MNQ vs NQ: same chart, 10x the dollars per tick

MNQ is the micro version of NQ: the same Nasdaq-100 index, the same 0.25-point tick and the same chart, at one tenth of the size. One MNQ tick is worth $0.50 and one NQ tick $5.00, so 10 MNQ move exactly the same dollars per tick as 1 NQ (CME Group contract specifications, checked 2026-10-11).

That one fact decides how finely you can size. Under a $2,000 trailing drawdown, a one-contract step on NQ is a ten-contract step on MNQ. This post sets the two specs side by side, converts between them, and works through what the difference means for size. Every figure is arithmetic from CME's two spec pages; how your firm counts and charges contracts is in its own rulebook.

The two contracts side by side

From CME Group's contract specification pages for Micro E-mini Nasdaq-100 and E-mini Nasdaq-100, checked 2026-10-11:

Everything except the multiplier is the same. The multiplier is ten times larger on NQ, so every dollar figure is ten times larger too.

Does 10 MNQ equal 1 NQ?

In dollars per tick, yes. The same price move on the same number of points (example figures, before commissions and fees):

To convert a position: NQ equivalent = MNQ contracts ÷ 10, and MNQ equivalent = NQ contracts × 10. So 5 MNQ carry the dollars of half an NQ, 16 MNQ carry 1.6 NQ, and 2 NQ carry 20 MNQ.

"Equal" stops at dollars per tick. Two things can still differ, and each is set by your firm or broker, not by CME's spec page:

• Fees. Commissions and exchange fees are charged per contract. Ten MNQ are ten charges. Compare ten micro fees with one mini fee on your fee schedule before you assume the two cost the same.
• Contract limits. Plans cap how many contracts you may hold. Check whether yours counts each micro as one contract or as a fraction of a mini.

What 10x means for a $2,000 floor

Room in dollars is the same whichever contract you trade. Room in points is not. With $2,000 of room (example figures, not results):

One NQ gives the floor a 100-point move before the account fails. The same 100 points on one MNQ cost $200, a tenth of the room.

Put in stops: a 40-tick (10-point) stop costs 40 × $0.50 = $20 on one MNQ and 40 × $5.00 = $200 on one NQ. $2,000 of room covers $2,000 ÷ $20 = 100 of those stops on one MNQ and $2,000 ÷ $200 = 10 on one NQ.

Micros are the sizing step

Size comes from a loss budget, not from the account balance. How many contracts should I trade on a prop firm account? works the method in full: budget ÷ (cost of one stop × stops you want to survive), rounded down.

Take a $1,000 budget for the day and plan to survive 3 full stops (example figures, not results).

With a 40-tick stop (10 points):

On NQ the only choices are 1 contract ($600) or 2 ($1,200, over the budget). On MNQ the size can be any whole number up to 16, in $60 steps. Sixteen MNQ is the dollar exposure of 1.6 NQ, a size NQ cannot express.

With a 100-tick stop (25 points):

With the wider stop, one NQ does not fit the budget at all; the arithmetic says zero. Six MNQ do. That is the practical difference between the two contracts under a drawdown: not the chart, but the size of the smallest step.

The arithmetic does not say which contract to trade. It says what each one costs at your stop and your budget. The position size calculator below runs it for your own numbers, with MNQ, NQ and the other common contracts.

When one NQ and ten MNQ are interchangeable

If the size you would trade is an exact multiple of ten micros, one NQ carries the same dollars per tick in fewer contracts: 10 MNQ or 1 NQ, 20 MNQ or 2 NQ. Whether that matters comes down to the two things above: your fee schedule and how your plan counts contracts. None of it changes the risk per tick, which is identical.

Below ten micros, or between multiples of ten, there is no NQ equivalent. 7 MNQ has no NQ size.

Common mistakes

• Reading the wrong symbol. MNQ and MES sit side by side on most platforms. MES is the Micro E-mini S&P 500 at $1.25 a tick, a different index and a different value. The futures tick value chart lists both.
• Sizing NQ in "micro thinking". A $20 stop on MNQ is a $200 stop on NQ at the same distance. Switching contracts without dividing the size by ten multiplies the risk by ten.
• Assuming fees scale by ten. They are charged per contract. Check the schedule.
• Counting micros against the contract limit at the wrong rate. The rulebook says how micros count.
• Forgetting the floor in points. One NQ has 100 points of room on a fresh $2,000 drawdown. Write that number down before you size.

For the MNQ numbers alone, with more conversions and how many ticks $500 is, see What is the MNQ tick value?. The tick value calculator converts ticks, points and dollars for either contract.