Static or trailing: the drawdown rule that ends most accounts
Two accounts with the same 6% maximum loss can behave completely differently. The difference is what the limit is measured from.
Updated 13 September 2026
The limit moves, or it does not
A static maximum loss is measured from your starting balance and never moves. On a $100,000 account with a 6% static limit, the account fails at $94,000 whatever happens in between. Reach $110,000 and the floor is still $94,000, so the profit you built is genuine room.
A trailing limit is measured from the highest point the account has reached. On the same account, reaching $110,000 lifts the floor to $103,400. Give back a normal drawdown after a good run and the account fails while still showing a profit. This is the single most common way funded accounts are lost, and it is not a rule most traders read closely before paying.
Of the 845 plans recorded here, 404 use a static maximum loss and 441 use some form of trailing.
Trailing is not one rule
Intraday trailing follows your floating equity, so an unrealised spike during a trade raises the floor even if you never closed at that price. End-of-day trailing only updates once the session closes, which is meaningfully more forgiving for anyone who lets trades breathe.
Some firms trail on balance and some on equity. Balance-based trailing ignores open positions; equity-based trailing does not. In our dataset the largest group, 428 plans, trails from the higher of balance or equity at end of day.
Daily loss is a separate limit
Almost every plan carries a daily loss limit alongside the maximum, most often 3% here. Breaching either one ends the account, and the daily limit usually resets at the firm's server time, not yours.
Check what the daily limit is measured against. Some firms reset it against the balance at the start of the day, others against the highest equity reached during it. The second is stricter and catches traders who give back an intraday gain.
What to confirm before you pay
Is the maximum loss static or trailing? If trailing, does it follow balance or equity, and does it update intraday or at end of day? What time does the daily limit reset? Does the limit stop trailing once you reach the funded stage?
Every firm page here lists the drawdown type per plan. Compare it against the price before deciding, because a cheap plan with intraday trailing can be the more expensive choice.