Perpetual Futures vs Futures: What's the Difference?
What are perpetual futures? Compare Nasdaq-100 and S&P 500 perps with
CME NQ and ES futures: funding vs rollover, hours, leverage, liquidation and
regulation.
Kane Simons (TraderKane) is the founder of Prop Firm Compare and a futures trader with 10+ years’ experience. Having earned $3.5M in prop firm payouts, he provides unbiased reviews, comparisons, and insights based on real trading experience.
Compare the best prop firms that use TradingView for futures trading. Review connection types, execution access, platform fees and evaluation or funded-stage limits.
August 27, 202610 min read
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Perpetual futures and traditional futures both let you go long or short a market like the Nasdaq-100, the S&P 500, gold or oil with leverage. The difference is how they stay tied to that market. CME futures such as NQ and ES expire on a quarterly cycle and converge with the index, so you roll to stay in the trade. Perpetual futures never expire. A funding rate paid between longs and shorts keeps them close to the index, and many trade 24/7 on their own venue's order book.
Perpetual futures vs futures also differ in liquidation, regulation and whether a prop firm will let you trade them. This guide compares perps vs futures side by side, with worked NQ examples.
In short: Futures = expiry + roll + exchange clearing. Perps = no expiry + funding + venue-specific rules.
What Are Perpetual Futures?
Perpetual futures are futures-style contracts with no expiry date. A perp stays open until you close it, you are liquidated, or the venue delists the market.
So how do perpetual futures work without an expiry? Each perp tracks an index or oracle price, and a funding rate keeps it close. When the perp trades above that price, longs pay shorts. When it trades below, shorts pay longs.
Perps are sized in units or dollar notional rather than fixed contracts, and are usually margined in a stablecoin such as USDC or USDT. Most venues decide liquidations using the mark price, a fair price built from the index, rather than the last traded price.
The perps meaning most traders know comes from crypto, and crypto futures trading on BTC and ETH is still the biggest perps market. Since 2025, though, perps have spread to other markets, with most of that growth in 2026. Vest Markets is one example. Its Nasdaq-100 and S&P 500 perps track the CME contracts, and Vest said in October 2026 that monthly active traders and volume had grown more than 300% month over month.
Perps Aren't Only Crypto
Perps began on crypto exchanges, and crypto is still the largest perps market. Many venues now also list perps on indices, commodities and single stocks.
Market
Examples of perps (venue-dependent)
CME futures equivalent
Crypto
BTC, ETH and other coins
CME Bitcoin / Micro Bitcoin, Ether futures
Equity indices
Nasdaq-100, S&P 500
NQ / MNQ, ES / MES
Commodities
Gold, silver, oil
GC / MGC, SI, CL / MCL
Single stocks
For example NVDA, TSLA, AAPL
No direct CME equivalent for most
Availability depends on the venue and where you live.
What is NQ futures in numbers? NQ is $20 per Nasdaq-100 point, with a 0.25 point tick worth $5. MNQ futures are the micro version at $2 per point. ES is $50 per S&P 500 point, with a $12.50 tick, and MES is $5 per point. For sizing, see micro vs mini futures.
Contracts expire on the third Friday of March, June, September and December, and are cash-settled. Futures rollover happens on CME's roll date, the Monday before expiry, so December 2026 rolls on 14 December and expires on 18 December.
Nasdaq futures trading hours and ES futures trading hours run on CME Globex from Sunday 6pm to Friday 5pm ET, with a daily 5pm to 6pm break. Trades go through one central order book, cleared by CME Clearing and regulated by the CFTC. Gold (GC, MGC) and crude oil (CL, MCL) work the same way.
Perpetual Futures vs Futures: Key Differences
Futures expire and are priced through basis, while perps never expire and are kept in line by funding. Everything else follows from that.
