MidasAll three firms we checked allow Expert Advisors, but none of them is a safe home for a classic grid EA. FundedNext allows martingale EAs in writing and bans grid trading; FTMO and The5ers do not name grid or martingale, but ban overexposure, abnormal position sizes and, at The5ers, EAs whose source code you do not own. Read the rules as behaviour, not as strategy names.
Rules as published on the date above; not legal or trading advice. Trading with leverage carries risk: if the deposit is too small, a stop-out is possible.
On this page (5)
The rules side by side
| Rule | FTMO | The5ers | FundedNext |
|---|---|---|---|
| Expert Advisors | Allowed: no restriction "whether it's discretionary trading, algorithmic trading or EAs"; style must be replicable on live accounts | Allowed: "any EA you have", with a list of banned behaviours | Allowed, including "EAs that employ martingale strategies"; the same strategy must be kept from Challenge to funded account |
| Grid | Not named | Not named; "bulk trading" (several trades open at once by automated tools) is prohibited | Prohibited: "Grid trading is prohibited" |
| Martingale | Not named | Not named | Allowed for EAs (FAQ updated 7 Apr 2026) |
| Exposure and size | Forbidden: "overleveraging, overexposure, one-sided bets"; position sizes substantially larger than usual | Forbidden: overleveraging, overexposure, abnormal position sizes, one-sided bets | Forbidden: gambling behaviour, one-sided betting, "All in One" trading |
| Hedging | Forbidden when used to manipulate or to spread profit across days, including opposite positions on the same instrument | Hedge arbitrage across accounts forbidden; hedging to inflate profitable days forbidden | Allowed only within the same account |
| Third-party EA | Allowed, but other traders may run the same EA and you can be denied the account under the capital allocation rule | Forbidden if other traders have the same trades open, or if you do not own the source code | Copy trading between accounts of different people prohibited |
| Activity limits | 200 orders at a time, 2,000 positions per day; more than 2,000 server requests per day is forbidden | Excessive server requests forbidden; HFT and tick scalping forbidden | HFT, tick scalping, hyperactivity forbidden |
| News | FTMO Account: no orders 2 minutes before and after selected news; not in the Evaluation; Swing accounts exempt. Gap trading around major scheduled news is forbidden | News "bracketing" with pending orders on both sides is forbidden | Funded Stellar accounts: profit from trades 5 minutes before or after high-impact news counts at 40%; Challenge accounts not affected |
| Source, checked 26.10.2026 | FAQ: strategies, FAQ: news, Forbidden practices | FAQ: EA, Prohibited practices | Prohibited strategies, Strategy restrictions, News |
Not in the table: E8 Markets and Funding Pips. Their official help pages returned an error (403 and 429) when we checked on 26 October 2026, and we do not publish rules taken only from review sites. Third-party summaries say E8 allows martingale; we could not confirm it at the source.
What this means for a grid or martingale EA
- "Allowed EA" is not "allowed grid". Every firm allows EAs, and every firm limits how an EA behaves. A grid opens many positions at once and adds size against the market. That matches FundedNext's banned "grid trading" word for word, and it can fall under "overexposure", "abnormal position sizes" or "bulk trading" at FTMO and The5ers even though the word "grid" is not there.
- Martingale is the narrow exception. FundedNext says it does not restrict EAs that use martingale. But a classic martingale grid is both martingale and grid; read the two rules together and ask support in writing about your exact EA.
- A bought EA has its own problem. The5ers forbids EAs whose source code you do not own and EAs that other traders run with the same trades; FTMO warns that a popular third-party EA can get the account denied. A commercial EA sold as a compiled file, Midas included, does not meet The5ers' source-code rule.
- The lock is hedging. Opposite positions on one symbol are allowed at FundedNext within one account; FTMO and The5ers forbid them when they serve to manipulate results or spread profit across days. If your EA locks a basket, check how the firm reads it.
- Daily loss limits meet deep baskets. Prop firms limit the daily and total loss. A doubling basket keeps a small loss for a long time and then a large one very quickly: with 11 orders from 0.01 lot the position reaches 20.47 lots, and each $1 of gold then costs $20.47. On news days gold covered a median $36–47 in the first hour in our 2025–2026 tick data (details). Check the worst day of your settings on real ticks before you pay for a challenge.
A checklist before you buy a challenge
- Find the firm's own pages on EAs, prohibited strategies, hedging and news, and save them with the date.
- Describe your EA in one message to support: number of orders, lot multiplier, hedging or lock, news behaviour, whether you own the source code. Keep the written answer.
- Run the same settings in the Challenge and on the funded account: FundedNext forbids switching between an EA and manual trading.
- Replay the worst days of your settings on real ticks, including NFP and FOMC days, and compare the worst daily drawdown with the firm's daily loss limit.
- If the answer is "grid is not allowed", run the grid on your own account with a deposit sized for it, not on a prop account.
What can go wrong
- Rules change without notice. All three firms reserve the right to act against practices they consider abusive; the wording on this page was correct on 26 October 2026 only.
- General clauses are applied case by case. "Overexposure" or "abnormal size" has no number; the firm decides.
- Payouts can be refused for a prohibited practice even after the target is reached.
- If the deposit is too small, a stop-out is possible on your own account, and on a prop account the loss limit closes the account long before that.
FAQ
Which prop firm allows martingale EAs?
FundedNext writes that it does not restrict EAs that use martingale strategies (help article updated 7 April 2026), but it prohibits grid trading. FTMO and The5ers do not name martingale; they forbid overexposure and abnormal position sizes. Ask support in writing about your exact EA.
Does FTMO allow grid trading?
FTMO's FAQ and Forbidden Trading Practices page, checked on 26 October 2026, do not mention grid. They forbid overleveraging, overexposure, one-sided bets and position sizes substantially larger than usual, which a deep grid basket can trigger. FTMO also limits accounts to 200 orders at a time.
Can I use a bought EA at The5ers?
Only if you own its source code and other traders are not running the same trades: The5ers lists EAs without owned source code and shared third-party EAs among prohibited practices. A commercial EA sold as a compiled file does not meet that rule.
Is news trading allowed with an EA at prop firms?
FTMO blocks orders 2 minutes before and after selected news on FTMO Accounts, but not in the Evaluation or on Swing accounts. FundedNext counts only 40% of profit from trades 5 minutes around high-impact news on funded Stellar accounts. The5ers forbids bracketing news with pending orders.
Is hedging allowed at prop firms?
FundedNext allows hedging only within the same account. FTMO and The5ers forbid opposite positions used to manipulate results or to spread profit across days, and hedging across accounts. A grid EA that locks a basket should be described to support before you start.
How do I check a grid EA before a prop challenge?
Replay its settings day by day on real gold ticks and look at the worst daily drawdown, especially on NFP, CPI and FOMC days. If that day is larger than the firm's daily loss limit, the challenge will likely fail on such a day.