A static drawdown is a max loss floor fixed below your initial balance that never moves, while a trailing drawdown is a floor that rises behind your best balance or equity (the high-water mark) and never comes back down, so every gain you give back shrinks the room you have left.
Trailing floors also differ by what they follow (closed balance, equity, end-of-day balance or the live intraday peak) and by whether they stop rising at the starting balance. This page gives the exact floor formula for each type, a table of real programs, worked examples for Topstep, Apex, FXIFY and Funding Pips, and a sizing method built on distance to the floor.
The daily loss limit is a separate rule with its own reset and basis. It is covered in prop firm daily drawdown; this article is about the max loss floor only.
How does trailing drawdown work?
The firm keeps a running record of your best figure: the highest closed balance, the highest equity, or the highest end-of-day balance, depending on the program. Your floor is that record minus a fixed drawdown amount. When the record rises, the floor rises with it. When your account falls, the record stays where it was, so the floor stays too.
Floor = High-water mark − Drawdown amount
Room = Current equity − FloorTwo consequences follow. While you are at a new high, your room equals the full drawdown amount. As soon as you pull back from that high, your room is the drawdown amount minus the pullback:
Room = Drawdown amount − (High-water mark − Current equity)On a static account a $3,000 win adds $3,000 of room. On a trailing account, before any lock, it adds nothing: the floor moves up by the same $3,000.
What are the types of max loss at prop firms?
There are four types, and the trailing type has two common variants. In every formula below, "D" is the drawdown amount in dollars: the firm's percentage of the initial balance on forex programs, or the dollar figure on futures programs.
1. Static. The floor is set once from the initial balance and never moves.
Floor = Initial balance − D2a. Trailing on closed balance. The high-water mark is the highest balance after closed trades. Open profit does not move it.
Floor = Highest closed balance − D2b. Trailing on equity (equity high-water mark). The high-water mark is the highest equity ever recorded, open P&L included. A floating profit that is never banked still raises the floor.
Floor = Highest recorded equity − D3. End-of-day (EOD) trailing. The high-water mark is updated only once per day, from the balance recorded at the firm's end-of-day or reset time. Intraday peaks, open or closed, do not count until the day's close.
Floor = max(Initial balance, Highest end-of-day balance) − D4. Intraday trailing. The high-water mark follows your peak in real time, including unrealized P&L, tick by tick.
Floor = Highest real-time peak (balance + open P&L) − DThe lock. Many trailing programs stop the floor once it reaches the starting balance. After that, it behaves like a static floor at break-even:
Floor = min(Trailing floor, Initial balance)A lock does not lower the floor. It only caps how high it can climb.
Which prop firms use static or trailing drawdown?
These are the max loss rules for the programs in the Fips data set. The figures were checked against each firm's official rules on 26 September 2026; confirm on the firm's page before you trade, because programs change often.
| Firm | Program | Max loss | Type | What the floor follows | Lock |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FTMO | Challenge 2-Step (Standard) | 10% | Static | Initial capital | n/a |
| FundedNext | Stellar 2-Step | 10% | Static | Initial balance | n/a |
| Funding Pips | 2 Step Standard | 10% | Static | Initial balance | n/a |
| The5ers | Hyper Growth | 6% | Static, on equity | Initial balance | n/a |
| Blue Guardian | 2 Step Standard | 8% | Static | Initial balance | n/a |
| FTMO | Challenge 1-Step | 10% | End-of-day trailing | Highest 00:00 CE(S)T balance of any previous day, or initial capital if higher | Not a lock; resets after a Reward |
| FXIFY | One Phase | 6% | Trailing | Closed-balance high | At the starting balance at +6% or on the first payout |
| Blue Guardian | 1 Step Standard | 6% | Trailing | Highest closed balance | At the starting balance at +6% |
| E8 Markets | E8 One | 4% preset (4, 6, 8, 10 or 14%) | Trailing | Highest closed balance | At the initial balance |
| Funding Pips | Zero (instant) | 5% | Trailing | Highest recorded equity | At the initial size at +5% |
| Maven Trading | Standard 1-Step | 5% | Trailing | Highest equity watermark | Not stated in the rules we verified |
| Topstep | Trading Combine | $2,000 / $3,000 / $4,500 (50K / 100K / 150K) | End-of-day trailing | End-of-day balance | At the starting balance |
| Apex Trader Funding | EOD Trailing Drawdown Evaluation (Apex 4.0) | $1,000 / $2,000 / $3,000 / $4,000 (25K / 50K / 100K / 150K) | End-of-day trailing | Highest end-of-day balance, recalculated at 4:59:59 PM ET | Not stated in the rules we verified |
| Apex Trader Funding | Intraday Trailing Drawdown Evaluation (Apex 4.0) | Same as EOD | Intraday trailing | Peak balance in real time, including unrealized P&L | Not stated in the rules we verified |
Where the table says "not stated", the rules we checked did not describe a lock. That is not proof there is none; read the firm's own drawdown article. The full rule set for twelve firms, including daily limits, targets and news rules, is on the prop firm rules comparison.
