DayTraders Commissions & Fees Breakdown (2026)

Quick Answer Block

Disclaimer

Research-based analysis: I've spent weeks digging through DayTraders' rules, help center articles, and community feedback to map every detail of their trading rules across all four product lines. This breakdown reflects verified data from their official documentation and real trader experiences.

The most important rule at DayTraders varies by account type — Trail uses intraday trailing, Static is fixed, S2F uses end-of-day, and S2L has daily loss limits on top of trailing drawdown. I broke it all down in my complete DayTraders rules overview. For the full picture, read my complete DayTraders review. For the absolute latest, check DayTraders' website or their help center.

Article Body

DayTraders charges commissions on every trade you execute. The rates vary by instrument category, ranging from $0.42/side for e-micro currencies to $2.79/side for agricultural futures. As of April 2026, these commissions apply across all account types: Trail, Static, S2F, S2L, and Pro.

The part that trips people up: your profit target is NET of commissions. If you're on a 50K Trail account with a $3,000 target, you need to make $3,000 after all commissions are deducted. Commissions eat into your margin on every entry and exit.

This guide breaks down every commission rate, add-on fee, and hidden cost at DayTraders so you can calculate your true cost of trading before you start.

What Are DayTraders' Commission Rates by Instrument?

Here's the full commission schedule as of April 2026. Rates are shown per side (one direction) and round turn (entry + exit).

Quick breakdown of what these numbers mean in practice:

If you trade 10 round turns on ES in a day, that's $39.80 in commissions. On a 50K Trail with a $3,000 profit target, those 10 trades need to net you $3,039.80 in gross profit just to break even on the target.

Micro traders have it better. Ten round turns on MES costs only $10.20. But micro contracts move less per tick, so you're also making smaller profits per trade.

How Do Commissions Affect Profit Targets?

This is the most important thing to understand about DayTraders commissions: profit targets are NET of commissions.

Here's what that means for each account type:

The estimate above assumes 50 round turns on ES over the life of the evaluation. Your actual commission cost depends on how many trades you take, which instruments you trade, and how many contracts per trade.

High-frequency scalpers who take 30+ trades per day will rack up commissions fast. A trader doing 30 ES round turns daily for 5 days pays $597 in commissions alone. That's 20% of a $3,000 profit target consumed by trading costs.

Position traders who take 2-3 trades per day will barely notice. Five round turns on ES over a week costs $19.90 total.

What Are the Additional Monthly Fees?

Beyond commissions, DayTraders offers several optional add-on services. These are monthly charges that expire at 5:00 PM ET on the last day of the month, regardless of when you purchased them.

The timing on these add-ons is critical. If you purchase market depth on March 20th, it expires on March 31st at 5:00 PM ET. You don't get a full 30 days. Buy early in the month to maximize value.

Most traders don't need any of these. The ONYX platform (free) provides charts and execution. rTrader Pro (free) gives you a desktop trading platform. Market depth is useful for order flow traders, but it's not required for basic evaluation trading.

The second login session only matters if you trade from multiple devices simultaneously. If you switch between desktop and mobile but don't need them running at the same time, you don't need this add-on.

What Is the Pro Account Activation Fee?

After passing a Trail or Static evaluation, you can activate a Pro Account for a one-time fee of $130. This is separate from your evaluation cost.

Here's what the $130 gets you:

• 100% profit split. You keep all simulated profits on the Pro Account.
• Free real-time data. Valued at $150/month. This alone covers the activation cost.
• No recurring charges. The $130 is a one-time payment. No monthly fees.
• Payout eligibility. You can request payouts every 8 qualifying days with a $500 minimum.

The activation deadline is 10 days after your evaluation passes. Miss it, and you forfeit your passed evaluation. You'd need to buy and pass a new one.

You can hold up to 5 Pro Accounts simultaneously. Each requires a separate evaluation pass and $130 activation fee. That's $650 in activation fees if you max out all 5 slots, plus whatever you spent on evaluations.

What Are Professional Data Fees?

If you're classified as a professional trader, CME Group charges $115+ per month per exchange for real-time data. This is on top of any other fees.

