Bullish to neutral: the underlying stays above the short put
Bearish to neutral: the underlying stays below the short call
Legs
Sell a higher-strike put, buy a lower-strike put
Sell a lower-strike call, buy a higher-strike call
Credit or debit
Net credit
Net credit
Max profit
The credit, if price finishes above the short put
The credit, if price finishes below the short call
Max loss
Width between the strikes minus the credit
Width between the strikes minus the credit
Where the loss sits
Below the long put — a fall through both strikes
Above the long call — a rise through both strikes
Breakeven
Short put strike minus the credit
Short call strike plus the credit
Directional exposure
Long delta
Short delta
Works against you when
The market falls hard, and the short put is breached with room to keep falling
The market rises hard, and the short call is breached with room to keep rising
Every row is the structure held to expiry unless stated otherwise.
Before expiry the two behave differently in ways the table cannot show — that is what the
sections below are for.
One structure, two directions
A bull put spread and a bear call spread are the same construction mirrored around the price. Both sell a nearer-to-the-money option and buy a further-out one as protection, which caps the loss at the distance between the two strikes less the credit received. Both profit from time passing while price stays on the correct side of the short strike, and both lose if price moves through the whole spread.
Because of the mirror, everything you know about one applies to the other with the direction flipped: a credit vertical that is 1 point wide and collects 0.35 risks 0.65 to make 0.35 whether it is built with puts below the market or calls above it. The choice between them is a view, not a structure.
The asymmetry people miss: assignment behaviour
The two verticals are not perfectly symmetric in practice, and the difference is assignment. The short put in a bull put spread is exercised into a purchase of stock; the short call in a bear call spread is exercised into a sale of stock you may not own — which at some brokers means a short stock position, and at others means the spread is closed or the position gets a margin call.
That matters if the position goes wrong. A deep-in-the-money short call can be assigned early, including before a dividend, and you can end up short shares against a long call that no longer matches your intent. The bull put spread has the same early-assignment possibility, but taking delivery of shares you were prepared to buy is a less disruptive outcome than finding a short stock position in the account.
Both: defined risk, credit collected up front, decay in your favour if the short strike holds.
Bear call spread: early assignment can mean short stock — check the broker’s treatment before using it.
Both: max loss is realised only if price finishes through both strikes, but the position can be closed earlier at a partial loss.
Picking between them
If the view is "this stays up or drifts sideways", the bull put spread is the natural expression: sell the put below the market and let time work. If the view is "this stalls or comes off", the bear call spread above the market does the same job on the other side. If the view is genuinely neutral in both directions, neither is a neutral structure — they are each a directional bet with a buffer, and the buffer is the width of the spread.
The cost of the buffer is the same in both cases: the long leg costs money that would otherwise be premium, so a credit vertical always collects less than selling the short option naked. In exchange the loss stops at a knowable number, which is the whole reason the structure exists.
Questions
Is a bull put spread the same as a bear call spread?
Same mechanics and same risk profile, mirrored in direction. One profits if the price stays above a put; the other profits if it stays below a call. Choosing between them is choosing which direction the market needs to avoid moving.
Which is safer?
Neither — the risk is defined in both and is the same function of strike width and credit. The practical difference is what assignment does: a short call can create a short stock position, which is operationally different from a short put delivering shares you were ready to buy.
Can I lose more than the width minus the credit?
Not if you hold both legs to expiry — the long leg caps it. You can still be closed out early or decide to close at a loss before expiry, and the size of that loss depends on where price and time are, not on the formula.
When would I use a debit vertical instead?
When you want the move rather than the range. A debit vertical (buying the near strike, selling the far one) pays more if the direction is right and does not require the price to stay still — at the cost of paying for the position and having the clock work against you rather than for you.