Daily Loss Limit Calculator — Prop Firm Max Risk Per Trade

A daily loss limit (or daily drawdown) is the maximum amount your account can decline in a single trading day before the firm locks you out. It is calculated from the opening balance of the day. FTMO sets it at 5% ($500 on a $10,000 account). Hitting this limit even once typically results in failing the evaluation or losing the funded account.

Max Risk Per Trade = (Account Balance × Daily Limit %) ÷ Number of Planned Trades. Example: $10,000 account, 5% daily limit, 4 trades planned → Daily limit = $500 → Max risk per trade = $500 ÷ 4 = $125 per trade (1.25% per trade). This ensures 4 consecutive losses still leaves you at exactly the daily limit.

No — experienced prop traders typically risk only 50–70% of their daily limit across all planned trades. This gives a buffer for unexpected market moves, slippage, or a bad day. Consistently hitting your daily limit means something is wrong with your strategy or entry quality.

Most prop firms automatically disable your trading access for the rest of the day once the limit is hit. For evaluation accounts, hitting it once usually fails the challenge. For funded accounts, repeated violations lead to termination. Some firms send alerts before you hit the limit — set your own mental stop well before the hard limit.

FTMO's daily loss limit is 5% of the initial account balance. On a $100,000 FTMO challenge, the maximum you can lose in a single trading day is $5,000 — regardless of intraday floating losses. This limit resets daily at midnight CET. Violating this limit fails the challenge immediately. Use this calculator to determine the maximum lot size and trade count that keeps you safely within the daily limit.