What OptionStrat does well
OptionStrat is a mature options platform, and several of its tools go beyond what CalcOptions offers. According to its website:
- Strategy builder: over 50 prebuilt strategies plus custom positions, with strikes you can drag and an implied volatility adjustment.
- Options optimizer: searches thousands of potential trades for a target price and date and ranks them by return or chance of profit.
- Unusual options flow: scans for large and unusual trades, detects multi leg strategies, and offers saved filters and alerts on its Live Flow plan.
- Saved trades: trades are tracked over time and can be closed to practice paper trading.
- Mobile apps for iOS and Android, with subscriptions that work across platforms.
- Data: OptionStrat says it is a licensed OPRA vendor, with live, auto updating data on paid plans.
- American pricing: its FAQ says it uses the Bjerksund Stensland 2002 American model for theoretical prices and Greeks.
Pricing compared
CalcOptions is free to use, with no signup and no account. OptionStrat lists three plans on its membership page. Prices can change, so check OptionStrat's site for current terms.
- Free: delayed data and limited access to each feature.
- Live Tools: $39.99 per month, or $419.99 per year billed annually, for all strategy builder and optimizer features with live prices.
- Live Flow: $99.99 per month, or $999.99 per year billed annually, adding live options flow, alerts, historical flow search, a live newsfeed, and congress and insider trades.
- Free trial: a one time 7 day trial for new customers, according to its FAQ.
Where the two tools overlap
For modeling a single trade, the core workflow is similar in both tools: pick a ticker, choose or build a strategy, and read the payoff and risk numbers.
- Both build prebuilt and custom positions, including stock legs and multiple expirations.
- Both show trade cost, max profit, max loss, breakevens and P/L as a chart and a table.
- Both use delayed data for free use.
- Both default to the Bjerksund and Stensland 2002 American model.
- Both let you adjust implied volatility and share a trade with a link.
- Neither is a broker; you place trades with your own brokerage.
Where CalcOptions differs
CalcOptions focuses on the calculator itself and makes every part of it free, including chance of profit and Greeks.
- Free analytics: chance of profit and position and per leg Greeks are included at no cost. OptionStrat lists chance of profit and net Greeks as Live Tools features.
- Model choice: besides Bjerksund and Stensland, you can switch to a CRR binomial tree or Barone Adesi and Whaley, and SPX, NDX, RUT, VIX and XSP switch to Black Scholes Merton automatically.
- Assignment risk panel: each short leg is rated for deep in the money risk, thin time value, dividend risk and pin risk.
- Dividends in the math: a continuous dividend yield feeds every price, and the next dividend amount and ex dividend date drive the dividend assignment check. OptionStrat's FAQ says earnings and ex dividend dates are shown for information but not included in its calculations.
- No account needed: the share link encodes the whole position in the URL.
- 62 prebuilt strategies, each with its own guide.
Where OptionStrat offers more
If you need any of the following, OptionStrat is the more complete product.
- Real time data: CalcOptions does not offer undelayed quotes, while OptionStrat sells them on its paid plans.
- Trade discovery: CalcOptions has no optimizer and no unusual options flow.
- Tracking: CalcOptions has no saved portfolio, paper trading or alerts.
- Native apps: CalcOptions runs in a mobile browser but has no iOS or Android app.
- Market events: OptionStrat's paid plans show news, earnings dates and ex dividend dates next to the trade.
Which one fits you
Choose by the job you need done. If you want to model and check trades for free, with American pricing and an early assignment check, CalcOptions covers that without an account. If you want live data, a trade optimizer, options flow or synced apps, OptionStrat's paid plans are built for that, and the two can be used side by side.
OptionStrat is a trademark of its owner. CalcOptions is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by OptionStrat, and the details above may change after the date they were checked.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a free alternative to OptionStrat?
Yes, CalcOptions is a free alternative to OptionStrat's strategy builder, with no signup. It covers payoff charts, P/L tables, breakevens, chance of profit and Greeks for 62 strategies and custom positions, but it does not replace OptionStrat's optimizer, options flow or real time data.
How much does OptionStrat cost?
OptionStrat has a free plan with delayed data and two paid plans, Live Tools and Live Flow. On October 27, 2026 its membership page listed Live Tools at $39.99 per month and Live Flow at $99.99 per month, with lower effective prices when billed annually.
Does OptionStrat use an American options model?
Yes, OptionStrat's FAQ says it uses the Bjerksund Stensland 2002 American model for theoretical prices and Greeks. CalcOptions uses the same model by default and also offers a binomial tree, Barone Adesi and Whaley, and Black Scholes Merton for European style index options.
Is CalcOptions affiliated with OptionStrat?
No, CalcOptions is an independent site with no affiliation with OptionStrat. OptionStrat is a trademark of its owner, and this comparison relies on information published on optionstrat.com.
Sources
- Checked October 27, 2026: https://optionstrat.com/ (home page). Strategy builder covering over 50 prebuilt strategies or custom strikes and expirations; options optimizer that ranks trades by best return or best chance; unusual options flow; data from OPRA, delayed 15 minutes for free users, with live auto refreshing data for premium accounts.
- Checked October 27, 2026: https://optionstrat.com/membership (pricing). Free: delayed data and limited access to each feature. Live Tools: $39.99 per month, or $35.00 per month billed at $419.99 per year; live prices, market events and news, volume overlay, chance of profit, net Greeks, IV enhancements, saved strategy tracking, commissions, private chat, 15 minute delayed futures data. Live Flow: $99.99 per month, or $83.33 per month billed at $999.99 per year; live options flow, saved filters, alerts, alert performance tracking, historical flow search, live newsfeed, congress and insider trades, plus everything in Live Tools. 7 day trial offered.
- Checked October 27, 2026: https://optionstrat.com/features. Builder shows trade cost or credit, max profit and loss, breakevens and P/L as a table or graph; strikes can be dragged and IV adjusted; the share button saves a trade and generates a link; saved trades are tracked and can be closed for paper trading; stock legs and multiple expirations are supported; member benefits include real time data, chance of profit, net Greeks, future Greeks, commission calculations, historical IV charts and market events.
- Checked October 27, 2026: https://optionstrat.com/faq. iOS and Android apps with the same features as the website; licensed OPRA vendor with data delayed 15 minutes by default; not a brokerage; theoretical prices and Greeks use the Bjerksund Stensland 2002 American model; earnings and ex dividend dates are shown for information but not included in calculations; entry cost defaults to the bid and ask midpoint; one time 7 day free trial for new customers.
- Note: https://optionstrat.com/pricing returned a 404 page (pricing is published at /membership), and automated fetches of optionstrat.com returned HTTP 403, so the pages above were read in a browser.
OptionStrat is a trademark of its owner. CalcOptions is not affiliated with or endorsed by OptionStrat. Product details were checked on the date this page was updated and may change.