The consistency rule, explained
Updated August 28, 2026 · 2 min read
You passed the evaluation, you're funded, you've got a green balance — and the firm won't pay you. Nine times out of ten, that's the consistency rule.
What it is
Most futures prop firms limit how lopsided your profit can be. The rule is usually stated as a percentage:
No single trading day's profit may be more than X% of your total profit.
50% is the most common value now — Topstep, TakeProfitTrader, and Apex's current accounts all use it. Some plans (and Apex's legacy accounts) use 30%. Some firms apply it to the evaluation, most apply it to payouts.
The point isn't to punish a good day. It's that a firm is paying for a repeatable edge, not one lucky session. If most of your profit came from a single trade on a news spike, that's not something they can bank on.
How it's actually calculated
At the moment you request a payout, the firm looks at your best single day and your total profit, and checks:
best day ÷ total profit ≤ X%
Rearranged, that means to withdraw with a given best day, your total profit has to be at least:
best day ÷ X%
Worked example, 50% rule:
- Your best day made $900.
- To request a payout, your total profit must be at least $900 ÷ 0.50 = $1,800.
- If you're only at $1,500 total, you're stuck — that $900 day is 60% of it. You have to grind the total up to $1,800 (without a bigger day) before the payout unlocks.
On a 30% rule, the same $900 day would need $3,000 of total profit behind it.
So a big day doesn't disqualify you — it just raises the bar for how much total profit you need before you can take money out.
How to pace toward a payout
- Decide your best-day ceiling first. If your rule is 50% and you want to withdraw at $2,000 total, no day can exceed $1,000. Trade like that's a hard stop-out on the upside — when you're up to it, you're done.
- Bank small, bank often. Several medium days beat one huge day for every payout metric a firm tracks.
- Don't let a runner turn into your problem. Closing a trade for a $2,500 day means your next payout needs $5,000+ in total profit behind it (at 50%), or $8,300+ at 30%.
- Check the ratio before you request, not after. best day ÷ total — if it's over the line, keep trading small until the total catches up.
How firms compare
| Firm | Consistency rule | Applies to |
|---|---|---|
| Apex Trader Funding | 30% (legacy accounts) / 50% (current accounts) | Payouts |
| Topstep | 50% | Evaluation and payouts |
| MyFundedFutures | 30%, 50%, or none — depends on the plan | Plan-dependent |
| TakeProfitTrader | 50% | Payouts |
Consistency rules change and differ by plan. Confirm the current rule for your firm and account before you count on a payout date.
Values above reflect public documentation as of August 2026. This is one of the terms firms adjust most — always read your firm's current payout / consistency policy.
Keep an eye on it
Add your firm's consistency percentage to your account's rule set in Tradervana and it tracks your best day as a share of total profit as you go — so you know whether you're clear to request a payout before you submit it, not after it's denied.
Save your firm's limits as a rule set in Tradervana and it shows your live distance-to-breach, drawdown room, and profit-target progress on every account — updated as you trade.