In proprietary trading, knowing each firm's specific rules is key to succeeding. These rules, which differ a lot across the industry, help manage risk and keep trading stable. This guide will give you a full look at the main rules for different prop firms. Use it to compare policies and find the firm that best aligns with your trading style.
FTMO
4.8
Max Drawdown:
Fixed limit: 10% of your starting balance.
Daily Drawdown Limit:
5% of the initial account balance.
Minimum Trading Days:
There is no minimum trading day requirement for FTMO Traders.
Trading Days Allowed:
Unlimited. There is no maximum time limit to complete the evaluation stages.
Allowed Trading Instruments:
Forex, Indices, Commodities (including Oil), Stocks (CFDs), and Cryptocurrencies.
News Trading Allowed:
Restricted to standard funded accounts within a 2-minute window of high-impact news. Allowed without restriction on Swing accounts.
Weekend Holding Allowed:
Not permitted on standard funded accounts. Allowed on Swing accounts.
Copy Trading Allowed:
Yes, but using third-party services where you are not the one executing the trades is forbidden.
You’re allowed to use a copy trader to mirror trades from your own account.
EA/Bot Trading Allowed:
Yes. However, using off-the-shelf EAs used by many other traders may violate the rules against identical trading strategies.
Unique Features & Special Policies:
Australian Operations: Services for Australian clients are facilitated through an affiliated entity, VRGK Tech Pty Ltd, to comply with local regulations.
Inactivity Rule: At least one trade must be placed every 30 days to keep the account active.
Supported platforms: MT4, MT5, cTrader, and DXtrade.
Trader Support Tools: Provides a suite of applications like MetriX (performance dashboard), Mentor App (discipline tool), and a Trading Journal.
Stellar Lite: 8% (Static, based on initial balance).
Daily Drawdown Limit:
Stellar 2-Step & 1-Step: 5% (Static, based on daily starting balance).
Stellar Lite: Fixed 4% daily drawdown, based on starting balance.
Minimum Trading Days:
Stellar 2-Step: 5 trading days per phase.
Stellar 1-Step: 2 trading days.
Trading Days Allowed:
Unlimited for Stellar Challenges.
Allowed Trading Instruments:
Forex, Indices, and Commodities.
News Trading Allowed:
Allowed, but with restrictions on funded accounts (profits made within a 5-minute window of news may be deducted).
Weekend Holding Allowed:
Permitted.
Copy Trading Allowed:
Yes, only between your own FundedNext accounts, with a total capital limit of $300,000. Use of third-party copiers is restricted.
EA/Bot Trading Allowed:
Yes, but the strategy must be unique. The trading method (EA vs. manual) used to pass the challenge cannot be changed on the funded account.
Unique Features & Special Policies:
15% Profit Share: Earn 15% of the profits made during the evaluation.
No Consistency Rule: The Stellar models do not have a consistency rule regarding lot sizes or the number of trades.
Strategy Consistency Mandate: You cannot significantly change your trading style (e.g., asset classes, risk parameters, manual vs. EA) after passing the challenge.
High-Risk Behavior Rule: FundedNext may enforce a 1% maximum risk per trade rule on traders flagged for overly aggressive or gambling-like behavior.
IP Address Policy: Recommends using a single, unique IP address and personal device to avoid security flags.
Inactivity Rule: Make at least one trade every 30 days to keep your account active.
Topstep
4.4
Max Drawdown:
End-of-Day Trailing Drawdown.
The drawdown trails your account's highest profit based on the end-of-day balance, not intra-day highs. It only moves up when your account closes with a new peak balance.
Daily Drawdown Limit:
Yes. Limits are $1,000 (50K), $2,000 (100K), and $3,000 (150K).
Minimum Trading Days:
None. There is no minimum number of days required to pass the Trading Combine.
Trading Days Allowed:
2 days to demonstrate consistent trading before passing.
Allowed Trading Instruments:
CME Group Futures: Equity futures (E-mini S&P 500, NASDAQ 100), Foreign Exchange futures, Agricultural futures, Energy futures (Crude Oil), Interest Rate futures, and Metals futures (Gold, Silver).
