E-mini Nasdaq-100 tick value
Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), equity index
- Tick
- $50.25 per tick
- One point
- $20per contract
- Initial margin
- $46,415.60exchange, as of 27 Oct 2026
- Front contract
- NQZ26roll by 10 Dec 2026
Specs checked as of How we source this
Value of a move
| Ticks | 1 contract | 2 contracts | 5 contracts | 10 contracts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $5 | $10 | $25 | $50 |
| 4 | $20 | $40 | $100 | $200 |
| 10 | $50 | $100 | $250 | $500 |
| 20 | $100 | $200 | $500 | $1,000 |
| 50 | $250 | $500 | $1,250 | $2,500 |
| 100 | $500 | $1,000 | $2,500 | $5,000 |
How tick value works
A tick is the smallest price change a futures contract can make. For E-mini Nasdaq-100 (NQ) the tick is 0.25 and each tick is worth $5 per contract. That figure comes from the contract size: $20 × Nasdaq-100 Index, so a move of one full price unit is worth $20, and one tick is that amount multiplied by the tick size.
To value any price move, count the ticks and multiply. A 10-tick move on one contract is $50; the same move on five contracts is $250. Profit and loss on NQ are settled in USD, so if your account is in another currency your result also depends on the exchange rate.
The tick value is fixed by the exchange specification and doesn't change with price, unlike the contract's total notional value. That makes it the basic unit for sizing positions: decide how many ticks your stop is from your entry, multiply by $5, and you have the loss per contract if the stop is hit, before commissions and slippage. The calculator below does this for any number of ticks and contracts.
Calculator
Questions
- What is the tick value of NQ?
- Each tick (0.25) is worth $5 per contract.
- How much is a 10-tick move on NQ?
- $50 per contract.
- In what currency is NQ settled?
- USD.