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TradeDay Activation Fee: What It Costs and How to Avoid It
TradeDay charges a $139 one-time activation fee when you pass evaluation and transition to Funded Sim status. This fee must be paid within 30 days of passing or your funded account offer expires. However, most traders never pay it—TradeDay runs frequent promotions with discount codes that waive the activation fee entirely, and current offers (January 2026) include "NEWYEAR" for 50% off subscriptions plus $0 activation fee.
The activation fee covers account provisioning costs: setting up your Funded Sim platform access, configuring risk management systems, establishing payout processing through Riseworks, and onboarding you into funded trader systems. Once paid, it's a one-time charge—you never pay activation fees again for that specific account, even if you later transition to Funded Live. However, if you pass multiple evaluations, each new funded account requires its own $139 fee (unless waived by promo code).
Quick heads-up: This article is based on my real experience with TradeDay and the info available when I published/updated this. Things change in prop trading — rules, payouts, promos, all of it.
For the absolute latest, check TradeDay´s website or their faq page.
The fee only applies to NEW funded accounts. If you're already funded and complete a milestone review to scale from $5K to $10K to $15K, you don't pay additional activation fees—those are account growth milestones, not new accounts. But if you pass a second evaluation simultaneously (running multiple accounts), that second account needs its own activation payment.
Standard Activation Fee: $139
When you complete evaluation objectives (hit profit target, trade minimum 7 days, maintain 30% consistency), TradeDay reviews your performance and approves funding usually within 24 hours. At that point, you receive email: "Congratulations! Complete activation to access Funded Sim."
Activation Steps:
- Pay $139 activation fee (unless promo code waived it)
- Complete Riseworks onboarding (payout processing setup)
- Take Rules & Regulations course (30-minute compliance training)
- Platform provisioning (Tradovate/NinjaTrader/TradeDayX access)
Once all four steps complete (typically 24-48 hours), your Funded Sim account goes live and you can start trading with TradeDay's capital.
30-Day Payment Deadline:
You have 30 calendar days from approval date to pay the activation fee. If you don't pay within 30 days, the funded account offer is withdrawn and you must pass a new evaluation.
Example: Pass evaluation March 5, approved March 6. Must pay $139 by April 5. If unpaid April 6, offer expires—you go back to evaluation status or can purchase new evaluation.
What Happens to Your Evaluation Subscription:
The moment you're approved for funding, TradeDay automatically cancels your monthly evaluation subscription. Even if you passed on Day 12 of a 30-day cycle, you won't be charged on Day 31. Billing stops immediately upon funding approval.
Why TradeDay Charges Activation Fees
The $139 covers real costs TradeDay incurs when provisioning funded accounts:
Platform Setup: TradeDay pays broker partners (Tradovate, NinjaTrader) to provision your live trading account. These aren't free—each account setup costs TradeDay $50-100 in broker fees and platform licensing.
Risk Management Systems: Your funded account needs integration into TradeDay's real-time monitoring systems tracking drawdown, position limits, prohibited practices, and payout eligibility. Setting up these systems for each funded trader involves technical overhead.
Payout Processing Setup: TradeDay uses Riseworks for payouts, which charges onboarding fees per new trader. Getting you registered for bank wires, crypto payouts, international transfers requires administrative work.
Data Subscriptions: For Funded Sim, TradeDay begins paying for your market data immediately—$20-100/month per trader depending on which exchanges you access. The activation fee partially offsets initial months of data costs.
Compliance & Documentation: Every funded trader must complete Rules & Regulations course, agree to updated terms, and go through KYC verification. This administrative work costs money.
The $139 fee helps TradeDay break even on these upfront costs. If they didn't charge it, they'd lose money on every funded trader for the first 2-3 months.
How to Avoid Paying Activation Fees
Most TradeDay traders never pay $139—they use discount codes that waive activation fees entirely.
Current Promotions (January 2026):
- NEWYEAR: 50% off monthly subscriptions + $0 activation fee (new customers)
- 40% discount codes: Various affiliate codes offering 40% off + waived activation
These promo codes apply when you PURCHASE evaluation. If you bought with a code including "$0 activation," you won't pay $139 when you pass—the fee is automatically waived in the system.
When Discount Codes Apply:
Activation fee waiver only applies if you purchased evaluation WITH the promo code. You cannot apply codes retroactively after passing.
