TradeDay review
Chicago futures prop firm since 2020, selling monthly Quick Pay and Fast Pass evaluations
- CEO
- James Thorpe
- Headquarters
- United States
- Founded
- 2020
- In business
- 6 years
- Trustpilot
- 4.6(1.4K)
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Our grade
Good
7.0 / 10 · #5 of 34
4.6
Trustpilot
1.4K reviews
- 5★85%
- 4★6%
- 3★2%
- 2★1%
- 1★6%
TradeDay rules & hidden risks
The fine print that costs traders accounts
Hidden Risk score
4.8/10
High risk
Average: 4.6
TradeDay's headline rules are short and published, and complaints about lost payouts are rare. The risk sits in the funded-stage mechanics most buyers do not read: the Quick Pay Funded Sim always trails intraday, payouts do not lower the drawdown line, profit above $10,000 is forfeited, and microscalping, IP and withdrawal behaviour are judged by the firm at payout or after a breach under sole-discretion terms.
Hidden rules to know before you buy
- highpayout
Profit above $10,000 in a Quick Pay Funded Sim is forfeited
Each Quick Pay Funded Sim is paused at the end-of-day run once gross profit (balance gains plus past withdrawals) reaches $10,000, and anything above that level is removed. A trader who keeps a winning trade open past the line loses the excess.
Source - highdiscretion
Sole-discretion clauses on profits and accounts
The terms let TradeDay remove simulated profits, delete trading days, reset or close accounts and ban users at its sole discretion, and to change trading rules at any time. In 2024 firm replies said it refunds and declines to fund traders who are rude to support or use 1-star reviews as leverage.
Source - mediumdrawdown
EOD buyers get an intraday drawdown once funded
The Quick Pay EOD evaluation switches to an intraday trailing drawdown in the Funded Sim. The pricing card says so, but 2025-2026 reviewers describe losing funded accounts to an intraday trail they did not track.
Source - mediumdrawdown
Payouts do not move the drawdown line down
On Quick Pay the trailing drawdown is computed from gross profit, so withdrawing cuts your cushion until the line reaches the starting balance. TradeDay also warns that frequent or large withdrawals that leave an account exposed may cost you the right to buy new evaluations.
Source - mediumstrategy
Microscalping and order splitting judged by pattern
A May 2026 policy flags accounts where most trades or most profit come from holds under roughly 5-10 seconds, plus identical split orders. There is no hard cutoff; every first payout goes through a security review and profits from prohibited practices are confiscated.
Source - mediumnews
Tier 1 news windows and the 2% price-limit rule
Positions are auto-liquidated 2 minutes before FOMC, CPI, NFP and product-specific EIA and crop reports. Funded traders also lose the account for trading within 2% of a CME price limit, a rule several reviewers say they only found after funding.
Source - mediumaccount
IP checks at payout and one user per household
VPNs, VPS and Apple Private Relay are banned; at payouts, the $10,000 review and the move to live you may have to trade a full day from your registered address. Only one username per household is allowed, and linked accounts are a common reason for denied payouts in reviews.
Source - mediumkyc
Country withdrawals hit existing accounts
TradeDay offboarded Moroccan traders in June 2025, Vietnamese traders in October 2025 and Chinese traders in May 2026, closing active accounts. German citizens and Canadians outside Ontario can never move past Funded Sim.
Source - lowconsistency
Fast Pass funded consistency and payout caps
Fast Pass accounts opened from July 26, 2026 need 5 profitable days, a 45% best-day ratio and can withdraw at most 50% of the balance up to $750-$2,250 per request. The advertised 'pass in 3 days' speed is paid for at the payout stage.
Source - lowcosts
Subscription mechanics can end an evaluation
Cancelling the renewal or a failed card payment closes the evaluation immediately, a reset does not move the billing date, and the free reset at renewal only applies if the account is not under evaluation. Billing complaints make up 31% of negative reviews.
Source - lowother
Terms and help center disagree
The August 2026 terms still describe a 7-day minimum and a $99 reset, while the help center lists 5 or 3 days and resets from $45 to $250. Read the help center articles, which the firm treats as the live rules.
Source
The rulebook
Drawdown5 rules
- One hard rule: never touch the trailing max drawdown of $1,000/$2,000/$3,000/$4,500; there is no daily loss limit.
- Intraday drawdown trails unrealized equity peaks; EOD drawdown updates at the close but equity may not cross the active level during the day.
- Drawdown stops trailing once it reaches the starting balance.
- Quick Pay Funded Sim always uses an intraday trailing drawdown, calculated from gross profit including withdrawals.
- Fast Pass Funded Sim keeps the EOD drawdown, which locks at the starting balance on the first payout request.
Consistency4 rules
- Quick Pay evaluation: no day above 30% of total profit; Fast Pass evaluation: 45%. A larger day raises the effective target rather than failing you.
- Quick Pay Funded Sim has no consistency rule.
- Fast Pass Funded Sim (accounts opened from July 26, 2026): no day above 45% of gross profit at each payout.
- Minimum 5 trading days on Quick Pay and 3 on Fast Pass; trading tiny size to run out the days ('sitting in the funding zone') can extend the evaluation or block funding.
News & timing3 rules
- Flat 10 minutes before each product's daily close; the system liquidates at 3:50 pm CT.
- No trading through tier 1 releases: FOMC, CPI and NFP for all products, EIA inventories for energy, crop reports for grains; auto-liquidation 2 minutes before and after.
- Accidental breaches of times, products and position limits are tolerated; repeated breaches cost the account.
Prohibited strategies4 rules
- No hedging across accounts, order splitting, microscalping, spoofing or layering.
- No more than 200 trades a day; no strategies built to exploit simulated fills, data releases or queue position.
- No third-party bots or purchased automated systems; no API access.
- Funded traders may not trade within 2% of a CME price limit.
Account & KYC5 rules
- One username and one user per household; up to 10 accounts on a single broker (Tradovate or Rithmic).
- KYC and AML through Riseworks after passing; Funded Live adds broker and clearing-firm checks.
- No VPN, VPS or IP masking; location checks at payouts and before Funded Live.
- Citizens or residents of about 80 listed countries are excluded; German citizens and Canadians outside Ontario are limited to Funded Sim.
- Losing a Funded Live account triggers a three-month cooling-off period before new evaluations.
Payouts & fees4 rules
- $250 minimum payout via Riseworks; free US wire, $15 international wire, free USDC on layer 2.
- Quick Pay: 50/50 split below $4,000 current profit per account, 80/20 above, 90/10 in Funded Live.
- Funded Live requires CME professional market data at $156 per exchange per month.
- All fees are non-refundable; forgotten renewals can be refunded at 80% if reported within 72 hours with no new activity.
What TradeDay allows
RestrictedEAs / botsRestricted
Own automated systems only via supported platforms; no API access, third-party bots and over 200 trades a day banned
RestrictedNews tradingRestricted
Positions auto-liquidated 2 minutes before and after FOMC, CPI, NFP and product-specific EIA/crop releases
Not allowedWeekend holdingNot allowed
All positions must be flat 10 minutes before each daily close
RestrictedOvernight holdingRestricted
Overnight session trading allowed, but nothing may be held through the 4 pm CT daily close
RestrictedCopy tradingRestricted
Allowed across your own evaluations/Funded Sims (2-10) or up to 5 Funded Live accounts, never between sim and live
Not allowedHedgingNot allowed
Long in one account and short in another on the same product is banned and forfeits profits
RestrictedScalpingRestricted
Allowed, but microscalping (most trades or profits under about 10 seconds) and order splitting are banned