Commissions, Exchange Fees, and NFA Fees

Trading through Slay Markets costs three fees per side on every trade: a Slay Markets commission (set by your plan), an exchange fee (set by the exchange), and a $0.19 clearing/NFA fee per contract set by NinjaTrader Clearing, LLC. Slay Markets offers two plans — Slay Free ($0/month) and Slay Pro ($149/month) — and only the commission rate differs between them; exchange and clearing fees are identical on both. A round turn (opening and closing one contract) is charged twice. Additional fees apply for margin calls, auto-liquidations, account inactivity, and certain wire withdrawals.

⚠️ Exchange fees on Slay Markets are set by the exchanges and change periodically. The all-in rates in this article are accurate as published but should be verified before trading. Full current all-in rates for all products are available at slaymarkets.com/fees.

Slay Markets offers two account plans. Slay Free has no monthly fee and charges $0.39 per side on micro contracts and $1.29 per side on E-mini and standard contracts. Slay Pro is $149 per month and charges $0.29 per side on micro contracts and $0.99 per side on E-mini and standard contracts. Both plans give the same market access; only the per-contract commission and the monthly fee differ. Slay Pro pays for itself once your monthly commission savings exceed the $149 plan fee — at the published rates that is roughly 250 E-mini round turns (about 500 sides) or roughly 745 micro round turns per month. If you trade less than that, Slay Free is usually cheaper.

Exchange, clearing, and NFA fees are charged in addition to the commission rates above on both plans and are not included in them. The all-in rate sections further down combine commission, exchange fee, and clearing fee into a single per-side cost for each product.

Every Slay Markets trade carries three fees per side: the Slay Markets commission (set by your plan), an exchange fee that varies by product and is set by the relevant exchange (CME, CBOT, NYMEX, COMEX, ICE, or EUREX), and a flat clearing/NFA fee of $0.19 per contract set by NinjaTrader Clearing, LLC. "All-in" rate in this article means the sum of all three (exchange fee + $0.19 clearing + commission) for one side. The exchange and clearing fees are the same on Slay Free and Slay Pro; only the commission portion changes by plan.

The Slay Markets all-in per-side rate for equity index futures (exchange fee + $0.19 clearing + commission) ranges from $0.95 on Slay Free ($0.85 on Slay Pro) for micro contracts such as MES and MNQ, to $2.88 on Slay Free ($2.58 on Slay Pro) for full-size contracts such as ES, NQ, YM, and RTY. Intraday margin for these products is $50 for MES, MYM, and M2K, $100 for MNQ, $500 for ES, YM, and RTY, and $1,000 for NQ. The table below lists each equity index product.

The Slay Markets all-in per-side rate for energy futures (exchange fee + $0.19 clearing + commission) is $3.00 on Slay Free ($2.70 on Slay Pro) for Crude Oil (CL), RBOB Gasoline (RB), and NY Harbor ULSD (HO), and $3.10 on Slay Free ($2.80 on Slay Pro) for Natural Gas (NG). Micro Crude Oil (MCL) is $1.10 on Slay Free ($1.00 on Slay Pro). Intraday margin is $1,000 for CL, NG, and RB, $2,000 for HO, and $100 for MCL. The table below lists each energy product.

The Slay Markets all-in per-side rate for metals futures (exchange fee + $0.19 clearing + commission) is $3.10 on Slay Free ($2.80 on Slay Pro) for Gold (GC), Silver (SI), and Copper (HG), and $1.20 on Slay Free ($1.10 on Slay Pro) for Micro Gold (MGC). Intraday margin is $1,000 for GC, SI, and HG, and $200 for MGC. The table below lists each metals product.

The Slay Markets all-in per-side rate for interest rate (Treasury) futures (exchange fee + $0.19 clearing + commission) is $2.37 on Slay Free ($2.07 on Slay Pro) for the 30-Year T-Bond (ZB), $2.30 on Slay Free ($2.00 on Slay Pro) for the 10-Year T-Note (ZN), and $2.15 on Slay Free ($1.85 on Slay Pro) for the 5-Year (ZF) and 2-Year (ZT) T-Notes. Intraday margin is $1,000 for ZB and $500 for ZN, ZF, and ZT. The table below lists each interest rate product.

The Slay Markets all-in per-side rate for agricultural futures (exchange fee + $0.19 clearing + commission) is $3.60 on Slay Free ($3.30 on Slay Pro) for Corn (ZC), Soybeans (ZS), and Wheat (ZW). Intraday margin is $1,000 for each of these agricultural products. The table below lists each agricultural product.

The Slay Markets all-in per-side rate for cryptocurrency futures (exchange fee + $0.19 clearing + commission) is $8.00 on Slay Free ($7.70 on Slay Pro) for Bitcoin (BTC), $1.60 on Slay Free ($1.50 on Slay Pro) for Micro Bitcoin (MBT), and $0.80 on Slay Free ($0.70 on Slay Pro) for Micro Ether (MET). Intraday margin is $20,000 for BTC, $500 for MBT, and $50 for MET. The table below lists each cryptocurrency product.

