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Your Trading Advantage Starts with Great Pricing

Powerful tools, without the price tag. Access advanced trading technology, $50 day trading margins, and commissions as low as $0.09 per micro contract — all with the #1 rated futures broker.

Choose your plan

Choose a trading plan that works for you

Transparent pricing. Confident trading. All plans offer top-of-book market data, advanced tools, free simulated trading, and flexible, low-cost commissions for different activity levels. They also include access to NinjaTrader Desktop, Web, and Mobile platforms for a seamless multi-device trading experience. Exchange, clearing, and NFA fees apply.

Pick your trading plan today

  • Free

    Get started with no monthly fee

    $0.39 / Micro

    $1.29 / Standard

    Commissions per side

    $0

    No monthly plan fee

  • Monthly

    Reduced commissions for a monthly fee

    $0.29 / Micro

    $0.99 / Standard

    Commissions per side

    $99

    per month

  • Lifetime

    Lowest commissions for a one-time fee

    $0.09 / Micro

    $0.59 / Standard

    Commissions per side

    $1,499

    one-time payment


View All-In Commission Rates


Activate your plan benefits

Get the most out of your NinjaTrader plan! Just add funds to your live account to unlock powerful tools like real-time market data, Order Flow+, Market Replay, and more. Once your account is funded, you're all set to start exploring everything your plan has to offer.

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Top of book market data

Real-time market data so you can start trading straight away.

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Market replay

Test your strategies against historical market data - play, pause, and rewind market data tick by tick.

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Order flow +

Validate the direction of market movement through comprehensive visual tools that help you trade smarter.

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Pulse indicator

Understand real-time market sentiment across the top 10 futures instruments through beautiful visuals so you never miss an opportunity. Available instantly—no funding required.

In addition to the advanced features above, every plan includes access to the following tools instantly and without funding, so you can fully customize the way you trade futures: 

  • Powerful charts: Advanced yet easy-to-use charting tools that help you analyze the markets like a pro 
  • Third-party tools integration: Seamlessly connect with your favorite third-party trading tools like TradingView and customize your experience 
  • Free simulated trading: Test strategies and practice risk-free before you trade live in a full-feature simulated trading experience 
  • Choice of trading accounts: Choose the account type that fits your goals. We offer individual, joint, retirement and business accounts 
  • Customer support: Get support when you need it including a 24x5 technical support and a 24-hour emergency trade desk 
  • Low margins: Low intraday margins mean more buying power and flexibility to efficiently deploy your capital 
  • Customize your trading platform: Easily build your ideal trading setup. Choose from hundreds of third-party tools, custom indicators, and automated trading strategies from our community of traders. 
  • Optional plan upgrade: Pick and choose upgrades to help you trade more strategically

Low Margins for Most Popular Contracts

NinjaTrader offers competitive $50 intraday margins for Micro contracts and only $500 margins for popular futures markets. These low rates allow you to build positions and scale in and out with more flexibility. View Margin Policy and FAQs. 


$50 Margins

  • Micro E-mini Dow

  • Micro E-mini Russell 2000

  • Micro E-mini S&P

$500 Margins

  • E-mini Dow

  • E-mini Russell 2000

  • E-mini S&P

$1,000 Margins

  • Crude oil

  • Gold

  • Natural gas


View Margins by Market


Clearing, Exchange and Other Fees

Additional fees related to your brokerage account may be charged based on your market data selections, trade management, account level inactivity, and more.

Learn More

Who is NinjaTrader? Understanding the platform and the brokerage

When you trade with NinjaTrader, two affiliated companies are involved. NinjaTrader, LLC (“NT”) is the software company that builds and maintains the NinjaTrader trading platform—the desktop app, web client, and mobile apps. NinjaTrader Clearing, LLC (“NTC”) is a separately registered futures commission merchant (FCM) that holds your funds and clears your trades. NinjaTrader Group, LLC (“NTG”) is the parent company that operates both.

This page describes pricing for trading futures through NinjaTrader Clearing—the FCM—using the NinjaTrader trading platform. The Free, Monthly, and Lifetime plans, the commission rates, and the intraday margins shown above all apply to your NinjaTrader brokerage account, cleared by NTC under NFA ID 0309379.

NinjaTrader Clearing, LLC (“NTC”) is registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) as a futures commission merchant (FCM) and is a National Futures Association (NFA) member (NFA ID: 0309379). All commissions, margins, and account terms on this page apply to accounts cleared through NTC.

NinjaTrader was recognized as the "Best Futures Broker" by BrokerChooser for 2025 and 2026 and "Best Broker for Trading Micro Gold (MGC) Futures" for 2026. BrokerChooser determines the ratings based on evaluation and real-account testing of brokers and investment platforms. NinjaTrader paid no application fee to participate.

