Profit Target
In the context of prop firm evaluations, a profit target is the minimum net profit, usually expressed as a percentage of the initial simulated account balance, that a trader must achieve during an evaluation phase to qualify for a funded account or advance to the next evaluation stage.
The level varies by firm and by product. At several firms a two-phase evaluation asks for 8% to 10% in Phase 1 and 4% to 5% in Phase 2, and a single-phase evaluation asks for 10%; some futures evaluations set a dollar target instead, such as $3,000 on a $50,000 account (6%), and instant-funding accounts have no target. At the firms that publish the basis, profit counts on closed trades only: floating profit on an open position does not count toward the target until the position closes.
This page covers the mechanic; it is not trading advice.
Prop firm rules vary between firms and change frequently. Always verify specific rules directly with your firm before making any decision.
How the profit target is measured
The profit amount you need to reach during the challenge. On a $10,000 account with a 10% target, you must generate $1,000 in net closed profit before you can pass. Profit is cumulative across all closed trades from the start of the evaluation phase — there is no separate per-trade or per-day target.
Reaching the target alone is not always sufficient. Firms with a consistency rule cap the share of profit a single day may contribute, measured against total profit, positive days' profit or the profit target, depending on the firm. A trader who reaches a 10% target with one 8% day must keep trading; under a 50% rule measured on total profit, the total has to reach 16% before that day's share is back inside the limit. At firms that measure against the target, the target itself may rise instead.
Reaching a 10% target on a $10,000 account
Account: $10,000. Phase 1 target: 10% = $1,000 net closed profit. Risk per trade: 1% = $100. Average R:R: 2:1, so the average winning trade returns $200 and the average losing trade costs $100, both after commission and swap.
Expected profit per trade at a 50% win rate = (0.50 × $200) − (0.50 × $100) = $50. Dividing the target by the Expectancy, $1,000 ÷ $50 = 20, puts the trade count at roughly 20 (slightly more on average, because a winning trade can overshoot the target). At one trade per day this is approximately 20 trading days; at three trades per day approximately 7 trading days.
These are expected values, not guarantees — actual outcomes depend on the realised distribution of wins and losses. A losing streak that breaches the maximum drawdown ends the challenge regardless of how many winning trades follow.
Related terms
Related articles
Common questions
Does the profit target include or exclude commission and swap?
Where the firm measures the target on the closed account balance, profit counts after commission and swap. Commission reduces profit on every trade that carries it, whether the broker charges it per side or per round turn. Swap on a position held through the daily rollover can be a debit or a credit, depending on the instrument, the direction of the trade and the account type, so it can reduce the profit or add to it; swap-free and futures accounts carry none. The firm's evaluation terms set the exact calculation.
What happens if the trader exceeds the profit target before reaching the minimum trading days?
The evaluation continues until the minimum trading days requirement is met. The trader may continue trading toward additional profit or trade conservatively to preserve the existing balance, but the evaluation cannot pass until the minimum days threshold is also satisfied, and each remaining day still needs at least one trade to count. Some firms set no deadline at all, although an account can still be deactivated after a firm-defined period with no trades. Where a firm does set a deadline, its terms state what happens if the deadline passes before every objective is met.