Best optionDash Alternatives for Covered Call Screening That Show Income Per Month

The Short Answer: What to Use Instead of optionDash

If you want a covered call screener that shows estimated monthly income, your best alternatives to optionDash are Barchart.com's Options Screener, PowerOptions, Market Chameleon, and your broker's built-in tools like Thinkorswim or Tastytrade. Each one lets you filter by monthly premium yield, delta, days to expiration, and annualized return — the four numbers that matter most when you are selling calls against stock you already own.

optionDash built its reputation on a clean, beginner-friendly layout that shows income-per-month in plain dollars. The tools below match or beat that feature set, and several are free or included with a brokerage account you probably already have.

Why Monthly Income Display Matters for Covered Call Traders

Most options data platforms show annualized yield by default. That number looks impressive — 24% annualized sounds great — but it can mislead you. Annualized figures assume you can replicate the same trade every single month with no gaps, no assignment, and no stock movement. Real life does not work that way.

Monthly income display keeps you grounded. If you own 100 shares of Apple and you want to know whether selling the next 30-day call will cover your cable bill, you need a dollar figure, not a percentage. A screener that shows '$187 estimated premium per contract this month' is more useful than one that shows '14.2% annualized yield.'

The Options Industry Council (OIC) emphasizes that covered call writers should evaluate trades in the context of their actual holding period and cost basis — not theoretical annualized projections. Monthly framing supports that discipline.

Worked Example: Screening AAPL for Monthly Income

Let's walk through a real screen using Apple (AAPL). Assume AAPL is trading at $213 per share. You own 100 shares. You want to sell a covered call expiring in roughly 30 days and collect at least $150 in premium without giving up too much upside.

Here is what a good screener should surface:

• Strike: $220 call (approximately 3.3% out of the money) • Expiration: ~30 days out • Bid price: $1.87 per share → $187 per contract • Delta: 0.28 (meaning the market prices roughly a 28% chance of finishing in the money) • Implied Volatility: ~28% • Monthly yield on stock value: $187 ÷ $21,300 = 0.88% for the month • Annualized equivalent: ~10.5%

A screener that shows income per month would display '$187 / contract / month' right on the results row. You can immediately compare that against a $215 strike (higher premium, more assignment risk) or a $225 strike (lower premium, more breathing room).

If AAPL closes above $220 at expiration, your shares get called away at $220. You keep the $187 premium plus the $700 gain from $213 to $220. Total: $887 on 100 shares. If AAPL drops to $200, you keep the $187 premium, which partially offsets the paper loss. The $187 does not protect you from a large decline — that is the core risk of the strategy, and we cover it below.

The Four Best optionDash Alternatives, Compared

**Barchart.com Options Screener (Free tier available)** Barchart lets you filter covered call candidates by premium yield, moneyness, volume, and open interest. The 'Covered Calls' tab under their options screener shows monthly premium in dollar terms per contract. It covers US-listed equities and ETFs. The free tier has data delays; a paid subscription removes them. Canadian traders note: Barchart covers TSX-listed options too, though liquidity data is thinner.

**Market Chameleon (Free + paid tiers)** Market Chameleon is strong on implied volatility history, which helps you judge whether today's premium is fat or thin relative to the past 52 weeks. It shows expected monthly income and lets you compare strikes side by side on the same expiration. The IV rank and IV percentile columns are particularly useful — FINRA reminds retail investors that options pricing is driven heavily by volatility expectations, and knowing whether IV is elevated or compressed changes your strike selection.

**PowerOptions (Paid subscription)** PowerOptions is the closest feature-for-feature replacement for optionDash. It was built specifically for covered call and cash-secured put screening. Results display monthly income in dollars, annualized return, downside protection percentage, and static versus called-away return. It also lets you filter by ex-dividend date, which matters if you want to avoid early assignment risk around dividend payments.

**Thinkorswim by Schwab (Free with account)** If you already have a Schwab account, Thinkorswim's scan tool can replicate most of what optionDash does. You build a custom scan using the 'Study Filters' panel. It takes 20 minutes to set up the first time, but once saved, it runs in seconds. The platform shows theoretical premium, delta, and days to expiration in a sortable table. You will need to do the monthly-dollar math yourself or add a custom column — it does not display 'income per month' as a native label the way optionDash did.

Risks You Need to See Before You Screen

Screening tools make covered calls look clean and mechanical. They are not. Here are the real risks, stated plainly.

**Capped upside is a real cost.** When you sell the $220 AAPL call and AAPL runs to $235, you miss $15 per share in gains. The $187 premium does not come close to covering that opportunity cost. Covered calls are not free money — they are a trade of upside for immediate income.

**Premium does not protect against big drops.** If AAPL falls from $213 to $180, you lose $3,300 on the stock position. The $187 premium offsets about 5.7% of that loss. Covered calls reduce volatility slightly; they do not hedge against a serious decline. The SEC's investor education materials note that covered calls provide only limited downside protection equal to the premium received.

