The Ordane Journal · Rules and mechanics
What Is the Consistency Rule? The Clause That Delays Your Payout
You passed. Then the payout did not come, and a clause you never read decided it. That clause is usually the consistency rule, and most traders meet it at withdrawal, not at purchase. This page owns one rule and how to read it before you pay.
What the consistency rule actually is
The 40-word answer, quotable as written
Ordane accounts trade simulated capital: no live funds are traded and no deposits are accepted. Every threshold and payout in this article is measured against simulated performance, not real money.
Why firms impose it, stated without spin
A firm that pays on process wants to filter out the trader who doubled the account in one session and flatlined the rest of the month. The consistency rule is that filter. It is not hidden malice; it is the mechanism that separates one good day from a method the firm is willing to keep paying.
The catch is timing. You rarely feel this rule while you trade. You feel it when you request the payout, because that is the moment the ratio is measured. Read it before you buy, not after you pass.
How the consistency rule is calculated
The one formula: best day over total profit
There is one formula, and Topstep's help center states it directly: largest single-day net profit divided by total net profit, expressed as a percentage. That single number is your consistency percentage. Every firm below measures the same ratio; only the line they draw changes.
A worked example with real numbers
Take a hypothetical account, so you can redo the arithmetic yourself. Suppose your total net profit is 3,800, and your single best day inside that total was 2,500. Divide 2,500 by 3,800 and multiply by 100: that is 65.8 percent. Against a firm that draws its line at 30 percent, that account is over the limit, and the payout waits until more trading days pull the ratio back down. Those numbers are illustrative, not a firm's published figure; swap in your own and the method holds.
The threshold band real firms use
The line is not one industry number. Across the live firms sourced below, it runs from roughly 20 percent to 50 percent, and where a firm sits changes what counts as a clean payout. The named-firm table further down carries the exact figure, consequence, and source for each. As of 2026-07-24, the band looks like this:
| Firm | Threshold | Applies to |
|---|---|---|
| Ordane (Rulebook v1.0, R-4) | 20% of cycle profit | payout cycle |
| Apex Trader Funding | 30% of total profit | before payout |
| Topstep (Express Funded) | 40% or below | payout eligibility |
| Topstep (Trading Combine) | 50% of total profit | evaluation |
| MyFundedFutures | 50% of profit target | evaluation |
| FTMO (Best Day Rule) | 50% of positive days' profit | account |
Breach does not always mean fail: what really happens
Delay versus disqualification
Here is the misconception that costs the most: that crossing the line kills the account. At most futures firms it does not. It withholds the payout request until further trading pulls the ratio back under the threshold, and then you are eligible again.
The sources say it plainly. Trade press coverage of Apex Trader Funding states that a large day early in the month means a trader needs several more profitable days to balance that spike before it can be withdrawn. MyFundedFutures' own help center states that exceeding the 50 percent target does not breach the account; the trader simply trades additional days until consistency is met. FTMO's trading objectives page states that exceeding the Best Day limit is not treated as a rule breach; a trader continues trading until the best day is 50 percent or less of positive days' profit. Topstep's help center states that in the Trading Combine, going over the line raises the profit target rather than failing the account. Four firms, one pattern: delay, not death. Whether the payout that follows actually lands is a separate question, answered with the sourced evidence that a payout lands once the ratio clears.
The version that voids a payout outright
That pattern is not a law of the industry. Some firms word the same clause as a hard disqualification, and the wording is where you find out. So read the clause for its consequence, not just its number. "Until the ratio is restored" is a delay. "Results in account termination" is a loss.
One rule for the fine print: a consistency clause that states a threshold but names no consequence is a clause whose penalty the firm decides later. Treat a blank consequence as the firm keeping the pen.
Where the consistency clause hides, and how to find it before you pay
The pages to open and the words to search
Open two pages before you buy: the rules or evaluation objectives page, and the terms. Then search the text (Ctrl+F or Cmd+F) for each of these: consistency, best day, daily profit, maximum daily profit, profit distribution, and the numbers 40%, 30%, 20%. One of those almost always lands on the clause.
If the clause is visible only after login or after purchase, you are being asked to agree to a rule you cannot read. That is a fail on its own, before you spend a cent.
Screenshot it before you enter card details
Screenshot the full objectives page before you enter card details. Rules pages change, and a dated image of the version you bought under is the only record you control if the page is edited later. For the wider pre-purchase document check that this clause is one part of, see the companion guide on how to audit a prop firm before you pay; this page stays on the one rule.
