How Much Is One Point Worth on Nasdaq-100 NQ and MNQ Futures?

"Up 40 points on NQ" can mean $800 or $80 depending on which contract you hold. Getting the multiplier wrong is one of the fastest ways to size a futures trade ten times too big.

What people on X are asking

In November 2026 an account asked, "Same index, same 0.25 tick. Why is one NQ point worth 10x MNQ?", answering $20 per point and $5 per tick on NQ against $2 and $0.50 on MNQ. In November 2025 a day trader did the maths out loud after a 250-point move: he made $520 on MNQ, "1/10 an NQ so .5 per tick". Both have the multipliers right; here are the official specs and what they mean in dollars.

The fact-checked answer

The official numbers. CME Group's contract pages state that the E-mini Nasdaq-100 future is $20 × the Nasdaq-100 index with a minimum tick of 0.25 index points, and the Micro E-mini Nasdaq-100 is $2 × the index with the same 0.25-point tick. So:

NQ vs MNQ: what each move is worth

Multipliers and tick size from CME Group contract specs. Index level is the Nasdaq-100 close on Nov 9, 2026 (FRED). Average daily move is the mean absolute change between daily closes in 2026; intraday ranges are larger. Tap a column header to sort.

Move	NQ (E-mini, $20/pt)	MNQ (Micro, $2/pt)
1 tick (0.25 pt)	$5	$0.50
1 point	$20	$2
10 points	$200	$20
25 points	$500	$50
100 points	$2,000	$200
1% of 27,907.63 (279 pts)	$5,581	$558
2026 average daily move (293 pts)	$5,860	$586
Notional at 27,907.63	$558,153	$55,815

Notional exposure. Futures let you control the full value with a margin deposit. At an index level of 27,907.63, one NQ is equivalent to about $558,000 of Nasdaq-100 stocks and one MNQ to about $55,800. The CFTC's futures basics warn that many individuals lose all of their money and can be required to pay more than they invested, and that accounts are adjusted to each day's market value at the close. Exchange and broker margins change with volatility, so check your broker's current requirement rather than relying on a fixed number.

How big are normal moves? On FRED's Nasdaq-100 closes, the average absolute daily change in 2026 has been about 293 points (median 248), or about 1.05% of the index. One day in ten moved more than 576 points, and the largest change was 1,807 points. In 2025 the average was 247 points. A single NQ contract therefore gains or loses about $5,000–$6,000 on an average day, and more than $11,000 on one day in ten. That is why many traders with accounts under $100,000 use MNQ.

UXS decision diagram

NQ or MNQ for this trade?

Text version of the diagram

1. Have you set the stop distance in index points? If no: Decide the stop first; the contract choice follows from it
2. Is stop points × $20 at or below your maximum dollar risk? If no: Use MNQ: one NQ is too big for this stop and account
3. Does the risk come out to a whole number of NQ contracts? If no: Use MNQ to fine-tune size in $2-per-point steps
4. Would a 1% index move against you (about $5,600 per NQ) breach a daily loss limit? If yes: Use MNQ or smaller size
5. Otherwise: NQ is appropriate; check margin and the daily limit before entering

Diagram drawn by UXS. A simplified decision aid for education, not a recommendation.

Sizing from the stop. The rule is the same as in forex: contracts = dollar risk ÷ (stop distance in points × point value). Example: a $50,000 account risking 1% ($500) with a 50-point stop. On NQ that is 50 × $20 = $1,000 per contract: too much even for one. On MNQ it is 50 × $2 = $100 per contract, so 5 MNQ. Ten MNQ have the same exposure as one NQ. For prop accounts with fixed contract limits, see why most traders fail prop firm challenges and what a daily loss limit is in a prop firm.

Costs per contract. Commissions and exchange fees are charged per contract, so trading 10 MNQ usually costs more than 1 NQ for the same exposure. The tick is also coarser relative to risk on NQ ($5 per tick) than on MNQ.

Why the Nasdaq-100 and not the Composite? NQ and MNQ track the Nasdaq-100, which CME describes as the 100 leading non-financial US large-cap companies, not the broader Nasdaq Composite. For the differences between the two big US index benchmarks, see S&P 500 vs Nasdaq-100, and for limits on extreme moves, what a stock market circuit breaker is.

Free PDF

NQ / MNQ position sizing sheet (PDF)

Fill in before each futures trade.

Inputs

Calculation

Checks

1. Margin available for this many contracts
2. A 1% index move against me stays inside my daily loss limit
3. Commissions counted per contract
4. No scheduled news inside the trade window I haven't planned for

Fill-in fields in the PDF: Account size ($) and risk per trade (% and $); Entry, stop, and stop distance in index points; Risk per NQ contract = stop points × $20; Risk per MNQ contract = stop points × $2; Contracts = dollar risk ÷ risk per contract (round down).

Download the PDF (44 KB, made by UXS, no sign-up)

On a funded evaluation, point values meet contract caps; see how many contracts you can trade on a 50K futures prop account.

The same mini-versus-micro choice exists for the S&P 500; see whether a small account should trade ES or MES.

Compare those point values with a typical loss limit in which futures contract suits a prop challenge.

Decision helper

Common mistakes

• Confusing NQ and MNQ point values.
• Sizing by margin instead of by stop.
• Forgetting the 0.25-point tick when calculating P&L in ticks.
• Holding NQ through a release with a daily loss limit of a few thousand dollars.

FAQ

How much is one point on NQ?

$20 per contract.

How much is one point on MNQ?

$2 per contract.

How much is one tick on NQ and MNQ?

$5 on NQ and $0.50 on MNQ; a tick is 0.25 index points.

How many MNQ equal one NQ?

Ten, in index exposure.

How much does an NQ contract control?

About $558,000 at a Nasdaq-100 level of 27,907.63.

Is MNQ better for beginners?

Usually, because each point is one tenth of NQ's, so size can match a small account's risk.