Futures Profit Calculator
A futures profit calculator turns a price move into dollars: the move in ticks, times the contract's tick value, times the number of contracts, minus any commission. One MES long from 7000.00 to 7010.00 is 40 ticks at $1.25 a tick, so $50.00. The same move on one ES is $500.00.
Pick the contract and type the entry and exit with Long or Short, or skip the prices and type the move in points or ticks. Add the contract count and, if you want it in, your round-turn commission. You get the ticks, the points, the tick and point value, and the gross and net P&L, for ES, MES, NQ, MNQ, YM, MYM, RTY, M2K, CL, MCL, GC, MGC, SI, SIL, NG and 6E. It is arithmetic on the numbers you type and the CME contract specs, so it never reads your chart, your broker statement or live prices, and never says whether to take the trade.
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Futures Profit Calculator
Ticks, points and dollars for a move, from the CME contract specs
A long makes money when the exit is above the entry, a short when it is below. A price between two ticks is rounded to the nearest tick.
Enter the entry and exit prices and the number of contracts to see the P&L.
How it works
How futures profit is calculated
Ticks = (exit - entry) / tick size, for a long
Ticks = (entry - exit) / tick size, for a short
Points = ticks × tick size
Tick value = tick size × point value
Gross P&L = ticks × tick value × contracts
Net P&L = gross P&L - commission × contracts
Every per-contract number comes from one table, the same one the futures position size calculator reads, with the tick sizes and point values from CME Group's contract spec pages, one per product. The examples on this page use the Micro E-mini S&P 500, E-mini S&P 500, Micro E-mini Nasdaq-100, Silver and Euro FX pages. The tick size is the smallest step price can take. The point value is what a full 1.00 move is worth on one contract. Multiply the two and you have the tick value: 0.25 × $5.00 = $1.25 on MES, and 0.25 × $50.00 = $12.50 on ES.
A short flips the subtraction, so a falling price is a gain and a rising one is a loss. A typed move skips the prices and the direction: positive is in your favor, negative is against you, and points turn into ticks by dividing by the tick size.
The arithmetic runs in whole ticks and whole cents, never by dividing one decimal price by another. That matters on the odd tick sizes. Euro FX ticks in 0.00005 and silver in 0.005, and binary floating point holds neither exactly: (1.08750 - 1.08500) / 0.00005 comes out as 49.999999999998934, and (32.050 - 31.550) / 0.005 as 99.99999999999929. Code that truncates those counts 49 and 99 ticks, one tick short ($6.25 and $25.00 a contract). Here the Euro FX long is exactly 50 ticks, $312.50, and the silver long is 100 ticks, $2,500.00.
A price between two ticks can't trade, so it is rounded to the nearest tick and the result says so: type an MES exit of 7010.10 and it reads as 7010.00, since MES moves in ticks of 0.25. A move typed in points or ticks that isn't a whole number of ticks gets the same treatment. Dollars print to the cent with thousands separators. Prices and points print at the contract's tick decimals with no separators, so they read like the price axis.
Worked example: ten points on MES and ES
| Trade | Ticks | Points | Gross | Commission | Net |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Long 1 MES, 7000.00 to 7010.00 | +40 | +10.00 | +$50.00 | None | +$50.00 |
| Long 1 ES, 7000.00 to 7010.00 | +40 | +10.00 | +$500.00 | None | +$500.00 |
| Short 2 MNQ, 21000.00 to 20980.00 | +80 | +20.00 | +$80.00 | None | +$80.00 |
| Long 1 MES, 7000.00 to 6995.00 | -20 | -5.00 | -$25.00 | None | -$25.00 |
| Short 2 MNQ, 21000.00 to 20980.00, $1.00 commission | +80 | +20.00 | +$80.00 | -$2.00 | +$78.00 |
The first two rows are the S&P example from the micro futures guide: the price goes 7000.00, 7000.25, so ten points is 40 ticks. At $1.25 a tick one MES makes $50.00, and at $12.50 one ES makes $500.00, the guide's 10 to 1. The loss row is the same MES long closed 5.00 points lower: 20 ticks against you, -$25.00. The MNQ short makes $40.00 a contract on 80 ticks at $0.50. The last row adds a round $1.00 per contract, picked to keep the arithmetic easy to check, not any broker's rate: 2 contracts pay $2.00, so +$80.00 gross is +$78.00 net. Prices are round numbers for the arithmetic, not quotes.