The professional classification applies if any of the following are true:

• You're registered with the SEC or CFTC
• You use market data for commercial purposes (not personal trading)
• You trade with capital that isn't personally yours
• You have profit-sharing agreements with third parties

Most retail traders classify as non-professional and don't owe these fees. But the determination is based on self-declaration. If you check the wrong box or if DayTraders/CME determines you're professional, the data fees kick in automatically.

At $115+ per exchange and four exchanges available (CME, COMEX, NYMEX, CBOT), a professional classification could cost $460+/month just for data. That's before commissions, add-ons, or evaluation costs.

If you're trading as an LLC or business entity, you're more likely to be flagged as professional. DayTraders requires you to select your entity type during signup, and it can't be changed after registration.

Are All DayTraders Purchases Final?

Yes. DayTraders has a strict no-refund policy across all purchases. As of April 2026, this applies to:

• Evaluation account fees (Trail, Static, S2F, S2L)
• Pro Account activation fee ($130)
• Data fees and add-ons
• Second login session fees
• Market depth subscriptions
• Trade copier subscription

No refunds are issued for incorrect account selections, technical issues, or buyer's remorse. If you accidentally purchase a 25K Trail instead of a 50K Trail, you're stuck with it.

This is standard in the prop trading industry. Most firms have similar no-refund policies. The logic is that evaluation access is instant, meaning there's no way to "return" the product once you've logged into the platform.

Chargebacks are also prohibited. If you file a chargeback with your credit card company, DayTraders will suspend your account and potentially terminate your membership permanently. They're clear about this in their terms: contact support for payment disputes instead of going through your bank.

How Do DayTraders Commissions Compare to Other Prop Firms?

Commission rates at DayTraders are competitive with the industry standard. Here's how they stack up against other Rithmic-based futures prop firms for the most popular instruments:

DayTraders is roughly in line with Apex on standard equity futures. Micro contracts are noticeably more expensive at DayTraders ($1.02 RT vs $0.62 at Apex). If you primarily trade micros, that $0.40 per round turn adds up over hundreds of trades.

Agricultural, currency, and metals commissions at DayTraders run higher than some competitors. The $5.58 round turn on ZC (corn) or ZW (wheat) is steep for active grains traders.

The bottom line: DayTraders commissions are average for standard-size contracts but above average for micros and specialty instruments.

How Do Commissions Work With the Consistency Rule?

Commissions interact with the consistency rule in an indirect but important way. The consistency rule at DayTraders says no single trading day can exceed a certain percentage of your total profits (50% on evaluations, 30% on Pro, 20% on S2F, 25% on S2L eval).

The percentages are calculated on NET profits, meaning after commissions. If you have a big winning day but also paid heavy commissions, your net profit for that day is lower. This actually helps with consistency because commissions reduce the relative weight of any single day.

Here's a practical example. Say you're on a 50K Trail evaluation (50% consistency rule). Your total net profit after 5 days is $3,200:

• Day 1: $1,800 gross, $40 commissions = $1,760 net (55% of total, fails consistency)
• Day 2: $600 gross, $20 commissions = $580 net
• Day 3: $500 gross, $16 commissions = $484 net
• Day 4: $250 gross, $12 commissions = $238 net
• Day 5: $200 gross, $8 commissions = $192 net

In this scenario, Day 1 exceeds 50% of total profit. The commissions slightly reduced that day's percentage from what it would have been, but not enough. You'd need to keep trading to dilute Day 1's share before passing.

What Is the Total Cost to Get Funded at DayTraders?

Let's calculate the full cost path from evaluation purchase to first payout, assuming you pass on the first try and use the current sale prices (as of April 2026).

The S2F path is more expensive upfront because the discount is smaller (40% vs 80-85%) and the base price is higher. But S2F skips the evaluation phase entirely and has no Pro activation fee. Whether that trade-off makes sense depends on your risk tolerance and trading confidence.

The S2L path works differently: $229-$599 for the evaluation (no activation fee after passing), but you keep 80% instead of 100%.

Add-ons are not included in these estimates. If you need market depth ($10-$30/mo) or a second login ($30/mo), factor those into your budget.

What Happens If You're Classified as a Professional Trader?

Professional classification at DayTraders triggers significant additional costs. CME Group requires real-time data fees for professional users, and DayTraders passes these through.

