FundedNext Bans EAs/Automated Trading on Accounts $50K and Above (September 9, 2026): Which Accounts Are Affected, What Happens to Existing Accounts, and Where EA Traders Should Move
※ This article is based on FundedNext's official help article as of September 9, 2026 (shown as "Updated today" on that date). The effective date and whether it applies to existing accounts are not stated officially, and as of this writing there has been no announcement on the blog or in the news section either. If you have an active account, be sure to get written confirmation from support.
TL;DR
- FundedNext now bans EAs, bots, and automation tools on accounts of $50,000 and above. The official help article explicitly states "fully manual trading on both Challenge accounts and FundedNext accounts"
- EAs can only be used on MT4/MT5 accounts under $50K. For Stellar 2-Step / 1-Step that means $6K, $15K, $25K; for Stellar Lite that means $5K, $10K, $25K. A separate usage fee is still required, as before
- cTrader and Match-Trader remain banned for automated trading regardless of account size (this was already the case)
- The effective date and whether it applies to existing accounts are not stated. Since the wording covers "both Challenge and Funded accounts," it's safer to assume active accounts are affected too and act accordingly
- If you were planning to run an EA on a $100K account, it's realistic to drop FundedNext and shift to FTMO / Funding Pips / Fintokei / Funded7
- This site's "buy now" rankings have also been downgraded: for EA users, FundedNext is now limited to $25K and under
What changed
Here's the relevant part of the official help article "Is EA allowed in FundedNext?" (retrieved September 9, 2026; original text in English).
| Item | New rule |
|---|---|
| Accounts under $50,000 | EAs, indicators, and bots allowed on MT4/MT5. Separate EA usage fee applies |
| Accounts of $50,000 and above | "Must trade manually and cannot use Expert Advisors, trading bots, or any automation tools" |
| Affected phases | "Fully manual on both Challenge accounts and FundedNext accounts" |
| cTrader | Automated/algorithmic trading is not allowed at all, for security reasons (unchanged) |
| Match-Trader | Manual only. EAs not supported (unchanged) |
| Cap per EA strategy | $300,000 total (unchanged) |
| Banned EAs | EAs sold specifically to pass evaluations (The Prop Pilot EA, PropEA, Gold OneShot EA MT5, Forex Flex EA, X Pass Bot), and EAs that connect to Telegram, WhatsApp, etc. |
| Tools treated as EAs | Tools that automatically adjust SL, TP, or lot size follow the same rules as EAs |
| Penalty for violation | Soft breach (redo the phase). Repeated violations lead to account suspension and payout denial. If detected, account termination is also possible |
Until now, FundedNext's EA rule was mainly a pricing issue — "you pay an extra usage fee, and it's unclear how paid challenges are treated." This change is now an outright ban based on account size.
Breakdown by account size
| Plan | EA allowed (under $50K) | EA not allowed ($50K and above) |
|---|---|---|
| Stellar 2-Step | $6K / $15K / $25K | $50K / $100K / $200K |
| Stellar 1-Step | $6K / $15K / $25K | $50K / $100K / $200K |
| Stellar Lite | $5K / $10K / $25K | $50K / $100K / $200K |
| Stellar Instant | $2K / $5K / $10K / $20K (all sizes allowed) | - |
The $300,000 cap per EA strategy is still in place, but since EAs can only be used up to $25K now, it effectively becomes "up to $25K x 12 accounts." For how the cap works, see the article on combined account size limits across multiple accounts.
What happens to existing accounts?
The official help article states neither an effective date nor whether it applies to active accounts (as of September 9, 2026). FundedNext's "Updates and Announcements" blog has no notice of this change either.
That said, the wording covers "both Challenge and FundedNext accounts," so there is no basis for assuming optimistically that only new purchases are affected. If you're running an EA on an account of $50K or more, we recommend the following steps.
