Guide
Trailing vs End-of-Day Drawdown: How to Tell Which One Your Account Uses
Two prop accounts can both say "$2,000 drawdown" and behave very differently. The difference is when the floor is allowed to move: with every new peak during the day, or only once a day from your closing balance.
The short answer
A trailing (intraday) drawdown moves its floor up as your balance or equity peaks during the day, including open profit. An end-of-day (EOD) drawdown only resets its floor from your closing balance once the trading day ends. Both set a floor under your account; the difference is when that floor can rise.
Why it matters
The same trades can be safe under one model and a breach under the other. If your account trails intraday, a winning trade that gives profit back pulls your floor up and leaves you less room than your closing balance suggests.
How to find out which one you have
Read your firm's current rules page and look for these wordings:
- "Intraday", "real-time" or "high-water mark": the floor follows your peak, including open profit. Treat it as trailing.
- "End of day", "closing balance" or "at the close": the floor is recalculated once per trading day.
- "Stops trailing" or a locked level: after a set target the floor stops rising, often at your starting balance.
- Balance vs equity: some rules measure realized balance, others include open profit. This changes where the floor sits.
If the page doesn't say, ask the firm's support in writing and keep the reply.
A worked example (illustrative numbers, not any firm's rules)
A $50,000 account with a $2,000 drawdown starts with a floor at $48,000. On day 1 the balance peaks at $51,000 intraday and closes at $50,500. On day 2 it opens at $50,500 and drops to $48,800.
- Day 1 floor, intraday trailing: $49,000 (peak minus $2,000)
- Day 1 floor, end of day: $48,500 (close minus $2,000)
- Day 2 low of $48,800, intraday trailing: breached at $49,000
- Day 2 low of $48,800, end of day: still above $48,500, not breached
Same account, same trades, different outcome.
What to track in your journal
- Your firm's drawdown type and when it recalculates.
- Your distance to the floor at the open and at your lowest point each day.
- Days where you gave back more than half of an open gain.
See where your floor sits right now
Enter your account size, max drawdown and high-water mark to see your floor and the buffer left. Free, no signup.
Open the Drawdown CalculatorFrequently asked questions
Some rules lock the floor at a set level once you reach a target. Check your firm's current wording, since the level and the target differ by firm and by account type.
Not always. It tolerates intraday swings, but a firm can still apply a daily loss limit or other rules on top of it, so read the full rule set.
Fillbook works out your distance to a rule from the trades you sync or import. It isn't a live monitor: figures update when your trades sync or import.
Futures trading contains substantial risk and is not for every investor. This guide is educational, not firm-specific advice -- confirm your account's exact rules against your own agreement. Full risk disclosures.
Want the firm-by-firm detail, including when the floor locks at Apex and Topstep? Read the full drawdown guide.Want your buffer tracked against your logged trades? See how Fillbook does it.