Best Trading Platforms for E-Mini Futures

Benzinga readers love NinjaTrader and EdgeClear for their e-mini futures trading needs.

Many investors are intrigued by futures — they offer numerous benefits. A futures contract is a legal agreement to buy or sell a standardized asset at a predetermined price at a specific time in the future. They are an efficient way to seek profits by taking a position in the market’s direction using a limited amount of money. They can also help you hedge risks.  Some investors are deterred by the amount of capital they have to commit to futures. Consider E-mini futures — a line of bite-sized futures contracts designed to make futures more accessible to retail traders.

E-minis are 1/5^th the size of the standard S&P futures contract. E-mini futures are almost similar to their full-sized counterparts, but they add the benefit of less margin needed so they are available for the less capitalized traders. E-mini futures let you gain exposure to these 4 major U.S. indices:

• S&P 500
• NASDAQ 100
• Dow Jones
• Russell 2000

The Best Trading Platforms For E-Mini Futures:

• Best for Advanced Futures Trading: NinjaTrader
• Best for Active Futures Trading: EdgeClear
• Best for Trading Micro Futures: Optimus Futures
• Best for Mobile Users: Plus500
• Best for Retirement Savers: TD Ameritrade
• Best for Global Traders: Interactive Brokers
• Best for Futures Trading: TradeStation
• Best for Desktop Trading: E*TRADE

Are you looking for new market alternatives? You should consider the benefits of playing “small ball.” The electronically traded E-mini futures have become more popular than their big brothers. They offer the benefits of U.S. equities while eliminating most of the drawbacks associated with traditional investment practices.

Low commissions and margins are just the tip of the iceberg when choosing the best trading software for E-mini futures. Serious futures traders must take into consideration a conglomerate of requirements: execution speed, client support, trading and research tools and ease of use. 

You should also consider your trading style and what features are essential in maximizing profits. Here are Benzinga’s recommendations for futures brokers to trade E-mini futures.

1. Best for Advanced Futures Trading: NinjaTrader

NinjaTrader is a great platform for beginners and advanced traders. Beginners can use the collection of technical analysis tools, a demo trading account and a 2-week free trial when they sign up. NinjaTrader allows you to use its trading software — for free — once you fund your brokerage account. You may also lease the software and get access to charts, market analysis and simulated trading among other essentials for E-mini futures trading. 

Trade futures for less! No deposit minimum to open an account. Start trading with only $50 in day trading margin and enjoy ultra-low commissions as low as $0.09 per micro contract. You can get lower commissions by buying a lifetime license.

2. Best for Active Futures Trading: EdgeClear

Designed specifically for futures trading, EdgeClear is an online broker that allows you to seize on price movements in this fast-paced segment of the market. Technology is employed to give you the most current data and fast execution, and the dashboard is easy to understand and navigate. 

Beginners and experienced futures traders alike can make the most of this platform by building a portfolio that suits their strategy and takes advantage of:

• Low introductory commissions rate of $0.69 per side plus fees on the most popular futures products and $0.20 per side plus fees on micro products
• EdgeProX, an all-in-one proprietary trading platform
• 5-star Customer service offered by experienced staffers
• Every trader is assigned a personal broker for their trading goals
• Flexible account options that include IRA futures
• Algorithmic trading plans
• Demo accounts to some of the most popular platforms available
• Futures products that cut across a wide range of business sectors

Everyone from beginners and advanced retail traders up to Commodity Trading Advisors (CTAs), Commodity Pool Operators (CPOs), futures funding entities and institutional traders can use this platform to support their endeavors.

3. Best for Trading Micro Futures: Optimus Futures

If you trade e-mini futures and want to reduce your trading and technology costs substantially, check out Optimus Futures. As a discount futures broker, Optimus Futures offers cutting-edge trading platforms combined with deep discount commissions and aggressive day trading margins. While some futures brokers provide limited functionalities with the free versions of their software; Optimus Futures’ signature trading platform, Optimus Flow, is completely FREE and includes all available features.

Traders can start a free trial or open an account with as little as $500 ($100 for micros) and immediately gain access to all the tools and value-added features right out of the box, including:

• Intuitive, visually appealing charts and 50+ indicators
• One-click, cross-platform trading journal
• Real-time news feeds that provide actionable trading insights

As a boutique firm, Optimus Futures prides itself on family-style, personal customer service that is responsive and actively engaged with its customers, helping new traders establish themselves and advanced traders optimize their experience.

Trading futures and options involve a substantial risk of loss and are unsuitable for all investors.

