Glossary

The terms that decide your challenge

Defined the way the rules actually measure them — not the way marketing pages round them off. Each term now has its own page, with the full mechanic and a link to where it is measured. Matches the exact mechanic simulated in the engine.

Drawdown mechanics4 terms

Max drawdown allowance · share of account

The same clause, and not the same room.

Tightest · 0.67%Loosest · 10%

The axis runs from zero to 10% of the account; the ink bar is the span the corpus occupies. All 24 rule sets publish this figure, and the middle of them sits at 4%. 19 let the floor trail your equity; 5 fix it to the starting balance. The term does not tell you how much room you have — only the rule set does.

Floor ratchets up, never backTrailing drawdown: A maximum-loss floor that ratchets upward with every new equity high and never moves back down. Full definition & mechanics →
Floor fixed to start balanceStatic drawdown: A maximum-loss floor fixed to the starting balance — profits never move it. Full definition & mechanics →
Floor climbs, then locksFreeze at initial: Once a trailing floor climbs to the starting balance, some rule sets lock it there for good. Full definition & mechanics →
A new cap every dayDaily loss limit: A per-day loss cap that resets every session, measured from that day's opening equity. Full definition & mechanics →

Pass conditions4 terms

Consistency cap · best day as a share of total profit

Where does one good day stop being allowed?

Tightest cap · 30%Loosest cap · 50%

The axis runs from zero to the whole of your profit. 8 of 24 rule sets publish a cap; the other 16 record none. Every one of the eight is enforced at the pass rather than on the day: 2 block the pass until later green days dilute the best one, 6 raise the target instead. A dominant day costs you time, not the fee.

Path arrives at the targetProfit target: The percentage gain that completes an evaluation phase — necessary, but never sufficient alone. Full definition & mechanics →
One day breaks the share capConsistency rule: A pass condition capping how much of total profit any single day may account for. Full definition & mechanics →
Target early, pass waitsMinimum trading days: The fewest distinct trading days required before a pass can register, regardless of profit. Full definition & mechanics →
Funded = phase 1 × phase 2Phase 2 / Verification: The second evaluation step in 2-step programs — funding needs both phases passed, not just one. Full definition & mechanics →

Your statistics4 terms

Wins sized in loss unitsR-multiple: Profit or loss expressed as a multiple of what was risked, so strategies compare across account sizes. Full definition & mechanics →
Count of wins, not their sizeWin rate: Winning trades divided by all trades — meaningless without knowing average win and loss size too. Full definition & mechanics →
Mean of the whole spreadExpectancy: The average R earned per trade, net of costs — what separates a real edge from noise. Full definition & mechanics →
Pass odds fall with riskRisk per trade: The percentage of the account lost when a stop is hit — the strongest lever over pass odds. Full definition & mechanics →

Simulation outputs6 terms

One edge, many pathsMonte Carlo simulation: Running thousands of randomized replays of your own trading statistics against the rules to read pass odds. Full definition & mechanics →
Paths that met every rulePass probability: The share of simulated paths that satisfy every rule inside the time window. Full definition & mechanics →
Three tries to one passExpected attempts: 1 divided by funded probability — the number of paid evaluations statistically expected before a pass. Before you pay any evaluation fee, the arithmetic that decides whether it is worth paying: what a prop firm challenge really costs. Full definition & mechanics →
Floor breached before targetRisk of ruin / failure probability: The probability of breaching a loss rule before reaching the target. Full definition & mechanics →
PropSurvival composite · never a firm termSurvival Score: PropSurvival's own 0–100 composite of pass probability, drawdown avoidance and risk discipline. Full definition & mechanics →
A range, not a pointModeled survival band: The risk-per-trade range where modeled failure probability stays inside tolerance without starving the pass rate. Full definition & mechanics →

The business you're entering5 terms

Commercial term · no plottable mechanicEvaluation / Challenge / Combine: The paid tryout: hit the target under the rules and receive a funded account. Full definition & mechanics →
Product term · no plottable mechanicPersonal rule set: A trader's own stated risk rules, run through the same engine as a firm's — free, at full accuracy, naming no firm. Full definition & mechanics →
Commercial term · no plottable mechanicFunded account: The post-evaluation account where you trade the firm's capital for a share of the profit. Full definition & mechanics →
A price · varies by firmReset fee: A discounted price to restart a failed evaluation — cheaper than a new fee, still real money. Full definition & mechanics →
Contract term · no plottable mechanicProfit split / payout: Your contracted share of funded-account profits, gated by payout conditions on the funded side. Full definition & mechanics →

See these mechanics move your own numbers.

Pick a firm, type your stats, and watch pass probability, failure causes, and expected fee spend respond — free, in your browser, nothing uploaded.

Run your analysis — free

Where these terms are measured

Apex intraday trailing drawdown, floor by floor§mechanismRules read 2026-07-22 The Topstep consistency rule, clause by clause§ruleRules read 2026-07 Static vs trailing drawdown — first-party dataPublished 2026-07-11 Verification log — the entry behind the date aboveRules read 2026-07-22