ES tick value
One ES tick (0.25 points) is worth $12.50 per contract, and a full point is worth $50.00. E-mini S&P 500, traded on CME. Put in your own move and size below.
- Tick size
- 0.25
- Tick value
- $12.50
- Point value (1.00 move)
- $50.00
- Ticks in one point
- 4
- Per contract
- $250.00
- Per tick, 1 contract
- $12.50
- Per point, 1 contract
- $50.00
- Same move on 1 MES
- $25.00
Import your trades into Actal and every point is turned into dollars for you, with every broken rule and its cost added up.
Journal for free →What an ES move is worth
Dollars for each move, by number of contracts. Before fees.
| Move | 1 ES | 2 ES | 5 ES | 10 ES |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 tick (0.25) | $12.50 | $25.00 | $62.50 | $125.00 |
| 1 point | $50.00 | $100.00 | $250.00 | $500.00 |
| 2 points | $100.00 | $200.00 | $500.00 | $1,000.00 |
| 5 points | $250.00 | $500.00 | $1,250.00 | $2,500.00 |
| 10 points | $500.00 | $1,000.00 | $2,500.00 | $5,000.00 |
| 20 points | $1,000.00 | $2,000.00 | $5,000.00 | $10,000.00 |
| 50 points | $2,500.00 | $5,000.00 | $12,500.00 | $25,000.00 |
ES contract specs
| Exchange | CME |
|---|---|
| Contract | $50 × the S&P 500 index |
| Tick size | 0.25 points |
| Tick value | $12.50 per contract |
| Point value | $50.00 per contract |
| Ticks per point | 4 |
| Micro version | MES, $1.25 a tick |
Tick size and value are set by the exchange and don't change by session or contract month. Commissions and margin depend on your broker.
ES vs MES, and what to know
ES is the full-size E-mini S&P 500, the most traded equity index future. One point is $50, one tick $12.50.
A 5 point stop on ES is $250 a contract. If that's more than you risk per trade, trade MES: ten MES are one ES, so you can size in $25 steps instead of $250 ones.
| Tick value | Per point | 5 point move | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ES | $12.50 | $50.00 | $250.00 |
| MES | $1.25 | $5.00 | $25.00 |
Turning ticks into a position size
contracts = your risk ÷ risk per contract
Work out the stop first, then the size. Never the other way round. The position size calculator does this for ES and every other contract, and tells you when the micro fits better.
Knowing the tick value is the easy part. The part that costs traders money is what happens after two losers: an extra contract, a wider stop, one more trade. A max size rule you check after every session is what keeps the numbers on this page the numbers you actually trade.
Questions people ask
Tick values for other contracts
Import your trades from NinjaTrader, Tradovate, Rithmic, TopstepX and more. Actal turns every tick into dollars, checks every trade against your rules and adds up what each mistake cost you. Free during beta, no card.
Made by Joakim Jusell, futures trader and coach at Jusell Trading Academy.