Prop Firm Rules Compared (2026)

FTMO

Forex and CFD. Two evaluation paths and a funded FTMO Account with Standard or Swing terms.

• Daily loss: 5% of the initial balance on the 2-Step, 3% on the 1-Step, reset at 00:00 CE(S)T from that day's starting balance, floating included.
• Max loss: 10% static on the 2-Step; 10% end-of-day trailing on the 1-Step from your highest midnight balance, only ever rising.
• Consistency: best day no more than 50% of total profit (legacy: of positive days' profit). Raises the target, never breaches.
• News and weekend: free during the evaluation. Funded Standard accounts get a 2-minute no-execution window on restricted news and must be flat before weekend breaks; Swing accounts have neither rule.
• Payouts: first reward from day 14 then on request; 80% split on the 2-Step (90% with scaling), 90% on the 1-Step.
• Full page: FTMO rules explained.

FundingPips

Forex and CFD. The Zero account is instant funded; the evaluations run 1 to 3 steps.

• Daily loss: 3% from the higher of opening balance or equity at 00:00 UTC+3. Hard breach.
• Max loss: 5% trailing highest equity, locks at the starting balance once you are 5% up, never resets. Evaluations use a static 10% or 12%.
• Open risk: combined floating losses cannot reach 1% of size; one trade idea capped at 3% (under $50K) or 2% ($50K and up).
• News and weekend: on Zero, no position opened, closed or held within 10 minutes of restricted news, and nothing held into the weekend; both are terminations.
• Payouts: every 14 days at 95%, with 15% consistency, 7 profitable days of 0.25% per 30 days, a 3% cushion kept and no loser bigger than your best winner.
• Full page: FundingPips rules explained.

FXIFY

Forex and CFD. Instant Funding and the cheaper Instant Funding Lite, plus five evaluation shapes.

• Daily loss: 8% of the previous day's closing balance on Instant Funding; 3% on Lite, hard breach.
• Max loss: 8% (Instant) or 4% (Lite) below the High Water Mark on closed balance, breach tested on equity, locks at the starting balance once you are up by the same amount and immediately after any payout.
• News: no trades or orders within 5 minutes of high-impact events on Lite; FXIFY lists news trading as not allowed on Instant Funding too.
• Weekend: not allowed on either; close before the Friday cutoff. No EAs, bots or copy trading.
• Payouts: 14-day cycle on Instant Funding; Lite needs 5 trading days and 10 days from the first trade, with a 20% consistency rule. $50 minimum.
• Full page: FXIFY rules explained.

FundedNext

Forex and CFD. Stellar Instant is funded from day one; Stellar 1-Step, 2-Step and Lite are static-drawdown evaluations.

• Daily loss: none on Stellar Instant. Evaluations: 3%, 5% or 4%.
• Max loss: 6% trailing your highest balance, capped at the starting balance, never reset by withdrawals. Evaluations are static.
• Open risk: 3% of the initial balance at any time, counting stop distance and floating losses on every position.
• News: allowed, but trades opened or closed within 5 minutes of a high-impact event on a correlated pair keep only 40% of their profit.
• Payouts: on demand at 5% growth or bi-weekly at 1% to 5%, split 70% rising to 80%; withdrawing everything can leave you on the floor.
• Full page: FundedNext rules explained.

Goat Funded Trader

Forex and CFD. Instant HERO is immediately funded; the 1-Step is the main evaluation.

• Daily loss: 3% set at the 5pm EST reset from the higher of balance or equity. 1-Step: 4%, or 3% for accounts bought from August 1, 2026.
• Max loss: HERO 5% trailing balance or equity highs, stops at the initial balance, resets after each payout. 1-Step: static 6%.
• Open risk: HERO closes permanently if floating losses reach 1% of balance at any moment.
• News: allowed, but trades inside 5 minutes of a red-folder event keep at most 1% of the initial balance in profit per trade.
• Payouts: every 14 days; HERO needs 6 profitable days of 0.5% and 15% consistency, 90% split. Weekend holding is not stated on the help pages.
• Full page: Goat Funded Trader rules explained.

The5ers

Forex and CFD. High Stakes is the two-step program with the firm's highest leverage.

• Daily loss: 5% from the higher of balance or equity at server midnight. Terminates immediately; it is not a pause.
• Max loss: 10% of the initial balance, recorded as a fixed floor.
• Pacing: 3 profitable days of 0.5% per step; no consistency rule; targets listed as 8% then 5% (one passage on the firm's page says 10%, so check your dashboard).
• News: no new orders within 2 minutes of high-impact events; holding through is fine. Weekend holds allowed. Stops must be visible on the platform.
• Payouts: first request 14 days after the first funded trade, then bi-weekly, $150 minimum, split from 80%.
• Full page: The5ers rules explained.

Topstep

Futures. The Trading Combine leads to an Express Funded Account that starts at a $0 balance.

• Daily loss: optional at checkout ($1,000 on 50K), fixed for life, a forced break rather than a breach.
• Max loss: $2,000 on 50K, trailing your highest end-of-day balance, enforced every tick, locks at the starting balance (or $0 on an XFA) and drops to $0 after the first payout.
• Consistency: best day below 55% of the profit target to pass the Combine (raises the target, does not fail you); 40% of total profit on a Consistency-path XFA.
• Hours: flat by 3:10pm CT every day; no overnight, weekend or holiday holds. No published news window.
• Payouts: Standard path needs 5 winning days of $150+, up to 50% of balance capped at $5,000; Consistency path 3 days and 40%, capped at $6,000; 90/10 split.
• Full page: Topstep rules explained.

