Apex payout rules: what a Performance Account must satisfy before every request
Passing Apex is quick; getting paid is a checklist. Every Performance Account rule that stands between a funded account and a payout, with the sequence a systematic strategy has to plan for. All 40 firms side by side: prop firm payout rules compared.
Every rule between passing and getting paid
The Apex evaluation has no minimum days and no consistency rule; the Performance Account has both, plus a ladder that caps each of the first six payouts. This is where systematic accounts stall: they pass in days and then wait weeks for the first request to qualify.
| Rule | Performance Account |
|---|---|
| Safety Net | starting balance + trailing drawdown + $100 (about $52,600 on a 50K); reaching it on an end-of-day balance locks the floor and unlocks the full contract tier |
| Qualifying days | 5 per payout request; a qualifying day is a positive trading day |
| Consistency | the largest day may not exceed 50% of the profit being requested (loosened from 30% in 4.0) |
| Minimum request | $500 |
| Payout ladder | 6 payouts per PA with rising caps; 50K EOD: $1,500 on the first request, $3,000 on the sixth |
| Balance after payout | must remain above the Safety Net |
| Split | 100% of the first $25,000 per account, then 90/10 |
| Processing | 5 to 11 days |
| Bracket orders | mandatory at platform level on Rithmic and Tradovate: every order needs a stop and a target |
| Inactivity | a PA with no trades for 30 days is closed permanently |
| Automation on the PA | fully automated trading prohibited; semi-automated with a human in the loop allowed |
| Trading hours | flat before the 4:59 pm ET close |
The sequence for a systematic strategy
Three gates must be true at the same time: five qualifying days since the last request, the largest day at or below half of the amount requested, and an end-of-day balance above the Safety Net. The second gate is the binding one for lumpy strategies: to request $2,000 the largest day in the window cannot exceed $1,000. A strategy that makes its month in two sessions needs either smaller sessions or a larger request, and the ladder caps the request.
The Safety Net is also the point where the contract cap opens from half to full, so the first weeks on a PA run at half size by rule. Sizing the strategy for the half cap and treating the full cap as a later bonus avoids breaching the floor while it still trails.
Related: EOD vs Intraday, what changed in 4.0, and the cross-firm view on payout cadence.
Related
- Other firms: Blue Guardian, BrightFunded, Bulenox payout rules
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FAQ
How many days before an Apex payout?
5 qualifying days per request, each a positive trading day, plus the balance above the Safety Net and the 50% consistency check.
What is the Apex Safety Net?
Starting balance plus the trailing drawdown plus $100, about $52,600 on a 50K. Reaching it on an end-of-day balance locks the floor at start + $100 and unlocks the full contract tier.
What is the Apex profit split?
100% of the first $25,000 in payouts per account, then 90/10. Each PA runs a six-payout ladder with rising caps before payouts become uncapped.
Source: the firm’s help center and program pages, cross-checked with the Apex Trader Funding rules card, September 2026. Rules change quarterly; the help center is binding.