Options guide · Reviewed 31 October 2026
Options on gold: GLD fund options or COMEX futures options?
"A gold option" usually means one of two things covered here. One is an option on shares of the SPDR Gold Trust (GLD). The other is an option on a COMEX gold futures contract. The underlying differs, so the price you feed a calculator differs too.
The short answer
- Options on GLD are written on fund shares. State Street describes GLD's objective as shares that "reflect the performance of the price of gold bullion, less GLD's expenses", and its fund page lists options as available (page read 31 October 2026).
- COMEX gold options are written on gold futures. CME's specification gives the contract unit as 100 troy ounces, quoted in dollars and cents per troy ounce (CME, read 31 October 2026).
- Neither is an option on the spot gold price itself.
This guide does not state the contract size, settlement or exercise style of GLD options, because the sources read for it do not give them. Take those from your broker's contract specification.
What an option on GLD is written on
GLD is an exchange-traded fund that State Street describes as backed by a physical asset. The underlying of an option on GLD is the fund's shares, so the price a calculator needs is the GLD share price. A share price is not the price of an ounce, and State Street says the fund's performance is measured less its expenses.
What a COMEX gold option is written on
CME lists these terms for its gold option (read 31 October 2026):
| Term | CME gold option |
|---|---|
| Contract unit | 100 troy ounces |
| Price quotation | U.S. dollars and cents per troy ounce |
| Minimum price move | 0.10 per troy ounce, which is $10.00 per contract |
| Underlying | Gold futures |
| Settlement method | Deliverable |
CME's page does not state the exercise style, so this guide does not either. What "deliverable" means for a given expiry is set out in CME's own rules; read them before assuming anything about physical metal.
The premium is quoted per ounce and the contract covers 100 ounces, so a $50.00 premium costs $5,000 per contract.
The underlying is a futures contract. A futures price and today's spot gold price are different numbers, so a calculator should be given the futures price the option is written on.
A worked example (illustrative numbers, not quotes)
Suppose a gold futures contract trades at $4,000 per ounce and a call with a $4,100 strike is quoted at $50.00 per ounce.
| Per ounce | Per 100-ounce contract | |
|---|---|---|
| Premium paid | $50.00 | $5,000 |
| Break-even at expiration | $4,150 | |
| Maximum loss | $50.00 | $5,000 |
| If the futures price ends at $4,300 | $200.00 intrinsic, $150.00 profit | $20,000 value, $15,000 profit |
You can reproduce this in the options profit calculator, which applies a multiplier of 100, matching the 100-ounce unit. These are round numbers chosen for the arithmetic, not market prices. For how the calculator's inputs map to each contract, see using an options calculator when the underlying is gold or bitcoin.
Which price goes into the calculator
| Option | Underlying price to use | Multiplier |
|---|---|---|
| Option on GLD | The GLD share price | Take from your contract specification |
| COMEX gold option | The gold futures price | 100 ounces (CME) |
To value physical gold you own, the gold calculator works by weight and karat. The gold and commodity investing guide covers how gold behaves as an asset, and payoff basics explains the shape of a long call's result. For American versus European exercise in general, see American vs. European options.
Questions people ask
Is there an option on the gold price itself?
Not among the contracts covered here: one is written on fund shares, the other on futures.
Which is cheaper?
Premiums alone do not compare, because the underlying prices and amounts of gold differ. Work out the cost per ounce of exposure from each contract's specification and, for GLD, the fund's own published figures.
Do I get physical gold if a COMEX option is exercised?
CME lists the settlement method as deliverable, with gold futures as the underlying. Read CME's delivery rules before assuming anything about physical metal.
Is this advice?
No. This explains how the contracts are built. Options can lose their whole premium.
Source note: Contract details were read from CME Group and State Street pages on 31 October 2026 and can change. Check the exchange or your broker before trading. This is educational information, not investment advice or a recommendation to buy or sell anything. All calculator inputs stay in your browser.