Futures Position Size Calculator
How many contracts can you trade? Pick a contract, type your stop and the dollars you accept to lose. The calculator gives the number of contracts for the mini (or standard) contract and for its micro, rounded down, and the risk at that size. Pick a prop plan to fill in its limits and hold the answer to its contract cap. Tick values come from the CME Group contract specs (see the tick value chart). Default prices are examples, not quotes.
Trade and risk
Pick a prop plan to fill in its max loss and daily loss limit and to hold the answer to its contract cap.
NQ: 1 tick = 0.25 = $5.00 · MNQ: 1 tick = 0.25 = $0.50 · NQ specs
What you accept to lose if the stop is hit.
Commission and fees per contract, per side. A stopped trade pays both sides, so each contract's risk includes 2 × this. Leave 0 to size on the stop alone.
Contracts you can trade
Trade up to 1 NQ (risk $400.00) or 12 MNQ (risk $480.00).
Risk = $500.00
NQ: 80 ticks × $5.00 = $400.00 per contract → floor($500.00 ÷ $400.00) = 1
MNQ: 80 ticks × $0.50 = $40.00 per contract → floor($500.00 ÷ $40.00) = 12
Select a prop firm to test your strategy on its rules
Free for 30 days, no card. Then $50/month.
How many contracts fit your risk
contracts = floor(risk ÷ (stop in points × point value + round-trip costs))
The stop in points times the point value is what one contract loses if the stop is hit. Round-trip costs are the commission and fees of one contract, entry and exit (2 × the cost per side). Divide your risk by that and round down: contracts are whole, and rounding up would risk more than you planned.
A stop in ticks works the same way: ticks × tick value. On ES, a tick is 0.25 points worth $12.50, so a 12-point stop is 48 ticks: 48 × $12.50 = 12 × $50 = $600.
Worked examples
$500 risk, 20-point stop on Nasdaq-100. One NQ loses 20 × $20 = $400 at the stop: floor(500 ÷ 400) = 1 NQ, risk $400, $100 left over. One MNQ loses 20 × $2 = $40: floor(500 ÷ 40) = 12 MNQ, risk $480, $20 left over. Micros use more of the risk.
$300 risk, 12-point stop on S&P 500. One ES loses 12 × $50 = $600, more than the risk: 0 ES. One MES loses 12 × $5 = $60: floor(300 ÷ 60) = 5 MES, risk $300 exactly.
Prop cap: $200 risk, 1.5-point MNQ stop on the Topstep 50K Combine. One MNQ loses 1.5 × $2 = $3, so the risk allows floor(200 ÷ 3) = 66 MNQ. The plan caps the evaluation at 5 minis or 50 micros, so the answer is 50 MNQ, risk $150. Tight stops hit the cap before the risk.
With costs. Same NQ trade with $0.50 per side on MNQ: each MNQ risks $40 + $1 = $41, and $500 fits 12 MNQ for $492.
Prop firm limits: max loss, daily loss, contract cap
A prop evaluation gives you a max loss (the drawdown), often a daily loss limit, and a cap on contracts open at once. Size each trade inside all three. Set your risk as a share of the max loss room you have left, turn on the daily loss limit if your plan has one, and the calculator holds the trade to both and to the plan's cap. Some plans make the daily limit optional and off by default; the calculator follows that default. The futures plans it knows:
| Plan | Max loss | Daily loss limit | Contract cap (evaluation) | Rules checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lucid Flex 50K | $2,000 | $1,200 (optional, off by default) | 4 minis / 40 micros | 19 Oct 2026 |
| Tradeify Select 50K | $2,000 | None | 4 minis / 40 micros | 18 Oct 2026 |
| Topstep 50K Combine | $2,000 | $1,000 (optional, off by default) | 5 minis / 50 micros | 18 Oct 2026 |
| Apex 50K EOD | $2,000 | $1,000 | 6 minis / 60 micros | 18 Oct 2026 |
| MFFU Rapid 50K | $2,000 | None | 5 minis / 50 micros | 18 Oct 2026 |
| FTMO Futures Growth 50K | $2,000 | None | 5 minis / 50 micros | 19 Oct 2026 |
50K evaluation rules as published by each firm, checked on the date shown (link to the firm's page). Firms change their rules: check yours before you trade. The cap counts micros as a tenth of a mini.
FAQ
How many MNQ can I trade on a 50K prop account?
Two limits apply, and the smaller one wins. First, the firm's cap: the 50K futures plans in this calculator allow 40 to 60 micros at once in the evaluation (rules checked October 2026; pick your plan above to see its cap). Second, your risk: all of these plans have a $2,000 max loss. If you risk 10% of it ($200) on a 20-point stop, each MNQ risks 20 × $2 = $40, so floor(200 ÷ 40) = 5 MNQ. The risk, not the cap, usually decides. Ten losing trades in a row at that size use up the whole max loss.
Micro or mini for a small drawdown?
Usually micros, because they let you hit the risk you want. With a $2,000 max loss and $200 risk per trade, 1 NQ on a 20-point stop risks $400: twice your risk, so the answer is 0 NQ. One MNQ risks $40 on the same stop, so 5 MNQ risk exactly $200. NQ jumps from $0 to $400 to $800; MNQ moves in $40 steps. Once your size is a whole number of minis, the mini is cheaper: 10 micros pay ten commissions where 1 mini pays one.
Why does the calculator round down?
Contracts are whole, and rounding up would put more than your risk on the trade. $500 at $40 per MNQ is 12.5 contracts: 12 MNQ risk $480, 13 MNQ would risk $520. The $20 not used is shown as left over.
Should commissions be part of the risk?
If you want the exact dollars you lose when the stop is hit, yes. A stopped trade pays commission and fees twice (entry and exit). Type your cost per contract per side and the calculator adds 2 × that to each contract's risk. With $0.50 per side, an MNQ on a 20-point stop risks $40 + $1 = $41, so $500 fits 12 MNQ ($492).
My stop is in ticks. Does that change anything?
No. Ticks × tick value gives the same dollars as points × point value. On NQ a tick is 0.25 points worth $5, so an 80-tick stop is 20 points: 80 × $5 = 20 × $20 = $400. If a stop falls between two ticks, the calculator sizes it at the next tick out, because a stop order sits on a tick.
What if one contract is already more than my risk?
Then the answer is 0 of that contract. If 1 ES risks $600 and you want to risk $300, the calculator falls back to the micro: 1 MES risks $60, so 5 MES. If even one micro is too much, the answer is 0: raise the risk, use a tighter stop, or skip the trade.