Definition
What is Tick?
A tick is the minimum price increment of an instrument; tick value is how much one tick is worth in money for one contract or lot.
Every instrument moves in fixed steps. On the E-mini S&P 500 (ES) the tick size is 0.25 points; on crude oil (CL) it is $0.01.
Tick value = tick size × point value. ES is $50 per point, so one tick is worth $12.50; NQ is $20 per point, so one tick is $5; MES is $1.25 per tick.
Futures traders often think in ticks rather than points, because the tick value converts a stop distance directly into dollars.
Example
Example: a 12-tick stop on one NQ contract risks 12 × $5 = $60; on two MES contracts it risks 12 × $1.25 × 2 = $30.
At a prop firm
Axora Funded futures use the standard CME tick sizes and point values (for example ES 0.25 point at $50 per point, CL $0.01 at $1,000 per point), so a tick on one CL contract is worth $10.
Frequently asked questions
How much is one tick on ES?
$12.50 per contract.
Is a tick the same as a pip?
Both are small price units, but a pip is a forex convention while a tick is the exact minimum step of an instrument.