**Assignment can happen early.** American-style options (which cover most US-listed stocks) can be exercised before expiration. This is most likely to happen just before an ex-dividend date. If your shares get called away early, you miss the dividend and may face an unexpected taxable event.

**Tax treatment is not simple.** The IRS treats covered call premiums as short-term capital gains in most cases, even if you have held the underlying stock for years. Selling a deep in-the-money call can also suspend the holding period on your shares, potentially converting a long-term gain into a short-term one. Canadian investors should note that the CRA has its own rules around option premium income and adjusted cost base. Consult a tax professional before running a high-volume covered call program.

How to Evaluate Any Screener Before You Pay for It

Before you subscribe to any optionDash alternative, run it through this five-point checklist.

1. **Does it show monthly income in dollars, not just annualized yield?** If you have to do the math yourself every time, the tool is slowing you down.

2. **Does it include bid-ask spread data?** Wide spreads eat your premium. A call showing a $2.00 midpoint with a $1.60 bid and $2.40 ask means you will likely fill closer to $1.70 in a real trade. Screeners that only show the midpoint are optimistic.

3. **Does it filter by open interest and volume?** The OIC recommends trading options with sufficient liquidity. As a rule of thumb, look for open interest above 500 contracts and average daily volume above 100 contracts on the specific strike you are considering.

4. **Does it flag upcoming earnings and ex-dividend dates?** Both events can cause sharp stock moves or early assignment. A screener that does not surface these is missing critical context.

5. **Is the data real-time or delayed?** For covered call screening on liquid names like AAPL, MSFT, or SPY, 15-minute delayed data is usually acceptable for initial screening. But when you are ready to place the trade, always confirm the live bid on your broker platform.

Bottom Line: Which Tool Should You Start With?

If you want the fastest path to a monthly-income display without paying anything new, start with Barchart's free covered call screener. It handles 80% of what most retail traders need.

If you want the closest experience to optionDash with a clean interface and dollar-income columns built in, PowerOptions is the most direct replacement and is worth the subscription cost if you are running covered calls on five or more positions.

If you are already a Schwab customer, spend the time to set up a Thinkorswim scan. It is free, the data is real-time, and you can execute directly from the scan results without switching platforms.

Whichever tool you choose, remember that the screener is just the starting point. The trade decision still requires you to check the bid-ask spread live, confirm no earnings are within the expiration window, and make sure the premium makes sense relative to your cost basis — not just the current stock price.

Is optionDash still available for covered call screening?

optionDash has had periods of limited availability and pricing changes that pushed many traders to look for alternatives. If the platform is currently accessible, it remains a solid beginner tool, but the alternatives listed here offer comparable or better data for most retail covered call traders. Always verify current pricing and data quality directly before subscribing to any platform.

What does 'income per month' mean in a covered call screener?

Income per month refers to the actual dollar premium you collect per contract (100 shares) for a call option expiring in approximately 30 days. For example, selling one AAPL $220 call for $1.87 generates $187 in income for that month. This figure is more practical than annualized yield because it reflects what you actually receive in your account before the next expiration cycle.

How do I screen for covered calls with the highest monthly income without taking too much risk?

Focus on out-of-the-money strikes with a delta between 0.20 and 0.35, which balances premium income against the probability of having your shares called away. Filter for options with at least 21 days to expiration and open interest above 500 contracts to ensure liquidity. Avoid selling calls in the week before an earnings announcement, since a large move can wipe out the premium advantage entirely.

Are covered call premiums taxed as ordinary income or capital gains?

In the United States, the IRS generally treats covered call premiums as short-term capital gains, regardless of how long you have held the underlying stock. Selling certain in-the-money calls can also suspend your stock's holding period, which may affect whether a future stock gain qualifies as long-term. Canadian investors should consult the CRA's guidance on option premium treatment and adjusted cost base, as the rules differ from US tax law.

Can I use a free covered call screener instead of paying for optionDash or PowerOptions?

Yes. Barchart.com offers a free covered call screener with delayed data that is sufficient for initial screening on liquid stocks like AAPL, MSFT, and SPY. Market Chameleon also has a free tier with useful implied volatility history. If you have a Schwab account, Thinkorswim provides free real-time scanning tools that can be customized for covered call criteria.

What is a good monthly yield target for a covered call strategy?

Most experienced covered call traders target a monthly premium yield of 1% to 2% of the stock's current price per 30-day cycle, which translates to roughly 12% to 24% annualized before assignment and transaction costs. Yields above 3% per month typically signal elevated implied volatility, often tied to an upcoming earnings report or other binary event, which carries higher risk of a large stock move. The OIC recommends evaluating premium yield in the context of your specific cost basis and income goals rather than chasing the highest available premium.