EOD vs Intraday Trailing Drawdown, Explained with a Calculator
An intraday trailing drawdown follows your highest equity, including open profit, in real time. An end-of-day (EOD) trailing drawdown follows your highest closing balance and only moves after the session ends. Under both, an open loss that touches the floor during the day can close the account. The only difference is what pushes the floor up. Enter your own days below to see both floors side by side.
| Day | Highest equity incl. open profit | Lowest equity incl. open loss | Closing balance | Remove |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ||||
| 2 | ||||
| 3 |
Assumes each day's high came before its low, the worst case for an intraday trail. Enter balances, not P&L. Calculated in your browser; nothing is sent or saved. Your firm's rules decide where its floor sits.
What a trailing drawdown is
A trailing drawdown is the lowest your account may fall, and it follows you up as you make money. On a $50,000 account with a $2,000 trailing drawdown, the floor starts at $48,000. Make $1,000 and the floor rises to $49,000. It never moves back down. At most firms it stops rising once it reaches the starting balance, or the starting balance plus $100, and stays there.
Intraday trailing: open profit moves the floor
With an intraday trail, the floor is set by the highest equity your account reaches at any moment, open trades included. If a trade runs $1,600 into profit and you do not close it there, the floor has already moved up by $1,600. If the trade then comes back, you have less room than your closing balance suggests.
EOD trailing: only the close moves the floor
With an EOD trail, the floor is recalculated once a day from your closing balance. Open profit during the day does not move it. That gives a winning trade room to pull back. It does not switch the floor off during the session: Topstep, Tradeify, FundedNext, Alpha Futures and Take Profit Trader all say an open loss that reaches the floor closes the account immediately.
The same three days under both rules
This is the example the calculator starts with: a $50,000 account, a $2,000 trailing drawdown, trailing stops at $50,100.
- Day 1. Equity peaks at $51,600 during a trade, later dips to $49,800, and the day closes at $50,400. Intraday: the floor jumps to $49,600 the moment equity touches $51,600, so the dip leaves only $200 of room. EOD: the floor stays at $48,000 all day, then moves to $48,400 after the close.
- Day 2. Equity reaches $51,000, dips to $49,500, and closes at $50,900. Intraday: the floor is still $49,600, the dip goes through it, and the account is closed, even though the day finished green. EOD: the floor is $48,400, the dip leaves $1,100 of room, and the floor moves to $48,900 after the close.
- Day 3. Equity reaches $52,500, dips to $50,600, and closes at $52,300. EOD: the close would put the floor at $50,300, but it stops at $50,100 and stays there from now on.
Same trades, same closing balances. One account is gone on day 2; the other has a fixed floor by day 3.
When the trail stops
Where the floor stops rising matters as much as the type of trail. Once it stops, a winning streak builds a real buffer instead of dragging the floor up behind it. Topstep, Take Profit Trader, Alpha Futures and TradeDay stop at the starting balance. Apex Performance Accounts, Tradeify funded accounts, Lucid, Bulenox Master and My Funded Futures stop at the starting balance plus $100. Some evaluations never stop: Tradeify Select evaluations, Bulenox Qualification accounts and Apex evaluations on Tradovate keep trailing.
A daily loss limit is a different rule
A daily loss limit caps how much you can lose in one session and resets the next day. Firms often pair it with EOD accounts. At Topstep, Alpha Futures and Bulenox (Option 2), and on Apex EOD evaluations, hitting it ends your day, not your account. Check whether your account has one: it can stop you well before the trailing floor does.
Trailing drawdown by prop firm
Each row was read on the firm’s own website or help center and links to that page.
| Firm | How the floor trails | When it stops | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apex Trader Funding | You choose EOD or intraday when you buy. Intraday trails your peak including open profit. EOD recalculates at 4:59:59 PM ET and is enforced in real time the next session. | Performance Account: at starting balance + $100. Evaluations on Rithmic lock at the profit-target balance; Tradovate evaluations keep trailing. | Apex Trader Funding rules read 20 October 2026 |
| Topstep | Trails the highest end-of-day balance. Monitored in real time: open losses count toward a breach. Daily loss limit optional; hitting it pauses the day. | At the starting balance. | Topstep rules read 20 October 2026 |
| My Funded Futures | Rapid funded: intraday, the floor follows open profit. Rapid EOD, Pro and Builder: end of day. | At starting balance + $100 (Pro: after the first approved payout). | My Funded Futures rules read 20 October 2026 |
| Tradeify | End of day, enforced in real time against your balance including open P&L. | Funded: at starting balance + $100. Select evaluations never stop trailing. | Tradeify rules read 20 October 2026 |
| Lucid Trading | End of day on evaluation and funded accounts. | At starting balance + $100, once the balance passes the initial trail balance. | Lucid Trading rules read 20 October 2026 |
| Take Profit Trader | Test: end of day, but an open loss to the floor still liquidates. PRO: intraday, including open profit. | At the starting balance. | Take Profit Trader rules read 20 October 2026 |
| Bulenox | You choose: Option 1 trails in real time including open profit; Option 2 is end of day with a daily loss limit. | Master and Fast Track: at starting balance + $100. Qualification accounts keep trailing. | Bulenox rules read 20 October 2026 |
| TradeDay | Evaluations: EOD or intraday, as bought (Fast Pass is EOD). Quick Pay funded is always intraday; Fast Pass funded is EOD. | At the starting balance. | TradeDay rules read 20 October 2026 |
| FundedNext Futures | End of day (updated 5 PM CT). A floating loss that reaches the floor during a trade breaches at once. | Legacy: at the starting balance. Other models: at starting balance + $100. | FundedNext Futures rules read 20 October 2026 |
| Alpha Futures | End of day on every account ("none of our accounts" use intraday). Floating losses count toward a breach. | At the starting balance. | Alpha Futures rules read 20 October 2026 |
Several accounts, several floors
If you run the same trades on several accounts, each one has its own floor. Accounts bought on different days, or at firms with different trails, sit at different distances from it, so the same pullback can close one account and leave another untouched. Know which account is closest before you add size.
Trailing drawdown FAQ
Does unrealized profit count toward a trailing drawdown?
Under an intraday trailing drawdown, yes: open profit raises the floor the moment you reach it, even if you never close the trade there. Under an end-of-day (EOD) drawdown, only your closing balance moves the floor. Open losses count against the floor under both at most firms.
Can you fail an EOD drawdown account during the day?
Yes. EOD only describes when the floor moves up. Topstep, Tradeify, FundedNext, Alpha Futures and Take Profit Trader all state that an open loss reaching the floor closes the account during the session.
Is EOD or intraday trailing drawdown better?
EOD gives more room to trades that run into profit and then pull back, because the floor does not follow open profit. Intraday punishes giving back open profit. Some firms pair EOD accounts with a daily loss limit (Apex EOD evaluations, Bulenox Option 2), so compare both rules together.
When does a trailing drawdown stop moving?
Most futures prop firms stop trailing at the starting balance or at the starting balance plus $100. Topstep, Take Profit Trader, Alpha Futures and TradeDay stop at the starting balance; Apex Performance Accounts, Tradeify funded, Lucid, Bulenox Master and My Funded Futures stop at starting balance + $100 (checked on each firm's site, October 2026).
What is the difference between a trailing drawdown and a daily loss limit?
The trailing drawdown is the account-level floor that follows your highs and closes the account when touched. A daily loss limit caps one day's loss and resets each session. At Topstep, Alpha Futures and Bulenox (Option 2), hitting the daily limit ends the day rather than the account.
Another rule that decides when you get paid: the prop firm consistency rule calculator.