News Trading Allowed:
Yes, traders can hold positions during news events, but are responsible for managing the risk.
Weekend Holding Allowed:
No. All positions must be closed by 3:10 PM CT on Friday.
Copy Trading Allowed:
Yes, but only between your own Topstep accounts. Copying other traders is prohibited. Live Funded Accounts cannot use the trade copier.
EA/Bot Trading Allowed:
You can use trading bots and automated strategies.
Unique Features & Special Policies:
Futures-Focused: One of the most established firms specializing in futures contracts, not Forex/CFDs.
Trading Platforms: Offers a wide range of platforms, including TSTrader (part of TopstepX), NinjaTrader, TradingView, and many others.
Reset Feature: If a trader breaks a rule in the Trading Combine, they can "reset" their account for a fee without having to pay the full monthly subscription again.
Express Funded Account: Once you pass the Trading Combine, you move on to a live simulated account where you can start earning profits. The Maximum Loss Limit rule changes slightly, freezing at the starting balance once you take a payout.
E8 Funding
4.5
Max Drawdown:
E8 One: Up to 14% trailing drawdown.
E8 Classic/Track: Typically 8%–10% static drawdown.
Daily Drawdown Limit:
Yes. Varies between 3%–9%, depending on account type.
Minimum Trading Days:
1 trading day for E8 Evaluation and E8 Track challenges.
No minimum trading days for funded accounts.
Trading Days Allowed:
Unlimited. There is no time limit to pass the challenges.
Allowed Trading Instruments:
Forex, Indices, Commodities (Oil, Metals), Crypto, and Equities.
News Trading Allowed:
Evaluation accounts: Yes, news trading is allowed without restrictions.
Funded accounts: Restricted. Trading is prohibited on instruments affected by a high-impact news event within a 5-minute window before and after the release.
Weekend Holding Allowed:
Weekend holds are allowed.
Copy Trading Allowed:
You can copy trades from your personal account to one E8 evaluation account only.
Copying between multiple E8 accounts is not allowed.
EA/Bot Trading Allowed:
Yes. However, the EA's strategy must be unique and not a generic third-party EA used by many other traders.
Unique Features & Special Policies:
Independent Evaluation Rule: Each evaluation account must be passed with a unique trading strategy.
Payout-on-Demand Consistency: For on-demand payouts, no single trading day can account for more than 40% of the total profit.
Trade Duration Rule: More than 50% of your trades must be held for longer than one minute.
Risk Management Mandate: E8 reserves the right to enforce a 2% maximum risk rule per trade idea if it detects overly aggressive trading styles.
Inactivity Rule: Your account will be deactivated if unused for 60 days.
Server Request Limit: A technical limit of 2000 daily server requests (order modifications, SL/TP adjustments, etc.) is in place.
TopTier Challenge (Regular & Swing): 40 days (Phase 1), 70 days (Phase 2).
TopTier Challenge Plus: Unlimited, as long as each phase has ≥ 4 trading days.
Allowed Trading Instruments:
Forex, Indices, Commodities (Metals), and Cryptocurrencies.
News Trading Allowed:
Allowed during evaluation.
Funded accounts require a paid add-on to trade high-impact news.
Weekend Holding Allowed:
Yes, permitted on all account types. For some challenges, this may require a free add-on at checkout.
Copy Trading Allowed:
No. Copy trading is generally not allowed.
EA/Bot Trading Allowed:
Yes, but the EA must not be a high-frequency trading (HFT) bot.
Unique Features & Special Policies:
No Consistency Rule: TopTier Trader does not enforce any rules regarding consistent lot sizes or trading frequency.
Two-tier Funded Stage: After passing the challenge, you get a "Tier 1" funded account. After scaling, you get a "Tier 2" account with the 90% profit split.
The5ers
4.9
Max Drawdown:
High Stakes: 10% static drawdown.
Bootcamp:
During evaluation: 5% max drawdown.
In funded stage: 4% max drawdown.
