-off is limited profit and a loss that is larger than the credit if the stock breaks out.
- No — it calculates entirely in your browser.