- One row per trade on a single working sheet
- Date, ticker, strategy, strike, expiry and contract count on every entry
- A result column you record yourself
- A strip carrying the net figure across all trades and the number logged
- Free-text strategy labels, so any structure can be recorded
Free Options Trading Journal Spreadsheet Template for Google Sheets & Excel
Date, ticker, strategy, strike, expiry and contract count on every entry, with the result recorded alongside in a column you fill yourself. The Free Options Trading Journal spreadsheet template gives you fourteen rows on one working sheet, leaves the strategy label as free text so any structure can be recorded, and carries the net figure across all trades and the number logged in a strip above. Google Sheets or Excel, one file. No macros, no VBA, no sign-up.
Get More with Essentials or Ultimate Options Trading Journal Spreadsheet Templates
Essentials Options Trading Journal
- Everything in Free
- Cash flow derived from the leg traded, the premium, the contract count and the fees
- Opening and closing legs handled in both directions, so the sign follows the action
- Fees netted into the result rather than reported separately
- Every trade on a single log
Ultimate Options Trading Journal
- Everything in Essentials
- A Trade Log carrying date opened and date closed on every position
- Entry and exit cost as total position values, with result and percentage return derived
- Open positions marked simply by leaving the close date blank
- Strategy and direction dropdowns that keep the breakdowns consistent
The FinancialAha Free Options Trading Journal Spreadsheet Template is a one-sheet workbook for Google Sheets and Excel, with a How to Use guide on a second tab. It works as a Free Options Trading Journal Excel template and a Free Options Trading Journal Google Sheets template from the same download. This Free Options Trading Journal spreadsheet template keeps a record: each trade takes its date, ticker, strategy, strike, expiry and contract count, with the result you enter alongside, and the running total sits at the top. No macros, no VBA, no sign-up.
Inside the workbook
What's inside the FinancialAha Free Options Trading Journal spreadsheet template
The FinancialAha Free Options Trading Journal Spreadsheet Template runs on one working sheet, with the instructions on a tab of their own. It works in both Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets and here is what the Free Options Trading Journal spreadsheet holds.
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01 of 01
Options Log
The single working sheet, and the whole template. Each row is a trade: the date, the underlying, the strategy you used, the strike, the expiry and how many contracts, with the result recorded beside them. A strip at the top carries the net figure across every row and how many trades you have logged. The result column is a number you supply rather than one the sheet works out - this build keeps the record and totals it, and leaves the arithmetic of a position to you.
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Included guide
How to Use
A step-by-step guide on its own tab, covering setup, how to replace the sample values, and how to change the currency. Because it ships inside the file, the instructions travel with the template wherever it is opened.
Works in both Google Sheets and Excel
Free Options Trading Journal Spreadsheet template for Google Sheets
Upload the Free Options Trading Journal Spreadsheet Template to Drive, right-click it, and choose "Open with Google Sheets". This Free Options Trading Journal Google Sheets template needs no conversion step and nothing gets rewritten on the way in - the totals keep working exactly as they do in Excel. The currency dropdown beside the title relabels each money column, and the whole Free Options Trading Journal spreadsheet is small enough to open instantly.
Free Options Trading Journal Google Sheets template setup
A shared copy of the Free Options Trading Journal Google Sheets template works when a journal is being kept for review by someone else, and Sheets version history covers a row edited after the fact - which on a trading record matters more than most. A short journal keeps the Free Options Trading Journal Spreadsheet Template readable on a phone.
Sharing the Free Options Trading Journal Google Sheet
Day to day the Free Options Trading Journal Google Sheet is a one-line job: open the tab, add the trade as you close it, and the total follows. Because the Free Options Trading Journal spreadsheet has no second sheet, logging takes seconds, which is what keeps a journal actually getting kept.
Free Options Trading Journal Spreadsheet template for Excel
The Free Options Trading Journal spreadsheet Excel download is a plain .xlsx. Excel opens this Free Options Trading Journal Excel template directly, with no import step and no compatibility prompt, and the totals update the moment a row changes. There are no macros and no VBA in the file, so it opens without a security warning.
