A daily loss limit, or DLL, is the maximum amount a prop firm lets you lose in a single trading session. It is tracked in real time, open losses included, and it resets at the next session. Hitting it does not fail the account: open positions are closed and trading stops until the next day.
So it is a session rule, not an account rule. It ignores your high-water mark and your starting balance. It only looks at what you have lost since the session opened.
Why prop firms use a daily loss limit
The drawdown threshold protects the account over time. The DLL protects the day. Apex puts it this way in its help center: the DLL works alongside the end-of-day drawdown by limiting intraday risk and preventing excessive single-day losses.
In practice, it breaks the classic spiral: one loss, a second trade to get it back, then a bigger third one. Without a daily cap, that sequence can burn weeks of cushion in one morning. With one, the day ends first. The broader framework is covered in our guide to prop firm rules.
How it works at Apex and Tradeify
Both firms describe the same mechanism in different words.
- A fixed amount for the session. At Apex, the DLL does not trail the balance and does not adjust intraday.
- Monitored in real time. Apex measures it on total account equity, realized and unrealized losses combined. An open losing position already counts.
- Resets at 6:00 PM ET. Both firms state it. Yesterday's losses do not count toward today's limit.
- Hitting it means a pause, not a failure. At Apex, positions are liquidated at market and trading resumes at the next session. Tradeify calls it a "soft breach": the account stays active as long as the max drawdown is not hit.
One detail at Apex: liquidation happens at the market price. The final balance can land slightly above or below the threshold, depending on liquidity at that moment.
Current published amounts
Not every DLL looks the same, and some accounts have none. These are the starting amounts read on both help centers on October 7, 2026.
| Account | 25K | 50K | 100K | 150K |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apex, EOD evaluation | $500 | $1,000 | $1,500 | $2,000 |
| Apex, Intraday evaluation | No DLL | |||
| Tradeify, Growth | $600 | $1,250 | $2,500 | $3,750 |
| Tradeify, Select Daily funded | $500 | $1,000 | $1,250 | $1,750 |
| Tradeify, Select Flex funded | No DLL | |||
Current rules for the firms we track are checked every morning in our prop firm rules tool.
It grows with the account
On a funded account, the DLL is not fixed. At Apex, it steps up with profit tiers, together with the maximum contract size. On a 50K Performance Account, it is $1,000 up to $2,999 in profit, $2,000 from $3,000 to $5,999, then $3,000 from $6,000. On the EOD evaluation, by contrast, it stays fixed whatever the profit.
At Tradeify, the DLL on Growth and Lightning accounts increases once the account reaches 6% profit, and the new value only applies from the next session, never immediately.
The classic mistake: using it as a stop loss
Tradeify gives this point a full warning. The DLL is not a hard stop: losses can run past the limit before the protection triggers. In a fast market, relying on it as your stop can cause slippage that breaches the max drawdown, and that breach fails the account.
The second trap is quieter. The DLL is not always the closest limit. Tradeify's own example: a 100K account with a $2,500 DLL and a $3,500 drawdown from the high-water mark. If the high is $101,000 and the balance is $99,000, the drawdown floor is only $2,000 away. Losing $2,500 that day would not trigger a pause: the account would fail first. How the floor itself moves is explained in our article on prop firm drawdown.
Your real room for the day is the smaller of two distances: the DLL left, or the distance to the drawdown floor.
How to trade it
The DLL is a limit set by the firm. It tells you how far the firm lets you go, not how far you should go. A disciplined plan treats it as a safety net, never as a target.
- Work out your real room before the open. Compare today's DLL with the distance to the drawdown floor, and keep the smaller one.
- Set your own, tighter limit before the session. Write it down cold, not after the second loss.
- Derive risk per trade from that limit. As an illustration only: on a 50K Apex EOD evaluation, a personal limit at half the DLL gives $500; risking $250 per trade, two losses in a row end the day well before the firm does.
- Use a real stop on every position. At the level where the setup is invalidated, never at the distance to the DLL.
- When your limit is hit, the session is over. Platform closed, journal filled in. A trading journal is where those days get reviewed with a clear head.
What the DLL does not tell you
- It does not tell you how much to risk per trade. That is still a position sizing decision.
- It does not protect you from the drawdown. A string of losing days, each one under the DLL, can still take the account to the floor.
- It cannot be compared by its size alone. A wide DLL on an account whose drawdown is close is worth no more than a tight one.
Frequently asked questions
Does hitting the daily loss limit fail the account?
No, at Apex or at Tradeify. Positions are closed and trading resumes at the next session. The account only fails if the max drawdown is hit, which can happen before the DLL when the floor is closer.
When does the daily loss limit reset?
Both firms reset it at the start of each session, at 6:00 PM ET. Yesterday's losses do not count.
Do all accounts have a daily loss limit?
No. Apex Intraday evaluations and Tradeify Select Flex funded accounts have none. Only the drawdown applies there.
Go further
The short definition is in our structured trading glossary, and the pre-session execution framework is on the Ephore Prop System page.
Figures read on October 7, 2026 on the official help centers of Apex Trader Funding and Tradeify. These rules change often: always check the official source before you trade.
Futures trading involves substantial risk of capital loss. This article is educational and does not constitute investment advice.