Prop firm challenges, explained without the sales pitch

Most writing about prop firms is written to sell you something — a challenge, a course, or an account management service. This site is written to explain the mechanics that actually decide whether you pass: how drawdown is measured, what the daily loss limit really stops you from doing, how the consistency rule blocks payouts, and what happens after. Fifty guides, each answering a specific question rather than restating the marketing.

Start here

• What is a prop firm and how does it work? The model explained plainly, how firms make their money, and whether you are trading real money.
• Prop firm glossary Every term in plain English — drawdown types, consistency, resets, profit split, payout cycle and more.
• How to choose a prop firm The five criteria that decide outcomes, what to ignore, and how to match a firm to your own equity curve.
• The 24-point rules checklist What to verify before paying, and how to compare two firms like for like.
• What account size should you buy? Why size barely changes difficulty, and the drawdown-per-fee arithmetic that decides it.
• Prop firm FAQ Straight answers to the questions traders ask most, with a link to the page that goes deeper.

The rules that fail accounts

• Daily drawdown vs max drawdown Two limits that get confused constantly, and the one that ends most evaluations.
• Drawdown rules explained, firm by firm Static versus trailing, intraday versus end-of-day — the five parameters to read at each firm before you buy.
• The consistency rule, with real numbers How 15%, 20%, 30% and 40% caps are calculated, and how to work out your real finish line.
• Minimum trading days The hard floor nobody plans for, and whether a trade must be held a minute to count.
• Risk management and position sizing The one formula that sizes a trade against your daily limit — with the ruin arithmetic.
• Do prop firms require a stop loss? The three different stop-loss rules in force, and whether spread widening is really stop hunting.
• Challenge rules vs funded rules What changes on funding — tighter payout conditions, activity clauses, and a reset drawdown floor.

Rules you can breach by accident

• News trading rules The two-minute window, which events are restricted, and why rules tighten once you are funded.
• Weekend holding rules Which firms restrict it, and how a Monday gap breaches a limit no stop can protect.
• EA, bot and copy trading rules Automation is usually allowed; these specific techniques are what gets accounts closed.
• Multiple accounts and hedging Where it is permitted, where it is capped, and why hedging across accounts is treated as fraud.
• The inactivity rule How long you can stop trading before an account lapses — the rule that costs accounts nobody failed.
• VPN and IP rules Why firms look at IP addresses at all, and the combination that triggers an investigation.

Firm-by-firm rules

• FTMO rules explained The Best Day Rule at 50%, maximum daily loss, minimum days and the 1-Step vs 2-Step differences.
• How to pass the FTMO challenge Choosing 1-Step or 2-Step, sizing against the daily limit, and what the Best Day Rule changes about your finish.
• FundedNext rules explained The 40% consistency rule with its published formula, targets, and what differs by product.
• Apex Trader Funding rules Intraday versus end-of-day trailing drawdown, when the threshold locks, and payout minimums.
• Topstep rules explained How the Maximum Loss Limit trails, why a funded account has no cushion, and the 40% payout target.
• FundingPips rules explained Consistency requirements that range from none to 15% depending on the product.
• FTMO vs FundedNext Static versus trailing drawdown, and a 50% best-day objective against a 40% cap.
• Apex vs Topstep Both use trailing drawdowns — the variant matters more than the firm.

Choosing a structure

• One-step vs two-step Why neither is easier, and how each structure fails a different kind of trader.
• Instant funding vs a challenge What replaces the evaluation when you remove it, and who instant funding actually suits.
• Account types explained Standard, Swing, Zero and Aggressive — and why the names tell you nothing.
• Leverage explained Why the advertised ratio barely matters next to the drawdown limit, with the effective-leverage formula.
• What platform do prop firms use? MT4, MT5, cTrader and the futures stack — and why the platform changes your rules.
• What can you trade? Which instruments prop firms permit, why exotics and stocks are usually restricted.

Passing and getting paid

• How to pass a prop firm challenge The five-step method, including the step almost everyone skips.
• How long it takes to pass Realistic timelines by structure, and the fastest route the rules actually permit.
• The challenge checklist Phase by phase, from day-one setup to the session before your first payout.
• Why traders fail challenges Five failure modes, how each shows up in your own trade history, and the fix for each.
• Is a passing service legit? The rule that voids the arrangement, and what a service can and cannot fix.
• Best passing service 2026: how to compare The third-party clause, cost per funded account, and a 12-point vetting checklist for any provider.
• Passing service review 2026: what they deliver What a review of this category can actually verify, the delivery timeline, and the complaint patterns that repeat.
• What a passing service costs The four pricing models priced side by side, cost per funded account, and the recurring charges that dwarf the fee.
• How long payouts take Eligibility waits, review and processing — the two separate delays traders conflate.
• Profit splits and scaling Why 80/20 versus 90/10 matters less than when and whether you actually get paid.
• Tax on prop firm payouts Why payouts are usually not capital gains, what records to keep, and questions for an accountant.

Trading well, and fixing problems

• Build a prop firm trading plan A template that starts from the firm's limits rather than from strategy.
• The trading journal that matters Track the firm's numbers, not just the P&L — and the one weekly report worth running.
• Recovering from drawdown The recovery arithmetic, why size increases make it worse, and a three-phase plan.
• What happens if you fail? No debt, but the accumulated trading days are gone — and how to decide whether to rebuy.
• Slippage and spreads Why a widening spread triggers stops without the price moving — and how to size around it.
• Crypto prop firm rules No weekly close, lower leverage, and a continuous drawdown exposure forex traders never face.

Comparisons, costs and disputes

• Prop firm vs your own account A like-for-like comparison of cost of risk, leverage and withdrawal control — with the catch.
• Reset vs a new challenge What a reset restores, what it does not, and when a fresh challenge is the better buy.
• What a challenge actually costs Fees by account size, how refunds work, and the hidden costs that dwarf the sticker price.
• Are prop firms a scam? The business model explained honestly, and the red flags that separate strict rules from fraud.
• How to read prop firm reviews Why the scores are unreliable, and what to read instead.
• How to complain to a prop firm The records that decide a dispute, and the process that gets resolutions.

How these guides work

Every guide names the firms it applies to and describes rules in the firm's own terms: static versus trailing drawdown, end-of-day versus intraday measurement, consistency percentages, minimum trading days, and payout conditions. Where a firm changes its parameters often, the guide says so and points you at your own dashboard rather than pretending a number is permanent.

Nothing here is a signal, a strategy you are told to copy, or a claim about results. Each page states the arithmetic behind the rule it explains, because the most common reason an evaluation fails is not a bad strategy — it is a rule the trader never read.