Alpha Futures rules
Rule explorer
Cheapest monthly evaluation (25K-100K) with no consistency rule while evaluating and passing possible in one day, but a daily loss guard and smaller payout caps; funded accounts have a 40% consistency rule and a scaling plan.
Evaluation
passing the test- Profit target
- $3,000
- Max drawdown
- $2,000 end-of-day trailing (follows the highest end-of-day balance; touching it at any time, including intraday, fails the account)
- Daily loss limit
- $1,000 Daily Loss Guard (soft: positions closed and trading paused until next day, account not failed)
- Consistency rule
- None during the evaluation
- Minimum trading days
- 1 trading day
- Max contracts
- 3 minis / 30 micros
- Also know
- Evaluation reset $149. No news-trading restrictions during the evaluation.
Funded
after you pass- Activation fee
- $0
- Max drawdown
- $2,000 end-of-day trailing (follows the highest end-of-day balance; touching it at any time closes the account)
- When the drawdown stops trailing
- Stops trailing once it reaches the starting balance and stays there for the life of the account; it does not drop to $0 after the first withdrawal.
- Daily loss limit
- $1,000 Daily Loss Guard (soft breach)
- Consistency rule
- 40%: the best single day must be under 40% of net profit since the last payout request before a payout can be requested; breaking it only delays the payout
- Max contracts / scaling
- Scaling plan by profit: under $1,500 = 1 mini/10 micros; $1,500-2,000 = 2/20; $2,000+ = 3/30
- Also know
- Qualified reset $499 (max 2, only before any payout request, within 7 days of breach). No orders 2 minutes before/after high-impact news.
Payouts
getting paid- Days needed before a payout
- 5 winning trading days of $200 or more (not necessarily consecutive) since the previous request
- How often
- Up to 4 requests per month, each time after 5 new winning days of $200+
- Profit split
- 90%
- Minimum payout
- $200
- Maximum payout
- $1,500 per request, and no more than 50% of account profit
- Buffer / safety net
- Each request is limited to 50% of the account's profit; the rest stays in the account. No separate buffer amount is published.
Heads up: recent changes and conflicting pages 12
- Contradiction on monthly fees after passing: the help center Monthly Subscription article says 'Qualified Traders do not pay a monthly subscription' and that the subscription 'automatically ends once you pass', and the homepage labels Qualified plans 'No Fee Once Qualified'; but the Zero, Standard and Advanced product pages say 'Your monthly stays the same after you qualify' and 'when you pass, you move straight to your Qualified account at the same monthly price', and the Zero/Advanced product tables list a monthly price on Qualified rows.
- Contradiction on Zero 50K price: the homepage, Zero Account Overview and Monthly Subscription article list $169/month with a $149 reset; the Zero product page lists '$139/month' with a $119 reset (the product page FAQ also says '$119 on 50K').
- Contradiction on Direct 50K payout cap: the Payout Policy, Direct Account Overview, homepage and Direct product page say $2,000 per request; the Maximum Withdrawal Request article says $1,500.
- Contradiction on account limits: the Maximum Allocation article says 5 Zero, 5 Standard, 5 Direct and 3 Advanced Qualified accounts; the Advanced product page says 'You can run up to 5 accounts at the same time'; the Direct product page says 'up to 5 accounts per size tier'; the Terms and Conditions say 5 Qualified accounts, or 3 if the trader holds Standard or Advanced accounts.
- Consistency rule wording: for evaluations the help center says a day 'cannot be larger than' the limit (exactly 40%/50% allowed), while for Qualified accounts it says 'greater than or equal to' (exactly 40%/20% blocks a payout).
- The Daily Loss Guard article mentions only Zero and Advanced accounts; amounts for Standard Qualified and Direct come from their overview and product pages.
- The Terms and Conditions (effective July 27, 2026) say resets cost the same as the monthly evaluation fee, while the Reset article and product pages list lower reset prices. Schedule 4 of the Terms also mentions bi-weekly or on-demand payout requests, which conflicts with the 4-per-month rule elsewhere.
- Premium plan retired: a Premium Account Overview article (launched May 1, 2026, said to retire Standard) is still reachable, but Premium is no longer listed in the help center or on the site, and the September 15, 2026 payout update says all active Premium accounts have been refunded. The Maximum Withdrawal Request article still names Premium.