Simulated trading does not represent actual trading and is based on hypothetical conditions. Actual trading results may differ significantly due to factors such as market conditions, liquidity, execution, and the emotional and psychological impact of risking real money. Simulated trading is provided for educational and platform-familiarization purposes only and should not be relied upon as an indication or expectation of results in a live trading environment.

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, you can carry a position overnight as long as your account meets the initial margin requirements. Also referred to as exchange margin, this is the minimum amount, per contract, required by the exchange that must be maintained in your account to hold a position overnight.

The margin requirement for carrying a position between trading sessions is significantly greater than the margin required to hold a position only during regular trading hours. As a reminder, your account must meet the initial margin requirements 15 minutes prior to the session close if you plan to carry the position.

It is important to understand the risk associated with holding a position overnight such as exposure to potential adverse price movement occurring outside of normal trading hours. Learn more about carrying a position overnight.
Yes, NinjaTrader Desktop provides direct visibility to your available excess margin helping you manage your positions to meet margin requirements. Learn how to add visibility to your available margin here.
Yes. All plans (Free, Monthly, Lifetime) require a funded, approved live account before benefits become active.
  • Early closes due to holidays are common & Intraday margin is not extended through the holiday trading halt. All positions must satisfy the Initial Margin rates set by the exchanges 15 minutes prior to the early close.
  • Initial Margin is also required on holidays when trading sessions span multiple days.
Due to daylight savings time differences in March & November, Eurex session times will shift by 1 hour until both regions are on the same schedule.

Any amount greater than $0 qualifies.* Once your funds settle, your access will be enabled automatically.

*ACH and debit card transfers are subject to a $5.00 minimum.

NinjaTrader offers three pricing plans. The Free plan has no monthly fee and commissions of $0.39 per side on Micro futures contracts and $1.29 per side on Standard contracts. The Monthly plan is $99/month with reduced commissions of $0.29/Micro and $0.99/Standard. The Lifetime plan is a one-time payment of $1,499 with the lowest commissions: $0.09/Micro and $0.59/Standard.
Futures contracts are only active for a specific amount of time before they expire. Prior to a contract expiring, futures traders must either 1) exit their active position or 2) “roll” their position to a later contract of the same underlying asset which extends the expiration period. Learn more about roll dates.
To activate your plan benefits—including real-time market data, trading access, and add-ons—your account must first be funded.
Yes. NinjaTrader is always free to use for advanced charting, strategy backtesting, and simulated (paper) trading — no time limit and no funding required. The Free plan also lets you trade live futures with no monthly fee at slightly higher commission rates. A free 14-day trial of streaming live market data is included when you open an account.
NinjaTrader commissions are charged per side (per entry or exit), so a round trip is double the listed rate. Free plan: $0.39/Micro, $1.29/Standard. Monthly plan ($99/mo): $0.29/Micro, $0.99/Standard. Lifetime plan ($1,499 one-time): $0.09/Micro, $0.59/Standard. Exchange, clearing, and NFA fees apply on top of these commissions, as they do at every regulated U.S. futures broker.
The Lifetime plan is a one-time payment of $1,499 that unlocks the lowest available commission rates ($0.09/Micro, $0.59/Standard, per side) for the life of your account. Lifetime also includes premium feature add-ons like Order Flow+, full real-time data eligibility (once your account is funded), and waives the recurring monthly platform fee charged on the Monthly plan.
Please use the Trade Desk for emergencies and live orders only. Be prepared to provide your NinjaTrader Brokerage account number. For trades that are closed, we encourage you to email [email protected] and provide your account number and a summary of the trade in question.
While true that having an account balance equal to the intraday margin requirement will allow you to open a position, we strongly encourage traders to view this as the minimum required to maintain a futures position.

Please note: Your account will be liquidated if the balance goes below $50 if trading a $25 margin contract.
A position limit is a preset number of contracts a trader may hold, long or short, at any one time. These limits are in place to control the exposure of any one trader.

Specific to each futures contract, position limits are determined primarily based on the liquidity and volatility of that market.
You’ll regain full access to those features once your account is funded. If you only purchased an add-on without funding your account, some benefits will remain unavailable.
Trading at “full leverage” means leaving no excess margin and therefore no room for error. While trading at full leverage, if a trade moves one tick against you, your position is subject to risk of forced liquidation from the Trade Desk. As this type of trading significantly increases your risk of forced liquidation (and incurring a loss), it is strongly discouraged. Learn more about maintaining the appropriate excess margin.
Excess margin can be defined as the amount of equity in a brokerage account above the minimum margin requirements. Managing excess margin is an important concept in futures trading as failure to maintain sufficient levels of margin can result in the liquidation of your position and fines.

If you fail to maintain the required margin, you may receive a margin call and requiring the deposit of additional funds or potentially have your positions liquidated by the Trade Desk.
It is always best to contact the Trade Desk with non-emergencies by emailing [email protected].
No. If your balance reaches $0, access to features like real-time market data, trading access, and add-ons will pause at the start of the next renewal cycle and reactivate once your account is funded again.