Seven things to check before paying for a challenge
Ten minutes in the rulebook is worth more than any review, including ours. These are the seven answers worth having in writing before the payment page.
Updated 20 September 2026
The seven answers
One: is the daily loss measured on balance or on equity, and does it include open positions. Two: is the maximum drawdown static or trailing, and if trailing, is it recalculated intraday or at the close.
Three: how many minimum trading days before a payout, and do weekends count. Four: what is the payout cycle, and is the first one different from the rest. Five: is there a consistency rule, and is it measured against profit or against the payout.
Six: what happens to the account after a payout, meaning whether the balance resets and whether the drawdown line moves with it. Seven: which instruments and styles are restricted, especially around high-impact news.
Where the answers live
Not on the pricing page. They live in the rules or FAQ document, and where a firm publishes a separate funded-account agreement, that document overrides the marketing copy.
If an answer cannot be found in writing, treat that as the answer. Support chat replies are not rules, and they are not what a dispute is decided on.
Use the calendar before committing to a week
Most firms restrict opening or closing trades around high-impact releases, and the restriction is usually measured in minutes on either side. A week containing several of those events is a different week to trade.
The terminal page lists this week's releases in New York time, the clock those releases are actually quoted in, so you can see what is coming before you start counting trading days.