Tick and Point

Futures Margin Estimator

How much buying power does a position tie up intraday and overnight? Figures are editable because every broker sets its own day margin.

Day margin required
n/a
Overnight margin required
n/a
Max contracts intraday
n/a
at this day margin
Max contracts overnight
n/a
at this overnight margin

Day margin vs overnight margin

Futures margin is a performance bond, not a down payment. The exchange sets a maintenance margin per contract that you must hold to carry a position through the daily 5:00pm ET close. Brokers set a much lower day trading margin for positions opened and closed within the session, often $50 on a micro and $500 on an E-mini, because they can liquidate you before the exchange ever gets involved.

The gap between the two is large: a broker might let you day trade ES for $500 while the exchange maintenance margin is around $15,000. If you are still holding at 5:00pm ET, the overnight figure applies and the broker will liquidate or margin-call you if the account cannot cover it.

Why the numbers here are editable

Exchange margins change with volatility, sometimes weekly. Broker day margins vary from $40 to $1,500 for the same contract. The prefilled figures are reasonable starting points; the right numbers are on your broker's margin page. Type them in and the calculator does the rest.

Margin is not risk

Low day margin lets you control a $250,000 notional ES position with $500. It does not make the position small. A 10 point move against you is still $500 per contract whether your margin was $500 or $15,000. Size with the position size calculator based on your stop, then check that the margin fits. Never the other way round.

Notional value

Notional is price × point value. ES at 5,000 is $250,000 per contract; MES is $25,000; NQ at 18,000 is $360,000; MNQ is $36,000; CL at $80 is $80,000; GC at $2,300 is $230,000. Leverage is notional divided by margin. At $500 day margin on ES that is 500 to 1, which is why intraday futures accounts can disappear in a single bad session.

Related tools

Tick & point value
What one tick and one point are worth on any contract.
Position size
Contracts to trade from account size, risk % and stop.
Profit & loss
Entry to exit P&L per contract, before and after commissions.
Prop firm payout
What you keep after profit split and fees.
Contract specs
Tick size, tick value, point value, hours for 23 contracts.

Frequently asked questions

What is the day trading margin for ES and MES?

It depends on the broker. Typical figures are $400 to $1,500 per ES contract and $40 to $150 per MES contract, applied only to positions closed before 5:00pm ET.

What is overnight margin on futures?

The exchange maintenance margin, set by CME Group and adjusted with volatility. It applies to any position held through the daily close. It is usually 10 to 30 times the broker's day margin.

Can I lose more than my margin in futures?

Yes. Margin is a deposit, not a cap on losses. A fast move or a gap can produce a loss larger than the account balance, and the broker will pursue the shortfall.

Why did my broker raise margins suddenly?

Brokers raise day margins around FOMC, CPI, jobs reports and periods of high volatility, and the exchange raises maintenance margins when volatility rises. Both can happen with little notice.