Free Options Trading Journal Excel template setup
The same Free Options Trading Journal Excel template opens in Excel on Windows, Excel on Mac, and Excel for the web. It is also the identical file you would upload to Drive, so there is no separate Free Options Trading Journal spreadsheet download to choose between.
Free Options Trading Journal spreadsheet Excel notes
The Free Options Trading Journal spreadsheet Excel file carries no macros and no VBA, so Excel opens it without a trust prompt. The same Free Options Trading Journal spreadsheet Excel download also opens in Excel for the web, which matters when you move between a work machine and a personal one.
Opening the Free Options Trading Journal spreadsheet Excel file
Nothing in the Free Options Trading Journal Excel template is version-specific, so this Free Options Trading Journal spreadsheet Excel workbook behaves identically in Excel on Windows, Excel on Mac, and older builds.
Spreadsheet template highlights
What the Free Options Trading Journal spreadsheet template tracks
Every column in the Free Options Trading Journal Spreadsheet Template is yours to fill. This build records what you enter rather than deriving anything from it:
- Opened
- when the trade was placed
- Ticker
- the underlying stock or fund
- Strategy
- a free-text label for the structure used
- Strike
- the strike price on the contract
- Expiry
- when the contract expires
- Contracts
- how many were traded
- P&L
- the result, entered by you rather than worked out by the sheet
Compare builds
FinancialAha Options Trading Journal spreadsheet template: Free, Essentials, and Ultimate compared
| Feature | Free This page | Essentials View Spreadsheet Template | Ultimate View Spreadsheet Template |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working sheets | 1 | 2 | 6 |
| Trade capacity | 14 | 30 | 150 |
| Result per row | Entered by you | Derived from the leg | Derived, with % return |
| Open and close dates | One date | One date | Both, with days to expiry |
| Fees counted | – | Yes | Within entry and exit cost |
| Win rate | – | Yes | Yes, and per strategy |
| Charts | – | 1 | 1 |
| Strategy performance | – | – | Dedicated sheet |
| Month-by-month P&L | – | – | With a running total |
| Greeks on open positions | – | – | Delta, gamma, theta, vega |
| Expiration calendar | – | – | Yes, with premium at risk |
The FinancialAha Free Options Trading Journal Spreadsheet Template covers one working sheet with a row per trade. It is a record rather than a calculator, which is the honest limit of the Free build: the result column is a figure you supply, there is no win rate, no fee handling and no chart. The Essentials Options Trading Journal Spreadsheet Template for Google Sheets and Excel works the cash flow out for you from the leg you traded, the premium, the contract count and the fees, and reports a win rate and the best and worst rows on a dashboard. The Ultimate Options Trading Journal Spreadsheet Template records both open and close dates, a percentage return on each trade, performance broken down by strategy, a month-by-month running total, the Greeks on open positions and an expiration calendar.
Compare the other builds: Essentials Options Trading Journal spreadsheet template or the Ultimate Options Trading Journal spreadsheet template .
Good to know
Notes on working in the Free Options Trading Journal spreadsheet template
- The result column is an input. Nothing here derives it from the strike, the premium or the contract count.
- The strip totals that column beside a count of the rows filled in.
- Strategy and ticker are free text, so nothing groups or filters on them.
- Strike, expiry and contracts are recorded but feed no calculation.
- The dropdown beside the title relabels the strike and result columns. It changes the label and nothing else.
How the Options Trading Journal template works
A record of each trade - date, underlying, strategy, strike, expiry and contracts - with the result you enter alongside and a running total at the top.
When this template helps
You want each trade recorded with its strategy, strike and expiry, not just a net figure on a broker statement.
Your broker shows what a position made but not what you were trying to do. The Strategy column is where that goes.
Assignment, an early close and a multi-leg result do not follow from strike and contracts, so the P&L column is yours to type rather than derived.