Hyper-Growth: 6% static drawdown.
Daily Drawdown Limit:
High Stakes: 5% static daily loss limit.
Bootcamp (Funded Stage): 3% daily loss limit, triggers a soft breach (trading paused for the day).
Hyper-Growth: 3% daily pause threshold.
Minimum Trading Days:
High Stakes: 3 profitable trading days required. A profitable day is defined as closing with a profit of at least 0.5% of the initial balance.
Bootcamp/ Hyper-Growth: None.
Trading Days Allowed:
Unlimited.
Allowed Trading Instruments:
Forex, Metals (Gold, Silver), and Indices.
News Trading Allowed:
High Stakes:No. Prohibited within a 2-minute window before and after high-impact news.
Allowed in Hyper-Growth & Bootcamp, but no bracket orders during news.
Weekend Holding Allowed:
Yes, permitted across all programs.
Copy Trading Allowed:
Yes, with strict rules:
Allowed from your own external account to a 5%ers account.
Prohibited between two Bootcamp evaluation accounts.
Third-party copy trading services are forbidden.
EA/Bot Trading Allowed:
Yes, with a critical condition:
Every position opened by an EA must have a Stop Loss (SL).
Bots using tick scalping, arbitrage, or copying trades from outside sources are not allowed.
Unique Features & Special Policies:
Mandatory Stop Loss: Required for all positions in the Bootcamp program and for all trades placed by EAs across any program.
Bootcamp Risk Violations: A maximum of 5 risk violations (e.g., opening a trade without an SL or risking >2%) will terminate the account.
Live Funded Accounts: The 5%ers emphasize that traders are funded on a live trading account from day one post-challenge.
Inactive accounts (no new trades for 30 days) will be closed.
Apex Trader Funding
4.5
Max Drawdown:
Live Trailing Threshold. This is the most critical rule.
The drawdown trails your highest live account balance (unrealized P&L). It is calculated intraday.
The trailing threshold stops moving up (freezes) once it reaches the initial starting balance plus $100 (e.g., $50,100 on a $50K account).
Daily Drawdown Limit:
No. Apex does not have a separate daily loss limit rule. The Live Trailing Threshold is the only drawdown rule.
Minimum Trading Days:
You need to trade for a minimum of 7 days to pass the evaluation. The days don’t have to be in a row.
Trading Days Allowed:
The evaluation is a monthly subscription. There is no time limit to pass as long as the subscription is active and no rules are broken.
Allowed Trading Instruments:
CME Group Futures: All products offered by CME, COMEX, NYMEX, and CBOT are available (e.g., Equity Futures, Interest Rates, Metals, Energy, etc.).
News Trading Allowed:
Yes. Traders are permitted to trade during all news events.
Weekend Holding Allowed:
All trades must be closed by 4:59 PM ET daily.
Copy Trading Allowed:
Yes. Traders are allowed to use trade copiers to manage their multiple Apex accounts from a single master account.
EA/Bot Trading Allowed:
Yes. Automated trading systems are permitted.
Max Number of Funded Accounts per Trader:
20. A key feature of Apex is allowing traders to have up to 20 Performance Accounts active at the same time.
Unique Features & Special Policies:
Multiple Accounts: The ability to manage up to 20 funded accounts is a major differentiator.
No Daily Drawdown: This marketing point refers to the absence of a separate daily loss limit, but traders must be vigilant about the Live Trailing Threshold.
Frequent Promotions: Apex is well-known for offering significant discounts (often 80-90% off) on their evaluation accounts.
Simple Pass/Fail: The rule set is straightforward: meet the profit target in 7+ days without hitting the trailing drawdown.
Trading Platforms: Primarily supports NinjaTrader and Tradovate, but also allows others like TradingView, Quantower, etc., through Rithmic/Tradovate connections.
Advanced Program: 10% static drawdown (based on initial balance).
Daily Drawdown Limit:
Experienced and Master accounts are limited to a 3% daily loss.
Advanced Program: 5% static daily loss.
Minimum Trading Days:
None. There are no minimum trading days required for any program.
