Tick Size & Tick Value
Tick size is the smallest price increment a futures contract is allowed to move — it's set by the exchange and varies by contract. Tick value is the dollar amount that one tick is worth, derived from the contract's multiplier (point value) times the tick size. Together they're what let a trader translate a price move on the chart directly into a dollar figure.
These are fixed, published exchange specifications, not something a broker or platform can change. Two contracts that track similar underlying prices can have very different tick sizes and tick values, which is why comparing 'points' across contracts without checking their tick value can be misleading.
Why it matters
Every stop-loss, target, and risk calculation ultimately comes down to ticks and their dollar value. A trader who sets a 20-tick stop on ES ($12.50/tick) is risking $250 per contract before commissions; the same 20-tick stop on MES ($1.25/tick) risks $25. Knowing tick value cold — not approximating it — is basic risk hygiene for anyone sizing trades against a daily loss limit.
It also matters when moving between a mini and its micro, or between unrelated products that happen to trade at similar-looking prices. Confusing CL's tick value with GC's, for instance, means misjudging dollar risk on every trade until the mistake is caught.
Example
Reference values for common CME futures contracts (public exchange specifications):
ES — tick size 0.25, tick value $12.50
MES — tick size 0.25, tick value $1.25
NQ — tick size 0.25, tick value $5.00
MNQ — tick size 0.25, tick value $0.50
YM — tick size 1, tick value $5.00
MYM — tick size 1, tick value $0.50
RTY — tick size 0.10, tick value $5.00
M2K — tick size 0.10, tick value $0.50
CL — tick size 0.01, tick value $10.00
MCL — tick size 0.01, tick value $1.00
GC — tick size 0.10, tick value $10.00
MGC — tick size 0.10, tick value $1.00
Related terms