How is a prop firm daily loss limit calculated?

Most firms take your start-of-day balance and subtract the daily loss percentage of your starting balance. With a $100,000 account, a 5% limit and a $101,500 start-of-day balance, equity must stay above $96,500. Some firms use a percentage of the start-of-day balance instead.

What is the difference between static and trailing drawdown?

A static drawdown floor never moves, for example $90,000 on a $100,000 account with a 10% limit. A trailing drawdown floor rises as your highest balance or equity rises, and on most firms stops once it reaches the starting balance.

Do open trades count toward drawdown?

Yes. Nearly all prop firms check limits against equity, which includes unrealized profit and loss, so an open losing trade can breach a limit before it is closed.

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Prop firm drawdown calculator

Enter your balance, equity and your firm's rules to see exactly where your daily loss floor and max drawdown floor sit, and how much you can still lose today.

Your account

Account size ($)

Starting balance ($)

Today's start-of-day balance ($)

Current equity ($)Balance plus open profit or loss.

Highest balance reached ($)For end-of-day trailing use your highest end-of-day balance; for intraday trailing use your peak equity.

Firm rules

Daily loss limit (%)Enter 0 if there is no daily limit.

Max drawdown (%)

Max drawdown type

Daily limit measured from

You can lose today

before hitting a limit

Daily loss floor (equity)

—

Max loss floor (equity)

—

Room to daily limit

—

Room to max drawdown

—

Daily allowance used

Overall drawdown used

Estimates only. Firms calculate limits in slightly different ways (server time, equity vs balance, commissions). Always confirm against your firm's dashboard and rules page.

How to use the drawdown calculator

Fill in your account size and, if it differs, the starting balance. Add today's start-of-day balance (most firms snapshot this at midnight server time), your current equity including open trades, and the highest balance you have reached. Then set your firm's daily loss %, max drawdown % and drawdown type. The results update as you type.

The big number is how much more you can lose before the nearest limit is hit. The two bars show how much of today's allowance and of your overall drawdown you have already used.

How each drawdown type works

Static drawdown never moves. With a 10% max loss on a $100,000 account, your equity must stay above $90,000 for the life of the account.

Balance-based and end-of-day trailing drawdown follow your highest balance up. The floor is your high-water mark minus the drawdown amount. End-of-day versions only update at the daily close, so open profit during the day does not drag the floor up.

Intraday trailing drawdown follows your peak equity, including unrealized profit, in real time. It is the strictest type because giving back open profit counts against you.

This calculator assumes trailing floors stop rising once they reach your starting balance, which is how most futures firms (and many forex firms) lock the drawdown. If your firm's floor keeps trailing above the starting balance, check its rules.

The formulas

Daily loss floor = start-of-day balance − (daily loss % × starting balance). Some firms use the start-of-day balance instead; switch the "measured from" option.
Static max floor = starting balance − (max drawdown % × starting balance).
Trailing max floor = the lower of (highest balance − max drawdown amount) and the starting balance.
Room left = current equity − the higher of the two floors.

Worked example: $100K 2-step challenge

Rules: 5% daily loss measured from the starting balance, 10% static max loss. You started today at $101,500 and your equity is now $101,200.

Daily floor = $101,500 − $5,000 = $96,500. Max floor = $100,000 − $10,000 = $90,000. The daily floor is higher, so it binds: you can lose another $101,200 − $96,500 = $4,700 today.

Futures example: a $50K account with a $2,000 end-of-day trailing drawdown. After your best close of $51,000 the floor is $49,000. Once a close reaches $52,000 the floor would be $50,000, the starting balance, and it locks there.

Common drawdown mistakes

Measuring the daily limit from your current balance instead of the start-of-day snapshot.
Forgetting that open losses count. Limits are almost always checked on equity, not closed balance.
Treating a trailing drawdown like a static one and giving back open profit on an intraday-trailing account.
Ignoring commissions and swaps, which reduce equity just like a losing trade.

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