ThetaGo vs Covered Call Pro: Which Covered Call Screener Has Better Filters for Income Investors?

The Short Answer: Which Screener Wins for Income Investors?

Covered Call Pro is built specifically for retail investors who sell covered calls for monthly income. ThetaGo is a broader options tool that covers multiple strategies, which means its covered-call filters are less focused and require more setup time. If your only goal is finding the best covered call trades on stocks you already own — or want to own — Covered Call Pro's purpose-built filters get you to a shortlist faster.

That said, both tools have real strengths. This comparison walks through the filters that matter most for income investors, shows you a side-by-side on a real trade, and gives you the honest picture on where each tool falls short.

Why Filter Quality Matters More Than Raw Data

A covered call screener is only as useful as the filters it puts in front of you. Raw options chains are available for free on any brokerage platform. What you're paying for — or choosing between — is the ability to slice that data by the metrics that actually drive income: annualized return on the call premium, delta, days to expiration (DTE), bid-ask spread width, and implied volatility rank (IVR).

The Options Industry Council (OIC) teaches that covered call writers should focus on three core trade-offs: how much premium they collect, how much upside they give up, and how likely assignment is. Good filters map directly to those three concerns. Weak filters make you do the math yourself on every row, which defeats the purpose of a screener entirely.

For a retail investor managing 10 to 30 positions, spending 45 minutes manually sorting a raw chain is time that compounds against you. The right screener cuts that to under 10 minutes.

Head-to-Head: Filter Comparison on a Real AAPL Trade

Let's anchor this in a real example. Suppose you own 100 shares of Apple (AAPL) at a cost basis of $188 per share. The stock is trading at $213. You want to sell a 30-day, out-of-the-money (OTM) covered call and collect at least 1.5% in premium on your share price — roughly $3.20 per share — without capping your upside below $220.

Here is what each screener shows you for the AAPL July 18, 2025 $220 call (hypothetical mid-market premium: $3.40):

— Annualized return filter: Covered Call Pro calculates this automatically as (3.40 / 213) × (365 / 30) = approximately 19.4% annualized. You can set a minimum annualized return threshold directly in the filter bar. ThetaGo shows raw premium but requires you to toggle to a separate calculator tab to get annualized figures.

— Delta filter: Covered Call Pro lets you filter by delta range (e.g., 0.20 to 0.35) in one click. The $220 strike on AAPL in this example carries a delta of roughly 0.28, meaning there is about a 28% chance of finishing in the money at expiration — a reasonable assignment risk for most income traders. ThetaGo displays delta in the chain view but does not offer a delta range filter on the screener's main results page without customizing a saved filter set.

— Bid-ask spread: Covered Call Pro flags spreads wider than $0.15 on liquid names as a caution. On AAPL the $220 call bid-ask is typically $0.05 to $0.08 wide — clean. ThetaGo shows the spread but does not color-code or flag wide spreads by default.

— IVR filter: Both tools show implied volatility rank. Covered Call Pro lets you filter for IVR above 30 (meaning options are relatively expensive versus their 52-week range) as a standalone filter. ThetaGo includes IVR in its data columns but buries it in a secondary sort.

Bottom line on this trade: the $220 call at $3.40 premium meets the income target, carries manageable assignment risk, and has a tight spread. Covered Call Pro surfaces this result in one filtered view. On ThetaGo you would arrive at the same trade but with two or three extra steps.

Where ThetaGo Has a Real Edge

ThetaGo is not a weak tool — it is a different tool. If you trade multiple options strategies beyond covered calls — cash-secured puts, spreads, iron condors — ThetaGo's multi-strategy dashboard gives you a unified view that Covered Call Pro does not offer. For a trader who runs a covered call on MSFT alongside a cash-secured put on NVDA and a bull put spread on SPY, ThetaGo's portfolio-level Greeks summary is genuinely useful.

ThetaGo also has a stronger earnings-date integration. It flags when an underlying's earnings announcement falls inside your expiration window, which is a real risk management feature. Selling a covered call on NVDA with earnings three days before expiration is a very different trade than selling the same strike with no earnings in the window. FINRA has noted in investor education materials that earnings events can cause sharp, unexpected moves that affect options positions significantly. ThetaGo surfaces this warning automatically. Covered Call Pro shows earnings dates but does not flag them as prominently in the screener results.

For pure covered-call income investors, these ThetaGo advantages are secondary. But they are worth knowing.

