Prop firm EA, copy trading and VPS rules
Whether you can run an expert advisor, copy trades from another account or trade from a VPS. Many firms allow EAs in principle but ban third-party or high-frequency ones, and that detail sits in the terms. New to this rule? Prop firm EA, bot and copy trading rules.
23 rules at 16 firms15 close the account outright
What can this rule do to you?
Kind of rule
Automation
EAs, copy trading, VPS and latency.
Crypto Fund Trader
Closes the accountTick scalping is banned, manual or automated
Tick scalping is prohibited whether performed by hand or through an EA, bot or script. This is separate from the EA rule, using an allowed EA to run a disallowed strategy still breaches.
ThinkCapital
Closes the accountCopy trading closes the account the moment it is detected
Their stated procedure for copy trading on simulated funded accounts is immediate: the account is terminated and all open positions are closed on detection. There is no warning step and no appeal window described.
BrightFunded
Closes the accountCopy trading is allowed only between your own accounts
BrightFunded permits copy trading only between accounts owned by the same individual. Copying another person, or being copied, falls outside that permission. So a shared strategy between two traders is not covered even where both are paying customers.
- BrightFundedCloses the account
Grid trading and tick scalping are named as exploitative
Their terms list Grid Trading, High-Frequency Trading, Tick Scalping and Arbitrage, along with any strategy that does not adhere to live market conditions, as exploitative and not to be used. Grid trading in particular is a strategy plenty of traders run without thinking of it as an exploit.
Funding PipsCloses the accountA personal EA needs proof you wrote it
Full automation is allowed only with an EA the trader developed, and ownership must be evidenced with source code, version history or development records. A compiled file on its own is not accepted. Third-party EAs are permitted only as trade or risk managers; any other use means the evaluation or reward is denied and the account is closed.
- Funding PipsCloses the account
Copying from anyone else ends the account, your own accounts are fine
Copying between your own FundingPips accounts registered to you is permitted, and your account may act as master to an external slave account. What ends the account is copying between accounts owned by different users, coordinated trading across master accounts, and inbound copying from a signal provider or copier service where your account is the slave. Third-party account management results in immediate termination.
- BrightFundedCloses the account
Copy trading is yours only, across any firm
You may copy between accounts you personally own, including at other prop firms and retail brokers. Copying between accounts with different owners is strictly prohibited. BrightFunded partners with Prop Firm One so cross-firm copying can be run from one platform without breaching this.
Audacity CapitalCloses the accountOnly an EA you wrote yourself is allowed
Their prohibited-practices page bans "Running an EA, bot, or algorithm that you did not personally build", and spells out what that covers: "Commercially sold EAs, EAs coded by someone else, or EAs downloaded/shared from external sources". A bought robot is not a grey area here, and neither is one a friend wrote for you.
- Audacity CapitalCloses the account
Copy trading only between accounts you own
Their wording: "Copy trading is allowed between your own accounts within Audacity Capital, copying from an external account is allowed only if the account belongs to you. Third-party copying is not permitted." Mirroring a signal provider, or letting anyone manage the account for you, is out.
FXIFYCloses the accountRunning an EA without pre-approval can void profits
EAs need support approval before use on phase accounts. Using one without approval can get the account suspended with no right to the profits.
FTMO
Closes the accountFutures: HFT, latency arbitrage and simulation edges are banned
Automated trading is allowed on FTMO Futures, but high-frequency strategies, latency arbitrage and anything that exploits price delays or simulation-only features are forbidden, at FTMO's judgement.
Orion FundedCloses the accountExpert advisors capped at 2,000 requests a day
An EA or robot that generates more than 2,000 server requests a day, counting orders opened, modified or closed, is not permitted.
EZE FundedCloses the accountThe challenge page says EAs are welcome, the FAQ bans them
The rulebook section of the challenge page lists expert advisors and algos as allowed, in those words. The FAQ, which the terms name as part of the contract, says EAs, bots and automated systems are prohibited outright. A trader who buys on the strength of the challenge page and then runs a bot is breaching the rules.
Hypernova
Closes the accountBots are allowed only if you built them yourself
The unrestricted list says EA and bot restrictions are none. Prohibited conduct narrows that to automated strategies built and operated by the trader on a single account. A bought EA, a strategy taken from a trading community or anything marketed as a prop firm passer is a termination offence, even though the rules page reads as a free hand for automation.
- HypernovaCloses the account
The terms ban the scripts the rulebook permits
The rulebook permits automated trading on your own account. Section 8 of the terms prohibits using automated tools, bots or scripts to interact with the platform in any manner not expressly permitted. The API and SDKs that would make a bot expressly permitted are marked coming soon on the home page, so there is no sanctioned route for one yet.
FundedNextVoids profitYou must trade the funded account the way you traded the challenge
The same strategy and the same method, manual or EA, must be used in both stages; switching either way is prohibited. So is passing on one asset class or symbol group and then moving to another, or materially raising margin or risk usage, once funded.
- FundedNextVoids profit
EAs are an add-on, and capped at $300,000 per strategy
Expert Advisors are not included: they are bought as an add-on, work only on MetaTrader 4 and 5, and must be customised to your own style. Identical trades across accounts are not allowed, and any single EA or bot strategy is capped at $300,000 of total allocation.
Lucid Trading
Voids profitHigh frequency trading is a warning first, then your profits
Automated strategies that fire a high volume of orders in seconds are flagged by their risk systems. The first offence is a written warning. Repeat it and the profits made that way are removed, and access can be withdrawn for good.
- FTMOJudgement call
An EA sending over 2,000 server requests a day is forbidden
EAs are allowed but one that opens, modifies or closes orders more than 2,000 times a day overloads the server. That is listed as a forbidden trading practice.
Hola Prime
Judgement callSame EA as other traders shares one capital limit
Accounts running identical or very similar strategies are grouped and capped by one combined allocation. Hola Prime can refuse the funded account, rebalance it or terminate related accounts.
TopstepJudgement callNo ProjectX API bots on the Live Funded Account
Automation is allowed on the Live Funded Account but not through the ProjectX API. A bot that worked on your XFA through the API has to be switched off after the call-up.
TradeifyJudgement callBot users may have to prove sole ownership on a live video
Tradeify scans for matching orders on other accounts and can ask for a live video of you starting the code on your own PC. A bot shared with others or also run at other firms breaks the policy.
FunderBluJudgement callThe terms ban automated tools and bots
FunderBlu's terms say you will not use automated tools or bots, and it publishes no separate EA policy, while its home page says the platform supports expert advisors. Ask FunderBlu in writing before running an EA.
This list is only as complete as our reading. 36 of the 97 firms we track have been through a rulebook pass; the rest are still to do, and a firm missing from here has not been cleared. It has not been checked. See which firms are next.