Futures Break-Even Calculator
Translate user-entered futures costs into an exact long or short recovery exit, compare both directions, and audit five whole-tick recovery rows plus five adjacent contract-count rows.
Enter one outright futures position and cost basis
Use the actual average entry fill and a compatible tick, multiplier and complete cost basis for the exact contract and delivery month.
Entered futures cost-recovery result
Entered Futures Break-Even 2.0.0.
Entered futures break-even audit
Trace tick value, position point value, entered costs, exact recovery and the whole-tick illustration.
On smaller screens, scroll each table horizontally; the page itself remains contained.
| Step | Arithmetic | Result |
|---|
Long and short recovery comparison
The cost hurdle is unchanged; direction determines whether recovery sits above or below entry.
| Direction | Exact break-even | Exact ticks | Minimum whole ticks | Whole-tick price | Whole-tick gross | Entered costs | Whole-tick net | Row type |
|---|
Five whole-tick recovery rows
Starting one whole tick below the minimum where possible, each row moves one entered tick farther in the favourable direction.
| Whole ticks | Signed move | Scenario exit | Gross position | Entered costs | Net position | Outcome | Row type |
|---|
Five whole-contract scenarios
The per-contract charge scales with contracts; the separate other-position cost stays fixed and is diluted across more contracts.
| Contracts | Round-turn costs | Other cost | Total costs | Position point value | Exact distance | Exact ticks | Exact break-even | Whole ticks | Whole-tick price | Whole-tick net | Row type |
|---|
These deterministic rows are entered-cost sensitivities, not executable quotes, order levels, fill promises, forecasts, account records or recommendations.
Futures break-even calculator: quick answer
Add the entered round-turn cost for every contract to any separate fixed position cost. Divide that cash hurdle by the contract multiplier times whole contracts. Add the resulting price distance to a long entry or subtract it from a short entry. Because the exact answer can fall between ticks, review the separately labelled whole-tick recovery illustration.
Audited two-contract entered example
Select long and enter 5,000 at entry, a 0.25 minimum increment, a 50 multiplier, two whole contracts, USD 6.50 round-turn cost per contract and USD 2 of other position costs.
Entered costs total USD 15 and position value per full point is USD 100. Exact recovery distance is 0.15, so exact long break-even is 5,000.15. The minimum one-whole-tick illustration is 5,000.25, producing USD 25 gross and +USD 10 after the entered costs.
How futures break-even price is calculated
Position value per full price point = contract multiplier × whole contracts
Exact recovery distance = total entered costs ÷ position value per point
Long break-even = entry + exact recovery distance
Short break-even = entry − exact recovery distance
Minimum whole recovery ticks = round exact ticks up to a non-negative whole number
CME Group’s futures P/L identity multiplies contract price movement by the multiplier and number of contracts. Solving that same linear identity for the movement that offsets entered costs produces the break-even distance. Tick value is the entered minimum increment multiplied by contract size; it converts the exact price distance into exact ticks.
Exact recovery versus a whole-tick illustration
The exact price is the algebraic point where modeled gross P/L equals the entered cost total. It can sit between tradable price levels. The whole-tick illustration rounds favourable movement away from entry to the minimum whole number of entered ticks that covers those costs.
That illustration is measured from the entered fill. If the entry itself is not aligned to the entered tick grid, the page warns that the resulting row is not a universal exchange price lattice. Neither output includes spread, slippage or any charge omitted from the fields.
Per-contract and fixed position costs behave differently
The round-turn field is multiplied by whole contracts. The other-position field is one fixed cash amount for the full position. Across the five contract rows, the per-contract component scales while the fixed component is shared across more contracts. Do not place a per-contract fee in both fields, and do not enter a per-side commission without first converting it to the complete round-turn basis requested.
Break-even, P/L, margin and account return are different
| Quantity | Core arithmetic | Useful for | Does not prove |
|---|---|---|---|
| Break-even exit | Entry ± entered costs ÷ position point value | One modeled cost-recovery reference | Executable price, probability or target |
| Trade P/L | Direction-adjusted exit move × multiplier × contracts − costs | Reviewing one entered price path | Maximum loss or account return |
| Initial margin | Current requirement per contract × contracts | Opening performance-bond planning | Trade cost or fixed loss cap |
| Account return | Defined account performance ÷ account-capital basis | Portfolio or account measurement | Trade P/L divided by contract margin |
Assumptions and limits
- Every entry, tick, multiplier, contract count and cost is user-entered and unverified.
- Finite zero and negative entry prices are accepted; tick, multiplier and contracts must remain positive.
- One linear outright long or short futures position is modeled; options, spreads, inverse contracts and nonlinear payoffs are excluded.
- Unentered spread, slippage, commissions, exchange, clearing, platform, data, tax, delivery and financing costs remain excluded.
- Daily settlement, variation margin, margin calls, liquidation, account equity and maximum loss are not modeled.
- The direction, recovery and contract rows are arithmetic audits, not forecasts, probabilities, signals or recommendations.
A careful futures cost-recovery workflow
- Identify the exact product, delivery month and outright transaction type.
- Copy the current multiplier and minimum price increment from the exchange specification.
- Use the actual average entry fill and correct long or short direction.
- Normalize every per-side fee into one round-turn-per-contract amount.
- Add only separate same-currency position costs not already included.
- Distinguish the exact algebraic price from the whole-tick illustration.
- Allow for spread, slippage and charges only known at execution.
- Reconcile completed trades with the official broker statement.
Frequently asked questions
- Divide total entered position costs by multiplier times whole contracts, then add that distance to a long entry or subtract it from a short entry.
- It subtracts the same positive cost-recovery distance from entry because a short position gains when price moves lower.
- Use the complete round-turn cost per contract plus separate same-currency position costs that are not already included.
- Cash costs divided by position point value need not be an exact multiple of the entered minimum price increment.
- They form a whole-tick ladder beginning one tick below the minimum where possible and then moving one entered tick farther in the favorable direction.
- They apply the same entry, tick, multiplier and cost rules to five adjacent positive whole-contract counts while keeping the separate other-position cost fixed.
- No. It is entered arithmetic. Spread, slippage, added fees and actual fill prices can change realized cost recovery.
- Exact break-even equals entry, the raw tick hurdle is zero and the minimum whole-tick count is zero.
- No. Verify the contract specification and complete fee basis with the exchange and broker before calculating.
- No. It is a modeled cost-recovery reference, not an order instruction, probability, target or guarantee against loss.
Sources and methodology
- CME Group — Calculating Futures Contract Profit or Loss — explains tick value, price movement and multi-contract P/L.
- CME Group — Getting Started With Your Broker — describes commissions, platform and data fees and broker-specific requirements.
- CFTC — Futures Glossary — provides public futures-industry definitions without endorsing a strategy.
- CFTC — Futures Market Basics — covers daily settlement, margin obligations and futures risk.
The operational contract is Entered Futures Break-Even version 2.0.0. Independent fixtures cover long/short symmetry, zero and negative prices, zero costs, exact and whole-tick recovery, two direction rows, five recovery rows, five contract rows, CSV structure and field-specific invalid inputs.
Continue the futures planning workflow
Compare broker products separately
The brokers below primarily offer leveraged forex or CFD products, not necessarily the exchange-futures contract model on this page. Verify symbol, contract size, price source, expiry, financing, margin, costs and execution terms independently.
Risk warning and affiliate disclosure: Futures and leveraged derivatives are high risk, and losses can exceed the initial funds deposited. Links above are affiliate links; we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. This calculator is educational and does not provide personalized advice.