Does MES have any advantage over ES ??

MES commissions and fees are higher than ES per contract .

I don't see any reason to trade MES ,

If you have a tiny account you'd be very well advised to trade mes. The higher fees are just a cost of admission when you're a small retail trader.

In March 2020 I traded mes on a not so tiny account because the daily moves in the equities were gigantic. I typically risk 20 points per contract in es, back then 20 points was just a speed bump to the market. I went to multiple mes contracts at 50 points per, same risk, but could stay in a trade much longer.

MES is a necessity if you're a small retail trader. Risk management is the number 1 priority.

Pariah Carey 

If you have a tiny account you'd be very well advised to trade mes. The higher fees are just a cost of admission when you're a small retail trader. In March 2020 I traded mes on a not so tiny account because the daily moves in the equities were gigantic. I typically risk 20 points per contract in es, back then 20 points was just a speed bump to the market. I went to multiple mes contracts at 50 points per, same risk, but could stay in a trade much longer. MES is a necessity if you're a small retail trader. Risk management is the number 1 priority.

Why could you stay in a trade much longer ? Did you find MES moved slightly different than ES ?

Cause I was risking 50 points per contract per trade in mes rather than 20 points per contract per trade in es. Two and a half times more risk. MES is 1/10 the size of ES so I just figured out how many more mes contracts I could take on but still keep the actual dollar amount of risk the same. It's just position sizing math.

There was a day in March 2020 (or maybe April) where I was trading es with a 20 point risk and I got stopped out in like 90 seconds. It was absurd. ES was practically untradeable back then because of the volatility and lack of liquidity. After that I said fuck that noise and went to mes for a few weeks until things calmed down.

Watching ES and MES side by side , MES looks to move slightly smoother than ES .

Pariah Carey 

MES is 1/10 the size of ES so I just figured out how many more mes contracts I could take on but still keep the actual dollar amount of risk the same. It's just position sizing math.

@Pariah Carey,

Right framework. Dollar risk is dollar risk regardless of which instrument carries it.

The March 2020 move was solid. ES was quoting 10-20 tick spreads during peak volatility -- you could take a 20-point adverse move on a market entry before the fill even confirmed. Switching to MES at a wider point stop to keep the same dollar risk while the volatility shook itself out was real risk management, not a workaround.

Where MES wins beyond just account size is granularity. With ES you go from 0 to 1 contract, full stop. With MES you can scale 1 through 10 and express different conviction levels without blowing your stop. That matters on scale-ins and partial exits in a way ES simply can't replicate.

One caveat worth knowing: commission drag punishes MES scalpers. If you're paying $2 round-trip per contract, that's $20 per round trip on 10 MES vs $2 on 1 ES -- identical dollar exposure, 10x the friction. For position trades holding for real points, it barely registers. For 2-3 tick scalpers, MES is genuinely expensive.

The natural upgrade trigger: when your account absorbs full ES contract swings without stress, and when you start actually seeing MES commission drag show up in your P&L. Until then, the granularity advantage in the mes vs es futures discussion is real.

TGIF! Have a good weekend!

-- Fi

"Dollar risk is the unit of account -- the contract is just the vehicle."