What is reset?
A reset restarts a failed challenge, charged at a rate generally below the initial purchase price. It relaunches the evaluation without buying a full account again, but is rarely refundable.
The reset is the budget line traders most systematically forget when comparing prices.
The principle
After a failure, most firms offer to relaunch the evaluation on the same account at a reduced rate — often 50 to 80 % of the original price. The account restarts at its initial balance, with the same rules.
Some firms do not publish that rate on their site and only display it in the dashboard, after the failure. It is worth checking before buying: it determines the real cost of your route far more than the entry price does.
Why it changes everything
A low entry price paired with an expensive reset costs more, over two or three attempts, than a high entry price paired with a moderate reset. Since most candidates fail at least once, it is the second scenario that reflects the cost actually borne.
Conversely, fees refunded at the first payout almost never cover resets: only the initial purchase qualifies. A firm with a refund therefore becomes less attractive as the number of attempts rises.
The limits
Some firms cap the number of resets allowed per account, generally at three. Others charge a reset at full price on funded accounts, at rates that can exceed several hundred dollars.
Before buying, put the question this way round: what will this route cost me if I fail twice? That is the figure to compare between two firms.
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Related terms
- Challenge A challenge is the paid evaluation a prop firm sells. The trader must reach a profit target without crossing the imposed loss limits, on a simulated account. Passing it gives access to a funded account.
- Drawdown Drawdown is the maximum loss allowed on a prop firm account before it is closed. It is expressed as a percentage or a fixed amount, and calculated under three models — static, end-of-day trailing or intraday trailing — with very different consequences.
- Prop firm A prop firm is a company that gives access to a funded trading account after a paid evaluation. The trader deposits no capital: they pay evaluation fees, respect risk rules, and keep a share of the profits generated.