Bull Put Spread vs Cash Secured Put: Which Should You Sell?

By Bruno Nalon · October 24, 2026 · 3 min read

A cash secured put and a bull put spread both make money when a stock stays above a strike, and both start by selling a put. The difference is one extra option: the spread buys a lower put that caps the loss. That single leg changes the capital you need, the return you can earn, what happens if the stock falls, and which accounts can hold the trade.

The two trades in one sentence each

A cash secured put sells one put and sets aside enough cash to buy 100 shares at the strike if you are assigned. You are paid to agree to buy a stock you would like to own at a lower price.

A bull put spread sells one put and buys another put at a lower strike with the same expiration. You are paid to take a bullish view with a loss that can never exceed the distance between the strikes minus the credit.

Side by side on the same stock

Take stock XYZ at $100, 35 days to expiration, implied volatility 30%. The cash secured put sells the 95 put; the bull put spread sells the same 95 put and buys the 90 put.

Side by side on the same stock
	Cash secured put	Bull put spread
Trade	Sell 95 put	Sell 95 put, buy 90 put
Credit received	$154	$102
Capital set aside	$9,500	$500
Max profit	$154	$102
Max loss	$9,346 (if XYZ goes to zero)	$398
Breakeven at expiration	$93.46	$93.98
Return on capital at risk if it expires worthless	about 1.65%	about 25.6%
If XYZ ends below $95	You buy 100 shares at $95	You lose up to $398, no shares

The spread gives up $52 of credit and a slightly higher breakeven in exchange for a loss cap and about one nineteenth of the capital.

What happens if the stock falls

Here is the result at expiration for each trade at different closing prices:

What happens if the stock falls
XYZ at expiration	Cash secured put	Bull put spread
$97	+$154	+$102
$94	+$54	+$2
$90	-$346	-$398
$80	-$1,346	-$398
$60	-$3,346	-$398

For small and moderate drops, the cash secured put does slightly better because it collected more premium. Below $90, the spread stops losing and the cash secured put keeps going. Note that with the cash secured put most of that loss is on paper: you own 100 shares and can hold them, sell calls against them, or sell them. With the spread, the loss is realized.

Assignment and account type

With a cash secured put, assignment is part of the plan. You end up owning shares at a cost basis of the strike minus the premium - $93.46 in the example - and can move on to selling covered calls, the cycle known as the wheel.

With a bull put spread, assignment is usually a nuisance. If both puts finish in the money, the short put is assigned and the long put is exercised, and the result is the max loss in cash. If only the short put is in the money, you can be left holding shares you did not plan to own. Closing the spread before expiration avoids both cases.

Account rules also differ. Cash secured puts are often allowed in cash accounts and retirement accounts at a lower options approval level. Spreads usually require a margin account and a higher approval level, although the capital required is much smaller.

Which one should you choose?

Choose the cash secured put when you would be happy to own the stock at the strike, you have the full cash amount without concentrating your account in one name, and your account type does not allow spreads.

Choose the bull put spread when your account is smaller, when you want to spread risk across several stocks instead of tying up most of your capital in one, or when you want a loss that is fixed in advance no matter how far the stock falls.

Many traders use both: cash secured puts on a few stocks they want to own long term, and bull put spreads for everything else.

Where to go from here

Each trade has its own deeper guide on this blog. For the cash secured put, read the step-by-step guide to selling puts, which covers screening stocks, assignment and the wheel. For the bull put spread, the payoff diagram guide shows how to sketch the profit and loss line, the in-the-money expiration guide explains assignment leg by leg, and the Greeks guide uses the same 95/90 example to show how the spread reacts to price, time and volatility.

EasyTrade sends signals for both strategies, each with the max risk, max profit and capital required in dollars, so you can compare them in your own account before you trade.

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Frequently asked questions

Is a bull put spread safer than a cash secured put?

It has a smaller maximum loss in dollars, which makes it safer against a crash. But as a percentage of the capital set aside, a losing spread usually loses more than a cash secured put does for the same move. Safety depends on sizing: neither trade is safe if it is too large for your account.

Which has the higher probability of profit?

They are close, because both are profitable at expiration above their breakeven. The cash secured put collects more premium, so its breakeven is slightly lower ($93.46 vs $93.98 in the example) and its probability of profit is slightly higher.

Can I turn a cash secured put into a bull put spread?

Yes, by buying a lower-strike put with the same expiration, as long as your account is approved for spreads. It caps the loss and frees capital, but the put you buy costs money, so your max profit drops by its price.

Which is better for a small account?

Usually the bull put spread. A cash secured put on a $100 stock ties up close to $10,000, which can be most of a small account in one position. A spread with a few hundred dollars of risk lets you size each trade at a small percentage of the account.

Can you run the wheel with bull put spreads?

Not directly. The wheel relies on being assigned shares and then selling covered calls, and a spread that finishes fully in the money settles as a cash loss instead of a share position. If owning the stock is part of your plan, the cash secured put is the right tool.

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Educational content only - not financial advice. Options trading involves significant risk and is not suitable for all investors. Past results do not guarantee future returns.