Compare Micro Futures Contracts & Broker Costs

Pick any two of CME's six micro futures to compare specs side by side, sort broker commission and margin tables by any column, and estimate your monthly round-trip cost at any listed plan. Every volatile figure carries its as-of date — no undated broker numbers on this page.

Compare Any Two Contracts

How the Six Micro Contracts Differ

CME Group launched the four Micro E-mini equity-index futures (MES, MNQ, MYM, M2K) in May 2019 as exactly 1/10th-sized versions of the existing E-mini lineup; Micro WTI Crude Oil (MCL) followed in July 2021, and Micro Gold (MGC) has traded since 2010. Every micro is precisely 1:10 on contract notional value and tick value relative to its full-size counterpart — but the underlying assets they track are entirely different, which shapes how each one moves during a session.

The four equity-index micros track different slices of the U.S. stock market. MES follows the S&P 500 (500 large-cap stocks), the broadest of the four. MNQ tracks the Nasdaq-100 (100 technology-heavy names) and tends to show the largest point moves in a session because the index carries a higher concentration of high-beta growth names. MYM mirrors the Dow Jones Industrial Average (30 blue-chip stocks) with a tick value of just $0.50 and a 1-point minimum move. M2K follows the Russell 2000 (2,000 small-cap stocks) and responds most strongly to rate-cycle expectations and small-cap sentiment.

The two commodity micros operate on different mechanics. MGC (Micro Gold) holds 10 troy ounces of gold at the COMEX settlement price — it tracks global safe-haven demand and real interest rates. MCL (Micro WTI Crude Oil) represents 100 barrels of West Texas Intermediate and responds to energy supply-and-demand fundamentals and geopolitical risk. Both are cash-settled at expiration, as are all four equity-index micros.

The spec table above renders the complete mechanical picture for any pair you choose: tick size, tick value, multiplier, and full-size counterpart. For the full six-contract table see the contract specs guide.

Broker Commissions — Per Side, All Six Micros

Click any column header to sort. Rates shown per side per contract. "all-in" includes NFA + clearing + exchange; "comm only" does not.

Why Commission Costs Don’t Scale 1:10

The 1:10 size ratio between a micro contract and its full-size counterpart is exact on notional value and tick value. Commissions are not. Futures commissions are charged per contract — the NFA fee, the CME exchange fee, and the clearing fee are each fixed per contract, nearly the same dollar amount whether the contract is the micro or the full-size.

Take MES vs. ES on NinjaTrader Free. One MES round trip costs $0.95 × 2 = $1.90. One ES round trip costs $2.88 × 2 = $5.76. ES is 10× the notional, but only 3× the round-trip commission. This means a micro trader pays roughly 3.3× more commission per dollar of notional value than the ES trader. The same math applies at every broker in the table above.

This cost structure is not unique to any broker — it's inherent to per-contract fee schedules. For traders taking a small number of large moves the percentage drag is modest. For active day traders taking 40+ round trips a month it compounds materially. The round-trip estimator below shows the exact monthly figure for your chosen broker and trade frequency.

For a deeper comparison of micro vs. full-size, including margin ratios and the capital efficiency argument, see the MES vs. ES guide. For the full per-broker breakdown including fee notes, see the broker commissions guide.

Intraday Margin Requirements — Per Contract

Click any column header to sort. * Optimus Futures margins are advertised start-at minimums. No Tradovate margin row — the widely-cited $50 figure was refuted in our margin verification.

Reading the Broker Tables

Two caveats apply to every figure above.

Margin figures are not guaranteed. Broker-set intraday margins are published minimums, not contractual commitments. Brokers can raise requirements in real time during volatile sessions — around FOMC announcements, CPI releases, payrolls, or sharp underlying moves. NinjaTrader's rate sheet documents this explicitly: intraday margins are subject to change "without notice" and may be raised on a per-session basis by the risk desk. The dates in each cell show when the figure was published or fetched, not when it was last confirmed unchanged. For the full volatility caveat and myth-busting of a widely-circulated claim see the day-trading margins guide.

Commission comparisons require reading the "Type" column. NinjaTrader's rates are "all-in" — they include the NFA fee ($0.37), clearing fee ($0.19), and commission ($0.39) in the stated $0.95/side for MES Free. Tradovate's and IBKR's stated rates are "comm only" — exchange, clearing, and NFA fees are additional and vary. tastytrade's rates include some additional fees as listed. Always check a broker's current fee schedule before trading; commission rates change less frequently than margins, but they do change.

Estimate Your Monthly Round-Trip Cost

Enter your expected round trips per month and select a broker plan. The estimator prices the commission side only (margin is separate). A round trip is one entry + one exit on the same contract.

Prop Firm Evaluations

Before trading a personal account, many micro-futures traders build a track record through a prop firm evaluation. The pages below cover rules, drawdown mechanics, and payout terms for the largest evaluation firms — every figure is independently verified with a source date. Rules change frequently; re-verify before starting an evaluation.

Frequently Asked Questions

How does this comparison tool work?

Select any two of the six micro futures contracts from the drop-down pickers. The spec table updates instantly to show tick size, tick value, multiplier, and full-size counterpart side by side. The commission and margin tables always display all six contracts across all listed brokers, with each figure dated. The round-trip estimator prices a month of trading at any listed broker's per-side rate.

Which micro futures contract has the smallest tick value?

MNQ (Micro E-mini Nasdaq-100), MYM (Micro E-mini Dow), and M2K (Micro E-mini Russell 2000) share the smallest tick value at $0.50 per tick. MES (Micro E-mini S&P 500) ticks at $1.25, while MGC (Micro Gold) and MCL (Micro WTI Crude Oil) each tick at $1.00.

Why don’t commission costs scale exactly 1:10 with contract size?

Futures commissions are charged per contract, not per dollar of notional value. A Micro E-mini S&P 500 (MES) contract is 1/10th the size of the E-mini (ES), but the NFA fee, clearing fee, and exchange fee are roughly the same fixed dollar amount per contract. This makes the round-trip cost per dollar of notional value approximately 3.3 times higher on the micro than on the full-size — a real but accepted trade-off for the lower capital requirement and finer position sizing.

Are the broker margin figures on this page guaranteed?

No. Broker-set intraday margins are advertised minimums, not contractual guarantees. Brokers can raise intraday margin requirements in real time during volatile sessions — around FOMC announcements, CPI releases, payrolls, or sharp moves in the underlying. NinjaTrader's published rate sheet notes this explicitly. Each figure on this page shows the date it was published or fetched, not a confirmation date.