TradeDay EOD Trailing Drawdown: The Balanced Choice

Written by Paul

Published on

January 9, 2026

You're looking at TradeDay's three drawdown options and EOD Trailing is $30 more per month than Intraday. That's $90 over three months, $180 over six months. You're wondering if that extra cost is justified or if you should just save the money and go with Intraday.

Here's what that $30/month buys you: the ability to hold losing positions through intraday swings without your drawdown spiking. With EOD (End-of-Day), your drawdown only calculates once per day at market close. A position that goes -$1,500 against you at 1 PM and recovers to +$200 by 4 PM? Your drawdown never registered that -$1,500 dip. With Intraday, you would have been at 50% of your limit during that afternoon swing.

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.

I failed my first TradeDay evaluation using Intraday because I didn't understand this difference. My strategy uses 25-35 point stops on NQ, and positions routinely go 15-20 points against me before working out. Those swings killed me with Intraday's real-time calculation. Switched to EOD on attempt two, same strategy, passed in 18 days.

This is your complete guide to EOD Trailing Drawdown: how it works, why 75-80% of traders choose it, who it's perfect for, and whether the extra cost is worth it.

What "EOD Trailing Drawdown" Actually Means

Breaking down the terminology.

"EOD" = End of Day Calculation

Your drawdown is measured once per day at 4:10 PM Central Time when futures markets close. Everything that happens during the day — winning positions, losing positions, intraday swings — only matters based on where you close.

Contrast with Intraday: Intraday measures drawdown every tick in real-time. A 40-point adverse move on 2 NQ contracts creates -$1,600 unrealized loss that immediately counts toward your drawdown. With EOD, that -$1,600 doesn't count until you close the position or until 4:10 PM arrives.

Why this matters: You can weather intraday volatility without threatening your evaluation. As long as you recover by market close, your drawdown stays clean.

"Trailing" = Follows Your Peak Balance

Your drawdown limit moves upward as your account grows. It "trails" behind your highest closed balance.

The formula:

Drawdown Limit = Peak Closed Balance - $3,000 (for $100K account)

Example progression:

Day 1: Start at $100,000 → Limit is $97,000
Day 5: Close at $102,000 (new peak) → Limit is now $99,000
Day 8: Close at $101,500 → Limit stays at $99,000 (doesn't drop)

The limit only moves up, never down. Once you hit $102,000 peak, you can never drop below $99,000 without failing.

"Drawdown" = Your Loss Threshold

The maximum amount you can lose from your peak before failing.

Amounts by account size:

$50K: $2,000 max drawdown
$100K: $3,000 max drawdown
$150K: $4,000 max drawdown

Hit this limit at market close and your evaluation ends. No second chances.

For comparison to other drawdown types, see the drawdown types guide.

How EOD Trailing Is Calculated

The technical mechanics.

The Daily Close Calculation

At 4:10 PM CT every trading day, TradeDay calculates:

Your Closed Balance: Starting balance + all closed P&L from today + any overnight positions marked to market at close

Your Peak Balance: The highest closed balance you've achieved (including today if today is higher)

Current Drawdown: Peak Balance - Today's Closed Balance

Example Day: Clean Winner

Starting balance: $100,000Trades during day:

Trade 1: +$400 (closed 9:45 AM)
Trade 2: -$200 (closed 11:30 AM)
Trade 3: +$600 (closed 2:15 PM)

At 4:10 PM close:

Closed Balance: $100,800
Peak Balance: $100,800 (new peak)
Drawdown: $100,800 - $100,800 = $0

You end the day at a new peak with zero drawdown.

Example Day: Winner with Intraday Swings

Starting balance: $101,000 (yesterday's close)Trades during day:

10:30 AM: Long 2 NQ at 16,000
12:00 PM: Position down to 15,975 (-$1,000 unrealized)
2:30 PM: Position rallies to 16,035
3:45 PM: Close at 16,040 (+$1,600 profit)

At 4:10 PM close:

Closed Balance: $102,600
Peak Balance: $102,600 (new peak)
Drawdown: $0

What happened with that -$1,000 unrealized at noon? Nothing. EOD doesn't care about unrealized P&L during the day. Only the final closed balance at 4:10 PM matters.

If this was Intraday drawdown: At noon, you would have shown $1,000 drawdown when the position was -$1,000 unrealized. That might have triggered concern or forced you to close the position early. With EOD, you never saw that drawdown.