- Stop the EA. A soft breach means redoing the phase; repeat it and your account gets suspended. Switch to manual trading or stay flat until you get confirmation
- Get written confirmation from support. Example wording:
My existing $100K Stellar 2-Step account has been running an EA since [date]. Does the new "$50,000 and above must trade manually" rule apply to it, and from what date?Save the response as a screenshot - If you have unrealized profit on a Funded account, file a payout request first. FundedNext has a 24-hour payout guarantee, so lock it in before any dispute over how the rule is interpreted
- Switching to manual trading is not without risk either. FundedNext requires "maintaining the same strategy on the challenge and the Funded account," and switching from EA to manual is explicitly banned. Continuing an account manually after it was passed with an EA carries its own separate risk
Where EA traders should switch to
If you're planning to run an EA on something around $100K, dropping FundedNext leaves four candidates (for each firm's EA terms, see the comparison of prop firm EA rules and each firm's guide).
| Firm | $100K two-step | EA | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| FTMO | $540 | Allowed | 10% target, no Japanese support. Unmatched stability of terms |
| Funding Pips | $529 | Allowed | Explicitly allows copying across your own accounts. Initial profit split 60% |
| Fintokei | Sapphire tier | Allowed | Japanese support, 1:100. Warnings for the 3% rule accumulate across accounts (6 warnings restrict all accounts) |
| Funded7 | Two-phase (JPY) | Allowed | JPY-denominated, 0.1 pip spreads. Founded 1 year ago, has discretionary clauses |
FundedNext's own strengths — a 15% profit split during the challenge, a 24-hour payout guarantee, up to 95% split — are still available for accounts of $25K or less. If you run multiple small EA accounts, it's still an option.
Impact on this site's ratings
- We've added a warning banner to the FundedNext full guide and revised the banned/allowed rules and FAQ
- We've updated FundedNext's entry in the comparison of prop firm EA rules and the 16-firm rules comparison to "EA banned $50K and above"
- Our "buy now" rankings now prioritize FTMO / Funding Pips / Fintokei / Funded7 for EA users, and limit FundedNext to $25K and under. The evaluation for manual traders (Phase 1 target 8%, 95% split, 24-hour payouts) is unchanged
FAQ
Q. Can I no longer use an EA on FundedNext?
Not on accounts of $50,000 or more. The official help article, revised on September 9, 2026, explicitly states: "Traders with accounts of $50,000 and above must trade manually and cannot use Expert Advisors, bots, or automation tools." On MT4/MT5 accounts of $25K or less, EAs can still be used as before, with a separate usage fee.
Q. Which side is a $50K account on?
Since the wording is "$50,000 and above," $50K falls on the banned side. EAs can only be used on $6K, $15K, or $25K (for Stellar Lite: $5K, $10K, or $25K).
Q. What about an account already running an EA on $100K?
The official help article states neither an effective date nor whether it applies to existing accounts. However, since it states the rule covers "both Challenge and Funded accounts," the safe approach is to assume active accounts are affected too — stop the EA and get written confirmation from support.
Q. Can I still use an EA on cTrader or Match-Trader?
No. cTrader and Match-Trader ban automated trading regardless of account size, and that was already the rule before this change.
Q. Is it fine if I just stop the EA and switch to manual trading?
FundedNext requires "maintaining the same strategy on the Challenge and Funded account," and explicitly bans passing with an EA and then switching to manual. Even if you do switch, get confirmation from support first.
Q. Which firms let me run an EA on $100K?
This site has confirmed EAs are allowed at FTMO, Funding Pips, Fintokei, Funded7, and others. For each firm's usage fee, minimum holding time, and same-strategy rules, see the EA rules comparison article.
Reference links
- FundedNext help article: Is EA allowed in FundedNext? (revised September 9, 2026)
- FundedNext blog: Updates and Announcements
- FundedNext full guide
Related tools on prop-memo.com
- Comparison of prop firm EA rules
- Comparison of strategy-change rules (switching from EA to manual)
- Firm comparison: compare $100K two-step prices and drawdowns side by side
Written by
Hosono P | the prop firm strategist
I buy challenges with my own money and record everything through to the payout. Recorded payouts: ¥6.1M in total from Fintokei, Fundora and Funded7, plus $4,776 from The5ers (as of September 2026). Author of the semi-discretionary EA "ELDRA".