How to use the futures calculator
The page has two tools. Profit & loss converts a price move into money. Margin & margin call checks whether an account can hold a position and how far the price can move before the broker asks for more money.
- Choose the contract. The calculator fills in the point value and tick size from the exchange specifications. For any other contract, choose Custom and enter its point value (dollars per 1.00 price move) and tick size.
- Choose long or short and the number of contracts.
- Enter the entry price as quoted, in index points, dollars per barrel or ounce, Treasury points or dollars per euro.
- Profit & loss: enter the exit price, or switch to ticks and enter how many ticks the price moves in your favor (a negative number for a loss).
- Margin: enter the initial and maintenance margin per contract and your account equity. The margin defaults are examples only. Exchanges and brokers set these figures and change them often, so check your broker’s current numbers for the contract.
How futures profit and margin are calculated
Ticks = Points ÷ Tick size
Profit = Points × Point value × Contracts = Ticks × Tick value × Contracts
Notional value = Price × Point value × Contracts
Return on margin = Profit ÷ (Initial margin × Contracts)Tick value = Tick size × Point value. For the E-mini S&P 500, 0.25 × $50 = $12.50.
Effective leverage = Notional value ÷ Account equitySubtract for a long position, add for a short. At the margin call price, account equity equals the total maintenance margin.
A worked example
You buy 2 contracts E-mini S&P 500 contracts at 5,800 and sell them at 5,837.50. That is a gain of 37.5 points, or 150 ticks. At $12.50 a tick per contract, the profit is $3,750.00.
The position had a notional value of $580,000.00, controlled with $44,000.00 of initial margin in this example. So a 0.65% move in the index produced a +8.52% return on the margin, because the leverage on margin is 13.2×. Leverage cuts both ways: a move of just 20 ticks against you, 5 index points, would cost $500.00.
Now the margin side: with $50,000 in the account, $22,000 initial and $20,000 maintenance margin per contract, the two contracts need $44,000.00 to open. The account is 11.6× leveraged. A fall of 1.72% to 5,700 takes equity down to the $40,000.00 maintenance level and triggers a margin call, with $4,000.00 due to restore the initial margin.
Holding one contract instead of two with the same equity moves the margin call to 5,200, a 10.34% fall, which shows how much of the risk comes from position size rather than from the contract itself.
Contract specifications at a glance
| Contract | Size | Tick | Tick value |
|---|---|---|---|
| E-mini S&P 500 (ES) | $50 × index | 0.25 | $12.50 |
| Micro E-mini S&P 500 (MES) | $5 × index | 0.25 | $1.25 |
| E-mini Nasdaq-100 (NQ) | $20 × index | 0.25 | $5.00 |
| Micro E-mini Nasdaq-100 (MNQ) | $2 × index | 0.25 | $0.50 |
| Crude oil (CL) | 1,000 barrels | $0.01 | $10.00 |
| Gold (GC) | 100 troy ounces | $0.10 | $10.00 |
| Micro gold (MGC) | 10 troy ounces | $0.10 | $1.00 |
| 10-year T-note (ZN) | $1,000 per point | 1/64 point | $15.625 |
| Euro FX (6E) | €125,000 | 0.00005 | $6.25 |
These are the standard CME Group specifications. Exchanges occasionally revise contract terms, so confirm them on the exchange’s contract page before trading a contract for the first time.
Why futures leverage needs respect
Futures margin is a good-faith deposit, not a down payment. In the example, the margin is only 7.59% of the contract’s value, so every 1% move in the index is worth roughly 13.2% of the margin posted. That works in both directions.
The micro contracts exist to make this manageable. Trading MES instead of ES with the same price move makes $375.00 instead of $3,750.00, and a $10,000 account holding two MES contracts with example micro margins would not face a margin call until 5,200, a 10.34% fall: the same cushion as one ES contract in a $50,000 account, at a fifth of the exposure. Size the position from the loss you can accept, using the position size calculator and a stop-loss, rather than from the margin the broker allows.
Futures are also marked to market daily. Gains and losses are settled in cash at the end of every session, so a losing position draws on your account each day, not only when you close it. A gap at the open can move the price straight past your margin call level, and the account can lose more than the money deposited.
What this calculator does not include
- Commissions, exchange fees and slippage, which are charged per contract on both the entry and the exit.
- Day-trading margins, which some brokers set below the exchange’s overnight requirement.
- Changes in margin. Exchanges can raise margins at short notice, which can cause a margin call without any price move.
- Contract roll costs and expiry. Futures expire; holding exposure longer means rolling into the next contract month at a different price. Some contracts, such as crude oil, are physically delivered if held into delivery.
- Taxes. In the US, most exchange-traded futures fall under Section 1256: gains are treated as 60% long-term and 40% short-term, and open positions are marked to market at year end.
- Currency effects on contracts priced in currencies other than the dollar. All contracts here settle in US dollars.