Example Day: Losing Day

Starting balance: $102,600 (peak established yesterday)Trades during day:

Trade 1: -$400
Trade 2: -$600
Trade 3: +$200

At 4:10 PM close:

Closed Balance: $101,800
Peak Balance: $102,600 (stays at previous peak)
Drawdown: $102,600 - $101,800 = $800

You're now $800 into your $3,000 limit. You have $2,200 remaining room.

What About Overnight Positions?

If you're holding a position at 4:10 PM CT, it gets marked-to-market (valued at current price) for that day's close calculation.

Example:

Closed balance from intraday trades: $101,500
Holding 1 NQ overnight, currently +$300 unrealized
Your closing balance: $101,500 + $300 = $101,800
If that becomes your new peak, your limit is $98,800

The next day, that position's P&L continues from where it closed. If you exit at +$500 total the next morning, your new closed balance is $101,500 + $500 = $102,000.

Why 75-80% of Traders Choose EOD

It's the most popular drawdown type for good reasons.

Reason 1: Forgives Intraday Volatility

Futures markets swing 20-50 points regularly during news events, economic data, or just normal volatility. EOD lets you hold through these swings without your drawdown spiking.

Real scenario: You're long ES at 5,900. At 10 AM, housing data releases and ES drops to 5,870 (30 points = -$1,500 on 1 contract). By 2 PM, ES rallies back to 5,920 and you exit at +$1,000 profit.

With EOD: Your drawdown never registered the -$1,500 dip. You closed positive for the day.

With Intraday: At 10:00 AM, you showed $1,500 drawdown. That might have pressured you to exit at a loss rather than holding for the recovery.

Reason 2: Matches How Most Traders Think

Most traders think about their P&L in terms of "how did I finish the day?" not "what was my worst unrealized loss at 11:37 AM?"

EOD aligns with natural trading psychology. You measure success by your daily close, so your drawdown measuring the same way makes intuitive sense.

Reason 3: Allows Wider Stops

With EOD, you can use 30-50 point stops on ES/NQ without excessive drawdown risk.

Example: 2 NQ with 40-point stops = $1,600 risk per trade. If you hit that stop, your drawdown only increases by $1,600 at the day's close. You still have room for more trades tomorrow.

With Intraday, that $1,600 loss counts immediately and might leave you too close to the limit to trade comfortably.

Reason 4: Better for Learning Traders

If you're still developing your futures trading skills, EOD gives you more forgiveness for mistakes.

Example mistakes EOD covers:

Forgetting to set a stop initially (add it within minutes, no permanent damage)
Holding a losing position 10 minutes too long hoping for reversal
Getting caught in a volatility spike and working your way out

With Intraday, these mistakes show up immediately as drawdown spikes. With EOD, as long as you fix them before close, your drawdown doesn't reflect them.

Who EOD Trailing Is Perfect For

Specific trader profiles that excel with end-of-day calculation.

Swing Traders and Position Holders

Profile: You hold trades for 2-8 hours, positions regularly swing 30-60 points against you before reaching profit targets.

Why EOD works: Those swings don't count until you close or until 4:10 PM. You can hold through normal market chop without drawdown pressure.

Moderate Stop Loss Users

Profile: Your stops are 25-50 points on ES/NQ because you're trading larger timeframes (30-minute, 1-hour charts).

Why EOD works: Your stop losses are manageable. A $1,600 stop loss (2 NQ, 40 points) is 53% of a $3,000 limit. You can afford 1-2 stop losses per day and still have room to trade.

Traders Learning Position Management

Profile: You're still figuring out optimal exits, sometimes exit too early, sometimes hold too long.

Why EOD works: Your learning curve mistakes don't immediately threaten your evaluation. If you hold a winner too long and it gives back profit, your drawdown only shows the final result at close.

Most "Normal" Day Traders

Profile: You trade 1-5 times per day, hold positions 15 minutes to 2 hours, stops are 20-40 points, win rate is 55-65%.

Why EOD works: This is the standard day trading profile, and EOD is designed for it. The extra $30/month is worth the operational flexibility.

Anyone Who Holds Overnight

Profile: You enter positions in the afternoon and hold through overnight session or into next morning.

Why EOD works: Overnight gaps don't count against you until they're realized. If you gap down $500 overnight but the position recovers by close, EOD doesn't show that drawdown. Intraday would.

Cost Justification: Is $30/Month Worth It?

Let's do the math.

