I've spent the last seven years trading options for income. Not paper trading. Not simulating. Actually placing trades with real money, logging every single one publicly, and sharing the results — wins and losses — on this website. Over that time I've generated $31,363 in documented wheel strategy profits across 200 trades and $15,226 from SPY put credit spreads across 156 trades with a 93% win rate.
So when someone asks me "what's the best options trading course?" I have a perspective that most reviewers don't: I actually trade. The vast majority of "best options course" articles online are written by affiliate marketers who've never placed a trade in their lives. They recommend whatever pays the highest commission.
This is different. I'm going to review the major options trading courses honestly — including my own — and tell you exactly what each one does well, what it doesn't, and who it's best for. Full disclosure: I created Options Cafe, so I'm biased. But I'm also going to be fair to the competition, because some of them are genuinely excellent.
What Makes an Options Trading Course Worth Paying For?
After years of trading and teaching, I've identified five things that separate a good options course from a waste of money. Use this as your checklist when evaluating any course — including mine.
The 2026 Options Trading Course Landscape
I evaluated six options trading education platforms for this comparison. Here's the quick summary before we dive deep:
| Course | Price | Access | Alerts | Results | Guarantee |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Option Alpha | Free | Unlimited | ✕ | ✕ | N/A |
| tastylive | Free | Unlimited | ✕ | ~ | N/A |
| Benzinga | $297/yr | Subscription | ✓ | ~ | ✕ |
| Udemy | $15–$50 | Lifetime | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ |
| Bullish Bears | $197/mo | Subscription | ✓ | ~ | ✕ |
| Options Cafe | $150 | Lifetime | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Let's go through each one.
Option Alpha
Best for: Absolute beginners who want to learn options theory from scratch
Kirk Du Plessis built something genuinely valuable with Option Alpha. The video library is comprehensive, well-organized, and covers everything from basic options mechanics to advanced strategies like iron condors and strangles. If you know nothing about options, start here before spending money anywhere.
- Hundreds of professionally produced videos
- Structured curriculum that builds logically
- Clear explanations without dumbing things down
- Innovative bot platform for automated trading
- No trade alerts — theory only, no application
- No documented P&L results to verify
- Automation platform requires paid subscription
My verdict: Use Option Alpha for foundational learning. It's the best free resource available. But free education alone won't make you a profitable trader — you need to see real application and have a system to follow.
tastylive
Best for: Intermediate traders who want to understand the math behind options strategies
Tom Sosnoff and the tastylive team produce the most data-driven options education anywhere. Their backtesting research on delta selection, days to expiration, and portfolio management is unmatched. If you want to understand why selling 30-delta puts at 45 DTE works, tastylive has done the research.
- Thousands of hours of backtested research
- Daily live shows with real-time discussion
- Large, active theta-focused community
- Integrated with tastytrade brokerage
- No structured curriculum — overwhelming for beginners
- No trade alerts to follow along with
- No centralized, auditable trade log
My verdict: tastylive is excellent if you already understand the basics and want to refine your strategy with data. It's terrible as a starting point — the lack of structure means you'll spend weeks trying to figure out where to begin.
Benzinga Options
Best for: Active traders who want daily trade ideas and a live chat room
Benzinga's options service focuses on daily trade alerts and a live chat room where analysts share ideas in real time. If you want someone telling you what to trade today, this delivers. The quality of the analysts varies, but the volume of ideas is high.
- Real-time daily trade alerts
- Interactive live chat room
- Professional analysts with reasoning
- $297/year = $891 over three years
- No structured education — it's a trade room, not a course
- Limited results transparency
- No money-back guarantee
My verdict: Good for experienced traders who want daily idea flow. Poor value for beginners who need education first. The subscription model is the killer — you're renting access rather than owning it.
Udemy Options Courses
Best for: Absolute beginners with minimal budget
Udemy has hundreds of options trading courses ranging from $15 to $50 (they're perpetually on "sale"). The quality varies wildly. Some instructors are excellent teachers; others are clearly reading from scripts.
