Apex Trader Funding Rules in 2026: Evaluation, Drawdown and Payouts

Rules by account size

Funded contract limits are from Apex's scaling levels page. Targets, drawdowns and limits are from Apex's EOD evaluation and intraday drawdown pages. No help article prints the prices. They come from the product list on the homepage, where they are the same on Rithmic, Tradovate and WealthCharts.

Apex trades futures only. You can check a week of your own trades against these drawdowns in the prop firm drawdown calculator.

What changed on 1 March 2026

Apex stopped selling its old line on that date: "As of March 1st, 2026, these prior versions are no longer available for purchase" (legacy overview). If a guide mentions a 30% consistency rule or 100% of the first $25,000, it describes a legacy account.

Legacy rows are from the legacy payout parameters and the legacy products page. Apex's homepage says the new accounts have no MAE rule and no 5:1 risk-reward rule. A notifications article still lists MAE penalties, so that one is in the contradictions below.

One wrinkle. Apex's legacy overview says legacy evaluations are "no longer available for purchase to anyone", but its legacy products page sold them again on 8 October as a limited-time offer, from $177 a month. Check which product is in your cart.

Evaluation rules

The evaluation is one step with no minimum trading days. You can pass in a day.

• 30 calendar days. Access ends at 6:00 p.m. ET on day 30 with no extensions (fees and access).
• No consistency rule in the evaluation. It starts on the funded account.
• No resets and no refunds. A failed evaluation is gone (refund policy).
• Seven days to activate. After a pass you have 7 calendar days to pay the activation fee, with no extension (activation deadline).
• No hedging across evaluations. It closes the account.

The Intraday evaluation has no daily loss limit. The EOD evaluation has one, and hitting it liquidates your positions and pauses trading for the day without failing the account.

Intraday and end-of-day drawdown

Both versions use the same dollar amount. They differ in when the threshold moves.

Intraday Trail follows your real-time peak, open profit included. In Apex's words, the threshold "adjusts upward immediately even if the position is not closed". A trade that runs up $1,300 and returns to flat has moved your threshold up $1,300.

EOD Trail recalculates once a day at 4:59:59 p.m. ET from the closing balance. Apex still enforces it in real time during the next session, open profit and loss included (EOD drawdown).

Where the threshold stops depends on the account and the platform:

• Funded account, both types. It stops at the starting balance plus $100. On a 50K that is $50,100, reached once your peak hits $52,100.
• Evaluation on Rithmic or WealthCharts. It fixes at the profit-target balance, $53,000 on a 50K, once your peak reaches $55,000. The FAQ on the same page words the rule as the target balance plus $2,000 and then gives the same $53,000 example.
• Evaluation on Tradovate. It never stops trailing.

You can't move an account between platforms later, so this is a choice you make at checkout.

Funded account rules

Apex calls the funded account a Performance Account, or PA. It is simulated. These rules apply from day one:

• Tiered daily loss limit. It includes open losses and resets at 6:00 p.m. ET. On a 50K it is $1,000 until you are $3,000 in profit, then $2,000, then $3,000 from $6,000 in profit (daily loss limit).
• Contract scaling. A 50K starts at 2 contracts, moves to 3 at $1,500 in profit and 4 at $3,000. Oversized orders are rejected without a penalty (scaling levels).
• Trading day. The day resets at 6:00 p.m. ET, and positions must be closed before the 4:59 p.m. ET close.
• Inactivity. You need two days with $50 or more net profit in every rolling 30 days, or the account closes with no reinstatement (inactivity policy).
• No bots. Automation is prohibited, and every trade needs a stop. Using the whole drawdown as your stop is banned (prohibited activities).
• No opposite positions. You can't be long and short the same or a correlated instrument, across accounts included. Copy trading in one direction is allowed.
• News trading is allowed for a normal strategy. Straddling a release is not.

You can hold 20 funded accounts per household at once, counting legacy, EOD and Intraday accounts and personal and business ones together. Evaluations are unlimited. Going over 20 can cost you payout eligibility and the accounts (account limits).

Payout rules

Each payout needs four things.

1. Five qualifying days since the last payout. They don't have to be consecutive. The minimum profit per day is in the table above.
2. 50% consistency. Your largest profitable day must be under half of your net profit since the last approved payout. Losing days count, because Apex uses net profit. Missing it blocks the payout button and doesn't fail the account (consistency).
3. A balance above the safety net. The safety net is the drawdown plus $100 above the starting balance, $52,100 on a 50K, for the life of the account. With the $500 minimum payout, a 50K needs $52,600 to request anything.
4. A request of $500 or more, up to the cap for that payout.

These gates are from Apex's EOD payout page. On Tradovate accounts you must also meet the balance in real time and hold no open positions when you request.

A worked example, with my numbers. A 50K Intraday account makes $800, $700, $500, $400 and $300 on five days. That is $2,700 of net profit and a balance of $52,700.

• Qualifying days: all five are $200 or more.
• Consistency: the best day is $800, which is about 30% of $2,700. Under 50%, so it passes.
• Balance: $52,700 is above the $52,600 needed.
• Request: only profit above the $52,100 safety net can be requested, so $600.

Change the first day to $1,600 and the rest to $300, $250, $250 and $200. Net profit is $2,600 and the best day is about 62% of it. The payout button stays blocked until net profit passes $3,200, twice the best day. The prop firm calculator runs this check on your own days: pick an Apex funded plan and it shows the qualifying days, the consistency gap and what you can request.

A fresh 50K therefore needs $2,600 of profit before its first $500 request.

Caps are from the intraday and EOD payout pages. After the sixth approved payout the account closes. So the total column is the most one funded account can ever pay, whatever it earns. A 50K Intraday account costs $348 at list price, my sum of the $249 evaluation and the $99 activation, and can return $14,500 at most. I found no figure for how many Apex accounts reach a sixth payout.

