Prop firm algo rules in 2026: Apex bans automation, Topstep limits bots to its API

Apex Trader Funding now prohibits automated and algorithmic trading on all of its accounts under the rule set that took effect on 1 March 2026, while Topstep allows bots only through the TopstepX / ProjectX API, from your own device and never on a Live Funded account. Several other firms rewrote their automation rules during 2026, so a guide or forum answer from last year may now be wrong.

What happened

According to the independent prop-memo automation tracker, which read each firm's official pages on 21 September 2026, Apex's Prohibited Activities page lists "No Automation or Algorithm Usage allowed". The tracker reports that this applies to every Apex account under Apex 4.0, effective 1 March 2026, and that the earlier allowance for bots on evaluations no longer applies. Its own May 2026 edition had said evaluation bots were fine, which shows how quickly this advice goes out of date.

Topstep went the other way and wrote down how bots are allowed. Its TopstepX API Access article, updated 17 September 2026, says custom automated strategies and bots are allowed through the TopstepX / ProjectX API, subject to the platform's normal rules.

The details that matter

The Topstep permission comes with conditions that a lot of bot setups break:

• Your own device only. All trading must originate from your personal device. Running automation on a VPS can lead to suspension or removal. A private server may store data, run backtests, keep logs and show a read-only dashboard, but it may not place, modify, cancel or route orders.
• No API on Live Funded accounts. Topstep says Live Funded accounts are not allowed to trade through the ProjectX API, so the bot cannot follow you onto one.
• No high-frequency trading.
• A separate subscription. API access costs $29 a month, with 50% off for Topstep traders using the code topstep as of the September 2026 update.

Other changes this year, from the firms' own pages:

• Lucid Trading now says "automated trading systems and trade copiers are permitted" on its Other Trading Activities page (dated 26 August 2026), and that you are responsible for any software errors. The prop-memo tracker notes that its May 2026 reading of Lucid's rules said bots were banned.
• FundedNext CFD accounts of $50,000 and above must now be traded manually on MT4 and MT5, in both the Challenge and funded stages, according to its EA policy (updated 8 September 2026). Smaller accounts can still run EAs through a paid, non-refundable add-on, and automation is not permitted on cTrader or Match-Trader at any size.
• Tradeify now asks for proof that you alone own the strategy, including a live video of you launching the code on your own PC, according to the prop-memo tracker (checked 21 September 2026).

The same prop-memo tracker also records firms leaving the market, including Funding Ticks (shut down 18 January 2026) and Rev One Trading (August 2026), and YRM Prop stopping new account sales in mid-September 2026.

What it means for algo and systematic traders

"Allowed" now depends on the firm, the account stage and where your code runs. A bot that passes a Topstep Combine through the API still cannot trade the Live Funded account, so the strategy you get paid on may have to be traded by hand. On Apex, a fully automated system is not an option at all, whatever stage the account is at.

The rules a bot breaks are also the same rules a manual trader breaks. Topstep treats a breach by your bot exactly like one made by hand, and daily loss limits, drawdown and consistency rules apply whether or not anyone is watching the screen. A strategy with a few very large losing days, or one very large winning day, can fail an evaluation that its overall backtest looks good enough to pass.

What to do now

• Read the firm's own page, not a summary. Open the help-centre article or terms for the exact account type you plan to buy, note the date on it, and get anything unclear confirmed in writing by support.
• Check where your bot runs. If it trades from a VPS or a cloud server, find out whether that firm allows it before you pay.
• Test the bot against the rules before you buy the challenge. Look at your worst days against the daily loss limit, at your biggest winning day against the consistency rule, and at the conditions that produce both.

Read more

Our guide to prop firms that allow algo trading has a dated rules table with a source for every firm, including FTMO and The5ers. To turn each rule into a backtest check before you pay a fee, read how to pass a prop firm challenge with an algo strategy. And to see which sessions, weekdays, times and volatility conditions produce your worst days, run your trades through the free Entry Analysis report. It works with any supported broker via live sync, platform exports or any spreadsheet through the Custom CSV importer, with no card needed.