What is max drawdown?
Max drawdown is the lowest your account may fall. It usually sits as a floor below your balance, and touching it ends the account.
How it works
When you open a prop account, the firm doesn't risk the full balance on you. It sets a floor. On a $50,000 account with $2,000 of max drawdown, the floor starts at $48,000. If the account touches that floor, it ends, and on an evaluation you normally have to buy a new one or pay for a reset.
So the real money at stake isn't $50,000. It's $2,000. That number decides how large your trades can be and how many losing trades you can take. It matters more than the account size on the label.
Your account Loss floor
Still open: the account ended at $50,500, with the floor at $48,400.
A big intraday gain that isn't banked, then a red day. Example: $50,000 account, $2,000 max loss, floor stops rising at the starting balance. Firms set their own numbers.
The three common types
| Type | When the floor moves | Who it suits |
|---|---|---|
| Static | Never | Traders who want a fixed, simple limit |
| End of day | At the close, after a new highest closing balance | Traders who take partial gains and let trades breathe during the day |
| Intraday | In real time, at every new peak, including open profit | Traders who enter and exit fast, with little give-back |
Try it above: pick "Spike, then give back". The same trades survive under static and end of day, and close the account under intraday.
Which firms use which type
As of November 12, 2026, PropTested holds the drawdown type for 85 of the 86 firms it tracks. Many firms mix types across their plans, so the firm counts add up to more than 85.
| Drawdown type | Firms | Plans | See the plans |
|---|---|---|---|
| Static | 58 | 829 | Static plans |
| Trailing balance | 29 | 449 | Trailing balance plans |
| End of day | 41 | 338 | End of day plans |
| Intraday | 23 | 196 | Intraday plans |
Trailing balance is the fourth type. The floor follows your highest closed balance, so open profit does not move it, but closing a winner raises it at once without waiting for the end of the day.
Why many floors stop rising
On many futures plans the floor rises only until it reaches the starting balance, then stays there. After that, your drawdown behaves like a static one, and further profit gives you more room. Pick "Big run, floor locks" above to see it. Some firms lock a little above the start, some never lock during the evaluation, so check the plan.
Common mistakes
- Treating open profit as safe. Under intraday rules, closing a winner late can leave the floor much closer than you think.
- Sizing by account size. Size by the distance to the floor, not by the $50,000 on the label.
- Forgetting costs in the balance. Commissions and fees count, so the floor can be nearer than your chart suggests.
- Assuming the funded rules match. Evaluation and funded accounts can use different drawdown rules.
Every firm words this differently. Before you buy, read the exact rule on the firm's own page, which we link on each plan.