Tool

NQ position size calculator for prop firm accounts

By Veyra · Updated October 2026 · About Veyra

Enter your daily loss limit and your stop in points, and this works out the most NQ or MNQ contracts you can trade so that a run of stopped-out trades still stays inside your limit.

How the calculator works

It takes three steps, and you can check each one by hand:

1. Risk budget per trade = your daily loss limit (or the room left to your max drawdown, if that’s smaller) ÷ the number of stopped-out trades in a row you want to survive.
2. Risk per contract = stop distance in points × the dollar value of one point, plus fees.
3. Contracts = risk budget ÷ risk per contract, rounded down to a whole contract.

Rounding down matters: a fraction of a contract can’t be traded, and rounding up would put you over budget.

NQ and MNQ point values

Source: CME Group contract specifications for E-mini Nasdaq-100 and Micro E-mini Nasdaq-100. MNQ tracks the same index at the same price with a tenth of the size, so ten MNQ carry the same risk as one NQ.

A worked example

Say your account has a $1,000 daily loss limit, you want to survive 3 stopped-out trades in a row, and the stop is 15 points away.

• Risk budget per trade: $1,000 ÷ 3 = $333.33.
• On NQ, one contract risks 15 × $20 = $300. That’s 1 contract, and 3 stops in a row cost $900.
• On MNQ, one contract risks 15 × $2 = $30. That’s 11 contracts ($330 per trade), and 3 stops in a row cost $990, which leaves almost no room for slippage, so you might choose 10.

With a 20-point stop, one NQ contract risks $400, which is over the $333 budget, so the answer is 0 NQ. MNQ still fits: 8 contracts, $320 per trade. That’s why MNQ is useful on smaller accounts: it lets you size in steps of a tenth of an NQ.

These are example numbers to show the method, not a record of any trade.

Sizing a NAS100 or US100 CFD

On CFD prop-firm accounts the Nasdaq-100 is usually listed as NAS100 or US100, and the dollar value of one point depends on your broker and your lot size. Find it in your platform’s symbol or contract specifications, choose Other and enter it. The CFD price can differ slightly from NQ, so measure the stop on your own chart.

What the calculator doesn’t cover

• Slippage. In a fast market a stop can fill worse than its price, so a real loss can be bigger than the number shown. Leaving some room under your limit helps.
• Trailing drawdown. If your firm’s drawdown trails your highest balance, the room left changes after every winning day. Update the field before each session.
• Your firm’s other rules. Consistency rules, news rules and limits on trading from third-party signals vary by firm. My guide to prop firm signals lists what to check.

The calculator does arithmetic on the numbers you enter. It isn’t investment advice, and position size is always your decision.