NQ position size calculator
How many E-mini Nasdaq contracts your risk allows. NQ is $20 a point, so stops get expensive fast; the calculator shows the size, the dollars at risk and when to drop to MNQ.
Risk is
Adds the risk to reward and what the trade makes if the target is reached.
Position size
1 NQ contract
Loses $800.00 if the stop is hit (0.8% of the account). Exactly 1.25 would fit, but contracts only come whole, so it rounds down.
= $800.00
Drag the stop or target line, or focus one and use the arrow keys. Each block is what one NQ loses at the stop.
- Money at risk
- $1,000.00
- Stop distance
- 40 points, 160 ticks
- Position value
- $500,000
- Risk to reward
- 1:2.5
- Makes at target
- $2,000.00
- Wins needed to break even
- 29%
NQ at a glance
- Exchange
- CME Group
- Contract
- $20 × Nasdaq-100 Index
- Tick size
- 0.25 index points
- Tick value
- $5
- One point
- $20 (4 ticks)
- Smaller version
- MNQ, one tenth the size
What a move is worth
| Move | 1 NQ | 1 MNQ |
|---|---|---|
| 0.25 points (1 tick) | $5.00 | $0.50 |
| 1 point | $20.00 | $2.00 |
| 5 points | $100.00 | $10.00 |
| 10 points | $200.00 | $20.00 |
| 20 points | $400.00 | $40.00 |
| 50 points | $1,000.00 | $100.00 |
| 100 points | $2,000.00 | $200.00 |
What an NQ tick and point are worth
NQ moves in 0.25-point ticks worth $5 each, so one point is $20 per contract. The Nasdaq-100 can travel 100 points or more in a session, which is $2,000 on a single NQ.
That makes the stop distance the whole story on NQ. A 50-point stop is $1,000 a contract; a 15-point scalping stop is $300.
A worked example
With a $100,000 account and 1% risk, the most this trade may cost is $1,000. You sell at 25,000 with the stop at 25,040: 40 points, 160 ticks. One NQ loses 160 × $5 = $800 at that stop.
$1,000 divided by $800 is 1.25, so 1 contract fits, risking $800. With a 25-point stop each contract risks $500 and 2 fit.
When NQ is too big for the account
If one contract at your stop costs more than your risk limit, the honest answer is zero contracts, not one. Taking the trade anyway turns a 1% plan into a 3% or 5% loss.
That is what MNQ is for: the same index at $2 a point. The calculator shows how many MNQ fit whenever NQ does not, and ten MNQ equal one NQ, so you can scale up in small steps.