Evaluation vs funded account: how the two stages differ
By Bec, futures trader and founder of Wildflower · Updated
An evaluation is a test account: you trade it to reach a profit target without breaking the firm’s loss rules, and its profit isn’t paid out. A funded account is what you get after passing: you can ask for payouts from its profit under the firm’s payout rules. Each firm sets its own rules for both stages, and they can be different from one stage to the next.
What an evaluation and a funded account are
A A proprietary trading firm: a company that lets traders trade its accounts under its own rules. Each firm sets how you get an account, such as by passing an evaluation.More in the glossary account can come in two stages. First comes the A paid test account at a prop firm. You trade it to reach a profit target without breaking the firm’s rules, and its profit isn’t paid out.More in the glossary, sometimes called a challenge. You pay for it, and you trade it under the firm’s rules. The aim is to reach a In a prop firm evaluation, the amount of profit the account has to reach to pass. Each firm sets its own.More in the glossary without breaking any of the loss rules.
If you pass, you move to a The account a prop firm gives you after you pass its evaluation. You can ask for payouts from its profit, under the firm’s rules.More in the glossary. There, you can ask for Money taken out of a funded account’s profit, following the firm’s payout rules.More in the glossary from the account’s profit, following the firm’s payout rules.
All the numbers on this page are made up to show the idea. Say an evaluation starts at $50,000, with a $4,000 profit target and a loss line $2,000 below the start, at $48,000. Each firm sets its own amounts and rules, and they change, so check your firm’s own rules page.
In the pictures, each candle is the account’s balance over one day: where it opened, the highest and lowest it reached, and where it closed.
How an evaluation works, step by step
1. Start with a target and a line
The account starts at $50,000. The target is $54,000 and the loss line is $48,000.
2. Trade inside the rules
Losing days are allowed. The balance just has to stay above the line.
3. Reach the target
Day 6 closes at $54,100, above the $54,000 target.
4. Meet any other rules
A firm’s rules can also ask for a minimum number of trading days, or other things. Then the firm confirms the pass.
The firm, not you, decides when an evaluation has passed. Its rules can add conditions on top of the target, such as a A prop firm rule that limits how much of the total profit can come from one day. Each firm sets the share and how it’s measured.More in the glossary that limits how much of the profit can come from one day. Read about consistency rules.
Pass, fail or neither yet
Target first. The balance reaches the target without touching the loss line. If any other rules are met too, it passes.
Line first. The balance falls to the loss line, which breaks that rule. What happens next is set by the firm’s own rules.
Neither yet. The account keeps going. Some evaluations have no time limit, and some end after a set time. The firm’s rules say which.
How an evaluation and a funded account differ
- The goal. An evaluation asks you to reach a target. A funded account is about payouts instead.
- The profit. Profit in an evaluation isn’t paid out. Profit in a funded account can be, under the payout rules.
- The balance. Each firm’s rules say what balance a funded account starts with.
- The rules. They can change between stages. A loss line that moved one way in the evaluation can move another way once funded. A daily limit or a contract limit can be different too.
- Breaking a rule. Each firm’s rules say what happens when a rule is broken, in each stage. It can be different in the two stages.
- The cost. Each firm’s price list says what each stage costs, and what’s included.
Whether a funded account’s trades reach a real market, and how its payouts are worked out, are set by each firm’s own rules.
How payouts work on a funded account
A payout is money taken out of the funded account’s profit. Firms set rules for when and how much, and they vary a lot. Kinds of rule you’ll see include:
- a number of trading days, or winning days, before a payout
- a balance that has to stay in the account after it
- a largest amount for one payout, and a smallest
- your share of the profit, with the rest kept by the firm
A payout comes out of the balance. In the picture, the loss line stays where it was, so the account is $4,000 above the line before a $1,000 payout, and $3,000 above it after. Whether a payout moves the line is set by each firm’s rules. Read about payout rules.
What to check in your firm’s rules
Because the two stages can have different rules, it helps to read both sets, not just the evaluation’s. These are the parts that can change between them:
- The loss line. Its size, and how it moves: a trailing drawdown, an end-of-day one, or a static one. Read about trailing drawdown.
- The daily loss limit. Whether there is one, and what happens if you reach it. Read about daily loss limits.
- Contract limits. How many contracts you can hold at once, and whether that grows with the balance. Read about scaling plans.
- Consistency and payout rules. What you need before each payout.
- Trading rules. Things like news trading and automated trading, which some firms treat differently. Read about automated trading rules.
Often confused with
A live account. An account at a broker with your own money in it. Every profit and loss is yours, and there are no firm rules, only your broker’s.
A practice (demo) account. A free account with pretend money, for trying things out. It has no target and no payouts.
Passing and being paid. Passing an evaluation doesn’t pay anything by itself. Payouts come later, from the funded account’s profit.
What a prop firm is. A company that lets traders trade its accounts under its own rules. Read about prop firms.
Tracking evaluations and funded accounts on Wildflower’s Bot
See every account on its own step, against its own rules
When the Bot runs your strategy, the Plan page shows each account on the step it has reached: practice, evaluation, funded, or your own capital. The account’s type decides the step, and Wildflower never decides an evaluation has passed: your firm does, and you change the type. You enter each account’s rules from your firm’s own page on its Your firm’s rules page, and the drawdown type is recorded for each stage separately. The Guardrails panel shows how far each account is from its line, after fees, and the payout card tracks the payouts you log. Every box starts empty, and you fill in each one.
Try it free on the practice chart. Only pay when you run it through your broker, on a demo or real account.
Common questions
What is the difference between an evaluation and a funded account?
An evaluation is a paid test with a profit target, and its profit isn’t paid out. A funded account comes after passing, and you can ask for payouts under the firm’s rules.
Do you get paid for profit in an evaluation?
No. Evaluation profit counts towards the target, not towards a payout.
Does the balance carry over to the funded account?
Each firm’s rules say what balance a funded account starts with.
Are the rules the same on a funded account?
Not always. The loss line, daily limit, contract limits and payout rules can all differ between the two stages.
Is a funded account real money?
Each firm’s own rules say whether a funded account’s trades reach a real market, and how its payouts work. Read them before you start.
What happens if you break a rule on a funded account?
Each firm’s rules say what happens. Read them before you start.
What happens if you fail an evaluation?
That’s set by each firm’s own rules. Check them before you start.
How long does an evaluation take?
It depends on how you trade and on the firm’s rules. Some have a minimum number of days, and some have a time limit.
Does a payout move the drawdown line?
Each firm’s rules say. Where the line stays put, the payout lowers the balance, so there’s less room above the line afterwards.