You want contracts totalled alongside P&L, so the size you were carrying sits next to the result.
Tips to get the most out of it
- Logging a trade as it closes rather than at the end of a run is what keeps a journal useful, since the reasoning is what fades.
- One consistent strategy label per approach is what makes the record readable back.
- The result is the outcome you have already worked out, not the premium taken.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Logging trades in batches at the end of a run, by which point the reasoning behind each one has gone.
- Recording the premium and calling it the result. This build takes the outcome you have already worked out.
- Leaving the strategy label inconsistent between rows, which makes the record impossible to read back by approach.
How to Use the Free Options Trading Journal Spreadsheet Template
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between the free, Essentials, and Ultimate Free Options Trading Journal spreadsheet template?
Free is a single-sheet starter template with sample data and a How to Use guide. Essentials ($19) is the fuller build - more capacity, more detail, and more worked out for you rather than typed. Ultimate ($29) goes further again, usually six working sheets, giving each part of the template its own sheet and adding deeper reporting on top. What each tier holds differs by template - the comparison table on every template page lists it exactly.
Which Free Options Trading Journal spreadsheet template should I download?
Upgrade to Essentials if you want a dashboard with charts, more categories, larger capacity, and a more polished spreadsheet for ongoing use. The Free version is a good fit for one-off planning or trying out the layout.
Can I upgrade the Free Options Trading Journal spreadsheet template later?
Essentials is a one-time $19 purchase with no subscription. It typically adds a full dashboard, 30-50% more categories or rows than the Free version, and richer formulas. Most buyers upgrade after using the Free version for a few weeks and hitting its limits.
Is the FinancialAha Free Options Trading Journal Spreadsheet Template a Google Sheets template?
Yes. Upload the file to Drive and choose "Open with Google Sheets". Nothing needs rewriting in the Free Options Trading Journal Google Sheets template, and the currency dropdown still relabels the money columns.
Is the FinancialAha Free Options Trading Journal Spreadsheet Template an Excel template?
Yes. The download is a plain .xlsx, so the Free Options Trading Journal Excel template opens directly in Excel with no import step. There are no macros and no VBA, so it opens without a security warning.
Will the Free Options Trading Journal spreadsheet Excel file open in older versions of Excel?
Yes. The Free Options Trading Journal spreadsheet Excel workbook ships as a plain .xlsx, so it opens identically in current Excel and in builds that predate dynamic arrays.
Does the FinancialAha Free Options Trading Journal Spreadsheet Template calculate the result of a trade?
No. The result is a figure you enter - this build keeps the record and totals it. The Essentials build derives the cash flow from the leg you traded, the premium, the contract count and the fees, and adds a win rate.
How many trades can I log in the Free Options Trading Journal spreadsheet?
Fourteen, with ten filled in the sample. For a fifteenth, right-click a row inside the table and choose Insert - the net figure and the trade count both expand to include it, because the new row falls inside the ranges they read.
Can I record any strategy in the Free Options Trading Journal spreadsheet?
Yes. The strategy column is free text, so any structure can be labelled however you describe it. Nothing in the sheet is tied to a particular approach.
Is the Free Options Trading Journal spreadsheet template safe to download?
Yes. No macros, no sign-up, no tracking. The file is a plain .xlsx that opens directly in Excel or Google Sheets.
How do I open the Free Options Trading Journal spreadsheet template in Google Sheets?
Upload the .xlsx file to Google Drive, then open it with Google Sheets. All formulas and formatting will be preserved.
Can I use the Free Options Trading Journal spreadsheet template for commercial work?
All free templates are released under CC BY 4.0 (Creative Commons Attribution). You can use, modify, and share them freely - including for commercial purposes - as long as you credit FinancialAha.com. They are provided as-is and do not constitute financial advice.
Get every Ultimate template instead
All 58 Ultimate templates in one purchase for $299 - $1,682 value, you keep $1,383.