A consistency rule stops one huge day from carrying an evaluation or a payout. Almost every firm uses the same formula, but the percentage, the stage it applies to and the penalty for breaking it vary a lot. That's why two "40% consistency" plans can feel very different.
The formula
Most firms calculate it the same way:
Consistency % = your best single day's profit ÷ your total net profit.
If the result is above the firm's limit, you haven't met the rule yet. Example: $1,000 total profit with a $400 best day is 40%. If the best day were $450, it would be 45%.
To work out how much total profit you need, divide your best day by the limit. At 40%, a $2,000 best day means you need at least $5,000 in total net profit ($2,000 ÷ 0.40). Topstep's payout policy uses exactly this example.
What happens when you break it
At most firms a consistency breach is not a fail. It moves the goalposts:
- Your target rises. Take Profit Trader says that if your best day is 50% or more of profit, you haven't failed; your profit goal increases until the best day falls below 50%. Topstep does the same in the Trading Combine: its 50K example turns a $1,800 best day into a $3,273 target.
- Your payout waits. On funded accounts, a breach usually just delays eligibility until you've traded more.
The practical cost is time and risk: you have to keep trading (and keep surviving the drawdown) to dilute one big day.
Current rules at the firms we track
| Firm and plan | Where it applies | Limit |
|---|---|---|
| Topstep Trading Combine | Evaluation | Best day below 55% of the profit target (target rises if you exceed it) |
| Topstep Express Funded, Consistency path | Payouts | 40%, plus 3 trading days |
| Tradeify Select | Evaluation only | 40% (50% option); none once funded |
| Top One Futures Elite Daily | Evaluation | 40%; funded uses a 50% new-profit rule instead |
| Take Profit Trader Test | Evaluation | Below 50%, plus 3 trading days |
| Apex (new 2026 accounts) | PA payouts only | 50%; none in the evaluation |
| Bulenox Master | Payouts | 40% |
| FTMO 1-Step | Challenge and account | Best day at most 50% of total profit, for orders from Oct 12, 2026 |
Checked Oct 25, 2026 on each firm's own pages (sources below). Rules change often; we log changes on our rule changes page.
Evaluation vs payout consistency
Read which stage a rule covers. Apex has no consistency rule in its new evaluations but applies 50% to Performance Account payouts. Tradeify is the reverse: 40% in the Select evaluation and none once funded. A plan that's easy to pass can still be slow to pay.
How to trade with a consistency rule
- Cap your daily target. At 40%, aim to make no more than about a third of the total target in any one day.
- Count losing days. Total net profit includes losses, so a red day raises your best-day percentage.
- Check the reset point. Topstep resets the calculation after each payout; profits before the payout don't count toward the next one.
Comparing specific firms? See Tradeify vs Top One or Apex vs Topstep.
Quick answers
Does breaking a consistency rule fail my account?
Usually not. At Take Profit Trader and in Topstep's Trading Combine, your profit target rises until your best day falls back under the limit. On funded accounts a breach typically delays payout eligibility. Check your firm's own rule page.
How is the consistency percentage calculated?
Best single day's profit divided by total net profit. At a 40% limit, a $2,000 best day means you need at least $5,000 in total net profit.
Which firms have no consistency rule in the evaluation?
Of the firms we checked on Oct 25, 2026, Apex's new 2026 evaluations and Bulenox's Qualification account have none. Both apply a consistency rule to payouts instead (50% at Apex, 40% at Bulenox).
Sources
Pages we used, checked Oct 25, 2026: the firm's official pages first, plus any named third-party source. If anything here disagrees with the firm's current page, the firm's page wins.