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Options Pricing (Black-Scholes)

Price European options using Black-Scholes model. Visualize Greeks (delta, gamma, theta, vega) and payoff diagrams.

Tested tool guide Tested browser tools Checked August 16, 2026

What Options Pricing (Black-Scholes) does, with a checked example

Enter an underlying price, strike, time to expiration, volatility, risk-free rate, and option type to calculate a theoretical Black-Scholes value for a European option. The tool also presents delta, gamma, theta, and vega, plus an expiration payoff diagram. A common source of confusion is comparing the current model value with the expiration payoff. Before expiration, remaining time and volatility can give an out-of-the-money option positive value even though its immediate exercise value is zero.

Worked example

A concrete input and expected output from the current implementation.

Input

Option type: Call
Underlying price: 100
Strike price: 100
Time to expiration: 1 year
Volatility: 20%
Risk-free rate: 0%

Expected output

Option price: 7.9656; delta: 0.53983; gamma: 0.019848; theta: -3.9695 per year, equivalent to about -0.01088 per calendar day when divided by 365; vega: 0.39695 per volatility percentage point.

With no dividends, d1 = 0.1 and d2 = -0.1. The call value is 100 x [Phi(0.1) - Phi(-0.1)] = 7.9656, and the stated Greeks follow from the same inputs.

How the result is produced

1

Black-Scholes value

For a non-dividend-paying underlying, the calculation forms d1 = [ln(S/K) + (r + sigma^2/2)T] / [sigma sqrt(T)] and d2 = d1 - sigma sqrt(T). The call value is S Phi(d1) - K exp(-rT) Phi(d2). The corresponding put uses K exp(-rT) Phi(-d2) - S Phi(-d1).

2

Greeks and payoff

Delta measures first-order price sensitivity to the underlying, gamma measures how delta changes, theta measures sensitivity to elapsed time, and vega measures sensitivity to volatility. The payoff diagram instead shows the option's value at expiration across underlying prices. For a call that value is max(S - K, 0); for a put it is max(K - S, 0).

Good uses

  • Estimate the theoretical premium of a European call or put before comparing it with a quoted market premium.
  • Compare how alternative strikes, expiration times, or volatility assumptions change an option's value and Greeks.
  • Inspect an expiration payoff diagram while evaluating the directional and volatility exposure of a proposed option position.

Limits and checks

  • The model covers European exercise. It does not value the early-exercise feature of an American option.
  • The result is model-dependent, not a guaranteed trade price or forecast. Market spreads, liquidity, discrete events, and changing volatility can produce different premiums.
  • Check units before comparing Greeks. Theta may be displayed per year or per day, while vega may mean a one-point percentage change or a full 1.00 change in volatility.

Common questions

Is the calculated option price a prediction of its future market price?

No. It is a theoretical present value based on the supplied price, strike, time, rate, and volatility. Actual option premiums also reflect bid-ask spreads, supply and demand, liquidity, dividends, and volatility patterns that a single Black-Scholes volatility input does not capture. Treat the result as a model benchmark.

Do matching calls and puts have the same Greeks?

Gamma and vega are the same for European calls and puts with identical inputs under standard Black-Scholes assumptions. Delta and theta generally differ, although the zero-rate, at-the-money example makes call and put theta equal. No, equal gamma and vega do not imply equal prices; the price difference is governed by put-call parity.

References and verification

The example and behavioral notes were checked against the browser implementation. Standards and primary references below define the relevant format, formula, or platform behavior.

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