Opening
You trade futures actively. You want the true cost. You use micro or nano contracts. You trade intraday. You plan to use margin. This guide is for you.
Check every fee that affects a futures trade on Webull. This includes three categories: commissions (broker charge), exchange and regulatory pass-throughs, and financing or margin cost (capital tied up). You will see concrete numbers drawn from Webull’s published margin and contract tables. Use them to size positions, estimate capital needs, and calculate per-trade costs.
Expect fast rules. Expect worked examples. Expect clear steps to calculate total cost. Expect tips to reduce expenses. Read the quick TL;DR first. Then dive into the fees breakdown, margin examples, a comparison table, and step-by-step calculations you can copy.
Quick Answer / TL;DR
- Want the lowest capital tie-up? Use intraday and micro/nano contracts. Example: Bitcoin intraday margin is 9,501.36 versus overnight initial margin 16,104.00 per contract.
- Want predictable per-trade cost? Check Webull’s Fee Schedule and confirm your per-contract commission tier before placing orders. Webull uses tiered discounts for futures. Confirm the exact per-contract number.
- Want smaller exposure per price move? Trade micro or nano contracts. Examples: many micro contracts have $0.50 or $1.00 tick/value; micro silver shows $5.00 tick/value; micro Bitcoin shows $0.50 tick/value.
- Want to avoid surprises? Always verify exchange and regulatory pass-throughs and the exact margin numbers for the contract and session you’ll trade. Exchange fees and clearing fees vary by product and session.
1. Fees Breakdown: Per-Contract Rates, Exchange Fees, and Pass-Throughs (3 Components)
Separate three cost types before you trade:
– Commissions: broker charge per contract.
– Exchange/regulatory pass-throughs: fees set by exchanges and regulators that the broker passes to you.
– Financing / margin cost: capital you must post, and the implicit cost of tying that capital up.
Commissions
– Check the Fee Schedule for your account. Webull states: “The more you trade, the lower your commission.” Expect tiered discounts and premium-member reductions.
– Confirm the per-contract commission before opening a trade. The Fee Schedule lists futures-specific lines. Do not assume stock/option $0 commission applies to futures.
– Example approach: if your tier shows $1.00 per contract, an entry and exit equals $2.00 round-trip per contract. If your tier shows $0.50 per contract, round-trip equals $1.00 per contract.
Exchange and regulatory pass-throughs
– Webull passes through exchange and clearing fees. Each exchange posts unique fees per contract and per side.
– Examples of non-futures passthroughs shown by Webull include $0.50 per contract for some index options, and $0.10 for oversized option orders. Use those as a reminder: small fixed fees add up.
– Expect tiny regulatory line items. For equities, Webull lists $0.000003 per share for certain audit fees. For futures, expect similarly small cents-level or dollar-level items depending on contract.
Financing and margin cost
– Webull publishes initial, maintenance, and intraday margins by contract and session.
– Treat margin like a carrying cost. If you post $16,104 to hold one Bitcoin futures contract overnight, that is capital you cannot use elsewhere.
– Use intraday margins to reduce locked capital for same-day trading. Example: Bitcoin intraday 9,501.36 versus overnight initial 16,104.00.
Steps to calculate total cost per trade (quick):
1. Confirm per-contract commission from the Fee Schedule. Record number C.
2. Record exchange/regulatory passthrough per contract. Record number E.
3. Record margin required per contract for the session you’ll use (intraday or overnight). Record M_intraday or M_overnight.
4. Estimate financing cost of capital. Use your cost of capital rate r (annual %), convert to the holding period t (days), then compute financing cost ≈ M * r * t/365.
5. Compute round-trip trade cost ≈ 2C + 2E + financing cost + slippage estimate.
Worked example (parameterized)
– Use C = $1.00 per contract, E = $0.25 per contract, M_overnight = 16,104, r = 5% annual, hold for 2 days.
– Financing cost ≈ 16,104 * 0.05 * 2/365 ≈ $44.20.
– Round-trip commission/pass-throughs = 2*(1.00+0.25) = $2.50.
– Total explicit cost ≈ $46.70 plus slippage and exchange fills.
– Replace C and E with your actual tier values to get a real number.