Where named firms draw the line
This table is the honest part, and honesty means conceding where a competitor publishes clearly. Topstep, MyFundedFutures, and FTMO publish their consistency terms in their own help centers, and those cells are sourced to the firm's own pages. Apex does not expose its page to our checker, so the Apex figure is sourced to trade press, not to Apex directly, and it is labeled that way. Rules pages change: this table is marked volatile, valid for 90 days, as of 2026-07-24.
| Firm | Threshold | Applies to | Consequence in short | Source tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apex Trader Funding | no more than 30% of total profit before a payout | payout | add profitable days to balance the spike, then withdraw | trade press |
| MyFundedFutures | 50% consistency target | evaluation | does not breach; trade more days until met | firm help center |
| Topstep (Combine) | best day at or below 50% | evaluation | profit target increases, you earn more to pass | firm help center |
| Topstep (Express) | 40% or below | payout eligibility | above 40% does not qualify for that payout | firm help center |
| FTMO | best day at or below 50% of positive days' profit | account | not a breach; keep trading until compliant | firm help center |
FTMO is worth reading twice, because it is often called a firm with "no consistency rule," and that is not exact. FTMO publishes a Best Day Rule at 50 percent and separately states, on its own FAQ page, that provided you maintain sustainable risk management, there are no additional consistency requirements beyond its core objectives. So it is one best-day cap, plus nothing extra, not a clean absence.
How Ordane handles it: the closed list
Concession first, without hedging: Ordane is new and has no payout history to show. We will not manufacture one. What you can verify today is the rulebook and how its consistency clause is worded.
Ordane does have a consistency-style clause, and it defers rather than disqualifies. Rulebook v1.0 clause R-4 states that if a single day exceeds 20 percent of cycle profit, the excess defers to the next cycle and is never confiscated. The outsized day is not deleted and the account is not failed; the surplus simply moves forward.
What protects you after that is the shape of the rulebook, not a promise. Ordane's Rulebook v1.0 defines the prohibited behaviors as a closed list: if a behavior is not on the list, it is not a violation. So a firm cannot invent a new consistency penalty after you pass, because a penalty not written in the list cannot be applied. Ordane's Rulebook v1.0 is also versioned: the version you buy governs your account for its life, and no rule applies retroactively to an open account. Check R-4 in the published Rulebook v1.0 yourself before you buy, the same way you would search any firm's page.
The rest of the rule surface is short by design. Ordane's Rulebook v1.0 states that the profit split starts at 60 percent on your first withdrawal, rises 5 points with each completed one, and reaches 100 percent from the ninth. Ordane charges a one-time fee across five account sizes, from $139 to $1,399, with no subscription. Whether that split ever pays is decided by two rules together: this consistency clause and the drawdown rule. The other one, static versus trailing drawdown, the rule that decides whether a passing account ever pays, is covered in its own guide.
Questions traders ask about the consistency rule
What is a consistency rule in a prop firm?
A consistency rule caps the share of your total profit that may come from your single best trading day. It exists so a passing account reflects a repeatable process, not one outsized session. At most firms it is measured when you request a payout, not while you trade.
How do I calculate my consistency percentage?
Topstep's help center states the formula as largest single-day net profit divided by total net profit, multiplied by 100. If your best day was 2,500 inside a 3,800 total, that is 65.8 percent. Compare that number to the firm's stated threshold before you request a withdrawal.
Does breaching the consistency rule fail my account?
Usually not. Apex, MyFundedFutures, FTMO, and Topstep's Combine all state that going over the line delays or adjusts the account rather than terminating it. But some firms word it as disqualification, so read the clause for its stated consequence, not only its number.
Can I get paid if I break the consistency rule?
At the delay-style firms, yes, once more trading pulls your ratio back under the threshold. Trade press coverage of Apex Trader Funding states that a trader adds profitable days to balance an outsized day before it can be withdrawn. At Ordane, Rulebook v1.0 states the surplus above 20 percent defers to the next cycle rather than being confiscated.
Do any firms have no consistency rule at all?
Fewer than the marketing suggests. FTMO is often listed as rule-free, but its own trading objectives page publishes a Best Day Rule at 50 percent and its FAQ page only then states there are no additional consistency requirements. Read the objectives page before trusting a "no rule" label.
Sources
- Topstep Help Center, Consistency at Topstep, on the consistency formula and the Combine and Express thresholds. help.topstep.com Retrieved 2026-07-24.
- Benzinga, Apex Consistency Rule Explained, on the 30 percent single-day limit before a payout. benzinga.com Retrieved 2026-07-24.
- TradersPost, Apex Trader Funding Payout Rules, on balancing an outsized day before withdrawal. blog.traderspost.io Retrieved 2026-07-24.
- My Funded Futures Help Center, Consistency Rule at My Funded Futures, on the 50 percent target and trade-more-days consequence. help.myfundedfutures.com Retrieved 2026-07-24.
- FTMO, Trading Objectives, on the Best Day Rule at 50 percent of positive days' profit. ftmo.com Retrieved 2026-07-24.
- FTMO, Do you have any consistency rules?, on there being no additional consistency requirements. ftmo.com Retrieved 2026-07-24.
- Ordane Rulebook v1.0, on simulated capital, clause R-4, the closed list, versioning, the split ladder, and pricing. ordanemarkets.com/rulebook.html Retrieved 2026-07-24.