Trailing vs static drawdown: which is easier?
Neither is easier in every case. It depends on where your equity is relative to the start.
- On day one they are identical. FTMO Challenge 2-Step (Standard) and FTMO Challenge 1-Step both start a $100,000 account with a $90,000 floor.
- After a gain and a pullback, static gives more room. Peak $104,000, now $101,000: the static floor is still $90,000 (room $11,000); a 10% trailing floor is $94,000 (room $7,000).
- After a lock, trailing becomes static at break-even.
Trailing programs in the table also tend to use smaller percentages (6%, 5%, 4%). Compare the room you would actually have on your likely path, not the headline number.
Worked example: Topstep 50K end-of-day trailing over four days
Topstep Trading Combine, 50K account. Max loss $2,000, trailing the end-of-day balance and locking at the starting balance.
- Start: balance $50,000. Floor = $50,000 − $2,000 = $48,000.
| Day | Intraday high | End-of-day balance | Highest end-of-day balance | Floor (locks at $50,000) | Room at close |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $51,100 | $50,900 | $50,900 | $48,900 | $2,000 |
| 2 | $51,800 | $51,200 | $51,200 | $49,200 | $2,000 |
| 3 | $51,300 | $50,400 | $51,200 | $49,200 | $1,200 |
| 4 | $52,500 | $52,300 | $52,300 | $50,000 (locked) | $2,300 |
- Days 1 and 2: only the close counts. On day 2 you were up $1,800 but closed at $51,200, so the floor is $51,200 − $2,000 = $49,200. Giving back $600 intraday cost nothing.
- Day 3: a losing day. The record stays at $51,200, so the floor stays at $49,200. Room = $50,400 − $49,200 = $1,200, not $2,000. One normal losing session can now end the evaluation.
- Day 4: $52,300 − $2,000 = $50,300, but the floor locks: min($50,300, $50,000) = $50,000. From here every gain adds room.
Topstep's daily loss limit is an optional add-on that pauses the session; it does not change this floor. The Topstep calculator starts from the program's limits for each account size.
Worked example: Apex intraday trailing and the unrealized peak
Apex Trader Funding, Intraday Trailing Drawdown Evaluation (Apex 4.0), 50K account. Max loss $2,000, trailing the peak balance in real time, including unrealized P&L. This program has no daily loss limit.
- Start: balance $50,000. Floor = $48,000.
- You buy index futures. The position runs to +$1,400 open profit. Real-time peak = $51,400. Floor = $51,400 − $2,000 = $49,400.
- The market reverses. You close the trade at +$200. Balance = $50,200.
- Floor stays at $49,400. Room = $50,200 − $49,400 = $800.
You won $200 and lost $1,200 of room. The peak you never banked moved the floor permanently.
Same trade on the Apex EOD Trailing Drawdown Evaluation (Apex 4.0), 50K: the drawdown is recalculated at 4:59:59 PM ET from the highest end-of-day balance. If you end the day at $50,200, the floor becomes $50,200 − $2,000 = $48,200 and your room is $2,000. The intraday peak of $51,400 never counted. The Apex calculator covers both Apex 4.0 variants.
Worked example: FXIFY One Phase locking at the starting balance
FXIFY One Phase, $100,000 account. Max loss 6%, trailing the closed-balance high, locking at the starting balance at +6% or on the first payout. For this example, assume the trailing amount is a fixed 6% of the starting balance, $6,000, which is consistent with the lock landing exactly on the starting balance at +6%. Confirm the wording on FXIFY's page.
- Start: floor = $100,000 − $6,000 = $94,000.
- You close trades up to $103,000. Floor = $103,000 − $6,000 = $97,000.
- A XAU/USD position floats +$1,500 (equity $104,500), then closes at break-even. The floor stays at $97,000, because this program trails the closed balance. On an equity-trailing program such as Funding Pips Zero, that unbanked $1,500 would have raised the floor.
- Later you close at $106,000. Floor = $106,000 − $6,000 = $100,000, the starting balance. The floor locks at $100,000.
- You grow to $110,000. The floor stays at $100,000. Room = $10,000.
Before the lock, every closed win was matched by the floor; after it, the account behaves like a static account with a break-even floor. The daily limit still applies: 3% below the previous day's 5 PM EST balance, breached on equity. The FXIFY calculator starts from these limits.
Why does intraday trailing punish letting winners run?
Under intraday or equity trailing, the floor follows your open profit. Any open profit you later give back is a permanent loss of room, even if the trade closes green.