- July 2026 changes: Direct accounts launched July 7, 2026; the Advanced activation fee ($149) was dropped for accounts bought after July 8, 2026; Standard Qualified account limit raised from 3 to 5 for accounts opened from July 27, 2026; Terms and many help articles updated July 27, 2026.
- September 15, 2026 payout update: approved payouts are paid within five business days or less; same-day payouts not yet restored.
- The site advertises promo codes (e.g. ALPHA40 / MYALPHA40 for Zero, ALPHA50 for Standard, Advanced and Direct); listed prices are before discounts.
- Commissions and the permitted-products list are in a PDF linked from the 'What and When you can Trade' article and were not reviewed.
All Alpha Futures accounts at a glance
Every plan and size the firm sells, with the headline numbers. Pick one in the explorer above for the full rules.
Zero
Cheapest monthly evaluation (25K-100K) with no consistency rule while evaluating and passing possible in one day, but a daily loss guard and smaller payout caps; funded accounts have a 40% consistency rule and a scaling plan.
| Size | Price | Profit target | Max drawdown | Daily loss limit | Split | Min payout |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25K | $89 / month | $1,500 | $1,000 · EOD | $500 | 90% | $200 |
| 50K | $169 / month | $3,000 | $2,000 · EOD | $1,000 | 90% | $200 |
| 100K | $279 / month | $6,000 | $3,000 · EOD | $2,000 | 90% | $200 |
Standard
Monthly evaluation (50K-150K) with no daily loss limit while evaluating and a 50% consistency rule; funded accounts get a daily loss guard, 40% consistency (removable with a paid add-on), a scaling plan and payout caps about double Zero's.
| Size | Price | Profit target | Max drawdown | Daily loss limit | Split | Min payout |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50K | $129 / month | $3,000 | $2,000 · EOD | $1,000 | 90% | $500 |
| 100K | $239 / month | $6,000 | $3,000 · EOD | $2,000 | 90% | $500 |
| 150K | $349 / month | $9,000 | $4,500 · EOD | $3,000 | 90% | $500 |
Advanced
Most expensive monthly evaluation with higher profit targets, a tighter drawdown and a 40% consistency rule; funded accounts have no daily loss limit, no consistency rule, no news restriction, no scaling and payouts up to $15,000 per request.
| Size | Price | Profit target | Max drawdown | Daily loss limit | Split | Min payout |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50K | $209 / month | $4,000 | $1,750 · EOD | None | 90% | $1,000 |
| 100K | $349 / month | $8,000 | $3,500 · EOD | None | 90% | $1,000 |
| 150K | $489 / month | $12,000 | $5,250 · EOD | None | 90% | $1,000 |
Direct
One-time fee with no evaluation: the trader starts in a Qualified account and earns payouts by hitting a withdrawal profit target with a 20% consistency rule instead of winning days.
| Size | Price | Profit target | Max drawdown | Daily loss limit | Split | Min payout |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25K | $349 one-time | None | $1,000 · EOD | $500 | 90% | $500 |
| 50K | $519 one-time | None | $2,000 · EOD | $1,000 | 90% | $500 |
| 100K | $689 one-time | None | $3,000 · EOD | $2,000 | 90% | $500 |
| 150K | $859 one-time | None | $4,500 · EOD | $3,000 | 90% | $500 |
Rules for every Alpha Futures account
Trading hours, news, banned strategies, account limits, fees and more.
- Simulated accounts
Evaluations and Qualified (funded) accounts use simulated money. Payouts are 'performance fees' based on simulated results. A separate live program exists only for selected traders after a review.
source · alpha-futures.com - Plans sold
Four plans are sold: Zero, Standard and Advanced (monthly-subscription evaluations that lead to a Qualified account) and Direct (one-time fee, no evaluation, starts directly in a Qualified account).
source · alpha-futures.com - Drawdown type (Maximum Loss Limit)
Every account uses an end-of-day trailing Maximum Loss Limit (MLL). It is set from the highest balance at the close of each trading day (not the intraday peak), never moves down, and stops trailing once it reaches the starting balance, where it stays for the life of the account. Touching the MLL at any moment, with open or closed P&L, liquidates the account.
source · help.alpha-futures.com - What failing means
Hitting the MLL is the only way to fail an evaluation. A failed evaluation cannot become Qualified; the trader can buy a reset or wait for the monthly rebill, which restores the starting balance. Hitting the MLL on a Qualified account closes that account.
