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Futures position size calculator
How many contracts can you actually trade? Enter your stop and your risk to see contracts, dollars at risk, and what one decision costs when the trade is copied across several accounts. Point values for MNQ, NQ, MES, ES and more are below.
The short answer: contracts = the dollars you will risk ÷ (stop in points × dollars per point), rounded down, then held to your own contract cap. Risk $200 with a 20-point stop on MNQ: 20 × $2 = $40 per contract, and $200 ÷ $40 = 5 contracts.
The trade
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The multiplier nobody mentions
Risk half a percent on three copied accounts and you’ve made one decision that costs three times as much. They’re the same trade, entered at the same second, stopped by the same tick. So the honest unit of risk is per decision, not per account.
How it’s calculated
Rounding is always down. Everything runs in your browser; nothing is sent anywhere.
What this can’t tell you
- Whether your stop is well placed. This only prices the stop you chose.
- Slippage. On a fast move the loss can be bigger than the arithmetic.
- Your firm’s limits. Contract caps and loss limits vary. Use the tighter number.
- Contract specs. The presets are common values. Confirm with your broker.
- Different account sizes. It treats every copied account as the same size as the one you enter.
Futures point values
Dollars per point for one contract, and what the smallest price move (a tick) is worth. These are the common exchange values; confirm yours with your broker.
MNQ, NQ: Nasdaq-100. MES, ES: S&P 500. MYM, YM: Dow. M2K, RTY: Russell 2000. MGC, GC: gold. A tick is 0.25 points on the Nasdaq and S&P contracts, 1 point on the Dow, and 0.1 points on the Russell and gold.
A micro is a tenth of its full-size contract: 10 MNQ move the same dollars per point as 1 NQ.
How many MNQ contracts for $200 of risk?
Example: a $50,000 prop account with a $2,000 drawdown. On a prop account the drawdown is what you can actually lose, so size from it: to survive 10 full losses, risk $2,000 ÷ 10 = $200 a trade. In this calculator that’s 0.4% of $50,000, so enter 0.4.
Then the lower of that and your own contract cap wins, and your firm’s contract limit caps both. The $50k account article works through the other caps, and free Lesson 3 explains why the drawdown, not the balance, is the number to size from.
How much is one point on MNQ?
$2 per contract. The smallest move, a tick, is 0.25 points, so $0.50. A 20-point stop on one MNQ risks $40; on one NQ it risks $400.
Should I size from my account balance or my drawdown?
On a prop firm account, the drawdown. A $50,000 account with a $2,000 drawdown puts $2,000 at risk, not $50,000. 0.5% of $50,000 sounds small, but it’s $250, which is 12.5% of what you can actually lose.
Why round down, not to the nearest contract?
Rounding up puts more at risk than your rule allows. 4.9 contracts is 4.
Does copying a trade to three accounts triple the risk?
Yes. It’s one decision that stops out on the same tick everywhere, so the dollars at risk multiply. That’s the “at risk per decision” line above. Check your firm allows copying at all: the rules that aren’t about numbers.
Can I use it as an MNQ or NQ calculator?
Yes. Pick MNQ ($2 a point) or NQ ($20 a point) and enter your stop in points. A 20-point stop risks $40 on one MNQ and $400 on one NQ. The calculator shows how many contracts fit your risk, after your own cap. To turn points into dollars, there is also a MNQ calculator.
My stop is in ticks. How do I convert it?
On MNQ, NQ, MES and ES a tick is 0.25 points, so divide ticks by 4: 40 ticks is 10 points. On the Dow contracts a tick is 1 point, and on the Russell and gold contracts it is 0.1 points.
What if my stop is wider than 20 points?
You get fewer contracts. A 40-point stop on MNQ costs $80 per contract, so $200 buys 2 (2.5, rounded down). Double the stop and you get about half the contracts.
Does my firm’s daily loss limit change how many contracts I can trade?
It can. The calculator sizes a trade from the risk you enter. Your firm’s daily loss limit and contract limit are separate rules, and the tighter one wins. Compare the “Worst-case day” line with your firm’s daily limit: if it is bigger, a day where every trade loses would go past the limit. Confirm both limits on your firm’s own page.
Educational tool only. This is arithmetic on numbers you type in — it is not investment advice, it does not predict anything, and it has no opinion on what you should trade. Trading futures involves substantial risk of loss and many people who try it lose money. Past results, including your own, do not predict future results. Verify contract specifications with your broker and your account rules with your firm; both change.
