Can You Use an EA at a Prop Firm? A Deep Dive Into Automated-Trading Rules at All 19 Firms + How to Use ELDRA

⚠️ ATFunded announced a service suspension on June 8, 2026 (no new challenge purchases). Everything in this article about ATFunded is a record of the rules as they stood before the suspension. See the summary article for the background and how refunds/payouts are being handled.

📢 Advertising / affiliate disclosure: This article contains prop-memo.com affiliate links (marked 🎁, for Fintokei / Funded7). If you purchase a challenge through one of these links, we'll give you unlimited use of Hosono P's semi-discretionary EA "ELDRA" as a gift. See Hosono P's note article for details.

※ Prop firm rules change frequently. Always confirm the latest accurate rules on each firm's official website. (Last updated: July 9, 2026)

Get EA eligibility wrong and your account can be suspended in a minute

Before running an EA (automated trading) at a prop firm, always read the official rules. It's shockingly common for traders to assume "the site said it was fine," start running an EA, and then get their account suspended when told "that type of EA isn't allowed."

Prop-firm rules around EAs can be organized along four axes:

1. Whether off-the-shelf EAs are allowed (bought as-is from an EA marketplace)
2. Whether self-built EAs are allowed
3. Whether source code must be disclosed (submitted to the firm)
4. Tick-scalping / HFT restrictions (minimum holding time)

This article lays out where all 19 firms stand and identifies which firms you should pick if you plan to run an EA.

Quick-reference table: EA rules at 19 firms

※ Always confirm the latest information with each firm officially. You can filter by the "EA filter" on /en/compare.

※ Automated trading isn't just about MT4/MT5 EAs. Firms that support TradeLocker (like SuperFunded) let you run Python bots directly via the TradeLocker API. We've confirmed live use of SuperFunded × TradeLocker × Python on this site (July 2026). This is a strong option for anyone who wants to bring code-based automation without writing MQL.

Unwritten rules to watch out for even when "EAs are OK"

Jumping in just because EAs are technically allowed leads to failure through the following pitfalls.

Pitfall 1: many users running the same EA

FTMO has a rule that if the combined capital of traders using the same EA exceeds $400K, it's a breach. If you bought a popular EA sold with paid signals, even if you personally work hard to get your own $100K account funded, you won't get paid by FTMO if other buyers of that same EA already hit $300K first.

Countermeasures:

• Modify it into your own logic before running it
• Check the cap on the number of buyers for a popular EA in advance
• Diversify across multiple EAs

Pitfall A: FundedNext fully bans EAs on accounts of $50K and above (September 2026 revision)

On September 9, 2026, FundedNext's official Help article "Is EA allowed in FundedNext?" was revised to state explicitly: "Traders with accounts of $50,000 or more must trade manually and cannot use Expert Advisors, trading bots, or any automation tools," and "fully manual trading on both challenge accounts and FundedNext accounts." EAs can only be used under $50K — that is, on the $6K, $15K, and $25K accounts (Stellar Lite: $5K, $10K, $25K) on MT4/MT5, which still carry the usual separate usage fee. cTrader and Match-Trader don't allow automated trading regardless of account size.

The effective date and whether it applies to existing accounts aren't stated officially. However, since the wording covers "both challenge and funded accounts," if you're running an EA on $50K or more, it's safest to stop and get written confirmation from support. FundedNext also bans "passing with an EA, then switching to manual," so don't proceed with switching to manual either without confirming first.

If you're planning to run an EA around the $100K mark, it's safer to choose FTMO, FundingPips, Fintokei 🎁, or Funded7 🎁. See our breaking-news article for the background and how to respond.

Pitfall 2: the definition of "off-the-shelf EA" is fuzzy

Even where "off-the-shelf EAs are banned" is written, it's often the case that "one you've customized/configured your own parameters on after purchase" is allowed. Example: Fintokei's terms are interpreted as "unmodified off-the-shelf EAs are banned, but individually configuring your own parameters/logic is fine."

Pitfall 3: the weight of source-code requirements

Some firms, including The5ers, require you to submit the EA's source code (.mq4 / .mq5) when running it. If all you have is the .ex4/.ex5 binary of a purchased EA, you could be in violation of the terms. Self-built EAs are the safe zone here.

Pitfall 4: tick-scalping / HFT restrictions

Many firms, including FTMO and Fintokei, ban entry-to-close within 10-20 seconds. An EA that grabs momentary price spikes during news events is a landmine.

Pitfall 5: martingale and grid strategies are banned as a rule of thumb

Doubling lot size after a loss to recover it (martingale) and stacking multiple positions to average down (grid) are banned or restricted at many firms.

Automatically log your results with the prop-memo.com EA Tracker

The biggest headache with running an EA is tracking performance. MT4/MT5 trade history tends to be scattered, and juggling multiple accounts in parallel makes it impossible to keep track.