source · help.alpha-futures.com - Daily Loss Guard
A 'soft' daily limit on some accounts (Zero evaluations and Zero, Standard and Direct Qualified accounts). If the day's realized plus unrealized P&L, including simulated commissions, reaches the limit, all positions are flattened, orders cancelled, and trading is locked until the next trading day (6 PM ET). The account is not lost. Fills are market orders, so the actual loss can exceed the limit. Advanced accounts and Standard evaluations have no Daily Loss Guard.
source · help.alpha-futures.com - Trading hours and flat time
Futures trade from 6:00 PM to 5:00 PM ET the next day; markets are closed Friday 5:00 PM to Sunday 6:00 PM ET. All positions must be closed before 4:20 PM ET every day; if not, the firm closes them. No overnight or weekend holds on simulated accounts.
source · help.alpha-futures.com - Products
CME Group products (CME, CBOT, NYMEX, COMEX). Micro Bitcoin (MBT) and Micro Ether (MET) are allowed but count as full-size (mini) contracts toward position limits. The full product and fee list is in a linked PDF.
source · help.alpha-futures.com - Price-limit rule
Trading any product within 2% of its CME price limit is prohibited on all accounts. For equity index futures with a 7% overnight limit, this means stop trading once the market is up or down 5% on the day.
source · help.alpha-futures.com - News trading
No news restrictions on any evaluation or on Advanced Qualified accounts. On Zero, Standard and Direct Qualified accounts, no orders may be executed from 2 minutes before to 2 minutes after a high-impact (ForexFactory red-folder) event for the traded asset; for speeches only the listed start time counts. Holding a position through news is allowed. First violation: profits from those trades are removed, the payout is denied and a warning is issued; a repeat violation breaches the account.
source · help.alpha-futures.com - Bots and automation
AI, bots and fully automated (hands-off) trading are banned on all account types. Semi-automated trading (for example an indicator that gives signals) is allowed if the trader personally places, monitors and manages each trade.
source · help.alpha-futures.com - High-frequency trading
Strategies averaging more than 100 trades per day, manual or automated, are not allowed.
source · help.alpha-futures.com - Hedging
Being long on one account and short on another ('reverse trading'), or holding opposing positions in the same account (for example long NQ and short MNQ), is banned.
source · help.alpha-futures.com - Scalping and fill exploitation
A pattern of profits from trades under 10 ticks and under 2 minutes is flagged as tick/micro scalping. Also banned: exploiting the simulator's lack of slippage, tight brackets to grab favorable fills, stacking/spamming orders, multiple limit orders at one price to manipulate fills, and trading isolated fills in gapped or illiquid markets.
source · help.alpha-futures.com - Gambling-style trading
Max-size 'all or nothing' positions, using the Daily Loss Guard as a stop loss, blowing accounts and buying replacements ('account rolling'), and stacking passed evaluations to roll into Qualified accounts are prohibited.
source · help.alpha-futures.com - Copy trading
Allowed only between accounts that belong to the same person, with that person executing the trades. Group trading (coordinating identical or opposite trades with others), automated trading and reverse trading are banned. The firm is not responsible for copier software problems.
source · help.alpha-futures.com - VPS / VPN
A VPS is allowed. Using a VPN to hide or change the IP address is not, including during KYC.
source · help.alpha-futures.com - Penalties for prohibited practices
The agreement can be terminated immediately, profits from prohibited trading are voided, and passed evaluations can be reviewed and refused.
source · help.alpha-futures.com - Account limits
Maximum Qualified accounts per person: 5 Zero, 5 Standard (3 for Standard accounts opened before July 27, 2026), 5 Direct, and 3 Advanced; a trader holding an active Advanced Qualified account is limited to 3. One username per person and one person per household.
source · help.alpha-futures.com - Inactivity
At least one trade (any size) must be placed every 10 trading days; trading platforms archive account data after 10 inactive trading days.
source · help.alpha-futures.com - Platforms
AlphaTrader (the firm's own web/mobile platform), TradingView (connected through Plus500US in demo/simulation mode), WealthCharts, DeepChart (Volumetrica, includes OrderFlow package) and Quantower (desktop, dxFeed data). NinjaTrader, Tradovate and Rithmic are not listed. The platform cannot be changed after purchase. A Non-Professional data agreement must be signed in AlphaTrader before real-time data is available.
source · help.alpha-futures.com - KYC
Identity verification through Veriff (government photo ID plus selfie; paper IDs not accepted) is required before a Qualified account is issued or any payout is paid. Review can take up to 48 hours. It must be completed by the account holder personally. Failing screening means no Qualified account but a full refund of the passed or active evaluation.
