Compare Micro E-mini and E-mini futures

Use the ten-to-one scale correctly

MNQ has a USD 2 point value versus USD 20 for NQ. MES has USD 5 versus USD 50 for ES. Each of these four contracts has a tick size of 0.25 index points. A Micro therefore has one-tenth the point value of its corresponding E-mini.

Same price move, different cost structure

Ten MNQ contracts and one NQ produce USD 200 before costs for exactly the same ten-point move. Assume purely illustrative round-trip fees of USD 2 per MNQ and USD 5 per NQ: USD 180 and USD 195 remain after costs.

This is not a fee quote or a claim of equal execution quality. The contracts have separate order books. Matching multiplier exposure guarantees neither identical fills nor identical total costs.

Check granularity against your budget

Smaller contracts allow finer changes in nominal exposure. Whether a stop distance fits your chosen budget can be calculated from tick value, costs and a slippage assumption. Broker margin is an additional constraint, not a substitute for the calculated loss.

Do not rank performance by contract count

Compare results per decision, per unit of risk and after costs. Ten Micro contracts are not ten independent setups. Preserve the original symbol, actual quantity and individual fills even when using normalized values for analysis.