Weekly vs. Monthly Options Selling: Which Strategy Maximizes Your Income?
When it comes to generating premium income from options, traders often debate whether selling weekly or monthly options is more profitable.
Each approach has its own advantages and trade-offs, impacting risk, return, and efficiency.
Let’s break down how these strategies compare and which one might be best for your trading goals.
1. Monthly vs. Weekly Selling Calls for Premium
Selling calls—whether covered or naked—is a common strategy to collect premium. Your goal is for the stock price to remain below the strike price by expiration, ensuring you keep the full premium.
Weekly Covered Calls
Higher Annualized Yield – More frequent expirations mean premium income compounds faster.
More Adjustments Possible – If the stock rises, you can roll the call weekly.
Faster Theta Decay – You capture more time decay benefit.
Requires More Management – Weekly expirations mean more trades to monitor.
Higher Trading Costs – More trades can increase fees and commissions.
Monthly Covered Calls
Less Active Management – Only one trade per month instead of four.
Larger Premium Per Trade – Monthly options typically collect a higher initial credit.
More Room for Stock Appreciation – Monthly calls allow more price movement before hitting the strike.
Slower Theta Decay Initially – Time decay accelerates in the last two weeks.
Fewer Adjustments Possible – If the stock moves against you, rolling is harder.
Best Choice?
For maximum income and active management: Weekly
For a passive approach with steady income: Monthly
2. Weekly vs. Monthly Selling Puts for Premium
Selling cash-secured puts is a great way to generate income with the expectation that the stock will stay above the strike price.
Weekly Cash-Secured Puts
Faster Theta Decay – Most of the premium is earned in the last few days.
More Premium Over Time – Four weekly expirations generate more premium than one monthly.
Better Risk Control – Weekly adjustments allow you to react to price changes faster.
Higher Likelihood of Assignment – Frequent expirations mean you could get assigned more often.
Requires More Monitoring – More trades = more active management.
Monthly Cash-Secured Puts
Larger Premium Upfront – Monthly options typically provide a higher single premium.
Fewer Trades to Manage – Ideal for a hands-off trading style.
Lower Trading Costs – Fewer trades reduce commissions and fees.
Slower Theta Decay Initially – Less immediate time decay compared to weeklies.
Harder to Adjust – Rolling is more challenging if the stock moves against you.
Best Choice?
For higher returns and active adjustments: Weekly
For a lower-maintenance income strategy: Monthly
Comparing Weekly vs. Monthly Premiums on SOFI Options
To analyze the real-world difference between selling weekly vs. monthly calls, I reviewed SOFI option premiums at various strike prices.
Here’s what I found:
Weekly options generate significantly higher annualized returns than monthly options.
Compounded over time, weekly selling can produce up to 116% more income than monthly selling.
Even biweekly selling outperforms monthly selling in most cases.
Here’s the breakdown for SOFI’s $11.5 strike price:
Weekly selling generates $6.92 more per year than monthly selling.
Biweekly selling generates $3.80 more per year than monthly selling.
Weekly premium income is 61.35% higher than monthly, while biweekly is 33.69% higher.
Over 10 years, these differences become even more significant due to compounding effects. A weekly seller can earn thousands more in premium compared to a monthly seller, simply by taking advantage of more frequent expirations.
10-Year Cumulative Premium Comparison
I charted the total premium earned over 10 years for weekly, biweekly, and monthly call selling at the $11.5 strike price. The results were clear:
Weekly selling compounds aggressively, generating exponentially higher returns over time.
Biweekly selling outperforms monthly but doesn’t compound as quickly as weekly.
Monthly selling lags behind, missing out on additional premium opportunities.
If maximizing long-term income is your goal, weekly options selling is the clear winner.
Final Takeaways
Weekly selling maximizes premium collection but requires more effort.
Monthly selling provides steady income with less work but earns significantly less over time.
Theta decay works faster for shorter-term options, making weekly selling ideal for consistent cash flow.
If you want to replace your paycheck with options, weekly selling provides the best opportunity.
Would you like to see this strategy applied to your portfolio? Let me know if you’d like a customized income calculator!
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Casey Stubbs
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