PROP FIRM RULES
Trailing Drawdown Explained: How the Prop Firm Floor Moves, Locks and Ends Accounts
A trailing drawdown is a loss limit that follows your account's highest balance up and never comes back down. Whether it follows your closing balance or every tick of open profit decides how much room you really have. Here is how intraday and end-of-day trailing differ, when the floor stops moving, and a calculator for your own account.
THE SHORT ANSWER
What is a trailing drawdown?
A trailing drawdown (also called a trailing threshold or maximum loss limit) is the lowest balance your prop account may reach. It starts a fixed dollar amount below your starting balance and moves up by the same amount whenever your account makes a new high. It never moves down. If your balance or equity touches it, the account is closed.
Peak β drawdown
Highest balance so far minus the allowed drawdown.
Balance β floor
What you can still lose before the account fails.
One-way
Profit raises the floor; losses never lower it.
Lock level
At many firms the floor stops at the starting balance.
The practical effect: a new high does not give you more room. A $50,000 account with a $2,000 trailing drawdown has $2,000 of room on day one, and still has only $2,000 of room after it climbs to $51,500. Your cushion only grows once the floor locks.
THREE KINDS OF DRAWDOWN
Trailing drawdown vs static drawdown vs end-of-day
| Type | What moves the floor | Open profit raises it? | Who it hurts most |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intraday trailing | Every new peak in equity, tick by tick | Yes, even if you never close the trade | Traders who let winners run and give some back |
| End-of-day (EOD) trailing | Only the highest closing balance of a day | No; only the close counts | Traders who take big wins then trade on |
| Static | Nothing; fixed below the starting balance | No | Nobody in particular; the most forgiving |
WORKED EXAMPLE
Same two days, intraday vs end-of-day trailing
$50,000 account, $2,000 trailing drawdown
Both accounts start with the floor at $48,000. Day 1: a long trade runs to $1,200 of open profit, then you exit for +$300. Day 2: you take a loss that dips $1,200 below the day's opening balance.
- Day 1 peak equity
- $51,200 open profit at its best
- Day 1 close
- $50,300 +$300 banked
- Intraday floor
- $49,200 $51,200 β $2,000
- EOD floor
- $48,300 $50,300 β $2,000
- Day 2 low
- $49,100 $50,300 β $1,200
- Result
- Intraday fails EOD still $800 above floor
On the intraday account, $900 of profit that was never banked moved the floor up by $900. After day 1 the cushion was only $1,100, so a $1,200 dip ended the account. The end-of-day account only counted the $300 close, kept $2,000 of room, and survived the same trade. This is the most common way traders "fail while green": the floor followed a winner they did not take.
WHEN IT STOPS
When does a trailing drawdown stop trailing?
At many futures prop firms the floor stops rising once it reaches a set level, usually the starting balance or just above it. From then on it is effectively a static drawdown, and every dollar you make above that level is real cushion.
Find the lock level
Topstep's Trading Combine locks the Maximum Loss Limit at the starting balance. Apex's intraday Performance Accounts stop at the starting balance plus $100. Some account types never lock; FTMO's 1-Step uses an end-of-day trailing limit with no lock described on its rules page.
Add the drawdown to it
The floor reaches the lock level when your peak equals lock level + drawdown. With a $2,000 drawdown that is a $52,000 peak for a $50,000 lock, or $52,100 for a $50,100 lock.
Trade smaller until you get there
Before the lock, your room is capped at the drawdown amount no matter how well you trade. After it, your room grows with every winning day.
FIRM RULES, CHECKED OCTOBER 12, 2026
How some prop firms set their drawdown
| Firm and account | Drawdown on a 50K | How it trails | Daily loss limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Topstep Trading Combine | $2,000 Maximum Loss Limit | End-of-day high; locks at starting balance; enforced in real time incl. unrealized P&L | Optional $1,000; hitting it pauses trading until the next session, not a violation |
| Apex intraday evaluation | $2,000 | Intraday peak incl. unrealized gains; on funded PA stops at start + $100 | None on the evaluation; PA has one |
| Take Profit Trader | Varies by account (see firm) | Evaluation EOD, locks at start; PRO intraday; PRO+ EOD | None set by the firm |
| FTMO 2-Step (forex/CFD) | 10% Maximum Loss | Static: initial capital β 10% | 5% of initial capital, reset at midnight CE(S)T |
| FTMO 1-Step (forex/CFD) | 10% Maximum Loss | End-of-day trailing from highest prior close | 3% of initial capital |
Apex also sells end-of-day accounts, and Topstep sells a static-drawdown combine; the rows above are one account type each, not the whole menu. Apex's help pages blocked automated access on October 12, 2026, so its figures come from the help center's published text in search results; confirm them on the site.
Forex and CFD firms usually state limits as a percentage of the initial balance and count floating P/L. FTMO's 1-Step also has a "Best Day" rule: your best day may not be more than 50% of the profit from your positive days. Breaking it is not a failure, but you keep trading until it is met.
POSITION SIZING
Sizing so one stop can never take the account
Size from your cushion (balance minus floor), not from the account size. A "$50K" account with a $2,000 drawdown is a $2,000 account for risk purposes until the floor locks.
