MES vs ES: Should You Start Trading Micros or Minis?
Micros are one-tenth the size of minis. See the tick values and why starting on MES and MNQ protects your prop firm evaluation.
The 10x difference most beginners ignore
ES moves $12.50 per tick ($50 per point). MES moves $1.25 per tick ($5 per point). NQ moves $5.00 per tick ($20 per point), while MNQ moves $0.50 per tick ($2 per point). Same chart, same moves — one-tenth the dollar risk on micros.
How one mini can eat your drawdown fast
A 25-point move against you on 1 NQ is a $500 loss. On a 50K account with a few thousand dollars of drawdown, that is a big chunk gone on one trade. The same 25 points on 1 MNQ is $50 — room to be wrong and keep trading.
Micros let you scale in and out
With 3–5 micros you can take partial profit, move your stop and leave a runner. With a single mini it's all or nothing. That flexibility is how many traders smooth out their results.
When to move up to minis
Move up only after you've built a cushion above your drawdown and your stop size in dollars still fits inside your daily loss limit. Use the position size calculator to check before you size up.
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