Start with the differences

Same price story.
Different products.

The name of the market is only half the picture. First ask what you’re buying—or which contract you’re trading.

Index futures, index perps, cash shares, and stock perps: a beginner comparison
The big pictureSame markets. Different products.	01 /Index futuresAn exchange-traded contract.	02 /Index perpsPrice exposure, without an expiry.	03 /SharesA piece of a company.	04 /Stock perpsThe stock’s price, without its shares.
What are you trading?	A contract tied to a stock-market index.	A perpetual contract tied to an index reference price.	Shares bought outright in a cash account.	A perpetual contract linked to a stock’s price.
Do you own shares?	No ownership of the index’s companies.	No ownership of the index’s companies.	Yes. A share represents company ownership.	No shareholder ownership or voting rights.
Does it expire?	Yes. Each contract has an expiry.	No scheduled contract expiry.	No contract expiry.	No scheduled contract expiry.
What costs matter?	Trading fees, spread, and rolling to a later contract.	Trading fees, spread, and funding payments.	Broker fees, spread, and possible currency/account charges.	Trading fees, spread, and funding payments.

01 / The big picture

Index futures

An exchange-traded contract.

What are you trading?: A contract tied to a stock-market index.
Do you own shares?: No ownership of the index’s companies.
Does it expire?: Yes. Each contract has an expiry.
What costs matter?: Trading fees, spread, and rolling to a later contract.

Understand the difference

02 / The big picture

Index perps

Price exposure, without an expiry.

What are you trading?: A perpetual contract tied to an index reference price.
Do you own shares?: No ownership of the index’s companies.
Does it expire?: No scheduled contract expiry.
What costs matter?: Trading fees, spread, and funding payments.

Understand the difference

03 / The big picture

A piece of a company.

What are you trading?: Shares bought outright in a cash account.
Do you own shares?: Yes. A share represents company ownership.
Does it expire?: No contract expiry.
What costs matter?: Broker fees, spread, and possible currency/account charges.

Understand the difference

04 / The big picture

Stock perps

The stock’s price, without its shares.

What are you trading?: A perpetual contract linked to a stock’s price.
Do you own shares?: No shareholder ownership or voting rights.
Does it expire?: No scheduled contract expiry.
What costs matter?: Trading fees, spread, and funding payments.

Understand the difference

A starting point, not a product recommendation. “Shares” means fully paid cash shares; borrowing and short selling add different costs and risks. Hours, rules, and availability depend on the provider. Sources & scope ↗

01 / Ownership

Owning is different from exposure.

A share is an ownership interest in a company. A stock perp is a contract linked to a stock’s price. An index future or index perp does not give you shares in all the companies in that index.

02 / Time

Expiry is different from trading hours.

A futures contract has an expiry. A perp has no scheduled expiry, but its market can still close. Staying open also depends on margin, provider rules, and whether the market remains listed.

03 / Risk

A smaller deposit is not a smaller position.

Margin is the money supporting a position; exposure is how much of a price move you are taking on. Leverage can make losses large relative to that margin. Costs and liquidation rules matter alongside the direction of the trade.

Choose your next chapter

Make the comparison concrete.

Compare / Indices

Futures vs index perps.

Similar markets. Different contracts, expiry, and holding costs.

Compare / Stocks

Shares vs stock perps.

Owning part of a company and trading its price are different things.

Understand / Costs & risk

Funding, fees, and leverage.

The three things to understand before you consider a trade.

Understand / Prop firms

How prop firms and Vest work.

A smaller upfront fee, a virtual account, and rules to understand before paying.