ICC You can hit the profit target of a prop firm challenge and still not be paid. One common reason is the consistency rule: a cap on how much of your total profit may come from a single day. It exists because firms want to fund traders who make money steadily, not one lucky day. The good news is that the rule is simple maths, and you can plan for it from day one.
What the consistency rule is
Most versions compare your best day with your total profit:
Consistency % = best day's profit ÷ total profit × 100
If the result is above the firm's limit (for example 40% or 50%), you have not met the rule yet. At the firms below this is not a breach that ends the account: you keep trading until the best day is a small enough share of the total. The details that change from firm to firm are the percentage, which days count towards "total profit", and when the rule is checked.
How firms count it (checked 21 October 2026)
From each firm's official rule page. Rules change often and differ between programs, so read your own program's page before you trade.
| Firm and program | Rule | How it is counted |
|---|---|---|
| FTMO, 1-Step Challenge and FTMO Account (orders from 12 Oct 2026) | Best day at most 50% of total profit | Total profit is the sum of closed profits and losses of all trading days. Going over is not a breach: you keep trading. Older accounts use the legacy Best Day rule, counted on profitable days only. Source |
| FundedNext, Stellar 2-Step and Stellar Lite (CFD on-demand rewards) | Highest profit day at most 40% of total profit | (highest profit day ÷ total profit) × 100, checked only when you ask for a payout; it is not a daily profit cap. Source |
| The5%ers, High Stakes | No best-day percentage in the program rules | Instead each step needs at least 3 profitable days of at least 0.5% of the initial balance. Source |
Worked example
A $100,000 account under a 50% rule counted on all days (as at FTMO 1-Step):
| Day | Result | Total so far |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | +$6,000 | $6,000 |
| 2 | −$2,000 | $4,000 |
| 3 | +$4,000 | $8,000 |
| 4 | +$2,000 | $10,000 |
The best day is day 1 with $6,000. $6,000 ÷ $10,000 = 60%, above the 50% limit. While day 1 stays the best day, the total has to reach $6,000 ÷ 0.5 = $12,000, so you need another $2,000 without a bigger single day. Notice that the losing day 2 made it harder: when losses count, every red day pushes the required total up.
Under a 40% limit the same account would need $6,000 ÷ 0.4 = $15,000 in total.
How to plan around it
- Know your ceiling per day. With a $10,000 target and a 40% rule, a single day above $4,000 means you must earn more than the target. Many traders set a daily profit stop just below that number.
- Keep the size steady. Doubling the size after a few good days is the usual way one day ends up too big. The same risk per trade every day keeps the days similar.
- Watch the losing days too. Where losses count towards total profit, a large red day after a big green day can move you back above the limit.
- Do the maths before a big day, not after. If today is already near the ceiling, the best trade may be no trade.
- Combine it with the loss limits. The prop firm drawdown calculator shows the room left on the daily loss and the maximum drawdown, which matter more than consistency: they end the account.
How ICC Zillas checks it for you
In the prop firm tracker you set your firm's rules once, including the consistency % if your firm has one. After every synced or imported trade it shows your best day, its share of the total profit and whether you are inside the limit, next to the daily loss, the maximum drawdown and the target. It uses the best day and the total profit from your journal, so check whether your firm counts losing days the same way.
Trading carries a high risk of losing money. This article is education, not financial advice, and no rule or tool guarantees that you pass a challenge or make a profit.
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