Futures Position Size Calculator for ES, NQ, MES and MNQ

By Lewis Talbot
Published 25 September 2026

How position sizing works

Position sizing answers one question: how many contracts can you trade so that, if your stop is hit, you lose the amount you decided on and no more. The sum has three parts.

Your risk: the most you are prepared to lose on this trade, in dollars.
Your stop: how far the price can move against you before you are out, in points.
The contract's point value: what one point is worth on one contract, $50 on ES and $5 on MES.

Contracts = risk ÷ (stop in points × dollars per point), rounded down. With $300 to risk and a 14-point stop, one ES contract loses $700, more than the whole budget, so the answer on ES is zero. One MES loses $70, so 4 of them fit, losing $280.

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CONTRACT	EXAMPLE STOP	ONE CONTRACT LOSES	CONTRACTS FOR $300
ES (E-mini S&P 500)	14 points	$700	0, too big
MES (Micro E-mini S&P 500)	14 points	$70	4, losing $280
NQ (E-mini Nasdaq-100)	82 points	$1,640	0, too big
MNQ (Micro E-mini Nasdaq-100)	82 points	$164	1, losing $164
YM (E-mini Dow)	80 points	$400	0, too big
MYM (Micro E-mini Dow)	80 points	$40	7, losing $280
RTY (E-mini Russell 2000)	8 points	$400	0, too big
M2K (Micro E-mini Russell 2000)	8 points	$40	7, losing $280

Every contract the calculator covers, at a $300 budget. The ES and NQ stops are a quarter of each contract's average daily range in September 2026; the Dow and Russell stops are examples.

E-minis and Micros

Every index here comes in two sizes. The Micro E-mini is exactly a tenth of the E-mini: the same index, the same prices, the same trading hours and ticks, a tenth of the dollars per point. That makes Micros the finer tool for sizing. On an E-mini the only choices might be zero or one contract, too little or too much; with Micros the same budget can be split into steps ten times smaller.

Ten Micros carry the same risk as one E-mini. Commissions are charged per contract, though, so ten Micros usually cost more to trade than one E-mini, which is one reason traders move up to the E-mini once the size allows it. Margin requirements differ by broker, so check yours.

Choosing how much to risk

How much to risk is your decision, and this calculator does not make it for you. A common rule of thumb is to risk no more than 1 or 2% of the account on any one trade. The reason is arithmetic: at 1%, ten losing trades in a row cost about a tenth of the account, a setback you can trade through. At 10%, the same run would take two thirds of it.

A per-trade limit works best alongside a daily one: a loss after which you stop for the day. Our guide to when not to day trade covers the days that limit is for.

Set the stop from the market, then the size

The order matters. Put the stop where the trade is proven wrong, at a level the market gives you, then let the calculator tell you the size. Working backwards, squeezing the stop to fit more contracts, puts it inside the market's ordinary noise and gets it hit by moves that meant nothing.

How much room a stop needs changes with the day. A stop that sits outside the noise on a quiet session sits inside it on a busy one, which is why holding the dollar risk steady and letting the size change is the usual approach. Our guide to how many points ES and NQ move in a day shows how to size a stop to the day.

Costs and slippage

The basic sum assumes you are filled exactly at your stop and pay nothing to trade. Neither is quite true. Each contract pays commission and exchange fees on the way in and out, and in a fast market a stop order can fill a tick or more past its price. Open More options in the calculator to add both: they are counted per contract, so they matter most when you trade many Micros.

Common questions

How do you calculate position size for futures?

Divide the dollars you are prepared to lose by what one contract loses at your stop, then round down to a whole contract. What one contract loses is the stop distance in points times its point value: $50 on ES, $20 on NQ, $5 on MES and $2 on MNQ.

How much do you lose if ES moves 10 points against you?

$500 on one ES contract and $50 on one MES. The loss is the move in points times the point value, which is $50 a point on ES and $5 on MES, before commissions and fees.

What is the 1% rule in trading?

A rule of thumb that caps the loss on any one trade at 1% of the account, $250 on a $25,000 account. It keeps a losing streak survivable: ten losers in a row at 1% cost a little under a tenth of the account.

What is the difference between ES and MES?

MES, the Micro E-mini S&P 500, is a tenth the size of ES: $5 a point instead of $50. Both track the S&P 500 at the same price, trade the same hours and move in the same 0.25-point ticks.

Should you round position size up or down?

Down. Rounding up puts more money at risk than you set. If even one contract is too big for the stop, the options are a smaller contract, such as a Micro, or a closer stop that still makes sense for the trade.

Does the calculator include commissions?

It can. Open More options to add commission and fees per contract, and slippage in ticks for stops that fill past their price. Both are added to what each contract loses at the stop.

SEE IT ON A LIVE MARKET DAY

Sizing needs a stop, and a stop needs to know how far the day is likely to go. MarketDirection's Volatility Scale gives ES and NQ's expected move in points every morning before the open, beside the Bias Bot's call on direction. 7-day free trial, no card required.

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A calculator for education, not financial advice. Contract specifications from CME Group. It doesn't know your broker's margin requirements or fees, so check those before you trade.