Comparison table: contract tick/value and margin examples
| Contract | Tick / Value | Intraday Margin | Initial Margin | Maintenance Margin |
|—|—:|—:|—:|—:|
| Bitcoin (CDE BTI) | tick varies; use contract value | 9,501.36 | 16,104.00 | 14,640.00 |
| Nano Bitcoin (CDE BIT) | $0.15 contract size shown as nano; tick smaller | 28.35 | 165.00 | 150.00 |
| Micro Bitcoin (MBT) | $0.5 tick/value shown for micro | 104.63 | 2,325.00 | 2,325.00 (example entry-level) |
| Micro Silver (SIL) | $5.00 tick/value | 7,180.80 | 7,180.80 | 7,180.08 |
| E-mini Euro (CME E7) | tick/value aligned to E-mini specs | 346.50 | 1,155.00 | 1,050.00 |
| Mexican Peso micro (CME 6M) | very small contract unit, tick ~$0.01 | 592.90 | 1,210.00 | 1,100.00 |
Watch out for:
– Commission quotes that exclude futures-specific lines. Always check the futures table.
– Passing small exchange fees as cents. They add up over 100+ contracts.
2. Margin Requirements: Initial vs Intraday with 3 Examples (3 Numbers per example)
Explain margin types
– Initial margin: capital required to open an overnight position. Expressed per contract.
– Maintenance margin: minimum equity to keep a position open overnight. Usually lower than initial.
– Intraday margin: reduced requirement for positions closed in the same trading day. Lower than both initial and maintenance.
Use the published numbers to size positions. Do not guess. Use the exact contract and session numbers from Webull’s margin table.
Example — Bitcoin futures (CDE BTI)
– Initial margin: 16,104.00 per contract.
– Maintenance margin: 14,640.00 per contract.
– Intraday margin: 9,501.36 per contract.
– Trading window example: 09:00 to 16:15 EST.
– Interpretation: open a contract intraday and you need ~9,501.36 in buying power. Hold overnight and you must have ~16,104.00. Maintenance drops to 14,640.00 to avoid liquidation.
Example — Mexican Peso micro (CME 6M)
– Initial margin: 1,210.00 per contract.
– Maintenance margin: 1,100.00 per contract.
– Intraday margin: 592.90 per contract.
– Trading window: 09:00 to 16:15 EST.
– Interpretation: trade currency micros to limit capital tie-up. Intraday margin 592.90 uses roughly half the overnight requirement.
Example — E-mini Euro (CME E7)
– Initial margin: 1,155.00 per contract.
– Maintenance margin: 1,050.00 per contract.
– Intraday margin: 346.50 per contract.
– Trading window: 09:00 to 16:15 EST.
– Interpretation: E-mini intraday margin may be as low as 30% of the initial requirement. This enables higher leverage for day traders.
Additional margin examples from Webull listings (extra numbers)
– Nano Bitcoin (CDE BIT): Initial 165.00, Maintenance 150.00, Intraday 28.35; trading window 09:00 to 16:15 EST.
– Nano Ether (CDE ET): Initial 55.00, Maintenance 50.00, Intraday 27.50; trading window 09:00 to 16:15 EST.
– Ether (CDE ETI): Initial 5,236.00, Maintenance 4,760.00, Intraday 3,089.24; trading window 09:00 to 16:15 EST.
– Doge (CDE DOG): Initial 286.00, Maintenance 260.00, Intraday 143.00; trading window 09:00 to 16:15 EST.
How to use margins to size risk
– Compute required buying power per contract using the session margin number.
– Multiply by number of contracts to get total capital tied: e.g., 3 Bitcoin intraday contracts require 3 * 9,501.36 = 28,504.08.
– Compare capital tied to your available buying power and risk allocation per trade. Example: allocate 2% of account equity per trade. If your account is 50,000 and your rule is 2% risk (1,000), you cannot hold one Bitcoin overnight because initial margin 16,104.00 exceeds allocated risk.
Practical bullets
– Intraday margin can be 40% to 60% lower than initial margin for many contracts. Examples: Bitcoin intraday 9,501.36 vs initial 16,104.00 (41% lower).
– Nano contracts can reduce capital by one to three orders of magnitude. Example: nano Bitcoin intraday 28.35 vs full Bitcoin intraday 9,501.36 (over 300x difference).
– Micro tick/value differences matter for P&L and margin ratio. Micro silver tick $5.00 creates larger nominal exposure per move than many micro FX contracts with $0.50 ticks.
Watch out for:
– Relying on intraday margins and then holding past session close. Overnight triggers higher initial margins and possible margin calls.
– Using intraday margin during volatile sessions; exchanges can raise margins with short notice.
Detailed worked examples: per-trade cost and capital tie-up
Follow these steps. Use real contract numbers from Webull’s table.
Step 1 — Gather the facts
– Confirm commission per contract C from your Fee Schedule.
– Confirm exchange/regulatory passthroughs per contract E.
– Confirm session margin M_intraday or M_initial for the contract.
– Confirm contract tick/value V and point value P if available.
Step 2 — Calculate capital tied
– Capital tied for N contracts = N * M_session.
