How is a trailing drawdown calculated?

The floor starts at the starting balance minus the maximum drawdown. Each time the account reaches a new high (the closing balance for end-of-day trailing, the peak including open profit for intraday trailing), the floor moves up by the same amount. It never moves down, and on most accounts it stops trailing once it reaches the starting balance or a set amount above it.

What is the difference between end-of-day and intraday trailing drawdown?

End-of-day trailing only moves the floor at the close, from the closing balance. Intraday trailing moves it in real time from the highest balance including unrealized profit, so a trade that runs up and comes back can raise your floor without adding to your balance.

Does the floor apply during the day on an end-of-day account?

On most firms, yes: the floor is set at the close, but touching it at any moment of the next session, open positions included, ends the account. Check your firm's wording.

Free tool

October 3, 2026

Trailing drawdown calculator

Free trailing drawdown calculator for prop-firm futures accounts. Enter your starting balance, your drawdown and each day's balances, and see where the floor sits, when it stops trailing, and how many NQ or ES points of room you have left.

Starting balance ($)

Maximum drawdown ($)

Drawdown type

Stops trailing at

Day	Floor that day	Next floor	Room	Status
1	$48,000	$48,650	$2,000	OK
2	$48,650	$49,400	$2,000	OK
3	$49,400	$49,400	$1,500	OK
4	$49,400	$50,000locked	$2,300	OK
5	$50,000	$50,000locked	$1,800	OK

After day 5: $1,800 of room above a floor of $50,000 (no longer trailing).

That is 90.0 NQ points or 900.0 MNQ points on one contract, 36.0 ES points or 360.0 MES points. Divide by your number of contracts.

Leave the peak and low empty to use the closing balance. "At risk" means the day's low went under the floor that the day's peak set: whether the account survived depends on which came first. Firms word their rules differently; check yours before relying on a number.

How to use it

Enter the account's starting balance and maximum drawdown.
Pick the drawdown type your firm uses: end-of-day trailing, intraday trailing or static, and where the trailing stops.
Enter each day's closing balance. For intraday trailing, add the day's highest balance with open profit included; for either, add the day's lowest balance to check for a breach.
Read the floor for each day, the room you had at the close, and the room left today in index points.

The rules this calculator follows

The floor starts at the starting balance minus the maximum drawdown and never moves down.
End-of-day trailing raises it from the highest closing balance, once a day.
Intraday trailing raises it from the highest balance reached during the day, open profit included.
It stops at the lock level you choose (the starting balance, starting balance + $100, or never).
A day's low or close at or under the floor in force is a breach.

Prop firms change their rules and word them differently, including daily loss limits and consistency rules this calculator does not model. Treat the result as a check, and confirm the details on your firm's site. For the reasoning behind each rule, read trailing drawdown explained.

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Questions

How is a trailing drawdown calculated?: The floor starts at the starting balance minus the maximum drawdown. Each time the account reaches a new high (the closing balance for end-of-day trailing, the peak including open profit for intraday trailing), the floor moves up by the same amount. It never moves down, and on most accounts it stops trailing once it reaches the starting balance or a set amount above it.
What is the difference between end-of-day and intraday trailing drawdown?: End-of-day trailing only moves the floor at the close, from the closing balance. Intraday trailing moves it in real time from the highest balance including unrealized profit, so a trade that runs up and comes back can raise your floor without adding to your balance.
Does the floor apply during the day on an end-of-day account?: On most firms, yes: the floor is set at the close, but touching it at any moment of the next session, open positions included, ends the account. Check your firm's wording.

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Educational content, not investment advice. Futures trading involves substantial risk of loss. See the risk disclosure.