PropFirmTest 
You typed “Apex Trader Funding review” because you saw a -90% promo and a profit split advertised at 100%. That raises an eyebrow, and it should. Apex is not just another CFD prop firm: it’s US futures, a market with its own platforms, per-contract commissions and a drawdown that has wiped out plenty of traders who never understood why.
I’ve been trading for over ten years. I’ve burned challenges on stupid mistakes and I’ve seen enough screenshots of zeroed Apex accounts to know where the real traps are. Here’s my unfiltered take, and above all what the comparison sites get wrong.
What Apex Trader Funding actually is
A US firm launched in 2021, specialised in futures. It’s not a broker: you’re not trading real money, you’re passing an evaluation on a simulator, and if you pass, you move to a performance account where you collect a share of the profits.
The catalogue covers accounts from 25,000 $ to 150,000 $, with 30 days of access to the evaluation, several data feeds to choose from (Rithmic, Tradovate, WealthCharts) and a pile of compatible platforms: NinjaTrader, Tradovate, TradingView, ATAS and others. Instruments revolve around US indices, oil, gold and currency futures.
The key point for non-US traders: this is the futures world. If you come from CFDs and MT5, you’re changing jobs before you change firms.
Intraday or EOD: the choice that decides everything
This is THE question most articles brush aside in two lines, when it’s the one that decides whether you pass or not.
Intraday accounts run on a trailing drawdown. In plain terms, your loss floor rises with your high-water mark. You can be 2,000 $ in profit on the session and still get stopped out because you gave back part of your gains. Trailing is the silent killer of beginners.
EOD accounts recalculate the drawdown at the close and come with a daily loss limit. That gives you room to breathe during the session, you’re not punished for a volatility spike at 3:30pm, but your day is capped.
For a trader taking two or three clean setups a day, EOD is more comfortable. For a scalper living on micro-moves, Intraday can work, as long as you accept the trailing. My advice: don’t pick Intraday just because it’s cheaper to buy. It’s the hardest model to hold.
| Criteria | Intraday accounts | EOD accounts |
|---|---|---|
| Drawdown type | Trailing, follows your high-water mark | Recalculated at the close |
| Daily loss limit | Depends on the current plans | Yes, a DLL applies |
| Fits which style | Scalping, nervous day trading | Calm trading, 2-3 setups a day |
| Watch-out | The floor that keeps rising | Managing the day |
The cut-price trap
Apex is known for permanent promotions, sometimes up to -90%. And that’s where 80% of people get screwed.
The pattern is simple: you pay a ridiculous entry price (sometimes a few dozen dollars), then a one-time activation fee gets added when you pass, varying by plan. Apex also offers a so-called no-activation option where you pay everything upfront at a higher price. Two logics, two invoices.
So the only valid question isn’t “how much is the challenge”, it’s “how much does the account cost me, activation included, and how many times will I have to buy it again”. Exact activation fees move with plans and promos. Read them on the pricing page at the moment you buy, not in an article written six months ago.
Payouts: what really happens
Apex advertises a very aggressive profit split, up to 100% on the first tiers depending on the current plans. That built its reputation. Except a displayed percentage means nothing without three facts: the minimum number of days before you can request, the minimum withdrawal amount, and the account review process.
At Apex, payouts are not automatic. You file a request, it gets reviewed, and an account can be refused if a rule was broken, even a minor one. That’s the item generating the most negative reviews on comparison sites: not non-payments, but rejections for rule violations. Read the terms, write them in your journal, and don’t touch the rule that blocks you, whatever opportunity you think you see.
On that front, you’ll find negative reviews for everyone. A single review is worth nothing. Look for repeated payout proof across two independent sources. If you want to dig into the general mechanics, I detailed how prop firm payouts work.
The rules to check before paying
- The drawdown type: trailing or recalculated at the close. It changes how you place your stops.
- The daily loss limit: absent or present depending on the plan.
- The minimum trading days: some evaluations can be cleared in a single day, which is a huge difference in pace.
- Trade consistency: check whether a consistency rule applies to the plan you’re targeting.
- The instruments: indices, energy, metals, currency futures. Not everything is open on every plan.
- The excluded country list: not negligible when you trade from Europe.
Who Apex is a good fit for
Yes if you’re already comfortable with futures, you know per-contract commissions, and you want to multiply accounts rather than hold one big one. Apex lets you run several accounts, which speaks to a trader with stable stats who wants to dilute risk.
No if you learned on MT5 with lots and pips. Moving to futures costs a lot in learning curve, and nobody will refund your three failed evaluations because you read a tick like a pip.
Apex against the CFD prop firms
These aren’t the same tools, so it’s not the same decision.
| Criteria | Apex Trader Funding | FTMO | FundedNext |
|---|---|---|---|
| Market | US futures | CFDs | CFDs and futures |
| Platforms | NinjaTrader, Tradovate, Rithmic, TradingView | MT4, MT5, cTrader | MT5 and futures platforms |
| Pricing model | Low entry + activation, heavy promos | Clear fees, few promos | Several models, frequent discounts |
| Target profile | Futures trader who wants account volume | Classic CFD trader | Beginner or trader who wants choice |
FTMO’s framework remains the most readable for anyone starting out in CFDs, and its grid takes ten minutes to read. FundedNext plays the choice card: several formats, including discounted plans, and a futures offer for those who want to test the market without going to Apex. The full breakdown is in our FTMO review and FundedNext review, and the complete comparison is in our ranking of the best prop firms.
FAQ
Is Apex Trader Funding a scam? No. It’s a real US company, active since 2021, that pays its traders. Most of the savage criticism comes from traders removed for a rule violation, often the trailing drawdown, not from a refusal to pay. The real topic is reading the terms, not the firm’s honesty.
Does Apex actually pay its traders? Yes, provided you respect the rules and the request process. Payment isn’t automatic, every request goes through a review. You can find public payout proof in the futures community, to cross-check against the firm’s current terms.
Can you trade from France or Europe with Apex? You need to check the excluded countries list at sign-up time, it changes. That’s the first thing to verify before paying anything, along with the drawdown type of the plan you’re targeting.
Apex remains a beast on futures, with entry prices that crush the CFD market. But an entry price is not a trading plan. Compare like for like: market, drawdown, total cost, payout history. If you’re still hesitating between models, the real price of a 100K challenge and the ranking of the best prop firms give you the numbers to decide without getting fleeced.
