A type of electronically traded futures contract that is smaller in size than otherwise identical futures contract. That is, an e-mini futures enables investors to purchase futures indices for a fraction of the cost of a regular futures contract, and thus it provides a more liquid and affordable choice in comparison with normal size futures.

For example, an e-mini futures could be one-fifth the size of a standard contract. Each e-mini futures usually costs $50. Therefore, the cost of a contract is computed by multiplying the individual contract cost by the value of some index (such as S&P 500, S&P 400, and the Nasdaq 100, in the United States). In other words, if a particular index is currently trading at $1300, then the cost of an e-mini futures on that index will be $1300 x 50= $65000.

The e-mini futures is also known simply as a mini.