Skip to content
40% off every plan with code LAUNCH40Gift account when you passEnds Sep 22
Rules guide

Trailing vs static drawdown in prop firm challenges

The total drawdown is the floor under the whole account. Whether it stays put or follows your best balance decides how much room a winning run buys you.

Updated 13 Sept 2026 · Other firms’ rules last checked 13 Sept 2026

Static drawdown

A static floor is set once, from your starting balance, and never moves. Profit you make is extra room above it.

Formula

static floor = starting balance − total limit

$10,000 × (1 − 10%) = $9,000, on day one and day ninety

Trailing drawdown

A trailing floor follows the highest balance or equity the account has reached and keeps the same distance below it. Some trailing rules stop once the floor reaches the starting balance; others trail for the life of the account.

Formula

trailing floor = highest balance or equity reached − total limit

The same run under both

A $10,000 account with a 10% total limit ($1,000), trailing on the equity high, with no lock. The trader runs the account up, then gives some of it back.

StepEquityStatic floorTrailing floor
Start$10,000$9,000$9,000
Run to $11,000$11,000$9,000$10,000
Run to $12,500$12,500$9,000$11,500
Pull back to $11,300$11,300$9,000 · $2,300 of room$11,500 · breached

The account is still $1,300 in profit at the last step. Under the trailing floor it has breached; under the static floor it has $2,300 of room.

Which firms trail

On 1-step programs, five of the eight firms checked trail the total floor and three keep it static. On 2-step programs a static floor is the norm; FXIFY’s Two Phase Standard is the one trailing variant among them.

Firm (1-step program)Total limitHow the floor behaves
FTMO (1-Step)10%Trails the end-of-day balance; it can only rise
Blue Guardian (1 Step Standard)6%Trails the highest closed balance, locks at the starting balance
Alpha Capital (One 10%)6%Trails the highest balance, locks at the starting balance
FXIFY (One Phase)6%Trails the closed balance, locks at the starting balance
Maven (1-Step)5%Trails the equity high-water mark
FundingPips (1 Step Flex)12%Static
FundedNext (Stellar 1-Step)6%Static
The5ers (Pro Growth)6%Static
FundedTick (1-Step)5%Static

Taken from each firm’s own rule or help page on the date at the top of this guide. Firms change their rules; check the linked page before you buy.

End-of-day trailing

A softer version trails only the balance at each day’s close, so an intraday peak that is given back before the close does not raise the floor. It still ratchets upward on every profitable close.

What it changes for your trading

  • Under a trailing floor, profit you have not banked narrows your room. Letting a winner run and give back part of it can end the account while it is in profit.
  • Under a static floor, profit is room. A good week makes the next one safer, never tighter.
  • Under both, the floor is measured on equity, so open losses count before you close them.

At FundedTick

The total floor is static: 10% below the starting balance on the two-step ($9,000 on $10,000), 5% on the one-step ($9,500). It is set when the account provisions and never trails.

Questions

What traders ask about trailing vs static drawdown.

No. The total floor is static, set from your starting balance when the account provisions. Running the account to $13,000 leaves the two-step floor at $9,000.

It is stricter on the same percentage, because every new high raises the floor. A trailing limit gives you room to recover from an early loss but none to give back profit; a static limit gives you both.

Yes. It is measured on equity, so an open loss counts toward the floor before the trade is closed.

Evaluations from $9

Start your funded journey today