- Extremely cheap — $15 is essentially free
- Lifetime access once purchased
- 30-day money-back guarantee (Udemy policy)
- Thousands of student reviews for filtering
- No trade alerts — video-only learning
- No community or live interaction
- No verifiable real trading results
- Content can go stale — some courses years old
My verdict: Fine as a supplement — grab a well-reviewed Udemy course for $15 to learn the absolute basics. But don't expect it to make you money. There's no bridge from "I watched the videos" to "I'm placing profitable trades."
Bullish Bears
Best for: Traders who value community and daily interaction above all else
Bullish Bears has built a genuinely active community around options and day trading. The Discord/chat room is busy, the instructors are engaged, and there's a strong social element that keeps members accountable.
- One of the busiest trading communities online
- Daily trade alerts from multiple analysts
- Live trading sessions during market hours
- $197/month = $7,092 over 3 years
- No lifetime option — stop paying, lose access
- No comprehensive public trade log
My verdict: If community is your #1 priority and budget isn't a concern, Bullish Bears delivers. But at $2,364/year, you're paying more for the chat room than most traders earn from their first year of options trading. The math doesn't work.
Options Cafe — My Course (Full Disclosure)
Best for: Traders who want a complete system with real-time trade alerts and fully transparent results
I'm obviously biased here, so let me be transparent about what Options Cafe is and isn't. I built the course I wish existed when I started.
- Complete system — wheel strategy and cash-secured puts with specific rules
- Real-time trade alerts — every open and close emailed
- Fully transparent results — 124 trades, $19,717 profit in 2025
- $150 one time forever — no subscriptions ever
- 30-day money-back guarantee
- Focused on income strategies only (no day trading)
- No live chat room or Discord community
- One instructor — my system, my way
- Not free — $150 is modest but not $0
SPY Put Credit Spreads: $15,226 profit across 156 trades, 93% win rate (2022–2026)
Current positions: SMMT, RKLB, UNG, RIVN, RKT, ETSY, VXX
Top performers: TSLA ($4,055), HIMS ($3,916), HOOD ($3,832)
Every single trade is documented. See the full results here.
The Real Cost Comparison Over 3 Years
Course pricing is misleading when you only look at the sticker price. Here's what each option actually costs over a three-year period — the realistic timeframe for learning and developing as an options trader:
| Course | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | 3-Year Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Option Alpha | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| tastylive | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Udemy | $30 | $0 | $0 | $30 |
| Options Cafe | $150 | $0 | $0 | $150 |
| Benzinga Options | $297 | $297 | $297 | $891 |
| Bullish Bears | $2,364 | $2,364 | $2,364 | $7,092 |
Over three years, Options Cafe costs 83% less than Benzinga and 98% less than Bullish Bears — while including trade alerts, a transparent track record, and a money-back guarantee that neither competitor offers. The free options (Option Alpha, tastylive) are genuinely free, but they don't include alerts or verifiable results.
What to Avoid: Red Flags in Options Courses
No honest trader guarantees results. If someone promises "$5K/month from options," run.
Every trader has losing trades. If the instructor only shares wins, they're selling you a fantasy.
Low entry price, then "premium tiers," "inner circles," or "masterminds" costing $500–$5,000 more.
80%+ of options expire worthless. Courses teaching you to buy calls and puts are teaching you to gamble.
If the instructor won't let you try the course risk-free, they're not confident in their own material.
My Recommendation: A Two-Step Approach
If I were starting from scratch today, here's exactly what I'd do:
Learn the Basics for Free
Spend 2–3 weeks on Option Alpha's video library. Learn what options are, how they're priced, what the Greeks mean. This costs $0 and gives you the foundation before spending money.
Learn a System + Follow Real Trades
Once you understand the basics, you need a repeatable process with specific rules. This is where a paid course with trade alerts earns its value — not more theory, but real application.
Frequently Asked Questions
Whatever course you choose — mine or anyone else's — make sure you can verify the instructor's track record before you pay. The best options trading course in 2026 is the one that actually makes you money. Everything else is entertainment.
— Spicer
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