The consistency rule in prop firms is a limit on how much of your total profit can come from a single trading day. Also called a best day rule, it is set as a percentage. At 40%, your best day divided by your total profit must be 40% or less before a performance fee request can go ahead.
TL;DR: Consistency score = best day's net profit ÷ total net profit. The total you need = best day ÷ the limit, so a $1,000 best day needs $2,500 at 40%. At Alpha Capital, on-demand performance fee requests carry a 40% Best Day Rule on Alpha Pro, Alpha One and Alpha Swing, and 15% on Alpha Direct.
Educational content only, not a personal recommendation. Examples are illustrative, not typical results. Alpha Capital accounts are simulated accounts with simulated funds, and performance fees are not guaranteed.
How do you calculate a consistency score?
Only two numbers go in: the net profit from your single best day, and the net profit across the whole period being measured.
Consistency score = best day's net profit ÷ total net profit
Turn it around and you get the figure most traders actually want, the total profit required for a given best day:
Total profit required = best day's net profit ÷ the limit
Limits differ between firms and account types, so the multiplier changes too:
Limit | Multiply your best day by | Total required after a $1,000 best day |
|---|---|---|
50% | 2 | $2,000 |
40% | 2.5 | $2,500 |
30% | 3.33 | about $3,330 |
20% | 5 | $5,000 |
15% | 6.67 | about $6,670 |
The lower the percentage, the more evenly your profit has to be spread across days.
Worked example: eight days at a 40% limit (illustrative)
Illustration only, not a typical result. This simulated account starts a measuring period at zero profit, and day 4 produces one large win.
Day | Net result | Total profit | Best day | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | +$600 | $600 | $600 | 100% |
2 | +$300 | $900 | $600 | 66.7% |
3 | −$200 | $700 | $600 | 85.7% |
4 | +$2,000 | $2,700 | $2,000 | 74.1% |
5 | +$500 | $3,200 | $2,000 | 62.5% |
6 | +$800 | $4,000 | $2,000 | 50% |
7 | +$700 | $4,700 | $2,000 | 42.6% |
8 | +$300 | $5,000 | $2,000 | 40% |
Before day 4, a $600 best day needed only $1,500 of total profit. The $2,000 win lifted that requirement to $5,000 in one session. Notice day 3 as well: a losing day leaves the best day where it is but shrinks the total, so the score gets worse.
What happens when one day is too large?
The profit itself stays on the account. What changes is that the rule is not met until the total catches up, and you cannot fix that by waiting. The best day stays in the calculation, so the only way to bring the score down is more net profit on other days within the same period.
Firms differ on what follows from a score above the limit, which is why the terms matter. It may simply delay a request, or a firm may treat it differently at another stage.
How much more profit do you need to get back within the limit?
Extra profit needed = (best day ÷ limit) − current total profit
After day 4 in the table, that is ($2,000 ÷ 0.40) − $2,700 = $2,300.
The trap is trying to clear the gap in one go. A $2,500 day 5 would take the total to $5,200, but it would also become the new best day. The requirement would jump to $6,250, leaving the score at 48.1% and $1,050 still to find. Any day larger than your current best day moves the target.
Planning from the other direction
You can also start from the total you are aiming for: total × limit gives the largest best day that still fits. At 40%, a $4,000 total allows a best day of up to $1,600. At 15%, the same total allows $600.
Position size is what decides how large a winning or losing day can get, so it helps to work out lots from a fixed risk per trade using the lot size calculator. Avoid solving the problem with sudden size changes. Alpha Capital's policy against gambling in trading lists a significant change in lot size, compared with the account's overall average, as an example of what it treats as gambling.
What does "no consistency rule" really mean?
People search for "no consistency rule prop firm", "prop firms without consistency rule" and "instant funded account without consistency rule", and the phrase can mean several different things. A firm can truthfully say it has no consistency rule at one stage, or on one payout option, and still apply a limit somewhere else.
We do not list firms here, because terms change and the exact wording is what counts. Before relying on the claim, check a firm's own terms for the following:
- Stage: does "no rule" cover both the evaluation and the account you would request performance fees on, or only one of them?
- Payout option: does it hold for every schedule, or only for one?
- Other names: look for best day rule, profit concentration limit, maximum daily profit and consistency score. These can be the same idea under a different label.
- Related limits: minimum trading days, minimum profitable days, lot size consistency requirements and gambling clauses can all do a similar job.