Trading Days Allowed:
No time limit.
Allowed Trading Instruments:
Forex, Commodities, Indices, and Cryptocurrencies.
News Trading Allowed:
Yes. News trading is permitted on all programs.
Weekend Holding Allowed:
Weekend holding is allowed on all programs.
Copy Trading Allowed:
Strictly prohibited between your own Funded Trading Plus accounts.
You are allowed to copy trades from an external account (e.g., another prop firm or personal account) to your FTP account.
EA/Bot Trading Allowed:
EAs are allowed on both cTrader and Match-Trader.
Max Number of Funded Accounts per Trader:
Two. A trader can have a maximum of two funded accounts at any given time.
Unique Features & Special Policies:
True Instant Funding: The Master Trader Program provides a genuine instant funding account, not a demo, upon payment.
Aggressive Scaling: The "double your account on 10% gain" is one of the fastest scaling plans in the industry.
No Consistency Rule: The firm does not enforce consistency rules.
Strict Anti-Gambling Rules: While flexible, they strictly prohibit strategies like holding opposing positions across your two accounts.
Inactivity Rule: The account will be closed if inactive for 30 days.
Platforms: Offers DXtrade, cTrader, and Match-Trader.
Bright Funded
4.5
Max Drawdown:
Two Phase: 10% static drawdown.
One Phase: 6% trailing drawdown.
Daily Drawdown Limit:
Two Phase: 5% static daily loss.
One Phase: 4% static daily loss.
Minimum Trading Days:
No minimum trading days required for any program.
Trading Days Allowed:
Unlimited.
Allowed Trading Instruments:
Forex, Indices, Metals, Energies, Crypto, and Stocks.
News Trading Allowed:
Yes, but on funded accounts, trading is prohibited 5 minutes before and after high-impact news events.
Weekend Holding Allowed:
You can hold trades over the weekend.
Copy Trading Allowed:
You can copy trades between your own Bright Funded accounts. Using third-party signal services is prohibited.
EA/Bot Trading Allowed:
Yes, with restrictions. General EAs are permitted. However, EAs designed for system exploitation, such as high-frequency trading (HFT) or arbitrage bots, are strictly prohibited.
Unique Features & Special Policies:
Scaling to 100% Split: A key feature where top-performing traders can eventually keep all their profits.
No Consistency Rule: The firm does not enforce rules on consistent lot sizing.
Anti-Gambling Policies: Actively prohibits strategies considered to be gambling, such as consistent "one-sided bets" or habitual over-leveraging.
FTMO
4.8
FTMO now accepts payments in Nigerian Naira.Adjusted trading hours and platform unavailability for U.S. holidays (e.g., Juneteenth) and weekend maintenance
The Funded Trader
3.5
Consistency Rule Removed
No more daily profit consistency requirement across all challenges
Tiered Payout Structure Introduced
1st payout: 90% profit split, capped at 0.5% of starting balance
2nd payout: capped at 5%
3rd and beyond: capped at 10% each
Split increases over time, up to 99% after six payouts
Lower Withdrawal Requirement
Only 0.25% profit required to withdraw (was 1%)
Soft Breach Limit Added
Max 3 soft breaches per challenge phase; the 3rd ends the account
Resets when moving to a new phase
Inactivity Rule Standardized
At least one trade (≥0.01 lots) required every 30 days
One-Phase Challenge Model Introduced
Pass one phase to receive funding (no longer two phases)
Daily Profit Cap on Funded Accounts
Max 50% of total net profit can be withdrawn daily
Drawdown Reset Time Adjusted
Daily drawdown now resets between 4:57–5:03 PM EST
FundedNext
4.6
1-Step Futures Challenge: Now available with account sizes of $25K, $50K, and $100K. Designed for futures traders, offering a simplified one-phase model.Commission Structure (MT5 only): Starting November 18, 2024, Forex and commodity commissions will be charged at entry, not at exit.Symbol Delisting: There are claims that BCHUSD, USDTRY, EURTRY, and USDPLN will be removed due to liquidity issues, but no official announcement has been found. Check directly in your MT5 terminal or contact support for confirmation.New Payment Options:
Now supports Apple Pay and Google Pay
Naira (NGN) is now accepted as a local payment option for Nigerian traders
Topstep
4.4
New Platform Requirement
All new accounts and resets must use TopstepX starting July 2025
Old platforms no longer supported for new activity
Payout Cap Introduced
Express Funded Accounts allow up to 5 payouts, each capped at $5,000.
