🏷️#TradeDay
3 articles
[September 2026] Expected Value Summary: 5 Futures Prop Firms Where Self-Built Bots Are Allowed — TradeDay and Topstep Win at Zero Edge, Bulenox/Topstep/Tradeify Win With Edge
A summary comparing $50K accounts at 5 futures prop firms where automated trading is allowed 'self-built only, with conditions' (Bulenox, Tradeify, TradeDay, The Trading Pit, Topstep), run through identical Monte Carlo simulations. At 0.30 lots, one micro gold trade per day, over 1 year: at zero edge, TradeDay Quick Pay Intraday (+$2,522) and Topstep (+$2,519) are tied for the top. At 'medium' edge, Bulenox Qualification (+$25,529), Topstep (+$24,982), and Tradeify Select Daily (+$24,218) lead. None of them reach Category A's (fully automated OK) leader, FTMO Futures Pro (+$4,836 at zero edge). The Trading Pit is the only one that explicitly allows VPS; TradeDay and Topstep ban it.
TradeDay Expected Value, Calculated (September 2026) | At Zero Edge, Quick Pay Intraday Nets +$2,522/Year - But Gains Plateau, and VPS Is Banned
We ran a one-year Monte Carlo simulation from evaluation to payout for TradeDay's $50K plans (Quick Pay Intraday, Quick Pay EOD, Fast Pass EOD), a futures prop firm. Confirmed against the official pricing card and help center on September 25, 2026. The monthly fee only applies during evaluation and stops once you pass; there's no activation fee and no daily loss limit. At 0.30 lots and zero edge, Quick Pay Intraday comes out best among Category B firms (self-built automation only) at +$2,522/year. That said, the profit split is 50%, and the sim account is capped at $10,000 in cumulative profit, so even with edge you're looking at only around +$8,000/year. VPS is banned, and so are off-the-shelf bots.
[September 2026 Edition] A Full Review of Automated-Trading Rules Across 28 Futures Prop Firms - Where Can You Actually Run a Bot, EA, or Copy Trade?
We reread the official help centers and terms of 28 US futures prop firms on September 21-22, 2026, and sorted their automated-trading policies into five tiers: fully automated OK / self-built only with conditions / semi-automated only / banned / not addressed. Bulenox has switched to banning commercial and shared bots, Lucid allows them, Apex now explicitly bans automated trading on all accounts, and Tradeify requires a live video of you activating the code yourself. Covers firms that ban VPS, how each firm defines HFT (100-300 trades/day, 10-second holds), and firms that have shut down or stopped selling accounts. We've also added the two big FX firms that entered futures - FTMO Futures (allows algos) and The5ers Futures (bans algos).