Futures Position Size & Tick Value Calculator

Enter your risk and stop to get the most contracts you can trade, the dollar risk per contract and your P&L in dollars and ticks. Tick sizes and values come from CME Group contract specs.

Updated •By Anyro

ES: one tick is 0.25 points = $12.50, so a 1.00 move = $50 (4 ticks).

Position size

Used when you risk a % of balance.

Trade P&L (optional)

Fill in entry and exit to see profit or loss. Leave blank to size the position only.

Direction

Blank uses the sized position, or 1.

How to size a futures position: divide the dollars you are willing to lose by what your stop costs on one contract. The stop's cost is its distance in ticks times the contract's tick value, so an 8-point ES stop is 32 ticks × $12.50 = $400 per contract. Round the answer down. Every tick size and value on this page comes from CME Group's contract specifications, checked on October 5, 2026.

Position Size Formula

Stop (ticks) = stop (points) ÷ tick size

Risk per contract = stop (ticks) × tick value

Risk budget = balance × risk %, or a fixed $ amount

Max contracts = risk budget ÷ risk per contract, rounded down

P&L = ticks moved × tick value × contracts

The calculator rounds a stop that falls between ticks up to the next whole tick, because price only trades in ticks, and it never rounds contracts up. Commissions, exchange fees and slippage are not included, so a real loss at your stop can be larger than the figure shown.

Worked Example: ES and MES With $500 of Risk

A trader with a $50,000 account risks 1%, or $500, on a long ES trade with an 8-point stop.

  1. Convert the stop: 8 points ÷ 0.25 = 32 ticks.
  2. Price one contract's risk: 32 × $12.50 = $400.
  3. Size it: $500 ÷ $400 = 1.25, rounded down to 1 contract, risking $400.

On MES the same 32-tick stop costs 32 × $1.25 = $40, so the $500 budget buys 12 contracts and $480 of risk. Micros use more of the budget because each one is a tenth of the mini. If the trade exits 10.5 points higher, from 6,000.00 to 6,010.50, that is 42 ticks: +$525 on one ES contract or +$630 on 12 MES.

Futures Tick Values From CME Contract Specs

ContractTick sizeTick valueValue of a 1.00 move
ES · E-mini S&P 5000.25$12.50$50
MES · Micro E-mini S&P 5000.25$1.25$5
NQ · E-mini Nasdaq-1000.25$5.00$20
MNQ · Micro E-mini Nasdaq-1000.25$0.50$2
YM · E-mini Dow ($5)1.00$5.00$5
MYM · Micro E-mini Dow1.00$0.50$0.50
RTY · E-mini Russell 20000.10$5.00$50
M2K · Micro E-mini Russell 20000.10$0.50$5
CL · Crude Oil (WTI)0.01$10.00$1,000
MCL · Micro WTI Crude Oil0.01$1.00$100
GC · Gold0.10$10.00$100
MGC · Micro Gold0.10$1.00$10

These are outright ticks. CME lists smaller increments for calendar spreads and special order types such as TAS, which do not apply to an ordinary market or limit order. For CL the tick is $0.01 per barrel; for GC it is $0.10 per troy ounce. The ES and NQ futures guide covers margins and session times for the index contracts.

Common Position Sizing Mistakes

  • Mixing points and ticks. A 10-point NQ stop is 40 ticks and $200 per contract, not $50. Set the unit toggle to match what your platform shows.
  • Sizing a prop account from its label. In an evaluation the limit that matters is the distance to your drawdown threshold, not the $50,000 on the account name. Check that buffer in the prop firm drawdown calculator first.
  • Rounding up. 1.9 contracts is 1 contract. Rounding up breaks your risk limit on every trade.
  • Forgetting fees and slippage. A stop is an order, not a guarantee, and fast markets fill stops beyond the price.
  • Ignoring the firm's contract cap. Prop firms cap size; Topstep's 50K Trading Combine allows 5 minis or 50 micros (Topstep rules). The smaller of the two numbers wins.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I calculate futures position size?

Divide your risk budget by the risk on one contract (stop in ticks × tick value) and round down. With $500 of risk and a 32-tick ES stop, $500 ÷ $400 = 1.25, so 1 contract.

What is the tick value of ES and MES?

ES moves in 0.25-point ticks worth $12.50, so one point is $50. MES uses the same 0.25 tick worth $1.25, or $5 per point.

What is the NQ and MNQ tick value?

NQ ticks are 0.25 points worth $5.00, or $20 per point. MNQ ticks are 0.25 points worth $0.50, or $2 per point.

How do I calculate profit on ES futures?

Subtract entry from exit (the other way round for a short), divide by 0.25 to get ticks, then multiply by $12.50 and the number of contracts. A 10.5-point gain on 2 ES contracts is 42 ticks × $12.50 × 2 = $1,050.

How much should I risk per trade on futures?

There is no single right number. A common ceiling is 1% to 2% of the account per trade, and prop firm traders often size from the distance to their drawdown limit instead of the account size. Our futures risk management framework shows how to set the limit.

Does the calculator include commissions?

No. It uses CME tick values only. Subtract your broker's round-turn commission and exchange fees to estimate net P&L, and allow for slippage on stop orders.

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