Apex Trader Funding

Futures. Intraday and end-of-day trailing evaluations with identical numbers, then a Performance Account.

• Daily loss: none on intraday evaluations; $1,000 on a 50K EOD evaluation, which pauses the session without failing you.
• Max loss: $2,000 on 50K. Intraday trails every tick including open profit; EOD is set once at the close. Touching it liquidates and fails.
• Time and size: 30 calendar days, no extensions, 6 contracts on 50K, no minimum days, no consistency rule in the evaluation.
• Conduct: directional only, never long and short at once across any of your accounts; positions closed before the daily cutoff.
• Payouts: 5 qualifying days ($200 intraday or $250 EOD on 50K), balance above the $52,100 Safety Net plus the request, best day under 50%, $500 minimum, caps per payout, 100% paid, six payouts then the PA closes.
• Full page: Apex Trader Funding rules explained.

The five rule types that make firms hard to compare

Two firms can both say 5% daily and mean different things. Before you compare numbers, compare the base, the trail, the window, the pacing rule and the cycle.

Daily loss bases

The percentage is the easy part. What it is taken from and when it resets decide how much room you really have.

• Initial balance, reset at a fixed time (FTMO): the dollar amount never changes, but the floor is set from that day's starting balance, so a losing day leaves a floor close to the max-loss floor.
• Higher of balance or equity at the reset (FundingPips, Goat Funded, The5ers): a floating winner at the reset raises the floor; banked and unbanked profit both count against you.
• Previous day's closing balance (FXIFY): tomorrow's floor follows today's close, up or down.
• Fixed dollar amount, optional, pause not breach (Topstep, Apex EOD): hitting it ends the session but not the account.
• None (FundedNext Stellar Instant, Apex intraday): the max loss is the only line, so you set your own daily number.

Trailing drawdown types

A trailing floor rises as you make money. The question is what it follows, how often it moves, and whether it ever stops.

• Static: never moves (FTMO 2-Step, FundingPips evaluations, FundedNext evaluations, Goat 1-Step, The5ers). The only type where profit is a cushion.
• End-of-day trailing on balance (FTMO 1-Step, Topstep, Apex EOD): moves once a day at the close; intraday highs do not count. Enforced every tick on equity.
• Balance high-water trailing with a cap (FXIFY, FundedNext Instant, Goat HERO): follows closed-balance highs (Goat also counts equity highs) and stops at the starting balance. Partial closes at a high move it.
• Equity trailing with a lock (FundingPips Zero): follows unrealized highs too, locks at the starting balance once you are up by the drawdown amount, never resets.
• Intraday trailing including open profit (Apex intraday): every tick above the old high moves the floor; on a PA it freezes at the Safety Net.
• Locks after a payout (FXIFY, Topstep to $0): a withdrawal can remove the whole buffer at once.

News windows

• Termination for holding (FundingPips Zero): 10 minutes each side, be flat before it.
• No new orders, holding allowed (The5ers, FTMO funded Standard): 2 minutes each side; profit inside the window is deducted.
• No trades or orders (FXIFY Lite): 5 minutes each side.
• Profit haircut or cap (FundedNext 40% kept, Goat 1% of initial balance per trade): 5 minutes each side, no breach.
• No window (Topstep, Apex, FTMO evaluation, FTMO Swing): size and direction rules still apply.

Consistency and pacing rules

• Best-day share of profit: 15% (FundingPips Zero, Goat HERO), 40% (Topstep XFA Consistency path), 50% (FTMO, Apex PA since last payout), 55% of the target (Topstep Combine). None of these breach; all of them delay.
• Profitable-day counts: FundingPips 7 days of 0.25% per 30 days; Goat HERO 6 days of 0.5%; The5ers 3 days of 0.5% per step; Topstep 5 winning days of $150; Apex 5 qualifying days at a dollar minimum by size.
• Biggest loser vs biggest winner (FundingPips Zero) and minimum growth (FundedNext 1%) are pacing rules too.

Payout cycles

• 14 days from the first trade: FundingPips Zero, FXIFY Instant Funding, Goat Funded, FTMO first reward (then on request), The5ers (then bi-weekly).
• Shorter: FXIFY Lite 10 days; FundedNext 1-Step every 5 business days; Apex up to weekly once 5 qualifying days are in.
• On demand with a growth gate: FundedNext Instant at 5% growth confirmed at end of day.
• Capped per request: Topstep (50% of balance, $5,000 or $6,000), Apex (per payout number, six payouts total), Goat 1-Step (first two capped at 6% or $10,000).

Frequently asked questions

Related

• Prop firm rules cheat sheet (free PDF)
• Drawdown and daily loss calculator
• Consistency rule calculator
• Payout date calculator
• Position size calculator

Sources checked October 2026: FTMO: Trading Objectives · FundingPips help center: FundingPips Zero · FundingPips help center: News Trading & Weekend Holding · FXIFY FAQ: How does trailing drawdown work for Instant Funded? · FXIFY FAQ: Instant Funding Lite · FundedNext help center: Stellar Instant Account · FundedNext: Compare types of trading accounts · Goat Funded Trader help center: Instant HERO Model · Goat Funded Trader help center: Is News Trading allowed? · The5ers: Challenge programs explained · Topstep help center: What is the Maximum Loss Limit? · Topstep: Express Funded Account Rules · Apex help center: Intraday Trailing Drawdown Evaluations · Apex help center: EOD Evaluations · Apex help center: Intraday Trailing Drawdown Payouts