– Example A: 1 Bitcoin intraday contract: N=1, M_intraday=9,501.36, capital tied = 9,501.36.
– Example B: 2 E-mini Euro overnight contracts: N=2, M_initial=1,155.00, capital tied = 2,310.00.
Step 3 — Estimate explicit fees
– Explicit fees round-trip = 2*(C + E).
– Example: If C = $1.00 and E = $0.25, explicit round-trip = $2.50 per contract.
Step 4 — Estimate financing (opportunity) cost
– Select your cost of capital rate r (annual %). Use conservative numbers like 3% or 5%.
– Holding period t in days. For intraday, t typically = 0 or 1 business day.
– Financing cost per contract ≈ M_session * r * t/365.
– Example: M=9,501.36, r=5%, t=1 day → financing ≈ 9,501.36 * 0.05 / 365 ≈ $1.30 per day.
Step 5 — Add slippage and spread
– Estimate slippage S per round trip. Use tick size and likely fills.
– Example: Bitcoin tick cost equivalent is product of ticks moved and tick value. If you expect 2 ticks of slippage with tick value $10, slippage = $20.
Step 6 — Total approximate cost per trade per contract
– Total = explicit fees + financing cost + slippage.
– Example full calculation with placeholder C and E:
– C = $1.00, E = $0.25 → explicit = $2.50.
– Financing = $1.30 (1-day).
– Slippage = $20.00.
– Total ≈ $23.80 per contract.
Concrete scenario — low-capital micro strategy
– Use micro Bitcoin (MBT) or nano Bitcoin (BIT) to lower margin.
– Nano BIT intraday margin = 28.35. Initial = 165.00.
– If C = $1.00 and E = $0.25, explicit = $2.50.
– Financing (r=5%, t=1) on 28.35 ≈ $0.004 per day (practically zero).
– Slippage likely dominates cost for these tiny contracts. Expect slippage of $0.50 to $5.00 depending on liquidity.
– Total explicit cost often < $10 per round-trip for nano contracts, but liquidity can widen spreads.
Practical rules
– Check the Fee Schedule for C and E before you trade. One small fee change alters profit on small nano trades.
– Use intraday margins only for positions you will close the same day. One overnight hold multiplies required capital by 1.5x to 3x in many contracts.
– Prefer micro or nano contracts when your account equity is under the initial margin for standard contracts.
Comparison of contract types, margins and tick values
Use this quick reference when choosing contract size for cost efficiency.
| Type | Typical tick/value examples | Intraday margin example | Initial margin example | Good for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard futures | Larger tick values; higher P&L per move | Often multiple thousands (e.g., BTC 9,501.36 intraday) | Very large (e.g., BTC 16,104.00) | Traders with large equity and tight strategies |
| Micro futures | Tick values $0.50 to $5.00 (examples: $0.5, $1.00, $5.00) | Lower intraday margins (e.g., MBT 104.63) | Lower initial margins (e.g., MBT 2,325.00) | Small accounts; fine-grained exposure |
| Nano futures | Tiny contract sizes; tiny intraday margins (e.g., BIT intraday 28.35) | Almost negligible capital tie (e.g., 28.35) | Very small initial (e.g., 165.00) | Very small accounts; precise sizing |
| Commodity micros (silver) | Example tick $5.00 | Often several thousands for larger contracts (SIL intraday 7,180.80) | Same as intraday when micro equals standard micro | Traders needing commodity exposure with lower notional than standard contract |
Numbers in the table are taken from Webull’s published futures margin and contract values. Use the table to match margin and tick profiles to your account size.
Closing
Take three practical actions now:
1. Check your Fee Schedule. Record your per-contract commission C and any passthroughs E. Confirm the exact numbers before order entry.
2. Pick the session you will trade. Use intraday margins for day trades (e.g., Bitcoin intraday 9,501.36). Use initial/maintenance margins for overnight risk (e.g., Bitcoin initial 16,104.00; maintenance 14,640.00).
3. Run the arithmetic for each planned trade:
– Capital tied = N * M_session.
– Explicit fees = 2 * (C + E) * N.
– Financing cost ≈ M_session * r * t/365 * N.
– Add slippage and spread estimates.
Final checklist (quick)
– Confirm C and E for your account tier.
– Confirm M_intraday and M_initial for your contract and session.
– Check tick/value V for P&L per move.
– Simulate 5 to 20 trades using your numbers to see cumulative costs.
You can trade futures on Webull with low fees. Use micro and nano contracts to reduce capital needs. Use intraday margins to cut buying power. Always verify per-contract commissions, passthroughs, and the exact margin numbers before you commit capital.