Consideration in contract law is the value or benefit given by each party in exchange for the other party’s value or benefit—such as money in exchange for products or services, or mutual promises exchanged.

Consideration is often referred to as the bargained-for exchange in which one consideration is exchanged for another consideration.

A mere promise to do or refrain from doing something that lacks consideration in the form of a value or benefit provided by the other party (a return promise) is not a contract and is generally not enforceable. One exception to this rule may be if one party promises to do or refrain from doing something, and the second party relies on that promise to its detriment (by spending money, for example), the detrimental reliance may create an enforceable contract.

And if the consideration for a contract is so insubstantial that it is worthless, the contract is said to be illusory and is not enforceable.

The existence of consideration is what distinguishes an enforceable contract from a promise to make a gift. Because a gift is a voluntary, gratuitous transfer of property from one person to another—without something of value promised in return—the failure to fulfill a promise to make a gift is not enforceable as a breach of contract, as there is no consideration for the promise to make the gift.

In Louisiana, consideration is a fundamental element of contract law, as it is in other states. Consideration refers to something of value that each party agrees to give or do in exchange for the other party's performance or promise. This could be money, goods, services, or a promise to act or refrain from acting. Louisiana law requires that a contract involve a bargained-for exchange to be enforceable. Without consideration, a contract may be deemed invalid. However, Louisiana recognizes the doctrine of detrimental reliance (also known as promissory estoppel), which can make a promise enforceable even without consideration if one party has relied on the promise to their detriment. An illusory promise, where the consideration is so negligible as to be non-existent, may render a contract unenforceable in Louisiana. Lastly, promises to make a gift are not considered enforceable contracts in Louisiana because they lack consideration; such promises are typically seen as gratuitous and not binding.