Evaluation
The simulated trading account a trader uses to demonstrate skill and risk management before being granted access to a funded prop firm account.
What is Evaluation?
An evaluation (commonly shortened to “eval”) is the qualifying period of a prop firm program — a simulated trading account where the trader must hit a defined profit target and obey defined risk rules before being granted access to a funded account. The evaluation is the firm’s only filter: anyone who pays the eval fee is allowed to attempt, regardless of experience or background, but only those who pass the rules-and-target test get to trade real capital with firm-backed payouts.
Modern futures prop firm evaluations are fully simulated — there is no real-money risk during the evaluation. The trader pays an upfront evaluation fee (typically $33-$300 with discount codes, much higher at list price), gets a demo account with the listed account size ($25K, $50K, $100K, $150K, $200K, $300K are common tiers), and trades it with the same rules they’ll face on the funded stage.
Once the trader hits the profit target without violating any rules, the firm marks the evaluation as passed and the trader pays a separate activation fee to unlock the funded stage. From the firm’s perspective, this two-tier funnel filters for skill (eval pass rates are typically 5-15% across the industry) while collecting eval fees from the much larger pool of traders who attempt.
How Evaluation works
Every evaluation has the same four mechanical components: profit target, drawdown limit, daily loss limit, and minimum trading days. The trader must hit the target while staying within all three risk constraints across at least the minimum number of distinct trading sessions.
Standard evaluation parameters by firm (verified May 2026):
- Apex $50K eval: Profit target $3,000 (6%), trailing drawdown $2,500, no daily loss limit on eval, min 1 trading day. Single-step.
- TPT Test phase $50K: Profit target $2,000 (4%), trailing drawdown $2,500, no DLL, min 5 trading days. Single-step (TPT calls the eval the “Test”).
- Tradeify Growth $50K: Profit target $3,000, EOD trailing drawdown $2,500, daily loss limit varies by plan, min 5 trading days, 35% consistency rule.
- Lucid $50K: Profit target varies by plan, simple drawdown rules, no consistency rule on funded.
- FundedNext $50K Stellar: Both single-step and two-step variants. Profit target ~10% on standard plans.
Single-step vs two-step: Single-step (Apex, TPT, Tradeify) means one phase — pass the eval, get funded. Two-step (some FundedNext plans, legacy forex programs) means pass Phase 1 (high target), then pass Phase 2 (lower target with longer time horizon), THEN get funded.
The economics: Most firms publish that 80-95% of traders fail the evaluation, often on consistency or drawdown breaches rather than missing the target. The eval fee is the firm’s primary revenue stream. Top firms then pay out a portion of this revenue to the 5-15% of traders who pass and produce profitable funded accounts — Apex publishes $1B+ in lifetime payouts.
Worked example
Setup: Trader buys Apex $50K evaluation with discount code DGT for $33 (vs $167 list — 80% off in May 2026). Goal: pass evaluation, then activate funded.
Eval rules: Profit target $3,000. Trailing drawdown $2,500. No daily loss limit during eval. Min 1 trading day. Account starts at $50,000 simulated balance.
Trader’s first 7 days:
- Day 1: +$450 (account: $50,450, drawdown floor: $47,950)
- Day 2: +$650 (account: $51,100, drawdown floor: $48,600)
- Day 3: -$220 (account: $50,880)
- Day 4: +$890 (account: $51,770, drawdown floor: $49,270)
- Day 5: +$540 (account: $52,310, drawdown floor: $49,810)
- Day 6: +$320 (account: $52,630, drawdown floor: $50,130)
- Day 7: +$465 (account: $53,095 — TARGET HIT)
Total cumulative P&L: +$3,095. Profit target was $3,000. Trader passed in 7 trading sessions with peak equity $53,095 and trailing drawdown floor $50,595 ($2,500 below the $53,095 peak). Drawdown was never breached.
Next step: Trader pays Apex’s $140 activation fee (May 2026 — Performance Account fee). Now has access to funded $50K with same rules plus consistency rule. Total cost to be funded: $33 eval + $140 activation = $173.