How you get paid. US traders get ACH to a US bank in their own name. Everyone else is paid through Plane to a local bank in their declared country of residence. Apex no longer uses Wise or Deel. It says review takes up to 2 business days, sending 3 to 4, and the bank 3 to 7, without saying how those stages overlap, and that "most users receive payouts within 5–11 business days total" (payout methods). I found no payout fee on any Apex page.

A request is denied automatically if your balance falls below the minimum after you submit it. The account stays open (requesting a payout).

Fees

• Evaluation. One-time, $167 to $1,190 for Intraday and $490 to $2,190 for EOD, at list.
• Activation. $89 to $159 once you pass. No coupon applies to it.
• No Activation Fee version. A dearer evaluation with a $0 activation, $799 for a 50K Intraday and $1,190 for a 50K EOD (no activation fee).
• 5-packs. Five evaluations that share one 30-day clock, $950 for 50K Intraday (5-pack).
• Coupons. The code SAVENOW took up to 92% off evaluations on 8 October (coupon page). The product list on Apex's homepage gave it an end date of 13 October 2026. It doesn't apply to activation fees.
• Commissions come out of the simulated balance. ES or NQ costs $1.99 per side on Rithmic and $1.55 on Tradovate or WealthCharts (Rithmic commissions).
• Payment. Visa, Mastercard or Discover in your own name. No Amex, crypto or gift cards (payment methods).

A coupon changes the evaluation price a lot, so check the live price before you compare firms. I didn't reach checkout, so I can't confirm a promo total.

Where Apex's own pages disagree

Apex rewrote its help center for the new products and left older pages live. On 8 October 2026 these still conflicted:

• Profit split. The How it works page says "Receive 100% of the first $25,000 per Account and 90% Beyond That". The funded-account pages say 100% with no tier.
• Payout caps. The same page says "No Total Cap on Maximum Payouts". The payout pages cap each account at six payouts and close it.
• Daily drawdown. It says "No Daily Drawdowns". The EOD evaluation and every new funded account have a daily loss limit.
• Payout cycle. The payout methods article still gives the legacy cycle of eight trading days with five at $50. The payout pages require five qualifying days at $100 to $350.
• "No Payout Denials." The homepage promises it. The help center describes automatic denials, and a notifications article describes payout suspensions and profit removal.
• MAE rule. The homepage says the new accounts have none. A notifications article updated on 31 July 2026 still says its penalties apply to "all trading violations, including Scaling and Maximum Adverse Excursion (MAE)".
• Who it is for. The terms of use say the program is "intended for United States users". The site markets to more than 100 countries and runs an international payout rail.

When two Apex pages disagree, the page for your exact product is the one support will quote. Screenshot the rule you rely on before you buy.

Canada and other countries

Canada isn't on Apex's restricted list. Canadians can't open a live Tradovate account, but evaluations and funded accounts are simulated, so that doesn't block them (restricted countries). Payouts go through Plane to a Canadian bank in your name.

Apex lists 87 restricted countries. Paying with a card from one of them is grounds for immediate termination, even if the card is declined. You also can't buy, trade or request a payout while you are physically in one.

Is Apex worth it

Apex is cheap to try with a coupon, pays 100%, and lets you run 20 accounts. Against that, each account closes after six payouts, payouts take 5 to 11 business days by Apex's own estimate, and there are no resets or refunds.

I rated Apex 3.5 out of 5, the lowest of four firms, in best prop trading firms. Topstep's end-of-day drawdown and published pass data scored higher, and the two are compared rule by rule in Apex vs Topstep. I found no pass rate on any Apex page I read. The figures other firms publish are in prop firm pass rates.

See Apex's current prices →

Disclosure: that link goes through an il.ly/go/ redirect to Apex's own site. It carries no referral code today. If I join Apex's affiliate program, it will, and I may earn a commission.

Apex rules FAQ

What is the Apex consistency rule?

On accounts sold since 1 March 2026 it is 50%. Your largest profitable day must be under half of your net profit since the last approved payout. It applies to the funded account only, and it blocks a payout instead of failing the account. Legacy accounts use 30%.

How many days do I need for an Apex payout?

Five qualifying days per payout. A day qualifies at $200 or more on a 50K Intraday account and $250 on a 50K EOD account. Legacy accounts need eight trading days with five at $50 or more.

Does Apex still pay 100% of the first $25,000?

Only on legacy accounts. New funded accounts pay 100% of every approved payout, with a cap per payout and six payouts per account.

Can you reset an Apex evaluation?

Not on the accounts sold since 1 March 2026. A failed or expired evaluation has to be bought again.

Can you pass an Apex evaluation in one day?

Yes. The current evaluations have no minimum trading days and no consistency rule, so one day at the profit target passes.

Does the Apex trailing drawdown ever stop?

On a funded account it stops at the starting balance plus $100. In an evaluation it fixes at the target balance on Rithmic and WealthCharts, and never stops on Tradovate.

Is the Apex activation fee monthly?

No. It is one payment per funded account, $99 on a 50K Intraday and $129 on a 50K EOD.

Why was my Apex payout blocked?

The usual gates are fewer than five qualifying days, a best day at 50% or more of net profit, a balance under the safety net plus $500, or a balance that fell below the minimum after you submitted the request.

Does Apex still sell 250K and 300K accounts?

Not in the current line, which stops at 150K. They exist as legacy accounts, which Apex re-listed for a limited time at $697 and $797 a month.

How long does an Apex payout take?

Apex says most users receive payouts within 5 to 11 business days in total. That is Apex's own estimate. I haven't timed one.