Futures Tick Value Explained

These three terms are related but not interchangeable. Tick size is measured in price units, tick value is measured in dollars per tick, and point value is measured in dollars per full point.

For a decimal-priced contract, point value can be derived by dividing tick value by tick size.

ES has a 0.25-point minimum tick and a $12.50 tick value, which implies $50 per full point. MES uses the same price increment but a much smaller dollar value per tick.

Because the chart movement is visually identical while the dollar movement differs, confusing ES with MES can create a large sizing error.

NQ and MNQ also share the same minimum price increment while using different dollar multipliers. This is why a stop measured only in chart points is incomplete until you identify the exact contract.

A 10-point move is the same market move on the chart, but the P&L impact per contract is different.

Contracts such as crude oil and gold use different price conventions from equity index futures. The calculator should therefore use the exchange specification for each symbol rather than applying one universal multiplier.

Always verify the currently listed contract specification with the exchange or broker when a product changes.

Once the stop distance is converted into ticks, multiplying by tick value gives the approximate loss per contract if the stop executes at the planned price.

That per-contract loss is the denominator in risk-based position sizing.