Author: Eduardo Montero
Last Updated on March 20, 2024
In recent times, especially due to increased competence, the trading rules of prop trading firms have become more and more flexible and easier to comply with, both in terms of passing the challenge or evaluation phase and in terms of managing a funded account. The trend seems clear to continue in this process of simplification, although one of the points that is still being resisted is precisely the use of EAs or Expert Advisors or, in other words, the use of automatic trading systems to execute trading operations.
It is still common to find proprietary trading firms that deny the use of these algorithmic systems. For the prop firms that allow EAs, some impose many restrictions on the type of EAs that the trader can use, others require manual approval of the EA you want to use and others are not very transparent about their policy on the use of Expert Advisors and you may get an unpleasant surprise if you use one and find that your account is cancelled for this reason.
In the following comparison table you can see what I consider the best prop firms that allow EAs and next to their main features you can quickly see what type of EAs they allow or restrict so you can find the one that best fits with your strategy:
Which are the best prop firms that allow the use of EAs?
| Prop Firm | Initial Balance | Expert Advisors Rules | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 50k bp for 100k bp for 150k bp for bp=buying power | Topstep allows the use of EAs (Expert Advisors) in any of its futures funded accounts. According to Topstep’s rules it is not allowed to use any EA or software whose purpose is to abuse, manipulate or provide an unfair advantage such as high frequency trading, simultaneous entry into opposite positions, accounts connected or maintained by third parties,… More info at https://www.topstep.com | 60% Coupon No code needed Show Code 60% to 70% Off on Topstep 70% discount on $50k account No code required. Discounts are already applied on the Topstep website.
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| 50k balance for $289 100k balance for $489 200k balance for $939 300k balance for $1,399 400k balance for $1,869 Prices for Royal Challenge (More programs available) | This is the TFT‘s policy on the use of EAs depending on the type of challenge: Standard Challenge: EAs allowed by purchasing Add-on. You can use expert advisors in any of the challenge types that allow it as long as they are not HFT (high-frequency trading) EAs. Be careful if you use third party or publicly available EAs: the parameters of your EA must be unique as, if they are not, the TFT systems might understand that you do copy operations and this is not allowed. More info at https://thefundedtraderprogram.com | 15% Coupon TFTMARCH3 Show Code 15% Off + 125% Bonus based on challenge fee awarded on 3rd payout + 5% Challenge profits from each phase's target profit awarded once 5% profit on account is reached on all programs up to 100K of The Funded Trader 1st Payout: 85% / 2nd Payout: 90% / 3rd Payout 95% / 4th Payout and on 80% Expires on: 04/01/2024 15% Coupon CEASER Show Code 15% Off Coupon Code on The Funded Trader
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| $12,500 balance for $119 $25,000 balance for $199 $50,000 balance for $349 $100,000 balance for $499 $200,000 balance for $949 Prices for Experienced Trader Program (One-Phase. More programs available). | Funded Trading Plus is a prop firm that accepts the use of EAs, Algos or Bots on any of its accounts either during the evaluation process (1 or 2 step) or after the challenge has been passed. They are also allowed in the Master program without evaluation. You can use any trading strategy except any practice considered as abuse of the live simulation environment such as arbitrage or grid trading. More info at https://www.fundedtradingplus.com | 15% Coupon MAR1 Show Code 15% Off + 85% Payouts + 120 % Refund Coupon Code on all evaluation accounts of Funded Trading Plus (not available for instant funding program). Expires on: 04/01/2024 10% Coupon 5BEST Show Code 1O% Off Coupon Code on all evaluation accounts of Funded Trading Plus (not available for instant funding program)
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| 25k balance for $228 50k balance for $338 100k balance for $588 250k balance for $988 Prices for E8 Accounts | With E8 Funding you are free to use Algo, EAs, Bots and Indicators. There is no limitation to your trading style as long as the strategy is unique (not an exact copy of other traders trading with this prop firm) and no HFT (high frequency EAs) and/or abuse of the market feed. More info at https://e8funding.com | 10% Coupon ELLIOTE8 Show Code 10% Off Coupon Code on E8 Funding
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| $3,500 balance for $200 $10,000 balance for $550 $15,000 balance for $750 $22,500 balance for $1200 Scaling plan up to $5,760,000 | FTUK allows the use of any EA for trading or risk management purposes as long as it is not based on these prohibited uses: Martingale. | 20% Coupon MAR20 Show Code 20% OFF SPECIAL OFFER on FTUK Expires on: 04/01/2024 5% Coupon 5BESTPROP Show Code 5% Off Coupon Code on FTUK
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| 10k balance for $99 20k balance for $179 50k balance for $399 100k balance for $999 Scaling plan up to $5,000,000 | The Trading Pit allows you to trade using any type of EA except the following activities which are not allowed: Tick scalping. |
Let’s see the most relevant features of these prop trading firms:
| Prop Firm | Balance / Fee | Profit Split | Profit Target | Max. Drawdown | Maximum Time | Instruments | Leverage | Visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
50k balance for $49/month $99/month $149/month | 100% of the first $10,000 you generate and 90% from that amount. | 6% | 4% to 3% Maximum Loss Limit (the percentage varies depending on the account you choose). | No time limits. | Futures Markets: CME Exchange (22 instruments) NYMEX Exchange (7) COMEX Exchange (6) CBOT Exchange (14) | Up to 1:100 | 60% Coupon No code needed Show Code 60% to 70% Off on Topstep 70% discount on $50k account No code required. Discounts are already applied on the Topstep website. | |