4. Best for Mobile Users: Plus500

Plus500 is a global multi-asset fintech group that manages trading platforms around the world and offers a range of trading products including CFDs, Share dealing, and Futures trading (US). The platform offers access to several different trading instruments and many markets that you can use to build your portfolio. Highlights include:

• Quick onboarding
• Simplified mobile trading
• Easy-to-use platform
• CFDs for indices, ETFs, shares, forex, commodities, options and crypto
• Free deposits and withdrawals
• $100 minimum
• 0.7% currency conversion fee per transaction, when the currency in your account is different from those traded

Because Plus500 doesn’t charge a commission and only profits on spreads, however, this is not a platform for beginners. You can jump into Plus500, make the most of your expertise, build your portfolio and quickly turn a profit.

5. Best for Retirement Savers: TD Ameritrade

TD Ameritrade is touted as one of the best platforms for rookie traders looking to give futures a try - with over 70 futures products. You’ll need a $2,000 minimum account balance for margin accounts.

The brokerage boasts an elite trading platform, thinkorswim, and its mobile companion that let you trade futures on the go. Real-time education, key insights and market trends are available through daily TV programs offered by the TD Ameritrade Network. Its futures knowledge center offers even more articles, videos, insights and resources to help you master futures trading.

Your application for a trading account is processed in 1-3 days. You’ll need a minimum net liquidation value of $25,000 if you are applying to trade futures in an IRA.

6. Best for Active and Global Traders: Interactive Brokers

Interactive Brokers has been — for 10 consecutive years — Barron’s best online broker, offering a suite of trading platforms to optimize your trading speed and efficiency. The brokerage provides a gateway to over 125 markets worldwide as well as access to market data 24 hours a day, 6 days a week.

A host of free trading tools allow you to spot market opportunities, manage your account and analyze results. Over 100 order types help you execute virtually any trading strategy. Futures and futures options trading fees are as low as $0.85, representing some of the lowest in the market. 

Interactive Brokers also received the lowest cost broker rating from Barron’s. On demand learning is also available, thanks to a host of resources, including webinars, the Traders’ Academy, IBKR Trader’s insight and the Quant blog.

7. Best for Futures Trading: TradeStation

TradeStation is for seasoned traders who are looking for a comprehensive platform with professional-grade tools, a fully-operational app and a vast array of tradable securities. The platform equally caters for rookie traders with its TS GO account which requires a $0 minimum account balance to open. Advanced traders can sign up for the TS Select account, which requires a $2,000 minimum account balance to get started. 

TradeStation also offers a Simulated Trading tool that lets you practice executing orders, using the brokerage’s suite of analysis and charting tools and testing trading strategies.

8. Best for Desktop Trading: E*TRADE

E*TRADE offers over 60 types of futures contracts to trade, including bitcoin futures and market indices. The brokerage lets you trade on your mobile device or desktop anytime during the 24/6 trading sessions with Power E*TRADE mobile app and Power E*TRADE. It will cost you $1.50 per contract on futures and options on futures. 

The brokerage is synonymous with pro-level tools that let you trade futures along with other asset classes, formulate trading strategies with over 100 technical studies and directly trade, modify or cancel orders. Its Futures Research Center lets you get trading insights from seasoned professionals as well as explore real-time futures market data. To trade futures, you need an eligible IRA account or margin-enabled brokerage account. There are no minimum funding requirements.

E-Mini Futures vs. Traditional Futures

You’re probably wondering, what are E-mini futures? Well, there isn’t much difference between E-mini futures and their larger, standard counterparts. Both futures are great trading tools. The main difference is that you may commit to smaller amounts of money by trading E-minis rather than traditional futures.

To help you better understand E-minis and traditional futures, we describe the similarities and differences for more insight.

Similarities:

• E-mini futures and traditional futures are usually based on the same underlying index.
• Both futures have similar tick sizes for calendar spread trades of 0.05 index points.

Differences:

• An E-mini contract value is 1/5^th of the standard futures contract.
• E-mini tick sizes are different – $0.25 or $12.50 per tick for E-minis and $0.10 or $25 per tick for traditional futures.
• E-minis have only 5 quarterly contracts listed for trading.

Pros of E-Mini Futures

Tailored to the retail investor and trader, E-mini contracts offer a host of benefits which include:

• Around-the-clock trading
• Added flexibility for portfolio diversification
• A lower financial risk and investment
• Easier to understand compared to other investment options

Cons of E-Mini Futures

• Fast moving, making it easy to lose a lot of money in a short period
• Risk of overtrading

Pros of Traditional Futures

• Tax benefits
• Simple pricing
• Leverage lets you gain significant market exposure

Cons of Traditional Futures

• No control over future events
• High leverage resulting in rapid price changes

Do E-Mini Futures Have a Place in Your Portfolio?

E-minis aren’t all that different from traditional, full-sized contracts. They are part of the chain of futures options — which are getting smaller — starting from regular futures to E-minis to micro E-mini futures. 

Whether you’re looking to capitalize on the price swings in the commodity markets or want to hedge specific elements of your portfolio, futures trading may fit your bill. And if you’re just getting your feet wet, start with the basics to learn the ins and outs of the market.

Are you interested in learning more about futures? Head over to Benzinga's Futures & Options Courses.

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