The professional data fee is $115+ per month per exchange. DayTraders provides access to four CME Group exchanges:

• CME (equity indices, currencies)
• COMEX (metals)
• NYMEX (energy)
• CBOT (agricultural, interest rates)

If you're classified as professional and trade across all four exchanges, you're looking at $460+ per month in data fees alone. That's on top of commissions, evaluation costs, and any add-ons.

You self-declare your status during account setup. Non-professional requirements include:

• Using data for personal purposes only
• Not being registered with the SEC or CFTC
• Trading with personal capital only (within the prop firm context, this means not being in a separate profit-sharing arrangement)
• No profit-sharing agreements outside the DayTraders structure

Trading as an LLC or business entity increases the chance of professional classification. DayTraders requires entity type selection during signup, and it can't be changed after registration. Choose carefully.

Does DayTraders Charge Monthly Subscription Fees?

No recurring subscription fees on evaluation accounts (with a caveat) or Pro accounts.

The caveat: DayTraders offers two billing models for evaluations:

One-time purchase (Lifetime). You pay once and keep the account indefinitely. No recurring charges. The catch is a minimum activity requirement: 4 qualifying trading days per rolling 30-day period. Miss that, and your account could be flagged.

Monthly rebilling. You pay the same amount each month. Lower activity requirement: just 1 qualifying trading day per 30-day billing cycle. If you fail, the rebilling stops automatically.

Once you activate a Pro Account ($130 one-time), there are no monthly fees. Real-time data is included free (valued at $150/month). No platform fees. No recurring charges.

S2F accounts are also one-time purchases. No monthly fees after the initial purchase.

S2L evaluations are one-time payments. After passing and transitioning to a live account, activation is free, and real-time data is included.

The only recurring costs are the optional add-ons (market depth, second login, trade copier) and the monthly rebilling option if you chose that for your evaluation.

What's the Cheapest Way to Trade at DayTraders?

To minimize total costs at DayTraders, here's the lowest-cost path:

Step 1: Buy a 25K Static during an 80% off sale. That's $30 for the evaluation. Static accounts have the lowest entry prices across the board.

Step 2: Trade micro contracts only. MES at $0.51/side ($1.02 round turn) keeps your commission costs minimal. On a 25K Static with a $2,500 profit target, you can pass with under $50 in total commissions if you take 50 or fewer round turns.

Step 3: Skip all add-ons. Use the free ONYX platform or rTrader Pro. Don't pay for market depth, second login, or trade copier.

Step 4: Activate Pro for $130. Once you pass, this is unavoidable for Trail/Static paths.

Total minimum cost: $30 (eval) + $130 (Pro) + ~$50 (commissions) = ~$210 to first payout eligibility.

Compare that to the S2F path where the cheapest option is $222 for a 25K account (40% off), and you still pay commissions on top. The evaluation path through Static is actually cheaper if you can pass.

The S2L Core at $229 (after sale) gives you 80/20 split but no activation fee and daily payouts. Depending on your profit expectations, that could work out similarly.

FAQ Section

What are DayTraders' ES and NQ commissions?

DayTraders charges $1.99 per side ($3.98 round turn) for standard equity index futures including ES, NQ, YM, RTY, EMD, and NKD. This rate applies to all account types: Trail, Static, S2F, S2L, and Pro. Micro index contracts (MES, MNQ, MYM, M2K) are $0.51 per side ($1.02 round turn). As of April 2026, these rates are standard across all DayTraders accounts.

Are DayTraders profit targets calculated before or after commissions?

After. Profit targets at DayTraders are NET of commissions. This means you need to earn enough to cover both the profit target and all commission costs. For example, on a 50K Trail account with a $3,000 profit target, if you pay $200 in commissions during your evaluation, you actually need $3,200 in gross trading profit to pass.

What add-on fees does DayTraders charge?

DayTraders offers four optional monthly add-ons: second login session ($30/month), market depth for all exchanges ($30/month), market depth per individual exchange ($10/month each), and trade copier through rTrader Pro ($10/month). All add-ons expire at 5:00 PM ET on the last day of the month regardless of when you purchased them. None are required to trade.

How much is the DayTraders Pro activation fee?

