HOTFTMO raises max funded to $400K — our review updatedNEWFundedNext now pays 90% profit split on all funded accountsDEALThe5ers free evaluation — limited spots this weekUPDATEE8 Markets drawdown rules updated — see our revised reviewHOTFTMO raises max funded to $400K — our review updatedNEWFundedNext now pays 90% profit split on all funded accountsDEALThe5ers free evaluation — limited spots this weekUPDATEE8 Markets drawdown rules updated — see our revised review

How to Pass the Apex Trader Funding Challenge (2026)

The rules as they actually apply, the drawdown maths on a $100K account, the mistakes that end most attempts at Apex Trader Funding, and a risk plan built around this firm's specific limits — not generic advice.

Start the Apex Trader Funding challenge → Read the full review

Apex Trader Funding challenge at a glance

Evaluation
One-Step
Drawdown model
Intraday trailing only (Intraday Trailing)
Minimum days
7-day evaluation
Time limit
No fixed limit
Consistency rule
30% max from one day
Fee ($100K)
from $147
Fee refunded
No

What Apex Trader Funding actually asks you to do

Apex Trader Funding runs a One-Step. We have not yet pinned the exact profit target and loss limits into our data for this firm — they are on the firm's own pricing page, and the shape of the challenge (drawdown model, minimum days, time limit) below is what actually decides whether your strategy fits, so read that first.

How the drawdown works here — and how people misread it

Apex Trader Funding uses a trailing drawdown, and unless the firm specifies end-of-day, assume it trails your intraday equity high. That means unrealised profit raises your floor permanently: a trade that goes up $2,000 and comes back to breakeven has moved your floor $2,000 closer even though your balance never changed. This is the single most common way traders get closed out here while feeling like they were "up". The defence is boring and effective — take partial profits, and never let a winner turn into a scratch.

Model it against your actual stop sizes with the Drawdown Calculator before you start; two minutes there saves a reset fee.

The rules that end Apex Trader Funding evaluations

  • Consistency rule (30%). No single day may account for more than 30% of your total profit. One big trend day early can lock you out of a payout until the rest of your results catch up. The Consistency Calculator shows exactly how much more you need to trade after a big day.
  • News trading: allowed. You can hold through and trade releases here. The risk is your own — spreads widen and stops slip, and a slipped stop through the daily cap still counts.
  • Weekend holding: allowed. Swing positions can stay open. Gap risk over the weekend still counts against your drawdown on Monday.
  • EAs / automation: allowed. Bots are fine, but "your own" usually means yours — off-the-shelf EAs shared by many traders can trip copy-trade detection.
  • Copy trading between your own accounts is not permitted. Running the same trades on two Apex Trader Funding accounts via a copier is a termination, not a warning.
  • Minimum 7-day evaluation trading days. Hitting the target in two sessions does not pass you — you still have to log the days. Plan small, low-risk trades to fill them rather than sitting out and then forcing it.
  • Time limit: No fixed limit. The clock is the pressure. The usual failure is a slow first half, then doubled size to catch up. Decide on day one what "not passing this attempt" looks like and accept it rather than tripling risk in week four.

A plan that fits Apex Trader Funding's rules

  1. Fix risk per trade at 1% and do not touch it. Two losers and the day is done, whatever the platform lets you do.
  2. Set a daily stop below the firm's. Your own line should sit well inside the firm's. The gap is slippage and the "one more trade" moment.
  3. Spread the target across as many sessions as the time limit allows. The target divided by twenty is a small daily number; the mistake is trying to make it a large one.
  4. After any big day, keep trading the same size. Cutting size to "protect" a big day makes the consistency rule worse, because it lowers the other days further. Same size, same process.
  5. Bank partials on every winner. With a trailing floor, unrealised profit you give back is gone twice — from your balance and from your room. Half off at 1R is not timid here; it is the rule.
  6. Screenshot the rules page with the date visible. Terms change. "It said something different when I bought" is worth a lot more with evidence.

Platform

Apex Trader Funding runs on NinjaTrader, Tradovate, Rithmic, Quantower, Sierra Chart. Practise on the same platform before the evaluation starts — a mis-click on an unfamiliar ticket is the dumbest possible way to hit a daily cap, and it happens every week.

After you pass

Passing gets you a funded account, not a payout. The split is 100% first $25K then 90%. Withdrawals were processing in Standard cycle when we last checked. The challenge fee is not refunded, so the first payout is where you start recovering it. There is an activation fee of $130 one-time per account when you pass — budget for it. Read the funded-account rules before your first funded trade: at many firms they are stricter than the evaluation rules, and that is where the second wave of terminations happens.

Quick answers

Does Apex Trader Funding allow weekend holding?

Yes — positions can stay open over the weekend at Apex Trader Funding.

Can I trade news at Apex Trader Funding?

Yes, news trading is allowed at Apex Trader Funding. Spreads and slippage during releases are your risk.

How many trading days does the Apex Trader Funding challenge require?

A minimum of 7-day evaluation. Hitting the target faster does not shorten it.

Is there a time limit on the Apex Trader Funding evaluation?

Yes: No fixed limit.

Is the Apex Trader Funding challenge fee refundable?

No — the fee is not refunded.

Related

Rules change. This page is generated from our review data, last verified June 2026. Spot something outdated? Report it on the review page.