Futures tick value: what a tick is and what it’s worth
By Bec, futures trader and founder of Wildflower · Updated
A tick is the smallest step a futures price can move. The exchange sets it for each contract. Tick value is what one tick is worth in dollars for one contract. For example, the E-mini S&P 500 (ES) moves in steps of 0.25, and each step is worth $12.50 per contract.
What a tick is
A futures price can’t move by any amount it likes. It moves in fixed steps, like the rungs of a ladder. The smallest step is called a The smallest step a price can move. On many stock index futures that’s 0.25 of a point.More in the glossary, and its size is the tick size.
Each An agreement, traded on an exchange, to buy or sell a set amount of something at a price agreed now, on a set date later.More in the glossary has its own tick size, set by the exchange. The E-mini S&P 500 (ES) moves in steps of 0.25. So after 5,000.00, the next prices up are 5,000.25, 5,000.50 and 5,000.75. There’s no 5,000.10.
Ticks let traders talk about distance the same way on any price. “My stop is 8 ticks away” means the same thing on ES whether it’s trading at 4,000 or 6,000.
Tick value and point value
What one tick is worth in money for one futures contract. On the E-mini S&P 500 it’s $12.50.More in the glossary is what one tick is worth in money, for one contract. On ES, one tick is worth $12.50. If ES moves 1 tick, one contract gains or loses $12.50. Two contracts, $25.
A point is a move of 1.00 in the price. What a move of one whole point is worth for one futures contract. Tick value is the tick size times the point value.More in the glossary is what a whole point is worth for one contract. On ES, a point is 4 ticks, so it’s worth 4 × $12.50 = $50.
The three numbers always fit together: tick value = tick size × point value. For ES, 0.25 × $50 = $12.50. If you know two of them, you can work out the third.
How to count ticks and work out their value, step by step
1. Take two prices
Say ES moves from 5,000.00 down to 4,998.50.
2. Find the distance
Subtract one from the other: 5,000.00 − 4,998.50 = 1.50 points.
3. Turn it into ticks
Divide by the tick size: 1.50 ÷ 0.25 = 6 ticks.
4. Turn ticks into dollars
Multiply by the tick value: 6 × $12.50 = $75 per contract.
A move of 6 ticks is worth $75 for each ES contract, whichever way it goes. With 3 contracts, it’s 3 × $75 = $225.
Tick size and tick value for ES, NQ, crude oil and gold
These are the exchange’s published figures for some widely traded US contracts. All are listed by CME Group.
- E-mini S&P 500 (ES): tick 0.25, worth $12.50. A point is $50.
- Micro E-mini S&P 500 (MES): tick 0.25, worth $1.25. A point is $5.
- E-mini Nasdaq-100 (NQ): tick 0.25, worth $5.00. A point is $20.
- Micro E-mini Nasdaq-100 (MNQ): tick 0.25, worth $0.50. A point is $2.
- E-mini Dow (YM): tick 1.00, worth $5.00. A point is $5.
- Crude oil (CL): tick 0.01, worth $10.00. A full dollar move is $1,000.
- Micro crude oil (MCL): tick 0.01, worth $1.00.
- Gold (GC): tick 0.10, worth $10.00. A full dollar move is $100.
- Micro gold (MGC): tick 0.10, worth $1.00.
Where do the dollars come from? From the size of the contract. One ES contract is worth $50 times the index, so a 0.25 step is $12.50. One crude oil contract is 1,000 barrels, so a one-cent step is $10. One gold contract is 100 troy ounces, so a ten-cent step is $10.
A A smaller version of a futures contract. It moves in the same steps as the full-size one, but each step is worth less, often a tenth as much.More in the glossary moves in the same ticks as its full-size partner, but each tick is worth a tenth as much. The chart looks the same. Only the dollars change.
Tick sizes differ a lot. Crude oil moves in cents and gold in ten cents, while the Dow moves in whole points. So “10 ticks” is a very different distance on each one. Exchanges can change these figures, so check the contract’s page on the exchange’s website for the current ones.
Easy mix-ups
Points aren’t ticks. On ES, one point is 4 ticks. A 2-point stop is 8 ticks, not 2.
The same symbol family, a different value. ES and MES move in the same 0.25 steps, but the dollars are ten times apart. Check which one a number refers to.
Per contract. Tick value is for one contract. The dollars grow with the number of contracts.
Commission is extra. Tick value tells you what a price move is worth. Fees for each contract are charged on top.
Where ticks show up in trading
Stops and targets. Traders often set a An order that closes a trade if price reaches a level you set against it. It aims to limit the loss, but in a fast market it can fill at a worse price.More in the glossary or a target a number of ticks away from their entry. The tick value turns that distance into dollars. Read about stop losses.
The spread. The gap between the bid and the ask is at least one tick, and it’s often counted in ticks. Read about the bid, ask and spread.
Slippage. When an order fills at a worse price than expected, the difference is usually counted in ticks. Read about slippage.
Position size. Some traders work out how many contracts to trade from the dollars they’re prepared to lose, the stop distance in ticks, and the tick value. Read about position sizing.
Often confused with
Tick chart. A chart where each candle holds a set number of trades, not a set amount of time. “Tick” there means one trade, not one price step.
The NYSE TICK index. A reading of how many New York Stock Exchange stocks last traded up minus how many traded down. Same word, different thing.
Pip. The name forex traders use for a small standard price step. It isn’t always the smallest step, which is often a tenth of a pip.
Handle. Trader slang for a whole point on stock index futures. “Up 3 handles” on ES means up 3 points, or 12 ticks.
Ticks and tick value in a backtest
See your strategy’s results in ticks and dollars
When you backtest a strategy in Wildflower, each trade is worked out on the contract you chose, with its own tick size and tick value. Every result says what it assumed about the spread and slippage, and you set your own slippage in ticks and commission per contract. No coding needed.
Set it up and see how it works, free. Only pay when you backtest on real market history.
Common questions
What is a tick in futures?
The smallest step the price can move, set by the exchange for each contract.
What is tick value?
What one tick is worth in dollars for one contract.
How much is one tick on ES?
One ES tick is 0.25 of a point and is worth $12.50 per contract.
How much is one tick on NQ?
One NQ tick is 0.25 and is worth $5 per contract. On MNQ it’s $0.50.
How much is one tick on MES?
$1.25 per contract, a tenth of ES.
How many ticks are in a point?
It depends on the contract. On ES, NQ and their micros, 4. On the Dow (YM), 1.
How do I work out tick value?
Tick size × point value. On ES, 0.25 × $50 = $12.50.
What’s the difference between tick size and tick value?
Tick size is how far the price moves in one step. Tick value is what that step is worth in money.
Do tick sizes ever change?
They can. Exchanges set them and can update them, so check the contract’s page on the exchange’s website.
Is a tick the same as a pip?
They’re similar ideas. Futures traders say tick, and forex traders say pip.