With prop-memo.com's EA Tracker:

1. Install the dedicated EA (PropMemoTracker.mq4 / .mq5) on MT4/MT5
2. Just register an API key, and every trade is sent to the dashboard automatically
3. View cross-account daily/monthly P&L at /pnl
4. Manage challenge progress and payout history in one place at /dashboard
5. Automatic firm detection: automatically identifies the firm from the MT4/MT5 server name (Fintokei/FTMO/Funded7, etc.)
6. Three-stage auto-linking: automatically links an account when currency + account size + firm match, at register time, at snapshot time, or when registering a challenge

See /en/ea or /en/ea/ctrader (cTrader version) for detailed setup instructions.

Running the semi-discretionary EA "ELDRA" at Fintokei/Funded7

"ELDRA," a semi-discretionary EA developed by Hosono P, is given free of charge, unlimited use, to anyone who purchases a Fintokei, Funded7, or The5ers challenge through a prop-memo.com affiliate link (for The5ers, use the affiliate link + coupon JZWLR for 5% off. We've confirmed with The5ers' Japan representative that ELDRA doesn't fall under The5ers' ban on "EAs whose source code you don't possess," since it's semi-discretionary and you configure your own parameters).

ELDRA's features

• Semi-discretionary, not fully automated: entry decisions stay with the human trader, while execution and position management are handed to the EA
• Optimized for FTMO / Fintokei / Funded7 rules: doesn't run afoul of tick-scalping restrictions or martingale bans
• Prop-focused DD management: automatically shrinks positions as daily DD or max DD is approached
• Works with any currency pair: runs on major currencies, XAUUSD, and indices

Which firm should you use it with?

Fintokei Sapphire ($100K) or Funded7 Two Phase $100K are the best match for ELDRA. Reasons:

• Both allow self-built EAs, and almost anything goes as long as you don't breach tick-scalping restrictions
• Few logic constraints, since weekend holds and news trading are both allowed
• High payout efficiency, with profit splits of 80%-100%

For details on ELDRA and how to receive it, see Hosono P's note article and the ELDRA introduction page (written by its author).

For a guide to having an AI agent (Claude Code) help with configuration, safety features, and backtesting, see Getting started with ELDRA × AI agents.

Common breach cases in EA operation

Patterns that have actually led to account suspension:

Case 1: negative slippage during a VPS disconnection

Running 24/7 on an AWS EC2 Spot instance → the Spot instance was forcibly terminated, cutting the connection → only the stop orders remained active, causing a one-directional loss

Countermeasure: use a Contabo VPS or a fixed instance. Build redundant backups.

Case 2: failure to handle a DST (daylight saving time) transition

On the March/November DST transition dates, the EA's time-check logic drifted, firing a string of invalid entries → held positions through news without warning → an FTMO hard breach

Countermeasure: stop the EA manually on DST transition days. Re-verify the time logic.

Case 3: running the same EA on separate accounts in parallel

Ran the same EA on Fintokei and FTMO with simultaneous entries → judged as "multi-account copying" → both accounts closed

Countermeasure: differentiate parameters per account. Use /pnl's per-account management to separate the logs.

Case 4: not realizing an EA used martingale

A purchased "AI auto-trading EA" secretly had martingale logic built in → lot size doubled during a losing streak → exceeded daily DD

Countermeasure: verify the source code, or only use EAs with a solid, trusted reputation.

Case 5: mismatched EA timeframe setting

An EA built for 1-minute logic was attached to a 5-minute chart → behaved unexpectedly → an infinite loop caused the server to refuse the connection

Countermeasure: make a checklist for EA setup. Also use EA Tracker's monitoring feature.

A realistic roadmap to earning ¥100,000/month with an EA

1. Phase 1-3: Select an EA + verify for 3 months on a self-funded demo (understand win rate, RR, and DD characteristics)
2. Phase 4: Take on your first prop challenge at Fintokei Beginner ($5K) → get comfortable running the EA
3. Phase 5: After reaching funded status, scale up to Platinum ($100K) or Sapphire ($100K)
4. Phase 6: Run the EA in parallel across multiple firms (Fintokei + Funded7) → ongoing payouts of ¥100,000-200,000/month

The pitfall in this roadmap is skipping Phase 1-3. Putting an EA with no proven edge straight onto a prop account is gambling.

prop-memo.com's related tools

• 🤖 EA Tracker (MT4/MT5) — setup instructions, getting an API key
• 📊 EA Tracker (cTrader) — cTrader EA setup guide
• 💰 P&L dashboard — cross-account P&L visualization
• 🔍 Compare plans (filter by EA support) — filter candidates by MT5 support, etc.
• Fintokei detailed guide / Funded7 detailed guide

👉 If you're planning to run an EA at Fintokei, use this affiliate link 🎁; for Funded7, use this one 🎁 — either way, we'll give you ELDRA as a gift.