Example scenarios:
Scenario A (Waived):
- Purchase $50K EOD evaluation December 2025 using code "NEWYEAR"
- Code includes: 50% off subscription + $0 activation fee
- Pass evaluation January 2026
- Activation Step 1 shows: "$0.00 due - promotional waiver applied"
- No payment required, proceed to Step 2
Scenario B (Must Pay):
- Purchase $50K EOD evaluation December 2025 WITHOUT promo code
- Pay full price $165/month
- Pass evaluation January 2026
- Activation Step 1 shows: "$139.00 due"
- Must pay to proceed
How to Check if Activation Is Waived:
After passing, log into dashboard → Evaluation → Activation Steps. Step 1 will either show "$139.00 Payment Required" or "$0.00 - Promotional Waiver Applied."
If it shows $139 and you believe you used a promo code, email support@tradeday.com with your purchase receipt and promo code used. They can verify and manually apply waiver if code was supposed to include it.
Multiple Accounts: Pay Per Account
If you pass multiple evaluations and run multiple funded accounts simultaneously, each account requires its own activation fee (unless your promo code covers all accounts).
Example:
Pass Evaluation 1 in January (used code with waiver) = $0 activation
Pass Evaluation 2 in February (used same code) = $0 activation
Pass Evaluation 3 in March (no code) = $139 activation
Some traders strategically use promo codes: when activating 2-3 evaluations simultaneously, they ensure all purchases used codes with activation waivers to avoid paying $278-417 in activation fees.
Activation Fee vs Funded Live Transition
Important distinction: The $139 activation fee applies when transitioning from evaluation to Funded Sim. It does NOT apply when later transitioning from Funded Sim to Funded Live.
From Evaluation → Funded Sim: $139 activation fee (or waived)
From Funded Sim → Funded Live: $0 transition fee
Once you've paid activation (or had it waived) for a specific account, that account never requires another activation payment regardless of how it progresses. Funded Live transition is administrative only—no additional charges beyond professional data fees ($140/month per exchange).
What If You Can't Pay Activation Fee?
If you passed evaluation but cannot pay $139 within 30 days:
Option 1: Let Offer Expire
Don't pay, let 30 days pass. Funded account offer withdraws. Your evaluation progress is lost, but you keep all educational access. Can purchase new evaluation later when budget allows.
Option 2: Request Extension
Email support@tradeday.com explaining situation. They may grant 15-30 day extension, not guaranteed. Better to ask before deadline than after.
Option 3: Cancel and Wait for Better Promo
If you passed without promo code, sometimes better to let offer expire and wait for promotion with activation waiver. Then purchase new evaluation at discount + free activation. This only makes sense if:
- You're confident you can pass again quickly
- Current activation fee + monthly rates are higher than new promo pricing
- You have 1-2 months to wait for promotions
Example Calculation:
Current situation: Passed evaluation, $139 activation due, no promo code used
Alternative: Wait for 50% off + $0 activation promo, repurchase evaluation
Cost to activate now: $139
Cost to restart with promo: $0 activation + ~$50-80 first month at 50% off
Difference: Saving ~$60-90 if you pass again within 1 month
Only viable if very confident in passing quickly.
Activation Fee Refund Policy
Once paid, activation fees are non-refundable. Even if you violate your funded account on Day 1 and lose it immediately, you don't get $139 back.
This is stated in TradeDay's refund policy: "Setup fees are non-refundable after account activation."
Why No Refunds:
The moment you pay $139, TradeDay provisions your account—platform setup completes, risk systems configure, payout processing registers. These costs are incurred immediately and cannot be reversed. If you then violate the account, TradeDay already spent money setting you up.
This is why using promo codes with waived activation is so valuable—if you pass evaluation but violate the funded account quickly, you haven't lost $139 setup fee because you never paid it.
FAQ
Can I get activation fee waived after purchasing evaluation?
No. Activation waivers only apply via promo codes at purchase. Cannot add codes retroactively.
How do I know if my activation is waived?
Check Activation Step 1 in dashboard after passing. Shows either "$139 due" or "$0 - waiver applied."
If I lose funded account, do I pay activation again?
Yes, if you pass a new evaluation. Each funded account requires activation fee unless waived by promo code at purchase.
Does activation fee apply to milestone scaling?
No. Growing from $5K→$10K→$15K milestones within same account requires no additional activation payments.
Can I pay activation in installments?
No. Full $139 due upfront or account offer expires in 30 days.
What if I used promo code but still see $139 charge?
Email support@tradeday.com with purchase receipt and promo code. They'll verify and manually apply waiver if applicable.
Is activation fee tax deductible?
Consult tax professional, but generally business expenses related to trading income may be deductible.
Do paid resets include activation fee?
No. Reset fees ($99-139) are separate from activation fees. Resets are for failed evaluations; activation is for passed evaluations.
Your Next Steps
👉 Start Trading at TradeDay Today
👉 Read My Full TradeDay Review
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