The Pro Account activation fee is $130, paid once. It's required after passing a Trail or Static evaluation. You must activate within 10 days of passing or you forfeit the passed evaluation. The fee covers 100% profit retention, free real-time data (valued at $150/month), and payout eligibility every 8 qualifying days. You can hold up to 5 Pro Accounts, each requiring a separate $130 fee.

What are professional data fees at DayTraders?

Professional traders face CME real-time data fees of $115+ per month per exchange. DayTraders provides access to four exchanges (CME, COMEX, NYMEX, CBOT), so a fully professional classification could cost $460+ per month in data fees alone. This applies if you're SEC/CFTC registered, use data commercially, or trade as a business entity. Non-professional traders don't pay these fees, and free real-time data is included.

Does DayTraders offer refunds?

No. All purchases at DayTraders are final with no refunds. This applies to evaluation fees, Pro Account activation, data fees, add-on subscriptions, and any other charges. You cannot get a refund for incorrect account selections, technical problems, or any other reason. Chargebacks are prohibited and will result in account suspension or permanent termination.

How do DayTraders commissions compare to Apex Trader Funding?

DayTraders and Apex charge identical $3.98 round-turn commissions on standard equity index futures (ES, NQ, YM). Micro contracts are more expensive at DayTraders ($1.02 RT vs $0.62 at Apex). DayTraders' currency futures are $4.72 RT vs Apex's $4.18. Agricultural futures at DayTraders ($5.58 RT) and metals ($4.62 RT) are also above Apex's rates. If you trade micros heavily, the commission difference favors Apex.

What is the total cost to get funded at DayTraders?

The cheapest path is a 25K Static evaluation at 80% off ($30) plus Pro activation ($130) plus estimated commissions (~$50), totaling roughly $210. A 50K Trail at 85% off runs about $386 total. The S2F path costs more upfront ($222-$495 for the account alone at 40% off) but skips the evaluation and activation fee. S2L ranges from $229-$499 for the evaluation with no activation fee but an 80/20 profit split.

Are there hidden fees at DayTraders?

No hidden fees, but several costs aren't obvious at first glance. The $130 Pro activation fee only appears after you pass an evaluation. Monthly rebilling on evaluations charges the full evaluation price each month if you chose that option. Professional data fees ($115+/month per exchange) can surprise traders who register as a business entity. Market depth, second login, and trade copier add-ons are optional but expire at month-end regardless of purchase date.

Does DayTraders charge monthly platform fees?

No. DayTraders includes the ONYX platform (browser-based, proprietary) and rTrader Pro (Rithmic's desktop platform) at no additional cost. Real-time data is also free for non-professional traders. There are no recurring platform fees on evaluation accounts, Pro accounts, S2F accounts, or S2L live accounts. The only recurring charges are optional add-ons (market depth, second login, trade copier) and monthly rebilling if you chose that evaluation payment model.

Infographic Prompts

Prompt 1 — Commission Schedule Grid Technical schematic blueprint on dark navy (#0D1117) background. Grid layout showing 10 instrument categories with per-side and round-turn commission rates. Color-coded bars: green for cheap (micros), yellow for moderate (equity, energy), red for expensive (agricultural, metals). Title "DayTraders Commission Schedule 2026" in bold white sans-serif. Clean data visualization, no photography. 16:9 landscape format.

Prompt 2 — Total Cost to Get Funded Flowchart Technical schematic on dark navy (#0D1117) background. Three parallel paths showing cost breakdown: Trail path ($57 eval + $130 Pro + commissions = ~$386), Static path ($40 eval + $130 Pro + commissions = ~$369), S2F path ($342 account + commissions = ~$541). White line art with dollar amounts in electric lime (#E5FF00). Title "DayTraders: Total Cost to First Payout" in bold white. 16:9 landscape format.

Prompt 3 — Commission Comparison Bar Chart Technical schematic on dark navy (#0D1117) background. Grouped horizontal bar chart comparing round-turn commissions across DayTraders, Apex, and Take Profit Trader for ES, MES, CL, GC, and 6E. White and lime color scheme. Title "Prop Firm Commission Comparison 2026" in bold white sans-serif. Clean minimal design. 16:9 landscape format.