> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.rails.xyz/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Perpetuals vs Options

> Choosing between Rails Perpetuals and Options

Rails offers two trading products on one account. Your API keys and authorization work
across both, but each product has its own balance, funded and withdrawn independently.
What differs is the instrument you trade and the API surface you use to trade it.

## At a glance

|                   | Perpetuals                                       | Options                                                          |
| ----------------- | ------------------------------------------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Instrument        | Perpetuals                                       | Call and put options                                             |
| Market symbol     | `BTC-USDT`                                       | `BTC-19JUN26-62000-C` (`{UNDERLYING}-{DMMMYY}-{STRIKE}-{C\|P}`)  |
| Lifecycle         | No expiry; positions held indefinitely           | Fixed weekly/monthly expiry, auto-settled at 08:00 UTC           |
| Settlement        | Continuous funding payments                      | One-off cash settlement at expiry                                |
| Pricing inputs    | Index and mark price                             | Black-76 pricing; mark/bid/ask **implied volatility**, forward   |
| Risk metrics      | Liquidation price, funding                       | **Greeks** (delta, gamma, vega, theta, rho), breakeven           |
| Leverage / margin | Up to 5x; cross or isolated margin               | Long: premium-based; short: initial margin from index/mark price |
| Order types       | Limit, market, trigger (stop-loss / take-profit) | Limit, market                                                    |

## When to use Perpetuals

* You want directional exposure with leverage and no expiry to manage.
* You rely on stop-loss / take-profit trigger orders.
* You want a single order book per market and continuous funding.

Start with the [Perpetuals Overview](/latest/perps/guides/overview).

## When to use Options

* You want defined-risk strategies, volatility exposure, or hedging.
* You need Greeks and implied volatility to price and manage positions.
* You are comfortable with fixed expiries and cash settlement.

Start with the [Options Overview](/latest/options/guides/overview).

## What's shared

Both products use the same account, credentials, and onboarding, documented once in
**Get Started**:

* [Get Set Up with Rails](/latest/get-set-up-with-rails) — account and wallet setup
* [Environments](/latest/environments) — base URLs for each environment
* [API Keys](/latest/api-keys) — creating and managing credentials
* [Authorization](/latest/authorization) and [Get Access Token](/latest/get-access-token) — authorizing your requests
* [Deposit & Withdraw](/latest/deposit-withdraw) — funding and withdrawing, done per product

Authorization is identical across products: you obtain an access token once and use it for
both Perpetuals and Options WebSocket and REST APIs. Balances, however, are
separate — each product is funded and withdrawn independently.