What is the MNQ tick value?

One MNQ tick is worth $0.50 per contract. MNQ, the Micro E-mini Nasdaq-100 future, moves in ticks of 0.25 index points, and the contract is $2 times the index, so one point is 4 ticks and is worth $2. Source: CME Group contract specifications for Micro E-mini Nasdaq-100 futures, checked 2026-10-06.

Everything else is multiplication. The tables below turn ticks, points and dollars into each other, for one contract and for ten.

The MNQ specification

From CME Group's Micro E-mini Nasdaq-100 contract specifications page, checked 2026-10-06:

The tick value is not a separate number to memorise. It is the tick size times the multiplier. If you remember 0.25 and $2, you can rebuild the rest.

Because the tick is 0.25, MNQ prices always end in .00, .25, .50 or .75.

Three lines that do every conversion

• Dollars = ticks × $0.50 × contracts
• Ticks = points × 4
• Points = dollars ÷ ($2 × contracts)

Ticks, points and dollars

Read across any row: 40 ticks is 10 points, and $20 on one contract.

How many ticks is $500 on MNQ?

Work backwards from the dollars:

• 1 MNQ: $500 ÷ $0.50 = 1,000 ticks, which is 1,000 ÷ 4 = 250 points
• 5 MNQ: $500 ÷ ($0.50 × 5) = 200 ticks, or 50 points
• 10 MNQ: $500 ÷ ($0.50 × 10) = 100 ticks, or 25 points

The same method answers any "how far can price move before I lose $X" question. It is the step that turns a prop firm's dollar limits into a distance on the chart.

A worked trade

(example figures, not results)

Buy 3 MNQ at 21,000.00. Sell at 21,012.50.

• Points = 21,012.50 − 21,000.00 = 12.5
• Ticks = 12.5 × 4 = 50
• P&L = 50 × $0.50 × 3 = $75
• Check with points: 12.5 × $2 × 3 = $75

The same trade stopped out at 20,990.00 instead:

• Points = 20,990.00 − 21,000.00 = −10
• Ticks = −10 × 4 = −40
• P&L = −40 × $0.50 × 3 = −$60

Both results are before commissions and exchange fees, which are charged per contract (per side or per round turn, depending on who charges them). Subtract them to get the net figure, and compare them with a $0.50 tick before you plan a small target.

Why prop traders need this number exact

Prop firm limits are written in dollars: the drawdown, any daily loss limit, the profit target. Your chart is in points and ticks. The tick value is the only bridge between the two, so an error in it carries into every stop, every size and every floor you work out.

A quick check before the open catches most errors. Take your stop in ticks, multiply by $0.50 and by your contract count, and compare the result with the platform's risk display. If a 40-tick stop on 5 MNQ does not show as 40 × $0.50 × 5 = $100, find out why before you place the trade. Platforms can show P&L in ticks, points or dollars, and the three numbers differ: on one MNQ the same move reads 40 ticks, 10 points or $20. Know which one you are looking at.

MNQ vs NQ

NQ, the E-mini Nasdaq-100, tracks the same index with a $20 multiplier (CME Group contract specifications, checked 2026-10-06).

Same chart, same ticks, ten times the dollars. 10 MNQ carry the same dollar risk per tick as 1 NQ. The micro lets you size in steps of $0.50 a tick instead of $5.00.

Your drawdown, in MNQ ticks

The shared example: a $50,000 account with a $2,000 drawdown, on its first day, so room is the full $2,000 (example figures, not results).

• 1 MNQ: $2,000 ÷ $0.50 = 4,000 ticks, or 1,000 points
• 10 MNQ: $2,000 ÷ $5 = 400 ticks, or 100 points
• 20 MNQ: $2,000 ÷ $10 = 200 ticks, or 50 points

With a 40-tick stop on 10 MNQ, each stop costs $200, so the room covers 10 full stops. On a trailing drawdown the room changes as the floor moves, which What is a trailing drawdown? explains. Turning room into a contract count is the next step, covered in How many contracts should I trade on a prop firm account?.

Common mistakes

• Mixing up ticks and points. A 10-point stop is 40 ticks. Reading it as 10 ticks understates the risk four times over: $5 instead of $20 per contract.
• Using the NQ value for MNQ, or the reverse. A $5.00 tick on a micro, or $0.50 on a mini, is a tenfold error in every stop and size.
• Forgetting to multiply by contracts. The $0.50 is per contract. 10 MNQ is $5 a tick.
• Confusing MNQ with MES. Both are micros, but MES is $1.25 a tick and $5 a point (CME Group, checked 2026-10-06). The symbols sit next to each other on most platforms.
• Ignoring fees on small targets. A 4-tick target on one MNQ is $2 gross. Commissions and exchange fees can take a large part of that.