Risks You Need to Understand Before Trusting Any Screener

No screener removes the underlying risks of covered call writing. The SEC has published guidance reminding investors that covered calls limit upside gain and do not fully protect against a decline in the stock's price. If AAPL drops from $213 to $185, your $3.40 in premium offsets only a small part of that loss. A screener that shows you a 19% annualized return does not tell you what happens to your portfolio if the stock falls 15%.

Assignment risk is real and often misunderstood. If AAPL closes above $220 at expiration, your shares get called away at $220. You keep the $3.40 premium, but you miss any move above $223.40 (your effective sale price). For long-term holders with a low cost basis, assignment can also trigger a taxable event. The IRS treats the sale of called-away shares as a capital gain in the year of assignment. Canadian investors should note that the CRA has specific rules on how options premiums are treated — as capital gains or income — depending on the frequency and intent of your trading activity.

Screeners also cannot tell you whether a high-premium trade is high-premium because the stock is genuinely volatile or because the market is pricing in a specific known risk (a lawsuit, a product recall, a regulatory decision). Always look at why implied volatility is elevated before selling into it.

Pricing and Who Each Tool Is Built For

Covered Call Pro is designed for one type of trader: the retail investor who owns stocks and wants to generate consistent monthly income by selling calls against those positions. The filter set, the layout, and the educational content are all built around that single use case. If that describes you, the tool does not ask you to navigate around features you will never use.

ThetaGo targets active options traders who run multiple strategies. Its pricing reflects that broader scope. For a covered-call-only investor, you would be paying for capabilities you do not need.

Before subscribing to either platform, check whether your brokerage already offers a built-in screener. TD Ameritrade's thinkorswim, for example, has a robust options screener that experienced traders can configure for covered calls. The OIC also offers free educational tools and basic screening resources at no cost. For newer investors, a purpose-built tool like Covered Call Pro reduces the learning curve significantly compared to configuring a general-purpose platform from scratch.

The Verdict: Which Screener Should You Use?

If you sell covered calls and only covered calls, Covered Call Pro's filters are more directly useful. The annualized return filter, the delta range selector, and the bid-ask spread flag are all built for the exact decision you make every month: which strike, which expiration, on which stock.

If you run a mixed options book — covered calls plus puts plus spreads — ThetaGo's multi-strategy view and earnings integration give you more in one place.

For most readers of this publication, the answer is Covered Call Pro. The filters match the workflow. You spend less time configuring and more time trading.

Does ThetaGo have a covered call screener specifically for income investors?

ThetaGo includes covered call data within a broader options screener, but it is not purpose-built for income-focused covered call writers. You can filter by premium and expiration, but features like annualized return thresholds and bid-ask spread flags require extra setup steps. Income investors who only sell covered calls will likely find a dedicated screener faster to use.

What filters matter most when screening for covered calls?

The four most important filters are annualized return on premium, delta (which approximates the probability of assignment), days to expiration, and bid-ask spread width. The Options Industry Council (OIC) emphasizes that covered call writers should weigh premium collected against assignment probability and upside cap — these filters map directly to that framework. IVR (implied volatility rank) is a strong secondary filter for finding relatively expensive options.

Can a covered call screener protect me from losing money on my stock?

No. The SEC has made clear that covered calls limit upside but do not protect against a significant decline in the underlying stock's price. The premium you collect provides a small buffer, not a hedge. If the stock falls sharply, the loss on your shares will far exceed the premium income.

Are covered call premiums taxed as income or capital gains?

In the US, the IRS generally treats covered call premiums as short-term capital gains in the year the position closes, though the specific tax treatment depends on whether the call expires, is bought back, or results in assignment of shares. In Canada, the CRA's treatment depends on whether your options activity is considered capital in nature or business income. Consult a qualified tax professional for your specific situation.

How do I avoid selling a covered call right before an earnings announcement?

Always check the earnings date for your underlying stock before selecting an expiration. If earnings fall inside your expiration window, implied volatility is typically elevated — which means higher premium, but also higher risk of a large price move. FINRA has noted that earnings events can cause sharp, unexpected moves in options positions. ThetaGo flags this automatically; on other platforms you need to check the earnings calendar manually.

Is a free covered call screener good enough, or do I need a paid tool?

Free tools from your brokerage or from the OIC can work for basic screening, but they typically require more manual sorting and calculation. Paid screeners earn their cost by saving time and reducing the chance you miss a key filter — like a wide bid-ask spread or an earnings date inside your window. Whether the time savings justifies the subscription cost depends on how many positions you manage each month.