- What sits alongside it: compare the payout frequency, minimum profit, drawdown rules and fee. A missing rule tells you little until you see the rest of the terms.
Accounts sold as "instant funded" deserve the closest reading. With no evaluation stage, the conditions on a performance fee request carry more weight. Alpha Direct is an example: it has no evaluation, and its 15% limit is the tightest on our plans.
So Alpha Capital does have this rule: every on-demand option we offer carries a Best Day Rule, as the next section shows.
How does the Best Day Rule work at Alpha Capital?
The figures below come from the help centre's on-demand performance fee and bi-weekly performance fee articles.
Plan | Performance fee option | Best Day Rule | Minimum profit to request |
|---|---|---|---|
Alpha Pro | On-demand | 40% | 2% of gross profits |
Alpha Pro | Bi-weekly | Not listed | $100, with 5 trading days before the first request |
Alpha One | On-demand | 40% | 2% of gross profits |
Alpha Swing | On-demand | 40% | 2% of gross profits |
Alpha Direct | On-demand | 15% | 3% profit buffer, then 1% of gross profits |
The bi-weekly article sets its own conditions instead: requests every 14 days, the $100 minimum and the trading-day requirement above, with no Best Day Rule among them. An account uses one method or the other, not both. Our guide to bi-weekly and on-demand performance fees compares the two, and Alpha Capital rules explained covers the wider rules on each plan.
The help centre's own 40% example: a trader makes $1,200 on day one of a Qualified Analyst account, and no later day beats it. The account meets the rule once its balance is $3,000 above the initial balance, because $1,200 ÷ $3,000 = 40%.
Alpha Direct gives you a Qualified Account from purchase, and it has a 3% daily and 5% trailing drawdown as well as this rule. Its multiplier is 6.67. In the Alpha Direct article, a $100,000 simulated account builds the $3,000 buffer, then a further $1,000, for $4,000 of total profit. The best day must be $600 or less at that point. The buffer stays in the account, and the $1,000 above it is what can be requested.
Being able to make a request at any time is not the same as a daily schedule. Our look at prop firms with daily payouts explains the difference. All requests are reviewed against the rules, and approval is not guaranteed. If a request has stalled, our guide to why performance fee requests get delayed covers the usual causes.
Reading your consistency score
- A score of 0: the account is in drawdown. The sum would give a negative number, so it is shown as 0.
- A score above 100: your best day is larger than the total profit on the account, so the total has to grow.
- After a partial withdrawal: the score resets to 0, and placing a new trade opens a new window. If you leave $200 behind and then have a $1,000 best day, you need $2,500 of profit in the new window, plus the $200 carried over, so the balance needs to be $2,700 above its initial balance.
Frequently asked questions
Is the consistency rule the same as the best day rule?
Usually, yes. Alpha Capital calls it the Best Day Rule and calls the resulting figure a consistency score. Some firms use "consistency" for something else, such as keeping lot sizes similar between trades, so read how each firm defines it.
Does Alpha Capital have a consistency rule?
Yes, on on-demand performance fee requests: 40% on Alpha Pro, Alpha One and Alpha Swing, and 15% on Alpha Direct. The bi-weekly option on Alpha Pro lists different conditions and does not list a Best Day Rule.
Are there prop firms with no consistency rule?
Some firms advertise this, but check what it covers. The claim may apply to one stage or one payout option, and other conditions may do a similar job. The firm's current terms are the only reliable source.
Does a losing day affect my consistency score?
Yes. A loss reduces your total net profit while your best day stays the same, so the score rises. In the example above, a $200 loss moved the score from 66.7% to 85.7%.
What happens at Alpha Capital if my score is over the limit?
The help centre treats an on-demand account above the limit as not yet complying with the rule, so it is not eligible to request a performance fee. Eligibility returns once the score is at or below the limit, which means building more total profit.
How do I work out the profit I still need?
Multiply your best day by 2.5 at a 40% limit, or by 6.67 at 15%, then subtract your current total. A $1,000 best day with $1,500 of total profit needs a further $1,000 at 40%, provided no later day beats the $1,000.
Sources
- Alpha Capital help centre: on-demand performance fee
- Alpha Capital help centre: bi-weekly performance fee
- Alpha Capital help centre: Alpha Direct
- Alpha Capital help centre: policy against gambling in trading
Alpha Capital Group is a proprietary trading firm based in the United Kingdom. Accounts operate in a simulated environment with simulated funds. Performance fees are performance-based and outcomes are not guaranteed.
