I have tried a few prop firms at this point and the rules are genuinely different in ways that matter if you are running automated strategies. Here is my take after actually trading through evaluations on each.
The thing that changes everything: consistency rules
Apex Trader Funding has no consistency rule. I cannot overstate how much better this is for algo trading. Your system can have a huge trending day and it does not hurt you at all.
Topstep has a 30% rule. Your single best day cannot be more than 30% of your total evaluation profit. So if your algo catches a 200 tick CL move that represents 35% of your week profit, you are potentially failing even though you were profitable. This is not theoretical — it happened to me.
MyFundedFutures has no consistency rule, trailing drawdown of $2,200 on $50k. Good option.
FTMO has no consistency rule, 5% daily loss limit, good for automated strategies.
The instrument selection matters too
Apex has GC, CL, MES, MNQ, ES, NQ, M2K, ZB, ZN and more. Topstep is more limited — mainly the equity index micros. If you are running a gold or crude oil strategy you basically have to go with Apex or FTMO.
My recommendation
Apex if you are automating. Better rules, way more instruments, and the trailing drawdown model actually makes sense from a risk management perspective.
I sell pre-built scripts specifically for Apex at propfirmpinescripts.com — 4 strategies across GC, MES, MNQ, and CL with all the rules coded in. Tested on actual evaluations.
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