NQ vs MNQ: Contract Size, Tick Value and Risk Compared

Key takeaways

• NQ (E-mini Nasdaq-100) and MNQ (Micro E-mini Nasdaq-100) are listed by CME Group on the same index and quote the same price.
• Both move in ticks of 0.25 index points, so one point always contains 4 ticks.
• One point is worth 20 USD on NQ and 2 USD on MNQ: a tick is worth 5 USD on NQ and 0.50 USD on MNQ.
• MNQ lets you size positions in steps ten times smaller, but fees are charged per contract, so ten MNQ cost ten commissions.

NQ vs MNQ: the short answer

NQ vs MNQ is a question of size, not of market. Both contracts are futures on the Nasdaq-100 index, both are listed by CME Group, and both show the same price at the same moment. What differs is the dollar amount attached to each move of that price.

NQ, the E-mini Nasdaq-100, pays 20 USD per full index point. MNQ, the Micro E-mini Nasdaq-100, pays 2 USD per point. Because the minimum price move is identical on both contracts, the difference carries straight through to every tick: one MNQ is exactly one tenth of one NQ.

Contract specifications side by side

The table below uses the values published on the CME Group product pages. Point value and tick size are set by the exchange, not by your broker, so they are the same on every platform, including NinjaTrader.

Ticks in one point is simply one point divided by the 0.25 tick size. This is why traders often say that a 1-point move on NQ is worth four ticks, whichever of the two contracts they trade.

How the size difference changes your risk

Your risk on a futures trade depends on three things: the distance between entry and stop in points, the value of one point, and the number of contracts. The first is a chart decision; the last two are where NQ and MNQ diverge.

With the same stop distance, one NQ carries ten times the dollar risk of one MNQ. Put differently, one NQ and ten MNQ expose you to almost exactly the same dollar move. The micro contract does not make the Nasdaq-100 less volatile; it only lets you hold a smaller slice of it.

That granularity is the main practical reason to use MNQ. If your plan says to risk a fixed amount per trade and the stop you need is wide, NQ may force you to either take more risk than planned or skip the trade. MNQ lets you match the plan more closely by adding or removing exposure in steps worth a tenth of an E-mini.

• Risk per trade = stop distance in points × point value × number of contracts.
• Same stop, same direction: one NQ ≈ ten MNQ in dollar exposure.
• Scaling out is finer on MNQ: you can close part of a position in micro-sized steps.

The position size calculator on Trading Evolution applies exactly this formula with the official point values, so you can compare one NQ against several MNQ before you place an order.

Liquidity, spreads and what you see in the order book

NQ is the original contract and the reference market for Nasdaq-100 futures. MNQ prices stay aligned with it because both settle on the same index and any gap between them can be traded away. In normal conditions the two charts are almost indistinguishable.

The order book is where they look different. Sizes resting at each price on MNQ are expressed in micro contracts, so a level of the same economic weight shows ten times more contracts than on NQ. When you read order flow, keep that scale in mind: large prints and absorption are relative to the contract you are watching.

Some order flow traders therefore watch the NQ depth of market and footprint while executing on MNQ. Whether that helps depends on your method; what matters is to compare like with like and not to treat a size that is ordinary on MNQ as unusual.

Margins, commissions and hidden costs

Margin requirements are set by CME Group and by your broker, and they change with market conditions, so check the current figures with your broker rather than relying on a fixed number. As a rule, a micro contract requires a much smaller margin deposit than the E-mini.

Commissions and exchange fees are charged per contract. Holding ten MNQ to replicate one NQ means paying those fees ten times. For active day traders that difference adds up quickly, which is one reason many traders move from MNQ to NQ once their account and their per-trade risk are large enough.

Slippage behaves the same in ticks on both contracts, but its dollar cost scales with the point value: one tick of slippage on NQ costs ten times what it costs on MNQ.

Common mistakes when switching between NQ and MNQ

Most errors come from carrying habits from one contract to the other without converting the numbers. The chart looks the same, so it is easy to forget that the dollar meaning of each tick has changed by a factor of ten.

• Keeping the same number of contracts after moving from MNQ to NQ: three MNQ are a modest position, three NQ carry ten times that exposure.
• Copying a stop expressed in dollars instead of points: a stop must be redefined in points, then converted with the point value of the contract you trade.
• Reading MNQ order book sizes as if they were NQ sizes, and calling an ordinary micro order a large trader.
• Ignoring fees per contract when trading many micros for small targets: the commission can absorb a large share of a few-tick gain.
• Assuming the micro contract is a practice product: MNQ is a real exchange-traded future with the same price risk per unit of exposure.

Which contract fits your plan

Choose the contract from your risk plan, not from the size of the move you hope for. Start from the maximum amount you accept to lose on a trade, measure the stop distance your setup needs, then see how many contracts of each type fit. If no whole number of NQ fits, MNQ is usually the cleaner answer.

MNQ also suits traders who are learning to read the market live, because mistakes cost a tenth as much while the price action and the order flow remain those of the Nasdaq-100. NQ becomes relevant when your size is large enough that fees per contract and the number of orders start to matter.

Put it into practice

• Futures position size calculatorTurns a stop in ticks or points into a number of contracts for the risk you choose, using official tick values.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

1. E-mini Nasdaq-100 (NQ) : value of one tick per contract — CME Group
2. Micro E-mini Nasdaq-100 (MNQ) : value of one tick per contract — CME Group

Read next

All articles in this section : Futures contracts and risk →