Evaluation vs related concepts
Side-by-side comparison of Evaluation against the most commonly confused alternatives.
| Concept | Definition | Category |
|---|---|---|
| Evaluation this term | The simulated trading account a trader uses to demonstrate skill and risk management before being granted access to a funded prop firm account. | General Concepts |
| Funded Account | A trading account capitalized by a prop firm — usually after evaluation — where the trader executes real strategies and receives payouts under firm-defined rules. | General Concepts |
| Prop Firm Challenge | A structured evaluation program — usually with profit targets, drawdown limits, and trading rules — that traders must complete to qualify for a funded account. | General Concepts |
| One-Step Challenge | An evaluation structure with a single qualifying phase — pass the profit target without breaching rules and you go directly to a funded account. | General Concepts |
| Two-Step Challenge | A legacy evaluation structure with two distinct qualifying phases — pass Phase 1 (typically the harder target), then pass Phase 2 (lower target with longer time horizon) before reaching the funded stage. | General Concepts |
| Instant Funding | A prop firm program structure that grants the trader a funded account immediately upon purchase, skipping the traditional simulated evaluation phase entirely. | General Concepts |
| Simulated Funded Account | A funded prop firm account that runs on simulated capital rather than live exchange-cleared positions — the dominant model in the futures prop firm industry. | General Concepts |
Why traders fail Evaluation
Buying multiple eval sizes hoping one passes. Some traders buy 5 different account sizes simultaneously thinking the smaller targets are easier. The truth: per-dollar profit targets scale with account size, and bigger accounts mean bigger position sizes which mean bigger drawdown swings. The skill required is the same; just the dollars differ.
Treating eval like “play money.” Eval is simulated capital but the rules are real. Traders who YOLO during eval get blown out and have to buy a new one. The eval is your interview — trade it like funded.
Underestimating consistency on funded. Pass-the-eval traders sometimes hit the funded stage and run their best-day strategy hard, then get blocked at payout time by consistency rules they didn’t apply during eval. Practice the funded ruleset DURING the eval to develop the right habits.
Buying eval at full price. Apex eval list is $167; with code DGT it’s $33 (May 2026). TPT eval list is $120; with DGT it’s currently around $72. Tradeify, Lucid, FundedNext all run regular discount campaigns. Buying at list is a 50-80% premium for no reason.
Frequently asked questions about Evaluation
What is a prop firm evaluation?
An evaluation is a simulated trading account that you must trade profitably under defined rules to qualify for a funded account. Pass criteria typically include hitting a profit target (6-10% of account size), avoiding drawdown breaches, avoiding daily loss limit breaches, and trading at least the minimum number of days. Most evaluations are entirely simulated — your only real cost is the eval purchase fee.
How much does a prop firm evaluation cost?
List prices range from $33 to $300+ depending on account size. With discount codes (DGT works at Apex, TPT, Tradeify, Lucid, FundedNext), prices typically drop 30-90%. May 2026 examples with DGT: Apex $50K = $33, TPT $50K Test = ~$72, Tradeify $50K Growth = ~$84, Lucid $50K = ~$83.
How long does an evaluation take?
Most evaluations have a minimum 1-7 trading days requirement but no maximum time. Skilled traders can pass in 5-10 trading days. Average pass time across the industry is around 30-60 days for those who eventually pass. Many traders take multiple evaluation attempts before passing one.
What percentage of traders pass evaluation?
Industry-wide pass rates are 5-15% depending on the firm. Apex publishes specific stats; FundedNext historically reports around 7%. Lucid and Tradeify advertise higher pass rates due to more forgiving rules — especially Tradeify's EOD drawdown. Most failures come from drawdown breaches or rule violations, not from failing to hit profit targets.
What happens after I pass the evaluation?
You pay an activation fee (typically $85-$200) and get a funded account with the same account size as your evaluation. The funded account starts with the same simulated balance and applies the same rules plus typically a consistency rule. Once you trade the funded account profitably, you can request payouts on the schedule the firm allows (daily, weekly, biweekly, or monthly depending on firm).
Can I keep my profits from the evaluation?
No. Eval profits are simulated and not paid out — they exist only as proof of skill on the eval account. Once you pass, the funded account starts at the listed account size (e.g. $50K) with zero P&L carried over. All real-money payouts come from funded-account performance, not eval-account performance.