Every contract
What 10 ticks is worth on each contract
The guide's diagram puts the same 10-tick stop on ES and MES. Here is that move on every contract the calculator offers, one contract each, in the order the picker lists them.
| Contract | Tick size | Tick value | Point value | 10 ticks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ES E-mini S&P 500 | 0.25 | $12.50 | $50.00 | $125.00 |
| MES Micro E-mini S&P 500 | 0.25 | $1.25 | $5.00 | $12.50 |
| NQ E-mini Nasdaq-100 | 0.25 | $5.00 | $20.00 | $50.00 |
| MNQ Micro E-mini Nasdaq-100 | 0.25 | $0.50 | $2.00 | $5.00 |
| YM E-mini Dow | 1 | $5.00 | $5.00 | $50.00 |
| MYM Micro E-mini Dow | 1 | $0.50 | $0.50 | $5.00 |
| RTY E-mini Russell 2000 | 0.1 | $5.00 | $50.00 | $50.00 |
| M2K Micro E-mini Russell 2000 | 0.1 | $0.50 | $5.00 | $5.00 |
| CL Crude Oil | 0.01 | $10.00 | $1,000.00 | $100.00 |
| MCL Micro Crude Oil | 0.01 | $1.00 | $100.00 | $10.00 |
| GC Gold | 0.1 | $10.00 | $100.00 | $100.00 |
| MGC Micro Gold | 0.1 | $1.00 | $10.00 | $10.00 |
| SI Silver | 0.005 | $25.00 | $5,000.00 | $250.00 |
| SIL Micro Silver | 0.005 | $5.00 | $1,000.00 | $50.00 |
| NG Henry Hub Natural Gas | 0.001 | $10.00 | $10,000.00 | $100.00 |
| 6E Euro FX | 0.00005 | $6.25 | $125,000.00 | $62.50 |
Each micro moves tick for tick with its full-size contract for a fraction of the dollars. MES, MNQ, MYM, M2K, MCL and MGC are each a tenth the size of their full-size contract. SIL is a fifth the size of SI. Point value is dollars per 1.00 point of price movement, per contract, from the CME specs.
Before you rely on it
What the P&L does not tell you
The figure is what the move pays on the contract you picked, and nothing else. It isn't a fill: slippage can push a real entry or exit past the price you typed, most of all on a stop in a fast market, and the calculator ignores it. It only counts the commission you type, so exchange, clearing and platform fees stay out unless you fold them into that figure, and they vary by broker.
Margin isn't part of it either. The exchange and your broker set the deposit it takes to hold a position, it changes, and it decides what you can hold, not what a move pays, so this page doesn't use or quote it. The margin call explainer covers what happens when an account falls below it. And a P&L on a move you typed says nothing about whether the move happens.
Size the trade before you take it. The futures position size calculator turns your dollar risk and your stop into a contract count from the same contract table.
Common futures P&L mistakes
- Mixing up points and ticks. On ES a point is 4 ticks, so a 10-point target typed as 10 ticks prices $125.00 instead of $500.00 on one contract.
- Reading the full-size tick value for the micro, or the other way round. 40 ticks on one MES is $50.00. On one ES it is $500.00.
- Counting the commission once per trade. It is per contract, so ten contracts pay it ten times, and it has to be the round turn (in and out), not a one-side rate.
- Assuming every micro is a tenth. SIL is a fifth the size of SI in the CME specs, so the same move on one SIL pays a fifth of what it pays on one SI.