50k balance for $289 Prices for Royal Challenge | 80% (90% with scaling) | 8% for Phase 1. | 5% Max Daily Loss. | No time limits. | Forex, Indices, Commodities, Metals and Cryptocurrencies | Up to 1:200 | 15% Coupon TFTMARCH3 Show Code 15% Off + 125% Bonus based on challenge fee awarded on 3rd payout + 5% Challenge profits from each phase's target profit awarded once 5% profit on account is reached on all programs up to 100K of The Funded Trader 1st Payout: 85% / 2nd Payout: 90% / 3rd Payout 95% / 4th Payout and on 80% Expires on: 04/01/2024 15% Coupon CEASER Show Code 15% Off Coupon Code on The Funded Trader | |
$12,500 balance for $119 Prices for Experienced | 80% from the start. | 10% | 4% Maximum Daily Loss. | No time limits. | Forex, Indices, Commodities and Cryptocurrencies. | Up to 1:30 | 15% Coupon MAR1 Show Code 15% Off + 85% Payouts + 120 % Refund Coupon Code on all evaluation accounts of Funded Trading Plus (not available for instant funding program). Expires on: 04/01/2024 10% Coupon 5BEST Show Code 1O% Off Coupon Code on all evaluation accounts of Funded Trading Plus (not available for instant funding program) | |
25k balance for $228 Prices for E8 Accounts | 80% | 8% for Step 1. | 5% Daily Drawdown. | No time limits. | Forex, Commodities, Indices, Equities, and Cryptocurrencies. | FX Majors up to 1:100. | 10% Coupon ELLIOTE8 Show Code 10% Off Coupon Code on E8 Funding | |
$3,500 balance for $200 Scaling plan up to $5,760,000 | 50% (level 1) up to 80% (level 7) | 10% | 6% (of the balance of each level on scaling plan). | No time limits. | Forex, Indices, Commodities and Metals. | Up to 1:100 | 20% Coupon MAR20 Show Code 20% OFF SPECIAL OFFER on FTUK Expires on: 04/01/2024 5% Coupon 5BESTPROP Show Code 5% Off Coupon Code on FTUK | |
10k balance for $99 Scaling plan up to $5,000,000 | 50% to 80% (depending on the account chosen and the level of scaling plan). | 8% or 10% (depending on the account chosen). | 5% (Daily drawdown). | 90 days. | Forex, Futures, CFDs, Indices, Commodities, Stocks and Crypto. | Up to 1:30. |
I hope you find the above comparison table useful to find your prop trading firm for use with expert advisors. Here is some more information for you:
How to Choose the Best Prop Trading Firms for EAs?
Choosing the right proprietary trading firm requires a bit of research. You should evaluate the firm’s reputation, the experience its users are having, and its track record in the industry. Make sure you understand all the trading rules, especially as they affect the use of EAs, and ask them any questions you have.
Prop firms can provide you with the capital you need to trade and executing your trades automatically with an expert advisor, either to pass the challenge or when trading with their capital in a funded account, can be the most appropriate way to improve performance, manage risk properly and maximise profits by identifying the best profitable trading opportunities and not miss them by entering the market automatically.
Using EAs when trading with your prop firm can also allow you to better diversify your strategy by trading multiple financial instruments simultaneously. Note that there are prop trading firms that specialise in certain instruments such as the following:
Best Prop Firms for Forex
Prop Trading Firms for Futures
Crypto Prop Firms
Prop Firms for Stocks
Many of them allow EAs although I recommend that you check their respective websites for policies and restrictions on the use of these trading bots.
What is an EA?
An Expert Advisor (EA) is a software program that allows you to automate market analysis and automatically execute entry and exit trades based on a set of predefined parameters.
For example, a Forex EA can be programmed and installed on the trading platform you use with your prop firm (e.g. MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, cTrader,…) and it is responsible for studying the currency market in real time using even different time frames to carry out all kinds of strategies, whether they are short term such as scalping or longer term such as swing trading.
In addition, EAs allow to a large extent emotional and psychological factors to be eliminated when making trading decisions. Because the software will only scrupulously follow a set of pre-defined rules, market entries and exits will not be affected by feelings such as greed or fear, which in many cases have a huge impact when trading manually.
If you are not satisfied with the results of your EA, you can always reprogram its parameters, do backtesting, study its performance with other instruments,…
Pros of using Prop Firms that enable EAs
- Emotions are taken out of trading.
- You do not put your capital at risk by trading with the money of the prop firm that allows EAs.
- You don’t need to keep an eye on the market all the time.
- You don’t need to use high leverage to trade with an appropriately sized account.
Cons of using Prop Firms that allow EAs
- Some proprietary trading firms have complex trading rules and you should make sure that your EA will not breach any of them as this may result in the cancellation of your account.
- Prop firms that impose restrictions on the use of EAs are common. There are some that directly prohibit their use, others require prior approval of the EA you are going to use, others apply restrictions on strategies such as high frequency trading, tick scalping, copy trading, arbitrage trading, hedging,…
Make sure you know what the rules are on the use of EAs in the prop trading firm you are going to work with so that you don’t get any unpleasant surprises.
On this page: Prop Firms Discounts you can find discount coupons and promotions from the main funded trading firms (like for example this promo code of The Funded Trader) and here you have a comparison of companies sorted by price: Cheapest Prop Trading Firms.
I hope the information on this page will help you.
Author: Eduardo Montero
I'm Eduardo Montero. Computer scientist by profession and passionate about online trading with more than 10 years of experience in the financial markets. I'm the author of hundreds of articles published in other websites about the online trading industry. Learn more about me here: About the author.
