By EdgeSizer · Updated May 2025
The overwhelming majority of traders who start an Apex Trader Funding evaluation never get funded. They fail in week one, buy another account, fail again, and wonder why their strategy isn't working. Usually, the strategy is fine. The problem is they don't understand the rules well enough to trade within them consistently.
This guide covers everything you need to know to pass an Apex evaluation on your first attempt — the exact account tiers, how the trailing drawdown works, what counts as a qualified day, and the day-by-day approach that gives you the best shot at getting funded without torching the account.
Apex offers several evaluation tiers. The numbers below reflect their standard evaluation structure — always verify current terms on the Apex website as they periodically run promotions that change pricing.
| Account Size | Profit Target | Trailing Drawdown | Max Contracts (NQ) |
|---|---|---|---|
| $25,000 | $1,500 | $1,500 | 4 |
| $50,000 | $3,000 | $2,500 | 10 |
| $75,000 | $4,250 | $2,750 | 12 |
| $100,000 | $6,000 | $3,000 | 14 |
| $150,000 | $9,000 | $5,000 | 17 |
| $300,000 | $20,000 | $7,500 | 35 |
Notice that the trailing drawdown on the $50K account is $2,500, but the profit target is $3,000. That means your profit target exceeds your drawdown on the $50K. This is actually a favorable ratio compared to some competitors — you have room to work.
On a $50K Apex evaluation, you start with a $2,500 trailing drawdown. Your drawdown floor begins at $47,500. As your account equity rises, the floor rises with it — in real time, not at end of day. The floor never falls.
The critical insight: once you hit a new equity high, that buffer is locked in relative to that high. Giving back profit doesn't recover your drawdown space — it consumes it. Treat every new equity high as a new starting point that requires fresh discipline.
Unlike Topstep, Apex does not have a daily loss limit on most account sizes. This sounds like a freedom — and it is. You can have a rough morning, take a break, and come back in the afternoon without worrying about hitting a separate daily cap.
But it also removes a guardrail. At Topstep, a daily limit forces you to stop when the day is going badly. Apex gives you the rope to hang yourself. Without a daily cap, it's possible to lose $1,800 in a single session and wipe out most of your drawdown buffer. Impose your own daily stop rule. Most successful Apex traders stop trading after losing 30-40% of their daily risk budget.
Apex requires a minimum number of trading days to complete the evaluation. As of 2025, that's typically 7 trading days for most account sizes. A trading day counts only if you have at least one closed trade on that day. Days where you were flat or only had open positions at the close don't count toward your day total.
This matters for pacing. Don't try to rush the evaluation in 7 sessions and hit the profit target at full throttle. Spread your risk. A steady $200-$400/day on a $50K account is excellent performance that gets you to $3,000 in 7-15 sessions without putting your buffer at risk.
Reason 1: Oversizing in the first week. They see the profit target and think about how fast they can reach it. They run 8-10 contracts on a $50K account from day one. One bad trade wipes $1,000+ in seconds. The trailing drawdown floor follows their early profits upward, and by day three they have no buffer left.
Reason 2: Not understanding intraday trailing. An open trade that goes into profit raises the trailing floor immediately. If the trade reverses and you're stopped out, you gave the floor a gift. Unrealized gains count. This surprises traders who assume trailing only updates at close.
Reason 3: Trading through news events at full size. CPI, FOMC, and NFP can move MNQ 200+ points in seconds. Full-size positions into these events are account killers. Go flat or cut size in half before Tier 1 releases.
Reason 4: Revenge trading after a loss. One bad session leads to increasing size to "get it back." The market doesn't care. The trailing drawdown doesn't care. Discipline after a loss is more important than discipline during a win streak.
Reason 5: Ignoring the max contract limits. Apex specifies maximum contracts per account size. Trading above these limits on any session can void the account. Know your account's limit and stay under it.
| Account | Target Per Day | Max Risk Per Trade | Recommended Contracts (MNQ) |
|---|---|---|---|
| $25K | $100–$200 | $150 | 3–5 |
| $50K | $200–$400 | $250 | 5–8 |
| $100K | $400–$700 | $500 | 8–12 |
| $150K | $600–$1,000 | $750 | 10–15 |
These are conservative ranges. You can absolutely pass Apex faster with more aggressive sizing — but you dramatically increase the odds of blowing the account. The traders who consistently get funded are the ones who play the long game and treat the evaluation like a funded account from day one.
Day 1: Trade minimum size. 2-3 contracts on MNQ or 1 MES/ES. The goal is not to make money — the goal is to log your first qualified day without touching the trailing floor. Make $50. Go home. That's a win.
Day 2-3: If Day 1 was green, step up to your target size (50-60% of your max). Look for 1-2 clean setups. Take them, honor your stops, and close out when you've hit your daily target. Don't grind.
Day 4-5: By now you should have a positive cushion and the trailing floor has risen. Check your buffer every morning before you trade. If the buffer feels tight relative to your normal stop sizes, stay small. If you have comfortable room, maintain your pace.
Day 6-7+: Continue the pace. When you're within $500-$800 of the profit target, consider cutting size again. The last thing you want to do is overshoot and reverse into the floor at the finish line. Slow and steady to the target.
Once you hit the profit target and complete the required trading days, Apex moves you to a funded account (sometimes called a PA or Performance Account). The payout structure as of 2025 gives you 100% of the first $25,000 in profits, then 90% thereafter. This is exceptional — most prop firms take a larger cut from the start.
Your first payout request is typically available after 7-10 trading days on the funded account and a minimum profit amount (varies by account). The review process usually takes a few business days. Apex has a solid track record of paying out, which is a meaningful factor in the prop firm space where payout issues at other firms have been common.
The funded Performance Account has the same trailing drawdown structure as the evaluation. Don't make the mistake of suddenly trading bigger because you're "funded now." The trailing drawdown doesn't know you passed — it works identically. Keep the same discipline, the same risk per trade, and the same daily stop rule.
The difference is that now profits above the drawdown floor eventually lock in and your funded status compounds over time. Steady, consistent traders who pass Apex often build to multiple funded accounts over time, effectively creating a portfolio of prop capital.
Position sizing tools like EdgeSizer become even more important at this stage. Calculating your exact contract count based on your stop and risk budget keeps you inside the trailing drawdown rules every session, automatically.