Are There TradeDay Inactivity Fees or Trading Minimums?

TradeDay charges zero inactivity fees during evaluation—you can take weeks or months between trading sessions without penalty beyond your standard monthly subscription continuing. However, funded accounts have a 45-day inactivity policy: go 45 consecutive days without placing a single trade and your Funded Sim or Funded Live account gets terminated (not penalized with fees, but closed entirely). This isn't a fee—it's account closure. You lose funded status and must pass a new evaluation to get funded again.

The evaluation phase has no daily or weekly trading minimums beyond the 7-day requirement to pass. You must complete 7 total trading days (one round-trip per day), but TradeDay doesn't care if those days are consecutive or spread across months. Trade 7 days straight or trade once per week for 7 weeks—both approaches work. Your subscription bills monthly regardless of activity, but there are no additional inactivity charges or penalties for low trading volume.

Funded traders must place at least one trade every 44 days to keep accounts alive. The trade can be tiny—1 micro contract for $5 profit resets the 45-day clock completely. Most funded traders set monthly calendar reminders to place "maintenance trades" on quiet days, ensuring they never hit the inactivity deadline accidentally.

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.

Evaluation Phase: No Trading Minimums

During evaluation, TradeDay imposes zero trading frequency requirements beyond the 7-day minimum to complete objectives. You must trade at least 7 separate days total, but there's no rule about distribution across calendar time.

What You Can Do:

• Trade 7 consecutive days, pass in 7 calendar days
• Trade once weekly for 7 weeks, pass in 49 days
• Trade sporadically: 2 days, break 3 weeks, trade 5 more days
• Take month-long breaks between sessions

Your subscription continues during breaks, but there's no additional fee. The only cost is paying monthly rates for periods you're not actively working toward passing.

No Daily Requirements:

Unlike firms requiring 3-5 trading days per week, TradeDay has no such rule. You could take 60 calendar days to complete a 7-trading-day evaluation if you only traded every 8-9 days.

Strategic Breaks:

Many traders pause during:

• High volatility weeks (FOMC, CPI, NFP)
• Personal obligations (vacation, family)
• Emotional recovery after near-violations
• Unfavorable market conditions

This is allowed and common. Resume when ready.

Funded Accounts: 45-Day Maximum Inactivity

Once funded, rules change. Both Funded Sim and Funded Live have 45-day maximum inactivity periods. If 45 consecutive days pass without at least one trade, your account terminates.

The 45-Day Clock:

Last trade: March 1
Inactivity starts: March 2
Deadline: April 15 (44 days later)
Required: Place one trade by April 15

Trade on April 10? Clock resets. New deadline becomes May 24 (44 days after April 10).

What Counts as Trading:

Any completed round-trip resets the clock:

• Buy 1 MES, sell 1 MES = counts
• Buy 5 NQ, sell 5 NQ = counts
• Partial fills completing = counts

Doesn't count:

• Logging in without trading
• Placing orders that don't fill
• Canceled orders
• Attending webinars

Must execute actual trade showing on P&L.

No Minimum Profit Required:

The trade can be tiny. Buy/sell 1 micro for $5 P&L—doesn't matter. TradeDay only cares that you're actively using the account, not profit size or volume.

Many traders set 30-day reminders: "Make minimum trade." They'll scalp 1 contract on quiet days just to reset the clock.

Why 45-Day Policy Exists

Every funded account costs TradeDay money:

Platform Costs: TradeDay pays Tradovate/NinjaTrader/TradeDayX monthly fees per provisioned account, even inactive ones.

Data Fees: During Funded Sim, TradeDay pays for market data. Inactive accounts waste $20-100/month in unused data subscriptions.

System Resources: Risk management systems monitor all accounts 24/7. Inactive accounts consume resources better allocated to active traders.

Capital Allocation: Each funded account represents capital that could go to active traders waiting for milestone reviews to scale.

The policy ensures resources go to traders generating activity, not dormant accounts.

What Happens at 45 Days

If you hit 45 days without trading:

1. Account locks automatically end of Day 45
2. Email: "Account dormant due to inactivity"
3. Platform access terminates within 24 hours
4. Pending payout requests process first
5. If balance above starting, final payout of profit share issued
6. Account officially closes

Can You Reactivate?

No. Once dormant, account terminates permanently. Cannot pay to reactivate. To get funded again, must purchase and pass new evaluation from scratch.

Exception: Medical emergencies, military deployment, documented crises—contact support@tradeday.com BEFORE 45-day deadline. May grant extensions case-by-case, not guaranteed.

Avoiding Termination

Calendar Reminders: Set phone alerts every 30 days: "TradeDay minimum trade." Provides 15-day buffer before deadline.

Quick Maintenance Trades:

• Buy 1 MES at support, sell +2 ticks
• Sell 1 MNQ at resistance, cover +3 ticks
• Trade 11 AM-1 PM CT (low volatility)

Goal: reset clock with minimal risk, not profit.

Track Last Trades: Simple spreadsheet: Account 1 last 3/15, Account 2 last 3/22, Account 3 last 3/8. Check weekly, prioritize oldest.

Multiple Accounts: With 3 funded accounts, must maintain all three. Some traders close third account rather than maintaining if only actively trading two.

Comparison to Other Firms

Stricter:

• The Funded Trader: 30-day limit
• Apex: 30-day on some accounts
• FTMO: 60-day but requires 1% profit every 30 days

More Lenient:

• TopStep: 60-day limit
• Earn2Trade: No stated policy (discretionary)

TradeDay's 45 days balances flexibility for breaks with preventing complete abandonment.

FAQ

Does TradeDay charge inactivity fees during evaluation?

No. Monthly subscription is only cost. No penalties for low volume or breaks.

Can I pause evaluation without losing progress?

No. Keep subscription active (billing continues, progress preserved) or cancel (billing stops, progress lost).

Minimum trading frequency during evaluation?

7 total days to pass. No requirement on distribution—could take months.

Will one month inactivity lose my funded account?

Not yet. Limit is 45 days. 30 days is safe but approaching deadline.

Does tiny trade reset the clock?

Yes. Any round-trip (even 1 micro for $5 P&L) fully resets to zero.

Can I recover account after inactivity termination?

No. Once terminated, permanently closed. Must pass new evaluation.

Do weekends count toward 45 days?

Yes. 45 consecutive calendar days including weekends/holidays.

Emergency exceptions?

Contact support@tradeday.com BEFORE deadline. May grant extensions for documented emergencies, not guaranteed.

Minimum profit to avoid inactivity?

No. Just need to trade. Can be profitable, breakeven, or small loss—activity matters, not profit.

Your Next Steps

‍👉 Start Trading at TradeDay Today

‍👉 Read My Full TradeDay Review

‍👉 Check out TradeDay´s Payout Rules

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