50K, 100K or 150K? How to choose your prop firm account size
A bigger account isn't always easier to pass. How to compare evaluation sizes by drawdown, profit target, contract limits and cost, and how to pick the size that fits how you actually trade.
When you shop for an evaluation, the 150K account looks like the obvious choice: more buying power, bigger payouts. But the size on the label isn't money you can lose. What matters is how much room the drawdown gives you, how far the profit target is, and how many contracts you can trade. Here's how to compare them.
The number that matters is the drawdown
Here's one example, from Topstep's evaluation at the time of writing. Rules change often, so always check the firm's current page:
| Account | Profit target | Max loss (trailing) | Target ÷ max loss |
|---|---|---|---|
| 50K | $3,000 | $2,000 | 1.5 |
| 100K | $6,000 | $3,000 | 2.0 |
| 150K | $9,000 | $4,500 | 2.0 |
Look at the last column. On the bigger accounts, the target grows faster than your room: you have to make twice your drawdown on the 100K and 150K, against one and a half times on the 50K. Bigger accounts also usually allow more contracts, and they cost more per month and per reset.
Choose the account by how much you risk per trade, not by the number on the label.
Start from your risk per trade
Work backwards from how you trade. Say your normal stop on MNQ is 20 points with 2 contracts. At $2 per point per contract, that's $80 a trade. On the 50K with $2,000 of room, a five-trade losing streak costs $400, or 20% of your drawdown. That's comfortable; you don't need a bigger account to trade that way.
Trade 2 NQ contracts with the same 20-point stop and it's $800 a trade. Two losses take $1,600 of the 50K's $2,000. That size needs a bigger account's room, or a smaller position. A common guideline is to keep a single trade's risk to around 5–10% of your max loss, so one bad trade never decides the evaluation. Try your own numbers in the risk plan calculator.
What changes with a bigger account
- More room in dollars, which matters if your stops are wide or you trade full-size contracts.
- A bigger profit target, often bigger compared with the room you have.
- Higher fees and resets. A failed 150K costs more to restart. See what getting funded really costs.
- More contracts allowed, which only helps if you'd actually trade them. See scaling plans and contract limits.
A simple way to decide
- New to evaluations, or trading micros? The smallest account usually makes sense: lower cost, a reachable target and plenty of room for micro-sized risk.
- Consistent, but your stops need room? Move up when your normal risk per trade would be more than about 10% of the smaller account's max loss.
- Running several accounts? Many traders pass smaller accounts more reliably than one big one. See multiple accounts and copy trading.
- Whatever you choose, pick the account where a normal losing week doesn't put you near the max loss.
Let your own numbers decide
The best answer comes from your journal: your average loss, your worst day and your longest losing streak. If your worst day so far is $900, a $1,000 daily limit is tight, and that tells you something about either the account or your stop rules. In Market Matrix you set up each account with its firm's preset, and the rules panel shows exactly how much room you have left after every import.
This article is for education only and isn't financial advice. Prop firm rules and prices change often; the table is an example from one firm at the time of writing. Always check your firm's current terms.