FUTURES
Futures Profit Calculator
Pick any of 34 CME, CBOT, NYMEX, and COMEX contracts — ES, NQ, CL, GC, the micros, and more — enter your fills, and get ticks, points, and net P&L with the real tick values built in.
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THE MATH
From ticks to dollars
Futures P&L isn't price × shares. Every contract moves in fixed tick increments, and each tick is worth a fixed dollar amount — the two specs that turn a price move into money.
P&L = points moved × point value × contracts − commissions · point value = tick value ÷ tick sizeThe tick size is the smallest move a contract can make (0.25 points for ES, one cent for CL); the tick value is what that move is worth per contract ($12.50 for ES, $10 for CL). Divide tick value by tick size and you get the point value — $50 per ES point, $1,000 per CL dollar — which is why a “small” $2 move in crude is a $2,000 swing per contract. Direction just flips the sign: shorts profit when the exit prints below the entry.
Commissions are charged per contract per round turn (in and out), so they scale with size, not with profit. On micro contracts they matter proportionally more — a 10-tick win is $125 on ES but $12.50 on MES, so a $1 round turn that’s noise on the mini is nearly a tenth of the micro’s win.
FUTURES PROFIT CALCULATOR
LiveTICK SIZE
0.25
TICK VALUE
$12.50
POINT VALUE
$50.00
NET P&L
+$1,192.00
after commissions
TICKS MOVED
+48
+12 points
Uses standard exchange tick sizes and values; excludes exchange, NFA, and clearing fees beyond the commission you enter.
WORKED EXAMPLE
Two ES contracts, 12 points
Long two E-mini S&P 500 contracts at 6,400.00, sold at 6,412.00, paying $4.00 per contract round turn.
ES ticks in 0.25s worth $12.50, so 12 points is 48 ticks — $600 per contract, $1,200 gross across two. Commissions take 2 × $4.00 = $8.00, leaving $1,192 net, or $596 per contract. The same trade in micros (MES, $1.25 a tick) would have netted $120 gross per contract — exactly one-tenth the exposure, which is the entire point of the micro complex: identical chart, identical tick grid, 10% of the dollar swing.
Run the numbers in reverse before the trade and the calculator becomes a risk tool: a 10-point ES stop is $500 per contract, so a trader risking $600 on the idea can take one ES — or twelve MES at $50 each, which allows scaling out. That translation from stop distance to contract count is the futures version of position sizing.
SIZING
Micros exist for granularity, not for beginners
Every micro is exactly one-tenth of its parent — same tick grid, same hours, one-tenth the dollars per tick.
One ES equals ten MES, so micros let you size risk in $1.25-a-tick steps instead of $12.50 jumps: a trader with $375 of risk budget and a 10-point stop can take exactly seven MES ($350 at $50 per contract), where ES offers only zero contracts or one at $500 — nothing or over-risked. They also make scaling honest — taking partials off a 4-lot MES position at fixed targets is a strategy; doing it with one ES contract is impossible. The trade-off is costs: commissions per micro are usually more than a tenth of the mini’s, so at ten-lots-of-micro size the mini is cheaper to trade.
FAQ
Where do the tick sizes and tick values come from?＋
They are the standard contract specifications published by the exchanges — CME, CBOT, NYMEX, and COMEX (all part of CME Group). Tick size is the minimum price fluctuation in each contract's rulebook and tick value is its fixed dollar worth; neither changes day to day. Always confirm against your broker's contract specs before trading.
What's the difference between a tick and a point?＋
A point is one whole unit of the quoted price; a tick is the minimum increment the contract actually trades in. ES has four ticks per point (0.25 × $12.50 = $50/point); YM's tick is a full point ($5); ZN ticks in half-32nds. The calculator shows both so you can talk to either convention.
Why do the grain contracts look strange?＋
Corn, soybeans, and wheat (ZC, ZS, ZW) are quoted in cents per bushel, and prices are traditionally printed in eighths — 452'4 means 452 and 4/8 cents, i.e. 452.50. Enter the decimal form. Each quarter-cent tick is worth $12.50 on the standard 5,000-bushel contract.
Does the calculator include exchange and NFA fees?＋
No — it subtracts only the round-turn commission you enter. All-in costs typically add exchange fees, clearing fees, and NFA fees on top of the broker's commission. Enter your broker's all-in round-turn rate if you want net P&L to match your statement exactly.
Can I use this to size a futures position?＋
Yes — work it backwards. Enter your planned entry and stop as entry and exit; the 'loss' shown per contract is your risk per contract. Divide your dollar risk budget by that figure and round down to get your maximum contracts. Micros give you ten times finer steps for the same chart.
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