Price Movement
$5.00
Commodities and Futures Calculator
Calculate profit/loss on a futures contract position.
Profit / Loss
$15,000.00
Per Contract P/L
$5,000.00
How to use the Commodities and Futures Calculator
The Commodities and Futures Calculator is free and runs entirely in your browser — no sign-up, and nothing you enter leaves your device. It opens pre-filled with a realistic example, so you can see how it works before replacing any figure with your own; the results update as you type. Press Calculate to refresh the result panel, or Reset to return to the example.
The inputs it asks for:
- Entry Price — a dollar amount.
- Exit Price — a dollar amount.
- Number of Contracts — a number.
- Value per Full Point — a dollar amount.
- Position — choose one — Long, Short.
The formula
Futures profit is the price move in your favour, scaled by the contract's point value and the number of contracts. Going long you profit when price rises; going short, when it falls:
P/L = Price move × Value per point × Contracts
Price move = Exit − Entry (long) or Entry − Exit (short)- Value per point
- the dollar value of a one-point move in one contract
- Contracts
- how many you hold
Futures are leveraged — you control a large contract value for a small margin deposit, so both gains and losses are magnified relative to the cash you put up. This is gross P/L before commissions, exchange fees and any overnight financing.
Worked example
Using the example values — Entry Price $50.00, Exit Price $55.00, Number of Contracts 3, Value per Full Point $1,000.00, Position Long — the Commodities and Futures Calculator returns a Profit / Loss of $15,000.00. It also reports Price Movement ($5.00), Per Contract P/L ($5,000.00).
Prefer your own numbers? Change any field above and this recomputes instantly.
Key terms
- Futures contract
- An agreement to buy or sell an asset at a set price on a future date.
- Long / short
- A position that profits from a rising (long) or falling (short) price.
- Point value / tick value
- The money one unit of price movement is worth per contract.
- Leverage
- Controlling a large contract value with a small margin deposit.
Frequently asked questions
How is futures profit calculated?
The price move times the contract's value-per-point times the number of contracts — with the move sign flipped for short positions.
Why are futures considered risky?
Leverage. A small margin controls a large notional value, so a modest price move is a large percentage gain or loss on your deposit — and losses can exceed the margin.
Does this include fees?
No — it's gross profit or loss. Commissions, exchange fees and financing costs reduce the net, so factor them in separately.