Static drawdown is measured once, from the starting balance, and never moves: the loss threshold stays where it was on day one, so every unit of profit becomes permanent buffer. Trailing drawdown instead follows your highest balance or equity, keeping the distance to the threshold constant as the account grows.
Static is the more readable of the two and the easier one to size positions against, which is why it is usually recommended for a first challenge — though firms often offset it with a tighter percentage or a higher target. Our ranking lists firms using a static threshold, sorted on whether it is measured on balance or equity, how and when the daily loss limit resets, target size, cost to funding and payout terms.
Coming in at number 1, FTMO has been operating since 2015 and scores 88/100 on our scale. Entry starts at €79 for a 1-phase evaluation. The risk envelope is a static drawdown capped at 10 %, with 3 % allowed per day. Funded traders keep 90 % of profits, with a first withdrawal available after 14 days. Notable freedoms: no time limit, expert advisors allowed, news trading allowed. Available on mt4, mt5, ctrader, dxtrade, tradingview.
Founded in Prague in 2015, FTMO reports more than $450 million paid to traders and closed its acquisition of broker OANDA in December 2025. The 2-Step challenge, static drawdown and no deadline, remains its core product, with fees fully refunded on the first payout. Price is the weak spot, and it rose again in 2026.
Ranked 2 on this list, The5ers has been operating since 2016 and scores 86/100 on our scale. Entry starts at $39 for a 2-phase evaluation. The risk envelope is a static drawdown capped at 10 %, with 5 % allowed per day. Funded traders keep 100 % of profits, with a first withdrawal available after 14 days. Notable freedoms: no time limit, no consistency rule. Available on mt5, ctrader, tradingview.
Founded in Israel in 2016, The5ers is one of the oldest forex prop firms still operating. Its strongest asset is the rulebook: static drawdown across every program, no time limit and no consistency rule. The tradable universe stays narrow, though — forex, indices, metals and futures, with no crypto and no equities.
In third place, FundedNext has been operating since 2022 and scores 85/100 on our scale. Entry starts at $59.99 for a 2-phase evaluation. The risk envelope is a static drawdown capped at 10 %, with 5 % allowed per day. Funded traders keep 95 % of profits, with a first withdrawal available after 5 days. Notable freedoms: no time limit, no consistency rule, expert advisors allowed. Available on mt4, mt5, ctrader, match-trader.
On the forex and CFD side, FundedNext runs just two routes: Stellar 1-Step (10% target, 6% max loss) and Stellar 2-Step (8% then 5%, 10% max loss). Both use static drawdown, carry no deadline and come with refundable fees. Pricing is on the high side, and the headline 95% split needs a paid option — the contractual base is 80%.
In 4th place, City Traders Imperium has been operating since 2018 and scores 83/100 on our scale. Entry starts at $29 on an instantly funded account. The risk envelope is a trailing intraday drawdown capped at 6 %. Funded traders keep 100 % of profits, with a first withdrawal available after 7 days. Notable freedoms: no time limit, no consistency rule, expert advisors allowed, news trading allowed. Available on mt5, match-trader.
City Traders Imperium has funded forex traders since 2018 through four routes — 1-Step, 2-Step, Instant Funding and Direct Funding — with no time limit and entry from $29. The profit split starts at 80% and can reach 100%, but the 1-Step allows only 5% trailing drawdown and every trade must carry a stop loss.
In 5th place, FundingPips has been operating since 2022 and scores 83/100 on our scale. Entry starts at $29 for a 2-phase evaluation. The risk envelope is a static drawdown capped at 6 %, with 3 % allowed per day. Funded traders keep 100 % of profits, with a first withdrawal available after 7 days. Notable freedoms: no time limit. Available on mt5, ctrader, match-trader.
FundingPips lets you choose the withdrawal rhythm and prices the split accordingly: 60% weekly, 80% biweekly, 90% on demand, 100% on a monthly cycle. Its four evaluation models keep static drawdown, with only the instant-funding Zero account switching to trailing. Against that, a Striking System closes a funded account on the fourth warning.
In 6th place, Alpha Capital Group has been operating since 2021 and scores 80/100 on our scale. Entry starts at $27 for a 1-phase evaluation. The risk envelope is a trailing (end of day) drawdown capped at 4 %, with 3 % allowed per day. Funded traders keep 90 % of profits. Notable freedoms: no time limit, news trading allowed. Available on mt5, ctrader, dxtrade, tradelocker.
Alpha Capital Group is a UK forex prop firm registered in 2021, running eight programs that span a $27 two-phase challenge through to accounts funded at purchase. The rulebook is permissive — news, weekend and overnight holding allowed, four platforms — but the tradable universe stops at forex, indices and metals, and Trustpilot has suspended the rating over fake reviews.
Coming in at number 7, Funded Trading Plus has been operating since 2021 and scores 80/100 on our scale. Entry starts at $89 for a 1-phase evaluation. The risk envelope is a trailing intraday drawdown capped at 6 %, with 4 % allowed per day. Funded traders keep 100 % of profits. Notable freedoms: no time limit, expert advisors allowed. Available on mt5, ctrader, dxtrade, match-trader.