Full all-in rates for all Slay Markets products are available at slaymarkets.com/fees. Exchange fees are set by the exchanges and change periodically, so verify current rates before trading.

Slay Markets charges a margin call fee of $50 each time a margin call is triggered on your account. If a position is auto-closed because the account falls below its required margin, Slay Markets charges an auto-liquidation fee of $25 for the first auto-liquidation event and $50 for each subsequent event. These margin-driven fees apply on both Slay Free and Slay Pro. To learn how margin calls and auto-liquidation work and how to avoid them, see the related articles at the end.

Slay Markets charges a $35 monthly inactivity fee on Slay Free plan accounts that place no live trade within any 30-day period. The inactivity fee applies to the Slay Free plan only and does not apply to Slay Pro accounts. Simulation (paper) trades do not count as live activity and do not waive the fee, and the fee does not apply to zero-balance accounts. To avoid the inactivity fee on Slay Free, place at least one live trade within each 30-day period.

Slay Markets does not charge a fee for ACH (bank transfer) withdrawals — ACH withdrawals are free. A domestic wire withdrawal costs a flat $30 per withdrawal. An international wire withdrawal costs 30 units of the originating currency per withdrawal — for example, a wire sent in U.S. dollars costs $30, a wire sent in euros costs €30, and a wire sent in British pounds costs £30. These withdrawal fees are the same on both Slay Free and Slay Pro. For how long each withdrawal method takes to reach your bank, see Deposit and Withdrawal Timelines in the related articles.

Slay Markets charges an optional order routing fee of $0.25 per contract when orders are routed through CQG Desktop, and another $0.25 per contract when orders are routed through Rithmic. These routing fees are optional and are charged in addition to standard commissions, exchange fees, and the clearing fee; most clients use the default routing and do not incur them. The routing fees are the same on both Slay Free and Slay Pro.

Q: Which Slay Markets plan is right for me, Slay Free or Slay Pro?

A: Slay Pro ($149/month) pays for itself once your monthly commission savings exceed the $149 plan fee. Its lower per-contract commission ($0.29 micro / $0.99 E-mini, vs. $0.39 / $1.29 on Slay Free) saves $0.10 per micro side and $0.30 per E-mini side — at those rates the break-even is roughly 250 E-mini round turns (about 500 sides) or roughly 745 micro round turns per month. If you trade less than that, Slay Free ($0/month) is usually cheaper and gives the same market access.

Q: What is the all-in cost to trade one MNQ round turn on Slay Free?

A: On Slay Free, one Micro E-mini Nasdaq-100 (MNQ) contract costs $0.37 exchange fee + $0.19 clearing + $0.39 commission = $0.95 per side. A round turn (open + close) is charged twice, so the all-in cost is $1.90 total.

Q: What is the all-in cost to trade one MNQ round turn on Slay Pro?

A: On Slay Pro, one Micro E-mini Nasdaq-100 (MNQ) contract costs $0.37 exchange fee + $0.19 clearing + $0.29 commission = $0.85 per side. A round turn (open + close) is charged twice, so the all-in cost is $1.70 total.

Q: Are exchange and clearing fees the same on both Slay Markets plans?

A: Yes. On Slay Markets, exchange fees and the $0.19 clearing/NFA fee are identical regardless of whether you are on Slay Free or Slay Pro. Only the Slay Markets commission rate differs between the two plans.

Q: Does Slay Markets charge a fee to switch between Slay Free and Slay Pro?

A: There is no fee to switch between the Slay Free and Slay Pro plans, and no cooling-off or waiting period applies. (Note that the Slay Pro plan carries a monthly fee.)

Q: How much does Slay Markets charge to withdraw funds?

A: ACH (bank transfer) withdrawals from Slay Markets are free. A domestic wire withdrawal costs $30 per withdrawal, and an international wire withdrawal costs 30 units of the originating currency per withdrawal (for example $30, €30, or £30).

Slay Free has no monthly fee, with commissions of $0.39 per side on micros and $1.29 per side on E-mini and standard contracts. Slay Pro is $149/month, with commissions of $0.29 per side on micros and $0.99 per side on E-mini and standard contracts. On both plans, every trade also adds an exchange fee (varies by product) and a $0.19 clearing/NFA fee per side; the all-in rate combines all three. Additional Slay Markets fees apply for margin calls ($50), auto-liquidations ($25 first / $50 each later event), Slay Free inactivity ($35/month), and wire withdrawals ($30 domestic; 30 units of originating currency international). ACH withdrawals are free.

Tradeify Brokerage LLC d/b/a Slay Markets is an introducing broker registered with the CFTC and guaranteed by NinjaTrader Clearing, LLC d/b/a NinjaTrader ("NTC"), and is an NFA Member (NFA ID: 0575972). Tradeify Brokerage LLC d/b/a Slay Markets does not accept or hold customer funds. All customer accounts are carried and maintained by NTC. NTC is a CFTC-registered FCM and NFA Member (NFA ID: 0309379).