How many attempts does it take to pass a prop firm evaluation?

Expected attempts is roughly one divided by the pass probability. At FTMO's measured 90.5% pass rate that is about 1.1 attempts on average; at Topstep's 24.9% it is about 4.0. Because each attempt is a separate evaluation fee, a cheaper challenge you fail four times is not the cheaper path to funded.

Is the trailing drawdown always the rule that fails prop evaluations?

No. Where it binds, the trailing drawdown alone costs 14 to 16 percentage points of pass probability — Apex's intraday trailing costs 16.1 points, MyFundedFutures' end-of-day variant 14.1. But at Topstep the same swap costs 0.0 points, because its 2% daily loss limit and 50% consistency rule end the evaluation before the trailing floor is ever reached. Which rule fails you depends on the full rule set interacting with your statistics.

What matters more for passing — the firm or my position size?

Position size. Holding the same trader constant and changing only risk per trade, the pass rate at Topstep goes from 69.6% at 0.5% risk to 6.0% at 2.0% risk. The rule set decides how steep that decline is; the trader decides where on it they stand. Under tight daily and trailing rules, position sizing is the single largest controllable lever.

PropSurvival · Answered with data · 8 firms · 20,000 paths each

Which prop firm
is easiest to pass?

Q: Which prop firm is easiest to pass?

It depends on your position size and style, but for one realistic reference trader (52% win rate, 1.6R average win, 1% risk per trade), the static-drawdown firms are far easier to pass: FTMO, FundedNext, Funding Pips and The5ers each pass about 90–92% of evaluations. The trailing-drawdown firms are much harder — Apex 75.4%, MyFundedFutures 67.2%, and Topstep 24.9% — because a trailing floor ratchets up under every new equity high. Each figure is the measured result of 20,000 seeded Monte Carlo evaluations.

We built the simulator so you would not have to guess. So we ran one realistic trader against eight real rule sets, 20,000 times each, and let the numbers answer the questions traders actually ask. Every figure below is measured, seeded and reproducible — and every one is free for you to reproduce with your own statistics.

Scroll for the answers

Q1 · The ranking

Which firm is easiest to pass?

The drawdown type decides it, not the brand. Static-floor firms pass ~90–92%. Trailing-floor firms fall to 75%, 67%, and 25%.

A static drawdown sets one fixed floor. A trailing drawdown ratchets that floor up under every new equity high — so a normal pullback that a static account absorbs can end a trailing one. That single mechanism, more than the firm's name, sorts the whole field.

The teachable fact: same trader, −67 points of pass rate from FTMO to Topstep

evaluation pass probability · reference trader · 20,000 paths per firm, seed 12345

expected attempts = 1 ÷ pass probability (independent attempts, same profile)

Q2 · The real cost

How many tries does getting funded take?

Turn the pass rate around. Expected attempts ≈ 1 ÷ pass probability. FTMO: about 1.1. Topstep: about 4.0.

Every failed attempt is another evaluation fee. A challenge that looks cheaper is not cheaper if the rules make you buy it four times. The number that decides your total cost is not the sticker price — it is how many attempts the rule set expects of your specific trading.

The teachable fact: a 25% pass rate ≈ 4 evaluations, on average, per funded account

Q3 · The surprise

Is the trailing drawdown always the killer?

No — and this is the fact most people get wrong. Where it binds, trailing costs 14–16 points. At Topstep it costs 0.0.

Swap only the drawdown mechanism to static and hold everything else fixed. At Apex that swap is worth 16.1 points of pass rate; at MyFundedFutures, 14.1. At Topstep it changes nothing — the 2% daily loss limit and the 50% consistency rule end the evaluation first. The scariest rule on the marketing page is not always the one that gets you.

See the mechanics, scene by scene →Read the full study →

points of pass probability lost to the trailing rule alone · static-floor counterfactual

pass probability by risk per trade · actual firm rules · 20,000 paths per cell

Q4 · The lever you control

The firm, or my position size?

Your size — by a wide margin. Same trader, same Topstep rules: 69.6% pass at 0.5% risk, 6.0% at 2.0%.

You cannot change a firm's rule set, but you set your risk per trade every day. Halving risk from 1% to 0.5% adds 44.7 points at Topstep and 9.2 at FTMO. The rule set decides how steep the cliff is; you decide where on it you stand. That is why the same trader is a pass at one size and a near-lockout at another.

View the numbers as a table

Pass probability (%) by risk per trade — actual firm rules
Rule set	0.5%	1.0%	1.5%	2.0%
FTMO — static floor	99.7	90.5	76.6	56.1
Apex — intraday trailing	95.4	75.4	59.6	49.0
Topstep — EOD trail + daily 2%	69.6	24.9	21.4	6.0

Q5 · So which should you pick?

The honest answer is “it depends on you.”

Which is exactly why the tool is free. The ranking flips with your win rate, your average R and your size.

Run your numbers against all 8 rule sets — free

Enter your statistics, or import a trade CSV, and get your pass probability, your most likely failure cause and your expected number of attempts under each firm's real rules. Nothing you enter leaves your device.

Five facts worth keeping

1 · The drawdown type decides the ranking.: Static-floor firms pass ~90–92%; trailing-floor firms 25–75%, same trader.
2 · Pass rate is a cost.: A 25% pass rate means about 4 evaluations, on average, per funded account.
3 · The scariest rule isn't always the killer.: Trailing costs 16.1 pts at Apex and 0.0 at Topstep, where the daily limit binds first.
4 · Size is the lever you control.: Same Topstep rules: 69.6% at 0.5% risk, 6.0% at 2.0%.
5 · The only firm-agnostic truth is your own numbers.: Run them before you pay for an evaluation.

The scrollable mechanics tour The full study Dataset (JSON, CC BY 4.0)

PropSurvival is independent analytical software — not affiliated with any firm named, and not investment advice. Every probability is a measured model output for one stated profile (rules verified 2026-07); your own numbers are the only ones that describe you.