Area
CME futures (NQ/ES)
Index perps (e.g. Nasdaq-100 perp)
What it means for you
Expiry
Quarterly; roll the Monday before expiry
None
Roll admin vs open-ended holding
Price link
Basis converges at expiry
Funding, often hourly or 8-hourly
Different holding-cost maths
Holding cost
Priced into basis
Funding paid or received, weekends included
Long holds can cost more or less
Hours
Sunday to Friday, daily break
Often 24/7; some venues lock index perps at weekends
Weekend gaps vs weekend exposure
Sizing
Fixed: NQ $20/pt, MNQ $2/pt
Any dollar notional
Finer sizing on perps
Leverage
Set by exchange and broker margin
Set by the venue, often 20x to 30x or more
Liquidation risk
Forced close
Margin call or broker decision
Automatic at the liquidation price
No grace period on perps
Order book
One CME book, via Rithmic or CQG
The venue's own book
CME order flow reads don't transfer
Regulation
CFTC; CME Clearing
Mostly offshore or onchain; a few new US products
Different protections
Leverage caps, funding intervals and hours differ by venue and change often, so check the venue's own pages.
How Does the Funding Rate Compare With Rollover and Basis?
Funding and basis are two ways of paying to hold a leveraged position over time.
With perps, funding is a payment between traders. When the perp trades above the index, longs pay shorts, and the reverse below it. It is charged on your notional, can turn negative, and keeps accruing at weekends.
With CME futures, there is no funding payment. The cost of carry, roughly interest minus dividends, is priced into the futures basis, the gap between the futures price and the index. That gap narrows towards expiry. Rolling means paying the spread between contract months, plus commissions and slippage.
Funding example: NQ vs Nasdaq-100 perp, holding long for 30 days
Illustrative only. All figures are assumptions.
Item
1 MNQ (CME)
Nasdaq-100 perp, same exposure
Notional
50,000(2 × 25,000)
$50,000
Carry assumption
Basis of 250 points with 90 days left, about 83 points per 30 days
Funding of +0.01% per 8 hours, about 0.03% a day
Cost to a long over 30 days
About 83 × $2 = $167, plus commissions
About $450, if the rate stayed constant
If the rate flips
Basis is fairly stable
Negative funding would pay the long
Funding varies by venue and over time, so the gap can be wider, narrower or reversed. Check the venue's funding history before holding.
Neither product is cheaper in general. Check live funding and basis for the trade you are planning.
How Do Trading Hours and Weekend Gaps Differ?
CME index futures close at weekends and for an hour each weekday, so a weekend news shock shows up as a gap at the Sunday open.
Index perps may keep trading while cash and futures markets are shut. Outside cash hours, their price comes from the venue's oracle, so weekend prices are thinner and set by the venue, not CME. Some venues freeze or limit index perps at weekends instead, so check the rules where you trade. For holding futures overnight at a prop firm, see the best swing trading futures prop firms.
How Do Leverage and Liquidation Differ?
On a perp, you choose leverage up to the venue's cap, and the position closes automatically when the mark price hits your liquidation price. Insurance funds and auto-deleveraging cover losses beyond your margin.
With CME futures, margin is set by the exchange and your broker, and a margin call usually comes first. At a futures prop firm, the firm's drawdown rule is the real limit, and it ends the account long before exchange margin would.
Liquidation example:
Illustrative only. A $50,000 Nasdaq-100 perp long at 20x uses $2,500 of margin. A move of roughly 4% to 5% against you, less after maintenance margin and fees, can trigger liquidation.
On a $50K futures prop account with a $2,000 drawdown, one MNQ gives you about 1,000 points of room, roughly 4%. One NQ gives you only 100 points, roughly 0.4%.
Where Can You Trade Index and Commodity Perps, and Are They Regulated?
CME futures are CFTC-regulated and centrally cleared. Most index and commodity perps are offered by offshore or onchain venues, where the venue or market deployer sets the rules and oracle and is effectively your counterparty.
Venue
Examples of non-crypto perps
Access and status
Official source
Last checked
Hyperliquid HIP-3 (trade[XYZ])
XYZ100 (Nasdaq-100-style), S&P 500 perp licensed by S&P DJI in Mar 2026, stocks, commodities, FX
Onchain, eligible non-US users; deployer sets oracle and parameters
S&P Global, 18 Mar 2026
21 Oct 2026
Kraken (xStocks perps)
SPYx, QQQx, GLDx, single stocks; launched Feb 2026
Eligible non-US clients; tracks tokenised ETFs and stocks
Perpetual-style futures on AI10, China10, Defense10, Tech100; announced for June 2026
CFTC-regulated US exchange. Tech100 tracks the MarketVector US Listed Innovators 100, not the Nasdaq-100
Coinbase, 21 May 2026
21 Oct 2026
Kalshi (US)
US500 perpetual (MerQube US Large Cap Index); launched 6 Oct 2026
CFTC-registered designated contract market
Kalshi, Oct 2026
21 Oct 2026
The US position is changing quickly. On 29 May 2026, the CFTC approved its first true perpetual, a bitcoin contract on Kalshi, and said perps on other assets should go through Commission review. Kalshi's US500 perpetual has since launched, alongside Coinbase's perpetual-style index futures. In the UK and EU, availability and protections depend on the venue. An index licence, such as S&P DJI's, is a data licence, not regulation. See are futures prop firms regulated.
