The cheapest, highest-volume futures evaluation around — 100% profit split, no daily loss limit, no time limit — but an unrelenting trailing drawdown that moves on UNREALIZED equity and only locks at your starting balance + $100 makes keeping the account far harder than passing it.
100% split and no daily limit make it the most generous futures eval on paper — but the unrealized-equity trailing drawdown that only locks at start + $100, plus consistency and scaling rules, is what blows accounts.
Pros
100% profit split on approved payouts, $500 minimum — among the most generous in futures prop
No daily loss limit and no time limit on the evaluation
One-step eval, frequent sales, and (on new plans) one-time fees / no reset fees
Wide size range (25K–300K) plus a Static 100K option for conservative scalpers
Watch out
Traders report an 'account under review' hold after becoming profitable
Common complaint: vague 'risk violation' reasons used to withhold payouts
Recurring gripe: slow payouts and support going quiet on disputes
Best for: Disciplined manual intraday futures scalpers who size small, respect a hard stop, flatten before 4:59 PM ET, and can navigate the trailing-drawdown + consistency rules — not algo/HFT or swing traders.
Bottom line: Cheap and generous to pass, demanding to keep — live and die by the trailing threshold and the 4:59 PM ET flat rule.
Your max-loss line trails your highest equity up but never comes back down, and on Intraday accounts it trails in real time off UNREALIZED (open-equity) peaks. It stops trailing permanently once the threshold reaches your starting balance + $100 — so the worst you can ever be liquidated at becomes start + $100. EOD accounts trail off the end-of-day balance instead.
Gotcha: It trails on unrealized equity: if you're up $400 open and give it back, the threshold already moved up — you can be liquidated even though your CLOSED P&L never hit the limit.
You're limited to HALF your tier's max contracts until your end-of-day balance exceeds Initial Balance + Trailing Drawdown + $100 (a 50K unlocks full 10 contracts at $52,600). After that the full contract limit stays unlocked even if balance later drops.
Gotcha: Oversizing before that cushion is reached is a violation that can void payouts/accounts. As of March 2026 Rithmic/Tradovate block over-limit orders automatically — but exceeding it on a platform that doesn't block still violates the rule.
On Legacy PA/funded accounts, no single day may exceed 30% of your total profit balance when you request a payout (newer EOD/Intraday accounts reference a 50% rule). It applies until you've taken enough payouts to move to a Live account.
Gotcha: One windfall day silently locks your payout button — you're not failed, but you must keep trading to even it out below the threshold before you can withdraw.
On PA/funded accounts, your live unrealized negative P&L on any single trade cannot exceed 30% of the account's profit balance at the start of the day. It's a per-trade risk governor, not a daily limit.
Gotcha: Letting a loser run 'to come back' past the 30% line is a compliance violation even if you ultimately close green.
Evaluation: minimum 7 trading days (non-consecutive), no maximum. Payouts: first after 5 qualifying days (each meeting the size's minimum daily profit), then 8 trading days with at least 5 over ≥$50 profit before the next.
Gotcha: A 'trading day' only counts if it meets the minimum-profit floor — tiny scratch days don't tick the counter.
All positions must be flat before 4:59 PM ET (agricultural markets earlier). The trading day runs 6:00 PM ET → 4:59 PM ET. Holding through the close is strictly prohibited and can cause immediate account closure; the 4:59 auto-liquidation is a last resort, not something to rely on.
Gotcha: Relying on the auto-flat safeguard can still ding you — if it fails to close in time, the loss/violation is on you. No overnight or weekend positions, ever.
Trading during news is allowed as part of your normal strategy. What's banned is using news as a coin-flip — placing orders on both sides to gamble the print, or strategies that just 'chase the market.'
Gotcha: Non-directional 'straddle the news' bracket orders are explicitly treated as prohibited gambling, not legitimate news trading.
Apex is manual-discretionary only: no automation of any kind (AI, autobots, algorithms, HFT) on all account types, no hedging (no simultaneous long+short on the same or correlated instrument), no non-directional windfall bracket trading, and no manipulation of the simulated environment.
Gotcha: Even semi-automated copy/algo tools count as 'automation,' and hedging across correlated products (not just the same symbol) is a violation.
All trades must carry a pending or mental stop-loss and a defined risk plan. You cannot use the full account threshold as a stop-loss to absorb a big loss; a 2026 update pushes toward a hard stop on every active trade so one event can't blow the auto-liquidate threshold.
Gotcha: Riding a loser down to the drawdown line ('threshold as stop-loss') is explicitly prohibited and a payout-killer.
100% profit split on approved payouts, $500 minimum per request. You must stay above your trailing drawdown + $100 (the 'safety net') to withdraw — e.g. a 50K needs to be above $52,600. First payout after 5 qualifying days, then an 8-day cadence; after a set number of payouts the account converts to a Live funded account where the consistency/payout caps no longer apply.
Gotcha: The safety-net math trips people: you must end above start + DD + $100 AND leave that buffer intact after withdrawing, so you need roughly $600 of headroom over the net to take the $500 minimum.
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Informational and comparison content only — not financial advice and not affiliated with Apex Trader Funding. Rules change often; verify against Apex Trader Funding's official terms before relying on any detail. Last reviewed Jun 5, 2026.