- Picking the trade from the P&L. A big number on a move you typed is still a move you typed. The chart decides whether it is likely.
Grade the setup before you size it or take it
The calculator tells you what a move is worth on the contract you picked. It can't tell you whether the move is likely, or whether the setup is any good. Before you size the trade, upload a screenshot of the chart and SnapPChart grades the setup A+ to F in seconds. The grade is a read of the chart. It doesn't know your contract, its tick value or your position, and it doesn't calculate P&L, so work the dollars out here. A paid grade also returns an entry, a stop, and targets when the chart supports a trade plan.
Upload a Chart ScreenshotYour first grade is free and shows the setup's grade and the general read. Entry, stop, targets and the trade plan come with a paid plan.
Keep going
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FAQ
Futures profit questions
How do you calculate futures profit?
Count the move in ticks, multiply by the contract's tick value, then by the number of contracts, and take off the commission. For a long, ticks = (exit - entry) / tick size; for a short, (entry - exit) / tick size. One MES from 7000.00 to 7010.00 is 40 ticks × $1.25 = $50.00. With a commission, net P&L = gross P&L - commission per contract × contracts.
How much is a tick on MNQ?
$0.50 per contract. MNQ ticks in 0.25 index points and a point is worth $2.00, so one tick is 0.25 × $2.00 = $0.50, and 4 ticks make a point. The full-size NQ is $5.00 a tick, 10 times as much, so 10 MNQ move like one NQ.
What is the tick value of NQ and ES?
NQ is $5.00 a tick (0.25 × $20.00 a point) and ES is $12.50 (0.25 × $50.00). Their micros are $0.50 a tick on MNQ and $1.25 on MES. So a 10-point move on one contract is $200.00 on NQ and $500.00 on ES.
How much is a $1 move in gold futures worth?
Gold futures are quoted in dollars per troy ounce, so a $1.00 move is one full point: $100.00 on one GC and $10.00 on one MGC. A tick is 0.1, worth $10.00 on GC and $1.00 on MGC.
What is the difference between a point and a tick?
A point is a full 1.00 move in price. A tick is the smallest step the contract can move. On ES and NQ a tick is 0.25, so 4 ticks make a point. On crude oil a tick is 0.01, so 100 ticks make a point. The calculator takes the move either way, or works it out from your entry and exit.
How do you work out profit on a short futures trade?
Flip the subtraction: ticks = (entry - exit) / tick size, so a falling price is a gain. A short of 2 MNQ from 21000.00 to 20980.00 is 80 ticks in your favor, $40.00 a contract and $80.00 gross. If price had risen instead, the same formula gives a negative number, which is the loss.
Does it include commissions, fees and slippage?
Only the commission you type, as a round-turn amount per contract, times the number of contracts. Commissions and exchange fees vary by broker, so fold any fees you pay into that figure if you want them in. It ignores slippage, so a stop that fills past its price makes the real loss bigger than the number here.
Does the calculator use margin?
No. Margin is a deposit the exchange and your broker set before you can hold the position. It changes over time, and it isn't part of what a move pays, so the calculator doesn't use it or show it.
Does SnapPChart's chart grade calculate P&L?
No. The grade is a read of the setup in your screenshot, A+ to F. It doesn't know which contract you trade, its tick value, your position or your fills, and it doesn't calculate profit or loss. Work the dollars out here, then grade the setup separately.
Benjamin Loh
Founder & Developer at SnapPChart
I build AI-powered tools for traders. I created SnapPChart to help day traders analyze chart patterns faster using computer vision and machine learning. Learn more · Follow on X
This calculator is for planning purposes only and is not financial advice. It computes ticks, points and P&L from the prices or move, contract count and commission you enter and the CME contract specs. It does not include fees you don't type, slippage or margin, and it does not read your chart, a broker statement or live prices. Futures trading involves substantial risk of loss.