Max contracts = (Cushion Γ risk share) Γ· (Stop in ticks Γ Tick value)Example: $2,000 cushion, risking a quarter of it ($500) with a 16-tick stop. MES ticks are worth $1.25, so one contract risks $20 and the limit is 25 MES. On ES ($12.50 a tick) the same stop costs $200, so 2 contracts.
A quarter is our working assumption, not a firm rule: it means four full losses in a row before the account is gone, and fewer as the cushion shrinks. Many evaluation traders use a fifth or a tenth. Four habits matter most, especially on intraday trailing:
- βCount the open-profit give-backOn intraday trailing, a trade that runs +2R and stops at β1R costs about 3R of cushion. Move stops or take partials so a winner can't turn into a near-miss.
- βRecalculate after every new highThe cushion does not grow with the balance before the lock, so the contract count should not either.
- βSet your own daily stopWhere the firm has no daily limit, cap the day yourself, for example at half the cushion. A bad day plus revenge trades is how most evaluations end.
- βKnow your instrumentTick values differ tenfold between micros and E-minis. Our micro futures point value guide lists them.
For the deeper risk math see R-multiples and managing leverage in futures; for the day-after-a-loss problem, how to stop revenge trading.
YOUR NUMBERS
Trailing drawdown calculator
TRY IT
Where is your floor, and how big can you trade?
Defaults are day 1 of the intraday example above. Nothing you type is saved or sent anywhere.
KEEP SCORE
Tracking the floor in Excel or Google Sheets
Prop dashboards show the floor for today, not how it got there. A daily log with one row per session (date, closing balance, highest equity of the day) and four formula columns shows the floor, the cushion, and how close each day came. Put the starting balance in H1, the drawdown in H2 and the lock level in H3:
| Column | Formula (row 3, filled down) |
|---|---|
| Peak so far (D) | =MAX(D2,C3) in row 2 use =MAX($H$1,C2); for EOD accounts use column B (close) instead of C (day's high equity) |
| Floor (E) | =IF($H$3=0,D3-$H$2,MIN(D3-$H$2,$H$3)) |
| Cushion (F) | =B3-E3 |
| Closest call (G) | =MIN(F:F) |
Logging the floor next to each trade turns "I failed on Tuesday" into something you can study: which trades gave back open profit, which days broke your own daily stop. Our guide on how much money you need to trade futures covers the same risk math for a personal account, and smarter futures trading covers the routine around it.
READY-MADE TEMPLATE
A futures journal for prop accounts
You can build the log above yourself. If you would rather record every trade with its size, risk and partial exits and filter results by account (handy when you run several evaluations at once), there is a ready-made futures trading journal for Excel and Google Sheets. The drawdown floor columns above can sit next to it.
Futures Trading Journal Template for Google Sheets and Excel
The current listing covers E-mini and micro index futures plus micro Bitcoin, Ether, gold, silver and Treasury yield contracts, with entries, exits, position size, P&L and risk/reward per trade, up to three partial exits, built-in risk and position size calculators, and reports by date, strategy or account.
- Filter results by account or strategy
- Risk per trade and position sizing
- Win rate, largest wins and losses
Product features and compatibility are listed on the product page and may change. Trading two markets? The stocks and futures and futures and options bundles pair the futures journal with a second one.
Browse all trading journal templatesFAQ
Trailing drawdown questions
How does a trailing drawdown work?
The floor starts a fixed amount below your starting balance, for example $48,000 on a $50,000 account with a $2,000 drawdown. Each time the account makes a new high, the floor moves up by the same amount. It never moves down, and touching it closes the account.
What is the difference between trailing and static drawdown?
A static drawdown stays at a fixed level below the starting balance for the life of the account. A trailing drawdown rises with your highest balance, so your room to lose stays the same size even after you make money, until it locks.
Does unrealized profit count toward the trailing drawdown?
On intraday trailing accounts, yes: open profit at its highest point raises the floor even if you exit for less. On end-of-day trailing accounts the floor only moves on the closing balance, but most firms still close the account in real time if equity, including open losses, touches the floor.
When does the trailing drawdown stop?
It depends on the firm and account. Topstep's Trading Combine locks at the starting balance; Apex's intraday Performance Accounts stop at the starting balance plus $100. Some accounts never lock. The floor reaches the lock when your peak equals the lock level plus the drawdown amount.
Is end-of-day drawdown better than intraday?
For most traders, yes, because open profit you give back does not move the floor. It is usually priced or sized differently, so compare the drawdown amount, the daily loss limit and the funded account rules before choosing.
How many contracts can I trade on a $50K prop account?
Size from the cushion, not the $50,000. With $2,000 of room and a 16-tick stop, risking a quarter of the cushion allows about 25 MES or 2 ES contracts. Firms also set their own maximum position size, so the lower of the two applies.
Sources and further reading
- Topstep Help: What is the Maximum Loss Limit?
- Topstep Help: Daily Loss Limit in the Trading Combine and Express Funded Account (updated June 30, 2026)
- Apex Trader Funding: Intraday Trailing Drawdown Explained
- Apex Trader Funding: Intraday Trailing Drawdown Performance Accounts (PA)
- Take Profit Trader: Take Profit Trader vs Topstep (2026)
- FTMO: Trading Objectives (modified October 9, 2026)
Checked October 12, 2026. Firm rules differ by account type and change often; the firm's current rules page always wins. The worked example uses assumed trades. This article is general information, not financial advice.
