Same tick, different dollars
MES and ES both move in 0.25 increments. Only the money per tick differs — $1.25 against $12.50 — so charts and stops translate directly.
One tenth, exactlyFree tool
What is a tick actually worth?
Every futures contract moves in its own increment and each increment is worth a different amount of money. Pick a contract and this shows the tick size, the dollar value, and what a given move is worth at the size you are trading.
Tick value calculator
Enter how many contracts you are holding and how many ticks the price has moved. A negative tick count works — it is the same arithmetic going the other way, and seeing the loss figure is usually more useful than seeing the gain.
Contract specifications are set by the exchange, not by your broker. They change rarely but they do change, and your broker's contract page is the authority for the product you are actually trading.
Value of the move —
Tick size —
Per tick, 1 contract —
Per point, 1 contract —
Per tick, your size —
Move in points —
The numbers everyone looks up
These four account for most of the searching, and the gap between the full-size and micro versions is the reason micros exist.
| Contract | Tick size | Per tick | Per point |
|---|---|---|---|
| ES — E-mini S&P 500 | 0.25 | $12.50 | $50.00 |
| MES — Micro E-mini S&P 500 | 0.25 | $1.25 | $5.00 |
| NQ — E-mini Nasdaq-100 | 0.25 | $5.00 | $20.00 |
| MNQ — Micro E-mini Nasdaq-100 | 0.25 | $0.50 | $2.00 |
| YM — E-mini Dow | 1.0 | $5.00 | $5.00 |
| MYM — Micro E-mini Dow | 1.0 | $0.50 | $0.50 |
| RTY — E-mini Russell 2000 | 0.10 | $5.00 | $50.00 |
| CL — Crude Oil | 0.01 | $10.00 | $1,000.00 |
| GC — Gold | 0.10 | $10.00 | $100.00 |
Tick, point, handle
Three words for three different things, used loosely enough to cause real mistakes.
A tick is the smallest increment the contract is allowed to trade in. On ES that is 0.25, so a one-tick move is a quarter of an index point.
A point is one full unit of the underlying. On ES a point is four ticks, and therefore four times the tick value — $50 rather than $12.50.
A handle is trader shorthand for a point on index products. "Ten handles" on ES means ten points, forty ticks, $500 a contract.
The confusion is expensive in one specific place: sizing. A stop quoted in points is four times a stop quoted in the same number of ticks on ES. The position size calculator asks for ticks for exactly this reason.
Why micros changed the maths
A micro contract is one tenth of its full-size equivalent — same product, same hours, same tick size, a tenth of the dollar value per tick.
That is what makes a small account able to trade at all. A 40-tick stop on ES is $500 of risk per contract; on MES it is $50. On a 50K account risking 1%, ES gives you exactly one contract with no room, and MES gives you ten — which means you can scale, take partials, and be wrong about an entry without the position being the whole risk budget.
It also matters when you run several accounts of different sizes. A leader trading MES can be mirrored into a larger account at a multiplier without the smaller account ever having been forced into a size it could not carry.
Cheaper to be wrong
Ten micros equals one full-size contract in exposure, but lets you exit in tenths instead of all at once.
Partial exits become possibleCommission is per contract
Ten micros pay ten commissions where one E-mini pays one. Below a certain size the fees matter more than the flexibility.
Check your own rateCommon questions
What is the tick value of ES?
The E-mini S&P 500 moves in 0.25-point ticks and each tick is worth $12.50 per contract, which makes a full index point $50. The Micro E-mini (MES) has the same 0.25 tick size but each tick is worth $1.25, so a point is $5.
What is the tick value of NQ?
The E-mini Nasdaq-100 moves in 0.25-point ticks worth $5.00 each, so a point is $20 per contract. The Micro (MNQ) is one tenth of that: $0.50 a tick and $2.00 a point.
What is the tick value of MES?
The Micro E-mini S&P 500 moves in 0.25-point ticks worth $1.25 each, making a full point $5.00 per contract. It is exactly one tenth of the ES contract.
What is the difference between a tick and a point?
A point is one full unit of price; a tick is the smallest increment the contract may trade in. On ES there are four ticks to a point, so a point is worth four times a tick — $50 against $12.50.
Who sets tick values?
The exchange, in the contract specification — not your broker. Your broker's contract page is still the right place to confirm the product you are actually trading, since specifications do occasionally change.
Is my data sent anywhere?
No. The calculator runs entirely in your browser. Nothing you type is transmitted, stored or logged, and the page makes no network request while you use it.
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