Prop firm drawdown calculator (daily and maximum loss)
Enter your firm's own limits to see where the floors are and how much buffer you have left. It does not guess any firm's rules.
Enter YOUR firm's own rules from your dashboard. This tool does not know any firm's rules.
This calculator shows where your floors are and how much buffer you have, using the numbers you enter. It does not know any firm's rules, and firm definitions differ and change, so copy your own from your dashboard.
How the numbers are worked out
- Baseline: your firm may use the start-of-day balance, the start-of-day equity or the higher of the two.
- Daily floor: baseline minus the daily limit, where the daily limit is a percentage of either the initial account size or the baseline, as your firm defines.
- Maximum loss floor: static means initial size minus the limit; trailing means your highest balance or equity minus the limit, never lower than the static floor. Some firms stop trailing at a set level, so check yours.
- Buffer: current equity minus the floor. The smaller buffer is your closest limit.
Understand each choice in prop firm drawdown rules explained, then turn the buffer into trades with the prop firm risk calculator. Your account must also respect the firm's own checks, which only the firm's dashboard can confirm.
This calculator is for education. It is not trading or investment advice and does not tell you whether you have breached a rule.
A worked example with made-up rules
These numbers are hypothetical and are not any firm's rules. Take a $100,000 account with a daily limit of 5% measured on the initial size and a maximum loss limit of 10%. The day starts with a balance of $100,000 and equity of $100,000.
| Item | Calculation | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Daily loss floor | $100,000 - 5% of $100,000 | $95,000 |
| Maximum loss floor (static) | $100,000 - 10% of $100,000 | $90,000 |
| Buffer to daily floor at $98,200 equity | $98,200 - $95,000 | $3,200 |
| Buffer to maximum floor at $98,200 equity | $98,200 - $90,000 | $8,200 |
| Closest limit | the smaller buffer | Daily, $3,200 |
Later the account has grown to $106,000 at the end of a day. The next day's daily floor is measured from a new baseline. If your firm uses the start-of-day balance of $106,000 and the 5% is taken from the initial size, the floor is $106,000 - $5,000 = $101,000. If your firm defines the 5% as a share of the baseline, it is $106,000 - $5,300 = $100,700. The definition changes the answer, which is why the calculator asks for it.
Static versus trailing, with numbers
Using the same hypothetical $100,000 account and 10% maximum loss: with a static limit the floor stays at $90,000 forever. With a trailing limit based on the highest balance or equity, a peak of $105,000 moves the floor to $94,500. The trailing floor never drops back down, so a $5,000 pullback from the peak leaves you $5,500 above it rather than $10,000 above the static floor. Some firms stop trailing once the floor reaches the initial balance, and some measure from equity, not balance. The calculator takes your highest figure as an input so you can model whichever definition applies.
| Situation | Static floor | Trailing floor (peak $105,000) | Buffer at $100,000 equity (static / trailing) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10% maximum loss, $100,000 initial | $90,000 | $94,500 | $10,000 / $5,500 |
Balance versus equity
Floating profit and loss changes equity but not balance. If a firm measures the daily limit on equity, an open trade that is deeply negative can bring you close to the floor even though your closed result for the day looks fine. MetaTrader 5 shows both in the Trade tab of the Toolbox. When a firm's own dashboard disagrees with your calculation, check the definition first: balance or equity, which time zone the day resets in, and what counts as the baseline.
Mistakes that cost traders accounts
- Assuming one firm's rules apply to another. Daily and maximum limits, trailing behaviour, and the reset time are defined by each firm and can change. Copy yours from your own dashboard.
- Counting only closed trades. Floating losses can count towards a limit, depending on the definition.
- Forgetting the reset time. The 'day' is the firm's, not yours.
- Sizing as if the buffer were full. After a loss the buffer is smaller; size from what is left. The prop firm risk calculator turns the buffer into a number of losers.
- Ignoring costs. Spread, commission and swap use up buffer too.
Make it part of a daily routine
Check the floors before the first trade of the day, write the buffer down, and compare it again after each loss. At the end of the day, log the final equity, how close you came to each floor, and whether you followed your plan. The challenge tracker template has the columns for that. If you want the MT5 trades behind those numbers recorded automatically, read the prop firm MT5 login guide and what to look for in a prop firm journal.
Checking your loss limits? The consistency rule calculator covers the other side: how much of your profit one day may make up.
Frequently asked questions
How do I calculate my prop firm daily loss limit?
What is the difference between static and trailing drawdown?
Does this calculator know my firm's rules?
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