Bull Call Spread Calculator

A bull call spread buys a call and sells a higher-strike call on the same expiry. The short call pays for part of the long one, which lowers the cost and the breakeven, and in return caps the gain at the higher strike. Both the maximum loss, the net debit, and the maximum gain, the width of the strikes minus that debit, are known at entry.

When it is used

The spread suits a moderately bullish view with a target in mind: the trader expects the stock to reach a level and does not expect to be paid for anything beyond it. It is also the usual answer to expensive options. When implied volatility is high a single call costs a lot, and selling the higher call gives some of that premium back.

How it makes and loses money

The stock rising toward and past the short strike is what makes money. Time and volatility pull in different directions on the two legs, so their net effect is smaller than on a single call and depends on where the stock sits: below the long strike the spread behaves like a long call and loses to time, above the short strike it behaves like a short put and gains from time.

What to check in the grid

Notice how the profit at the short strike is small until the final weeks even when the stock is already there. A spread reaches its full value only at expiry, so a target hit early pays less than the maximum, and the grid shows exactly how much less on each date.