source · help.alpha-futures.com - Age
Services are only for people over 18.
source · alpha-futures.com - Restricted countries
Residents or citizens of 61 listed countries cannot trade, even when only visiting them. The list includes, among others, China, Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Iran, North Korea, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, Turkey, Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia, Kenya, Venezuela and Jamaica.
source · help.alpha-futures.com - Activating a Qualified account
After passing: complete KYC, sign the trader contract within 30 days of passing (it expires after that), and pay any activation fee owed. The Qualified account is issued in 24 hours or less. Zero, Standard and Direct have no activation fee; Advanced accounts bought after July 8, 2026 have none either.
source · help.alpha-futures.com - Monthly subscription
Evaluations rebill every month on the sign-up date until passed or cancelled (cancel in the dashboard's Billing section). A failed account is reset to the starting balance at rebill; an account still in progress can be reset or continued as-is at rebill. The help center says Qualified traders do not pay a subscription, but the product pages say the monthly price continues after qualifying (see notes).
source · help.alpha-futures.com - Resets
An evaluation reset restores the starting balance, MLL and trading-day count, and does not change the rebill date. Prices: Zero $79/$149/$249 (25K/50K/100K), Standard $109/$199/$289 (50K/100K/150K), Advanced $189/$319/$449 (50K/100K/150K). Qualified resets exist only for Zero and Standard, can be used up to 2 times per account only if no payout was ever requested, and must be bought within 7 days of the breach. Advanced and Direct Qualified accounts cannot be reset.
source · help.alpha-futures.com - Payments
Cards must be in the buyer's own name (no third-party payments; the card name is checked against KYC). Evaluations can also be bought in crypto through CoinPayments (ETH, USDT, USDC, SOL on listed networks), but crypto purchases do not auto-rebill and must be renewed manually.
source · help.alpha-futures.com - Refunds
All sales are final and no refunds are issued (except the KYC-failure refund described in the KYC article).
source · alpha-futures.com - Payout split and methods
Traders keep 90% of each withdrawal on all simulated Qualified plans. Payouts are in US dollars by ACH (US banks only), wire, SWIFT, Wise or Rise (Rise requires signing an agreement first).
source · help.alpha-futures.com - Payout processing time
Approved payouts are currently paid within five business days or less; the firm says it is working to restore same-day payouts.
source · alpha-futures.com - Promotion to live (Path to Live)
The risk team may call a trader to live after, for example, 5 payouts on one Qualified account or large lifetime payouts. All simulated Qualified accounts are then closed, and each one that has had at least one payout becomes a live account with an end-of-day drawdown ($1,000/$2,000/$3,000/$4,500 for 25K/50K/100K/150K). Options: the Live Program (80% split, daily uncapped withdrawals, simulated profits forfeited), Alpha Prime (60% split, bonus of 50% of simulated profit up to $75,000 over 12 months, salary and support), or declining (final payout of 50% of the eligible live drawdown and at least a 3-month break). Live accounts have no consistency rule, no news restriction, no withdrawal cap, and a daily loss limit of 30% of the account.
source · help.alpha-futures.com - Live account loss cool-down
Losing a live account triggers a cool-down of up to 3 months before returning to simulated accounts; the longer the trader was live, the shorter the cool-down.
source · help.alpha-futures.com
- alpha-futures.com
- alpha-futures.com/product/advanced
- alpha-futures.com/product/direct
- alpha-futures.com/product/standard
- alpha-futures.com/product/zero
- help.alpha-futures.com/en/articles/10491202-maximum-withdrawal-request
- help.alpha-futures.com/en/articles/11632512-standard-account-overview
- help.alpha-futures.com/en/articles/11634907-advanced-account-overview
- help.alpha-futures.com/en/articles/11771813-zero-account-overview
- help.alpha-futures.com/en/articles/15838742-direct-account-overview
- help.alpha-futures.com/en/articles/9492014-daily-loss-guard
- help.alpha-futures.com/en/articles/9492025-scaling-plan
- help.alpha-futures.com/en/articles/9492048-consistency-rule
- help.alpha-futures.com/en/articles/9492051-payout-policy
- help.alpha-futures.com/en/articles/9492077-reset
- help.alpha-futures.com/en/articles/9492083-activation-fee
- help.alpha-futures.com/en/articles/9820801-activating-your-qualified-account