Minimum Trading Days Reduced
Only 2 trading days needed to pass the Trading Combine
Copy Trading Now Allowed
Permitted on supported platforms as long as it’s not used to exploit rules
E8 Funding
4.5
E8 Futures now available: E8 Markets has officially launched an evaluation program for futures trading.Three program tiers:
Beginner Program (Model 1): No daily loss rule, simpler structure, ideal for new traders.
Advanced Program (Model 2): Standard risk measures; mid-level evaluation track.
Expert Program (Model 3): Higher drawdown and profit targets for experienced futures traders.
TopTier Trader
4
Reduced minimum trading days
Lowered from 7 to 4 days per phase
New 3% max loss per trade rule (launched Feb 2025)
Breach if any trade or overlapping trades lose over 3%
Launched Payouts On-Demand
Traders can request payouts anytime after meeting basic criteria
Access Reopened to Banned Countries
Now accepting traders from Vietnam, India, Pakistan, Germany, and more
Updated News Trading Rule
Allowed during evaluation
News trading on funded accounts requires an add-on
Weekend Trading Now Allowed
You can hold trades over the weekend
New Double Leverage Add-On Introduced
Traders can increase leverage beyond default settings
Risk Enforcement Remains Strict
Still bans: account flipping, group hedging, tick scalping, manipulation, HFT
The5ers
4.9
Payment Methods: PayPal is now supported for funding your evaluation account.Inactivity Rule: Accounts with no trades for 30 consecutive days will be closed automatically.News Trading: Trading orders 2 minutes before/after high-impact news won’t close your account, but profits from those trades will be removed.High-Stakes Reward:
Complete Step 1: earn HUB credits.
Complete Step 2: receive a full refund.
Active Account Limits:
High-Stakes: max 3 simultaneous accounts.
Hyper Growth: max 4 funded accounts across all programs.
Account Migration: No clear public details—please confirm with their support team.
Apex Trader Funding
4.5
Apex 3.0 Program Launched
Simplified rules and structure
On-demand payouts – no fixed payout dates
Trading Day Rules Updated
Requires 8 trading days total
At least 5 days must have $100+ profit
Old strict consistency rule removed – now capped at 30% max daily profit
New Risk Control Rules
Max 5:1 risk-to-reward ratio per trade
First 3 payouts require keeping drawdown + $100 buffer
Drawdown Flexibility
Starts at 30% of profit balance
Can increase to 50% as account grows
Strategy Rules Adjusted
DCA allowed if used responsibly
HFT, manipulation, and hedging around news are not allowed
Funding Traders
4.2
Prestige Trader Program – Funded Trading Plus
Two-phase evaluation with static drawdown: 10% target in Phase 1, 5% in Phase 2; max 10%, daily 5%.
Withdrawals can be requested every 7 days after the initial 14-day period.
Profit split starts at 80/20, increases to 90/10 at +20% profit, and reaches 100/0 at +30%.
Scale up to $2.5 million in simulated capital upon meeting criteria.
Platform support is limited to MT5; no evidence of “Platform 4” or “Platform 5” yet.
Bright Funded
4.5
Bright Funded – Rule Updates (Effective August 13, 2024)
The Negative Available Margin rule has been relaxed:
Dropping below 100% margin no longer triggers a soft breach automatically.
Traders now have more room for drawdown.
New breach handling for the following cases:
Negative Available Margin or hedging between accounts will now trigger a soft breach, not a hard breach.
Only the trades causing the breach will be closed; the account stays active.
Hedging violations policy:
First offense: soft breach.
Repeated offense: hard breach on related accounts.
