Apex Trader Funding Review 2026: Cheap Evals, But Read the Fine Print

Apex at a Glance

The Attraction: 90% Off Promotions

Apex runs near-permanent discount campaigns — 80-90% off is standard. A 50K Rithmic evaluation drops from $197 to around $19.70/month. At that price, it's one of the cheapest entries in futures prop trading.

But the evaluation fee is only the beginning of what you'll pay.

The True Cost Breakdown

The Intraday Trailing Drawdown Problem

This is the #1 reason traders fail Apex evaluations. During the eval phase, your drawdown trails intraday — meaning it moves up in real time as your account hits new intraday highs.

Here's how it kills accounts:

1. You start the day at $50,000. Your MLL is at $47,500 ($2,500 below).
2. You take a trade that runs +$1,500. Your new intraday high is $51,500. Your MLL silently moves to $49,000.
3. The trade reverses. You close at -$500 on the day ($49,500).
4. You're still $500 above your starting balance — but your MLL is now only $500 below you.
5. One more losing trade of $500+ and you breach, despite being at or above where you started.

On funded PA accounts, Apex switched to EOD trailing — but by then, you've already survived the gauntlet. And the 30% rules create a new set of traps.

The 30% Rules: What Most Reviews Don't Explain

30% Consistency Rule

On funded accounts, no single trading day's profit can exceed 30% of your total accumulated profit when requesting a payout. If you make $3,000 total profit and one day accounted for $1,200 (40%), your payout is blocked until you trade enough to dilute that day below 30%.

This punishes traders who have one exceptional day. It forces you to spread profits evenly — which isn't how real trading works. Markets give opportunities unevenly, and this rule forces you to either leave money on the table or keep trading to dilute.

30% MAE Rule (Maximum Adverse Excursion)

Your open unrealised negative P&L cannot exceed 30% of your start-of-day profit balance at any time. On a $50K account with $2,500 in profit, your maximum open loss on any trade is $750.

For position traders or anyone using wider stops, this effectively caps your contract size far below the advertised limits. Trading 10 ES contracts with a 10-point stop = $5,000 risk. You'd need $16,667 in accumulated profit just to take that trade. The rule makes the advertised contract limits practically unreachable for most traders.

What Apex Does Well

• Up to 20 funded accounts simultaneously: For copy-traders running the same strategy across multiple accounts, this is Apex's killer feature. No other major firm offers this.
• 100% of first $25K per account: Genuinely generous. On 20 accounts, that's $500K of 100% profit before the 90/10 split kicks in.
• Account sizes up to $300K: Largest available in futures prop trading.
• Platform variety: Rithmic, Tradovate, WealthCharts — good flexibility.
• Global availability: 150+ countries including all Emirates.
• No daily loss limit on evaluation: Only the trailing drawdown matters.

Where Apex Falls Short for UAE Traders

• Intraday trailing drawdown on eval: The single biggest account-killer. More traders fail Apex due to trailing reversals than any other factor.
• 30% consistency + 30% MAE rules: Complex, restrictive, and frequently block payouts.
• $85/month funded account fee: Dead money for Dubai traders who benefit from keeping costs near zero.
• $160 activation fee: Added cost that Lucid doesn't charge.
• Payout speed: 3-10 business days via Deel: Slow and adds friction. Deel complicates the UAE banking situation further. See our payment guide.
• Frequent rule changes: Apex has changed funded account rules multiple times in 2025-2026. What you sign up for may not be what you trade under.
• Safety net on first 3 payouts: You must maintain a balance above Starting Balance + Maximum Drawdown + $100 for the first 3 payouts. On a 50K, that's $52,600 minimum.
• Contract scaling: You can only trade half your max contracts until you reach the trailing threshold. This limits strategy execution early on.

Apex vs Lucid: Quick Comparison

For a deep dive, see our full Lucid vs Apex comparison.

Who Is Apex Actually Good For?

Despite the criticisms, Apex has a specific niche where it genuinely works well:

• Copy-traders running 10-20 accounts: The 20-account limit and 100% of first $25K per account create massive scaling potential. If you have a proven, automated system, the math works in your favour despite the monthly fees.
• Traders who want maximum capital: $300K accounts aren't available at most competitors.
• Traders who pass evaluations quickly: If you consistently pass in under 7-10 days, the monthly subscription model doesn't hurt you much, and the 90% off promos are genuinely cheap.

But for the average Dubai-based futures trader who wants a simple, affordable path to a funded account with fast payouts and fair rules — Apex isn't the best fit.