Do prop firms allow trading bots? What each firm's rules say

Most futures prop firms allow a bot you wrote yourself, with conditions. Apex is the one firm here that says no.

The conditions repeat from firm to firm:

• At most firms, no high-frequency trading.
• At some firms, no bought, shared or copied bots.
• At some firms, approval or proof that you own the bot first.

I found no firm that publishes how it checks a bot: no form, no review steps, no timeline. The table gives each firm’s answer. Each section below quotes the firm’s own page, with the date I read it.

Firm	Bots allowed?	Main condition
Topstep	Yes, through its own APIS1	No high-frequency trading; live funded accounts can’t use the API; API access is $29 a monthS1
Tradeify	Only where it expressly allowsS2	May ask you to prove you own the bot, with a live video; no high-frequency tradingS3
MyFundedFutures	YesS4	Must not exploit simulated fills; no high-frequency trading; no copy tradingS4
Lucid Trading	Yes, trade copiers tooS5	You carry the risk of software errors; no high-frequency tradingS5,S6
TradeDay	Yes, if you built itS7	Bots bought from a third party are forbidden; identical trades across users shut all those accountsS7
Bulenox	Unclear: its pages disagreeS8,S9	Terms want management approval for third-party tools; the FAQ allows only user-built tools for your own use
Funded Futures Network	At the firm’s discretionS10	High-frequency trading bots can cost you the account; copy trading is capped at five accountsS10
Apex	NoS11	“No Automation or Algorithm Usage allowed”S11

This sums up published rules. It isn’t legal or trading advice, and rules change, so check the firm’s page before you rely on it, and ask the firm if the page is unclear.

Firm by firm

Topstep

Allowed, through Topstep’s own API. “Custom automated strategies and bots are allowed via the TopstepX / ProjectX API, subject to standard platform rules and our prohibition on high-frequency trading (HFT).”^S1

• Live funded accounts “are not allowed to trade through the ProjectX API”^S1.
• Running automation on a VPS “can result in account suspension or removal from the program”^S1.
• API access is $29 a month^S1.

Tradeify

Allowed only where the firm expressly allows it. “Automated trading is permitted only as expressly allowed”^S2.

• The firm may ask for proof: “You must be able to prove that you are the sole owner of the bot or strategy,” and “We will also require a live video of you enabling the code on your own PC”^S3.
• The same article lists “No High-Frequency Trading (HFT) Bots”^S3.
• Review may follow for unowned bots and for “coordinated automation across unrelated accounts”^S2.

MyFundedFutures

Allowed if it does not lean on the simulator. Traders may use “automated trading strategies tailored to their own specific settings” so long as the tools “do not aim to exploit the favorable fills offered in the Simulated Environment”^S4.

• “High-frequency Trading is not allowed on our plans”^S4.
• Traders “are not permitted to copy trade one another”^S4.

Lucid Trading

Allowed, and the trader carries the risk. “Automated trading systems and trade copiers are permitted”; the trader is “fully responsible for any software errors, malfunctions, or unintended outcomes”^S5.

• “HFT is strictly prohibited”^S6.
• A first offence is a written warning. Repeats can mean removed profits, closed accounts and a permanent restriction^S6.

TradeDay

Allowed if you built it. “Algos and Bots purchased from a third party and employed by the trader are forbidden. If multiple users are making the same trades, then all the accounts will be shut down.”^S7

• The firm also says it does not make platform APIs available to traders^S7.

Bulenox

The firm’s own pages point in different directions.

• The Terms say “any third-party algorithm, automated trading software, or other third-party trading technology must be reviewed and approved by the Bulenox management team before use”, and list “scalping” algorithms among abuses^S8.
• The FAQ says “Bots, algorithms and trade copiers are permitted” and “Only user-built tools intended solely for the account owner’s personal use are permitted”. Commercial, shared, rented or publicly distributed tools are not^S9.
• An extra $100 a month applies to some connections^S9.
• Neither page says whether a bot you built yourself needs the management approval.

Funded Futures Network

Allowed at the firm’s discretion. “Automated trading is allowed but at the discretion of FFN.”^S10

• Traders using “HFT trading bots” or trying to “exploit the simulated environment” can lose the account^S10.
• Copy trading is capped at five accounts^S10.

Apex Trader Funding

Not allowed, in Apex’s words. Its prohibited-activities page lists “No Automation or Algorithm Usage allowed” and gives the reason: “Rewards are intended to recognize human traders actively participating in the learning process, not to reward automated systems executing preprogrammed logic.”^S11

• The page sends readers to the user agreement for details. I did not read the agreement.
• On copying, the same page says “trade copying with other traders is strictly forbidden”^S11.
• Pages that are not Apex’s describe its automation rule in different ways. This section uses only Apex’s own page. I read an archived copy, because the live page refuses automated reads.

What the rules have in common

• High-frequency trading. Topstep, Tradeify, MyFundedFutures and Lucid ban it on their own pages. Funded Futures Network treats HFT bots as grounds to lose the account.
• Exploiting the simulator. MyFundedFutures names it directly. A strategy that only works because simulated fills are better than real ones is the worry it states.
• Shared, bought or copied bots. TradeDay, Bulenox and Tradeify each restrict them, in different words.

What I did not find

• A published process for checking a bot. Tradeify, Bulenox and Funded Futures Network each say approval, proof or discretion applies, and none says how it works or how long it takes.
• Detection thresholds, review steps, or how an appeal is decided, at any of these firms.
• Take Profit Trader: I did not read its automation rules for this page, so it is not covered here.
• Apex’s user agreement, which its prohibited-activities page points to for details on automation. I read the help page only.