A London firm founded in late 2021 and bought by Instant Funding in May 2026, Funded Trading Plus pays every 7 days on its 1-Step Express and Instant programs, with the split rising from 80 to 100% and scaling up to $5 million. The catch: intraday trailing drawdown on both, and a Trustpilot score the platform has pulled.
Coming in at number 8, Goat Funded Trader has been operating since 2023 and scores 78/100 on our scale. Entry starts at $36 for a 2-phase evaluation. The risk envelope is a static drawdown capped at 10 %, with 4 % allowed per day. Funded traders keep 100 % of profits. Notable freedoms: no time limit, expert advisors allowed, news trading allowed. Available on mt5, tradelocker, ctrader.
Goat Funded Trader launched in 2023 out of Hong Kong. It publishes a full price grid, runs static drawdown across its three evaluation models, and pays every 14 days with a profit split from 80 % up to 100 %. The counterweight: its Trustpilot score is suspended over fake reviews, rules tightened in summer 2026, and 29 countries are excluded.
Coming in at number 9, Elite Trader Funding has been operating since 2022 and scores 77/100 on our scale. Entry starts at $99 for a 1-phase evaluation. Funded traders keep 100 % of profits, with a first withdrawal available after 8 days. Notable freedoms: no time limit. Available on ninjatrader, tradingview, rithmic, tradovate.
At Elite Trader Funding the funded account stays simulated: the headline split is 100%, but payouts are capped at $25,000 per trader, after which moving to the LIVE ELITE program on an 80/20 split becomes mandatory. Six futures evaluation models, $47 resets, but activation fees of $177 to $307 and $87 a month once funded.
In 10th place, BrightFunded has been operating since 2023 and scores 76/100 on our scale. Entry starts at €47 for a 2-phase evaluation. The risk envelope is a static drawdown capped at 8 %, with 4 % allowed per day. Funded traders keep 100 % of profits, with a first withdrawal available after 30 days. Notable freedoms: no time limit, no consistency rule, news trading allowed. Available on mt5, ctrader, dxtrade.
Set up in 2023 by a Dutch team and operated out of Dubai, BrightFunded keeps its rulebook short: no consistency rule, no time limit, static drawdown on both 2-Step plans. The model leans instead on paid add-ons — fee refund, 90% split, waived minimum days — and the first payout only lands 30 days after the first trade.
Three mechanics coexist, and the gap between them dwarfs the advertised percentage. Static drawdown sets a single floor from the starting balance and never lifts it, so every gain permanently widens your room. End-of-day trailing recalculates the floor at the daily close against the highest closing balance, meaning today’s profit only counts after the settlement time. Intraday trailing follows live equity, open positions included: a floating profit spike raises the floor immediately, and giving it back before the close does not lower it again. At an identical 10% headline figure, those three structures leave you with very different amounts of usable risk as soon as the account moves into profit.
The calculation details that decide the outcome
Start with the base: balance or equity. A balance-based floor ignores unrealised losses, while an equity-based floor can be breached by a wick with no position ever closed. Next, the daily loss reset time and its time zone — a midnight CET cutoff and a 5 p.m. New York cutoff carve up very different sessions. Third, whether commissions and swaps count toward the loss, which most firms apply but not all. Fourth, and specific to futures firms, whether the threshold locks: trailing frequently stops once a set profit is reached, at which point the drawdown becomes static in practice. Reading those four lines prevents most accidental breaches.
The clearest structure for a first funded account
Static is not mechanically easier; it is predictable. You know your loss floor to the dollar before the first position is opened, and it does not move during the evaluation. That stability helps three profiles in particular: beginners who have not yet settled on a position-sizing method, swing traders who hold through the close and would be punished by intraday trailing, and anyone who scales into positions over time. Firms usually offset the advantage with a tighter percentage, a higher target or a higher price. Compare thresholds in absolute currency rather than percentage terms — it is the only way to see how much you can actually afford to lose before a breach.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between static and trailing drawdown?
Static drawdown fixes the loss floor once, from the starting balance, and never moves it, so every gain becomes a permanent cushion. Trailing drawdown follows your highest balance or equity and rises with your profits, keeping the distance to the floor constant. At the same headline percentage, static is clearly more forgiving once the account is in profit.
Is static drawdown measured on balance or equity?
Both versions exist. A balance-based floor only counts closed positions, so an unrealised loss does not breach it until you close. An equity-based floor includes open trades, meaning a single wick can end the account. This is the most expensive detail to discover mid-challenge, so confirm it in the rulebook before your first position.
Does static drawdown make a challenge easier?
More readable and often more forgiving, but not free. Firms regularly offset it with a tighter drawdown percentage, a higher profit target or a higher price. The real advantage shows once the account is in profit: the floor stays where it started, while a trailing floor would already have climbed up underneath your gains.
Do futures prop firms offer static drawdown?
Rarely as a headline feature. The futures standard is intraday or end-of-day trailing with a lock: once a set profit is reached, the threshold stops moving and the drawdown becomes static in practice. A few firms sell explicitly static accounts, usually at a higher price or with a narrower loss threshold.