Apex Trader Funding vs Elite Trader Funding
Apex Trader Funding
Elite Trader Funding
Computed verdict
Apex Trader Funding costs less per unit of risk: $51.57 vs $98.5 per $1,000 of drawdown. On the overall score, Apex Trader Funding comes out ahead (78 vs 52).
The verdict is computed from verified data and recomputes when the data changes. It is not an opinion and no commercial arrangement alters it. Methodology
Rule by rule
Trailing drawdown of $1,000–$4,000 by size (EOD or intraday line) that locks at starting balance + $100 in the PA, with unrealized P&L counting toward a breach even on the EOD line.
Multiple drawdown engines by plan: 1-Step uses live intraday trailing where unrealized peaks raise the floor (the firm does not publish a lock level for it); EOD plans move the floor only at close and lock at starting balance + $100; static plans never move.
Soft daily limit of $500–$2,000 by size that pauses your session without failing the account; intraday evaluations have no daily loss limit at all.
Only the EOD plans ($1,100–$2,200) and Diamond Hands ($1,500) carry a daily limit, and it is hard: touching it, open losses included, fails the account unless you buy the TradeShield add-on.
No consistency rule in the evaluation; in the PA no single day may account for 50% or more of total profit since your last approved payout, checked when you request one.
Instead of classic consistency, funded payouts use the ATD system: you need 8–10 active days each earning at least MAX($200, 23% of your best day); the 1-Step keeps a classic rule whose percentage the firm doesn't publish.
50K: $3,000 profit target against a $2,500 drawdown, no minimum days.
50K: $3,000 target, $2,000 drawdown, 5-day minimum. On Diamond Hands, ETF's own pages disagree on the minimum: the plan page says 5 trading days, the homepage comparison strip says 10 — plan on 10 until ETF settles it.
On the Legacy account we rank: payouts from 8 trading days, of which 5 must close with $50 or more of profit, $500 minimum, and 8 trading days between requests. The split is 100% of the first $25,000 paid out per account and 90% of anything after that. The first five payouts are capped by size ($2,500 on the $100,000) and from the sixth the cap disappears. A 30% consistency rule also applies: no single day may account for more than 30% of profit, through the fifth payout. The 4.0 Sim-Funded account is a different product and works differently: a 100% split, 5 qualifying days, and a hard cap of 6 payouts after which the account closes.
On Elite sim accounts you keep 100% of only the first $12,500 then 90%, with payouts processed every Wednesday and requiring 15 Active Trading Days for the first two cycles then 10 thereafter. LIVE ELITE (uncapped 80/20, $250 min) triggers at whichever comes first: 5 payouts, 50 Active Trading Days, or the $25,000 sim cap.
50K: we publish no verified list price. Apex's checkout sits behind script and login, and our second-hand figures disagree by more than double. Apex's own homepage runs "Any Size Evals up to 90% Off | Use code: SAVENOW". A one-time PA activation fee exists and falls due within 7 calendar days of passing, and promo codes do not apply to it; we hold no verified amount for it. There are no reset fees: "If an Evaluation fails, the only way to continue is by purchasing a new one."
50K: we publish no verified price. ETF's own April-2026 blog says 1-Step "starting at $197" and End of Day "starting at $347"; a third-party guide puts the 1-Step 50K at $165, and the live plan pages contradict both. Resets and funded-stage fees are recorded as open disagreements, so we settle neither.