The Monthly Premium

Account Size	Intraday	EOD	Premium
$50K	$75	$99	$24/mo
$100K	$120	$150	$30/mo
$150K	$165	$210	$45/mo

Scenario: You Pass Faster with EOD

Intraday attempt:

Month 1: Fail on Day 14, reset ($120 sub + $120 reset = $240)
Month 2: Fail on Day 19, reset ($120 sub + $120 reset = $240)
Month 3: Pass ($120 sub + $139 activation = $259)
Total: $739

EOD attempt:

Month 1: Fail on Day 18, reset ($150 sub + $150 reset = $300)
Month 2: Pass ($150 sub + $139 activation = $289)
Total: $589

Result: EOD was $150 cheaper despite higher monthly cost because you passed one month faster. The $30/month premium is worth it if it helps you pass 1-2 months sooner.

The Insurance Value

Think of the $30/month as insurance against volatility-induced failures.

What you're buying: The ability to hold through 30-50 point adverse moves without your drawdown spiking. For most traders, that's worth $1/day.

Strategies for Passing with EOD

Approaches that work well with end-of-day calculation.

Strategy 1: Set Daily Loss Limits

Even though EOD is forgiving, set your own daily stop.

Example: Maximum -$600 loss per day. If you hit -$600, stop trading for the day regardless of time.

Why this works: Prevents catastrophic single-day losses. Even with EOD's flexibility, losing $2,000 in one day puts you at 67% of your limit. Daily loss limits keep you out of danger zones.

Strategy 2: Use Your Full Time Window

You have until 4:10 PM to work out of bad positions.

Example: You're down -$500 at 11 AM. With Intraday, that's immediate drawdown pressure. With EOD, you have 5+ hours to trade your way back to breakeven or positive. Take smaller size, wait for high-probability setups, and slowly chip away at the deficit.

Strategy 3: Hold Winners Longer

EOD's forgiveness lets you target bigger profits without drawdown risk.

Example: You're up +$400 on a position but it pulls back to +$200 before rallying to +$700. With Intraday, you might exit at +$200 to lock profit and avoid drawdown increase. With EOD, you can hold for the full +$700 because the pullback doesn't affect your drawdown calculation.

Strategy 4: Trade Through Normal Market Hours

Don't feel pressured to exit early. If your position is working and it's 3 PM, you can hold through the close.

Intraday pressure: Traders sometimes exit good positions at 3-3:30 PM just to "lock in the day" and avoid late-day volatility affecting their real-time drawdown.

EOD freedom: Hold until your actual profit target or stop loss is hit. The close calculation means there's no advantage to exiting early unless your strategy calls for it.

When to Choose Intraday Instead

EOD isn't perfect for everyone.

Choose Intraday if:

You're a pure scalper (5-10 minute holds, 10-15 point stops)
Your win rate is consistently 70%+
You want to save $90-180 over 3-6 months
You're highly experienced (1,000+ futures trades under your belt)

For everyone else, EOD is worth the premium.

For complete Intraday details, see the Intraday Trailing Drawdown guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does my drawdown reset to zero every day?

Not exactly. Your peak balance gets updated at each close. If you close at a new high, your drawdown is zero. If you close below your peak, you have drawdown equal to (Peak - Today's Close).

What if I'm in a losing trade at 4:09 PM? Should I exit?

Only if your stop loss says to exit. Don't make decisions based on the clock. If the position is still valid, hold it. It will be marked to market at close for today's calculation, then continues tomorrow.

Can I see my EOD drawdown in real-time during the day?

Your TradeDay dashboard shows your current status, but it updates based on closed trades during the day. Your final drawdown number locks in at 4:10 PM.

What happens if I hit my drawdown limit at market close?

Your evaluation ends. You cannot trade anymore. You'll need to pay a reset fee to start fresh.

Is EOD harder to game than Intraday?

Both have the same prohibited practices rules. EOD is just more forgiving of normal trading volatility, not more exploitable.

Bottom Line: Worth the Extra $30/Month

EOD Trailing Drawdown costs $24-45 more per month than Intraday, but it's the right choice for 75-80% of traders. The forgiveness for intraday volatility, wider stop compatibility, and natural alignment with how traders think about P&L makes it worth the premium.

Choose EOD if: You're a normal day trader, you're learning futures, you hold positions more than 15 minutes, your stops are 25+ points, or you're unsure which drawdown type to pick.

Choose Intraday if: You're an experienced scalper with tight stops and high win rate who wants to save money.

For complete evaluation strategies and rules, check the full TradeDay review.

Pay the extra $30. Pass faster. Get funded.