Most funded challenges are not failed on strategy. They are failed on a rule the trader half understood: a daily limit that resets at a different hour than they thought, a drawdown that trails when they assumed it was fixed, or a consistency cap that quietly moved the target. This page puts the numbers that decide those outcomes in one table.
Each firm below has its own page with the full rulebook, a worked example on a real account size, the ways traders usually break that firm's rules, and how to track each limit in a journal. Start with the table, then open the firm you are trading.
Every number below comes from the firm's own website or help centre, checked on 8 October 2026. Firms change rules often, so confirm on the firm's site before you buy. Where a number could not be verified, the cell says so.
Every row compares one program per firm, usually the flagship two-step for forex and CFD firms, or the 50K evaluation for futures firms, because that is the account most traders buy first. Most firms sell three to six programs with different numbers, so the firm page lists the others.
Daily loss is the most you can lose in one trading day. Forex firms quote a percentage, futures firms quote dollars. Check what it is measured from: starting balance, the day's opening balance, or the higher of balance and equity.
Max drawdown is the floor under the whole account. "Static" means it never moves. "Trailing" means it follows your high, and "end of day" means it only moves at the session close.
Min days is the number of trading days before you can pass a phase, even if you hit the target on day one.
Payout split is the starting share you keep. Many firms raise it as you scale.
The three drawdown models, in one example
Take a $100,000 account with a $5,000 drawdown, and a trader who makes $3,000, then gives back $4,000.
Model
Floor after +$3,000
Balance after giving back $4,000
Result
Static
$95,000
$99,000
Safe, $4,000 of room left
Trailing, end of day
$98,000 (if the +$3,000 closed by the session end)
$99,000
Safe, only $1,000 left
Trailing, intraday
$98,000 (moves on open profit too)
$99,000
Safe, only $1,000 left, and an open winner that reversed could already have lifted the floor higher
Same trades, same balance, and the room left ranges from $4,000 to $1,000. That is why the drawdown type matters more than the headline percentage. Our trailing vs static drawdown guide goes through the maths, and the prop firm drawdown calculator runs it on your own numbers.
Next trade, sized to the room: the tracker caps the trade at half of today's room (demo account).
Size every trade from the room you have left
A daily limit is a budget, not a target. If your firm allows $5,000 a day and you risk 1% a trade, five losers in a row ends the day, and on most firms the account. A simple rule that keeps traders alive: never let one trade risk more than a quarter of the room left today. Put the stop distance into the position size calculator and it gives you the lot or contract size that respects it.
What is the most common rule traders break in a prop firm challenge?
The daily loss limit. It is usually smaller than the overall drawdown and it often counts open trades, so one losing position held too long can end the account in a single session even when the overall drawdown has plenty of room.
Is a trailing drawdown worse than a static drawdown?
For the same headline number, yes. A trailing drawdown follows your highest balance or equity upward, so every profit you give back comes out of a smaller cushion. Many trailing drawdowns stop trailing once they reach your starting balance, after which they behave like a static floor.
Do all prop firms reset the daily loss limit at midnight?
No. Reset times differ by firm: some use midnight in Central European time, some use 5pm New York, futures firms usually use the CME session close in Central Time. Each firm page on this site states the reset time and timezone where the firm publishes it.
How often do prop firm rules change?
Often. Several firms on this list changed targets, consistency rules or payout terms during 2026. Every page shows the date we last checked the rules and links the official source, and you should confirm on the firm's site before you buy.
One tracker for every challenge
Pick your firm's preset in the RB journal Prop Tracker and it shows your daily room and drawdown room on every trade you log.
