Apex Trader Funding Account Types Explained: Full 2025 Breakdown (Evaluations, Payouts, PA Accounts & Scaling)

Apex Trader Funding remains one of the largest futures prop firms in the world, and in 2025 it operates on a structure that looks simple on paper—but behaves very differently once you dig into evaluation rules, trailing drawdown mechanics, scaling requirements, PA accounts, renewals, and payout rules.

This guide breaks down every Apex account type, including Evaluation Accounts, Performance Accounts (PA), PA Pro, funded scaling, and their true payout rules. If you're wondering which Apex account size or model fits your trading style, this is the complete, definitive breakdown.

1. Apex Account Types — High-Level Overview

Apex offers multiple account sizes, but all accounts fall into three structural categories:

• Evaluation Accounts (Step 1)
• PA Accounts (Performance Accounts)
• PA Pro Accounts

The differences lie in drawdown logic, trade rules, payout timing, contract limits, and renewal/reset behavior.

Below is the complete summary.

Apex Account Types: Summary Table

2. Evaluation Accounts (Step 1)

Every Apex trader begins with an Evaluation Account.

Evaluation Rules

• One-phase evaluation
• End-of-day consistency is not required
• No minimum trading days
• You must hit the profit target
• Trailing drawdown is intra-day (major pain point for many traders)

What fails most traders

• Trailing drawdown that moves with equity, not balance
• Over-leveraging micros/minis
• Not understanding that unrealized drawdown can breach the account

Why Apex evaluations feel “fast”

There is no minimum time requirement.
If you hit the profit target in one day → you pass.

Apex’s evaluation is attractive because it’s fast — but it punishes high volatility strategies due to intra-day trailing.

3. Performance Accounts (PA)

Once you pass the evaluation, you unlock your PA Account.

This is Apex’s funded-stage equivalent.

Key Features

• Trailing drawdown continues until you lock it
• Once you reach the “static threshold,” trailing drawdown stops moving
• Profit split improves over time
• Monthly → weekly payouts after first months

Drawdown Behavior

The PA drawdown becomes static once you move your balance far enough above the DD anchor.
Example:

Account: $50K
Trailing DD: $2,000
Static threshold: e.g. $53,000

Once your balance reaches that threshold, your DD freezes permanently.

This is one of the most trader-friendly features of Apex — but many traders never reach the static phase because they withdraw too early or overtrade.

4. PA Pro Accounts

PA Pro is Apex’s highest-level funded account.

You unlock it after meeting payout requirements and account longevity milestones.

PA Pro Benefits

• Drawdown is static from day one
• Weekly payouts
• 90% split permanently
• Most flexibility
• Zero consistency restrictions
• Ideal for traders who scale multiple PA accounts

Traders who reach PA Pro tend to stay with Apex long-term because rule clarity dramatically improves.

5. All Apex Account Sizes Explained

Apex offers several account sizes (popular: 25K, 50K, 100K, 150K, 250K).

What changes with size?

• Profit target
• Trailing drawdown value
• Allowed contract sizes
• Reset fee
• Payout caps in early months

What stays the same?

• Rules
• Trailing DD logic
• Evaluation structure
• Payout schedule
• News restrictions

6. Trailing vs Static Drawdown: The Core Apex Mechanic

The biggest difference between Apex and firms like TopStep or Tradeify is the intra-day trailing drawdown during evaluation and early PA phase.

Trailing DD moves with unrealized equity

Even if your trade ends green, a large unrealized drawdown can breach the trailing DD.

Static DD unlocks Apex’s real potential

Once static is reached:

• You can hold runners
• You can swing overnight (within rules)
• You gain more freedom
• Your account becomes more predictable

This turning point is where Apex becomes truly profitable.

7. Apex Payout Rules (Evaluation → PA → PA Pro)

Month 1: Limited payouts

Apex usually has:

• First payout eligibility after 10 trading days
• First two payouts capped (e.g. $2,000 total)
• Payouts monthly

After Month 1

• Larger payouts
• Weekly payouts unlocked
• Higher % split activated

Profit Split

• Starts lower
• Scales to 90%
• PA Pro keeps 90% permanently

Payout Methods

• Bank transfer
• Deel
• Crypto (in some cases)
• Wise (varies)

8. Reset, Renewal & Scaling Structure

Resets

Apex offers cheap resets → one reason it’s popular.
Traders who fail the DD can instantly reset without buying a new account.

Renewals

Apex evals renew monthly unless canceled.
This traps many new traders into paying multiple renewals.

Scaling

You can hold multiple PAs simultaneously (e.g., 20+)
This makes Apex one of the best firms for volume scaling.

9. Which Apex Account Type Should You Choose?

Choose Evaluation Only (one-off) if:

• You’re testing the system
• You’re unsure about Apex rules
• You want to evaluate before scaling

Choose PA Accounts if:

• You want predictable progression
• You're comfortable with trailing DD until static hits
• You want long-term payouts

Choose PA Pro if:

• You're serious about scaling
• You want Apex to be a long-term income source
• You want zero consistency restrictions
• You want weekly payouts and predictable DD

10. Best Account Size for Each Trader Type

25K Account

• Smallest DD
• Easiest to fail
• Good only for beginners learning rules

50K Account

• Best balance between DD and affordability
• Most popular account for grinding consistency

100K Account

• Best for traders with medium volatility strategies
• More room to breathe

150K / 250K Accounts

• Best for swing and trend traders
• Larger DD
• Ideal for PA Pro scaling

11. Final Verdict

Apex is best for traders who:

• Can manage trailing DD
• Want to scale many accounts
• Prefer cheap resets
• Want fast evaluations
• Are aiming for PA Pro status

Which account type is best?

Trader TypeBest Apex AccountBeginner50K EvaluationConsistent day trader100K Evaluation → PASwing / trend trader150K or 250K Evaluation → PA ProHigh-scaling traderMultiple 100K or 150K PAsVolatile strategyPA Pro (static DD)

Apex offers one of the most flexible funded ecosystems, but success requires understanding drawdown behavior and payout structure.

Once you reach PA Pro, the accounts become far more forgiving — and far more profitable.

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