SPX ⇄ ES and NDX ⇄ NQ converter: every strike on your futures price

How to use it

Type the price you see on your ES or NQ chart, and the index price at the same moment. The difference is the basis. Every strike in the ladder is shifted by that basis and rounded to the futures tick (0.25), ready to draw on your chart. The calculators below convert any single price, including SPY and QQQ.

Both prices must be from the same moment. Outside regular hours, use the contract's 4:00 PM ET settlement and the official index close. A live futures price against yesterday's index close would give a wrong basis, so the converter waits until you type both.

Frequently asked questions

Why is ES priced differently from SPX?

ES is a futures contract. Its price includes the cost of carry until expiry (interest minus dividends), so it usually trades a few points above SPX. That gap is the basis, and it shrinks toward zero as the contract approaches expiration.

Do MES and MNQ convert the same way?

Yes. Micro contracts trade at the same price as ES and NQ, so the converted prices are identical.

How do I put SPX gamma levels on my ES chart?

Take the SPX level — call wall, gamma flip or put wall — and add the basis. Type it in the SPX ⇄ ES box above and the converter does it for you, rounded to the 0.25 tick. The levels come from SPX and NDX options, not from options on the futures themselves, so treat them as a map, not tick-exact targets. What the call wall and put wall are.

Do gamma levels work?

We measured it on our own data instead of assuming it: across 100 trading days the call wall held 44% and the put wall 51% of the times price reached them. The full study, failures included.