Can You Trade Perps at a Futures Prop Firm?
Generally, no. Futures prop firms fund traders on CME futures such as NQ, MNQ, ES and MES, and at some firms GC and CL, usually on simulated accounts. They don't offer perps. See what a futures prop firm is.
Perps prop firms are a separate category. A crypto prop firm evaluates traders on crypto perps, and some cover multi-asset perps. If you are comparing the best crypto prop firms or a perps prop firm, expect different rules and platforms. At a CME futures prop firm, your drawdown, daily loss limit and contract limits close the account long before exchange margin would.
Perps Prop Firms vs CME Futures Prop Firms
Vest Capital is shown as an example, not a recommendation. Figures as published by Vest, checked 21 October 2026.
Area
CME futures prop firms
Perps prop firm example: Vest Capital
Products
NQ/MNQ, ES/MES; some firms GC, CL
Perps on equities, indices, crypto, commodities, FX
What Changes If You Move From Perps to NQ or ES Futures?
Sizing: you trade contracts, not dollars. Start with MNQ or MES.
No funding: you manage roll dates and trade the front month.
Hours: no weekend trading, and many prop firms limit holding over the close.
Risk limits: drawdown and daily loss rules end the account, not a liquidation price.
Costs: per-contract commissions and exchange fees, not a percentage of notional.
Data: CME order-book data through futures platforms. Perp venue order flow doesn't carry over.
Before Switching From Perps to Futures: contract size and tick value · roll dates · session hours and close-out rules · drawdown type · daily loss limit · contract limits · commissions · platform and data.
Futures expire and converge through basis, while perps never expire and rely on funding. Hours, sizing, liquidation and order books all differ as a result.
Perps on indices and commodities have grown fast in 2026, with firms like Vest Markets bringing NQ and ES-style perps to futures traders. Regulation and counterparty risk depend on the venue, and US products are new and changing quickly.
Futures prop firms trade CME NQ and ES, not perps, so adjust your sizing, hours and risk to each firm's rules. Before buying a challenge, compare firms' rules, drawdowns and costs.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Are Perpetual Futures?
Perpetual futures are futures-style contracts with no expiry date. They track an index or oracle price, and a funding rate paid between longs and shorts keeps them close to it. They started in crypto but now cover indices, commodities and stocks on some venues.
How Do Perpetual Futures Work?
When the perp trades above its index, longs pay shorts a funding payment. When it trades below, shorts pay longs. This pulls the price back towards the index. Positions stay open until you close them or hit your liquidation price.
Are Perpetual Futures the Same as Futures?
No. Futures such as NQ and ES expire quarterly and converge with the index, so you roll to stay in the trade. Perpetual futures never expire and use funding instead. They also differ in hours, sizing, liquidation and regulation.
Are Perpetual Futures Only for Crypto?
No. Crypto is still the largest perps market, but many venues now list perps on the Nasdaq-100, the S&P 500, gold, oil and single stocks. Availability depends on the venue and where you live.
Is Funding Cheaper Than Rolling NQ Futures?
Not in general. Futures carry is priced into the basis and is fairly stable, while funding changes over time and can turn negative. Which is cheaper depends on the venue's funding history and how long you hold.
Are Index Perps Regulated in the US?
Most index perps are offered offshore or onchain to non-US users. In the US, Kalshi's US500 perpetual and Coinbase Derivatives' perpetual-style index futures trade on CFTC-regulated exchanges. Rules are changing quickly. Last checked 21 October 2026.
Do Futures Prop Firms Let You Trade Perps?
Generally, no. Futures prop firms fund traders on CME futures such as NQ, MNQ, ES and MES, usually on simulated accounts. Perps prop firms are a separate category, with different rules and platforms. Last checked 21 October 2026.