Room lost on a trade = Peak open profit − Closed profitA trade that runs to +$1,500 and closes at −$200 costs $1,700 of room, though the realized loss was only $200. Traders on these accounts usually take partial profits at the first target, trail the stop as price moves, and avoid targets that need deep pullbacks on the way. None of this improves the setup; it only stops the rule from charging you for open profit you did not keep. If your strategy holds through large swings, an end-of-day trailing or static program fits it better.
How do I size trades with a trailing drawdown?
Size from the distance to your current floor, not from the account size. These five steps work as a manual trailing drawdown calculator.
- Find the floor. Use the type and formula for your program, from your actual high-water mark.
- Compute room. Room = current equity − floor. If the daily floor is higher than the max loss floor today, use the daily floor instead.
- Subtract open risk and a buffer for spread, slippage, commission and swap. The buffer is your choice; base it on your own fills.
- Decide how many consecutive losses you must survive. Call it N.
- Risk per trade = (room − open risk − buffer) ÷ N, or your normal per-trade risk, whichever is smaller.
Example: Topstep 50K on day 3 above. Room $1,200, no open risk, buffer $100, N = 4. Risk per trade = ($1,200 − $100) ÷ 4 = $275. Your plan might say 1% of $50,000, which is $500, but at $500 two losses would leave $100 of room.
Example: Funding Pips Zero $50K. Max loss 5%, trailing the highest recorded equity, locking at the initial size at +5%.
- D = 5% × $50,000 = $2,500. Starting floor $47,500.
- A trade floated to +$1,500 (equity peak $51,500), then closed at +$300. Floor = $51,500 − $2,500 = $49,000. Balance $50,300. Room = $1,300.
- Choose N = 3, buffer $0 for simplicity: $1,300 ÷ 3 = $433.
- Funding Pips Zero also has a 1% Max Open Risk, which on $50,000 is $500. The smaller figure, $433, wins.
- EUR/USD with a 25-pip stop: loss per lot = 25 × $10 = $250. Size = $433 ÷ $250 = 1.732, rounded down to 1.73 lots. Check: 1.73 × $250 = $432.50.
Run the numbers in the EUR/USD calculator or a firm page such as the FTMO calculator, which work without an account. They start from published limits and cannot see your high-water mark, so bring your distance to the floor. For fixed-fractional sizing in general, see trading risk management.
What are the common trailing drawdown traps?
- Sizing from the account size. A $100K account with $2,000 of room is a $2,000 account for risk purposes until the floor locks.
- Confusing closed-balance and equity trailing. On an equity program, a floating profit you never bank still moves the floor.
- Assuming the floor comes back down. It does not. A losing week after a good week leaves you closer to the floor than at the start.
- Forgetting the daily limit. Both floors apply together; the higher one breaches you.
- Assuming a lock that is not there. Check your program's rules; FTMO Challenge 1-Step resets after a Reward rather than locking.
- Losing streaks near the floor. Five losses at $300 is $1,500, a failed evaluation on a 50K with $1,200 of room. Commission and swap move you toward the floor too.
Track distance to the floor in a journal
The number that matters before each trade is your distance to the current floor, and it changes with every new high. Recording it next to each trade shows when you were trading with less room than you thought, and which trades handed back open profit on an intraday or equity-trailing account.
The Fips trading journal records trades with their risk and notes. MT4 and MT5 accounts sync through a read-only investor password, so Fips can read history but never place or close a trade. Futures support and prop firm rule tracking inside the journal are coming soon. Fips is in private beta with access by waitlist.
Frequently asked questions
Is trailing drawdown based on balance or equity?
It depends on the program. FXIFY One Phase, Blue Guardian 1 Step Standard and E8 One trail the highest closed balance. Funding Pips Zero and Maven Standard 1-Step trail equity, so open profit counts. Apex Intraday trails the real-time peak including unrealized P&L.
Does trailing drawdown ever stop?
On many programs it locks at the starting balance: Topstep's Trading Combine, FXIFY One Phase (at +6% or on the first payout), Funding Pips Zero (at +5%) and E8 One. After the lock, the floor stays at break-even.
What is EOD trailing drawdown?
A trailing floor whose high-water mark updates once a day, from the balance at the firm's end-of-day time. Intraday peaks do not move it. Apex's EOD evaluation recalculates at 4:59:59 PM ET.
How does Topstep trailing drawdown work?
On the Trading Combine the max loss is $2,000, $3,000 or $4,500 for 50K, 100K and 150K. It trails the end-of-day balance and locks at the starting balance. On a 50K, the floor starts at $48,000 and stops at $50,000 once a day ends at $52,000 or more.
What is the difference between Apex EOD and intraday drawdown?
Same dollar amounts, different high-water mark. A trade that peaks at +$1,400 and closes at +$200 raises the Intraday floor by $1,400 but the EOD floor by only $200.
Is static drawdown better than trailing drawdown?
Static leaves more room after gains because the floor never moves, but compare the drawdown amount, the daily limit and the lock too, and how much open profit you usually give back.
