Prop firms with at least one program that sets no deadline for reaching the profit target.
Evaluations have often set a deadline, such as 30 days to reach the target, after which the attempt failed whatever the balance. A program with no time limit drops that deadline: you can take as long as you need to reach the profit target, provided you stay within the loss limits and meet any minimum trading days. The firms listed above have at least one program with no time limit to pass, and the list changes as firms rewrite their rules.
Take a made up $100,000 example account with a 10% profit target. The table shows how long the target takes at different average weekly returns, and whether it would fit inside a made up 30 day limit, which is a little over four weeks. The figures are an illustration, not any firm's plan.
| Average weekly return | Weeks to reach 10% | Fits a 30 day limit |
|---|---|---|
| 0.5% | 20 | No |
| 1% | 10 | No |
| 2.5% | 4 | Yes, just |
With a deadline, the trader making 1% a week would either run out of time or have to raise risk to make 2.5% a week, which means larger positions against the same daily and maximum loss. Without a deadline, the same trader can keep the normal position size and take ten weeks. The absence of a time limit does not make the target smaller; it removes the pressure to trade faster than the strategy allows.
Programs with no time limit suit traders with jobs or other commitments who can only trade some sessions, swing traders who take a few setups a month, and traders whose strategy has quiet periods when conditions do not suit it. They also suit anyone who has pushed risk up as a deadline approached in the past. They suit traders less well if they work better with a fixed end date, since an open ended test can drift.
No time limit rarely means no conditions. Programs often keep an inactivity rule, so an account with no trades for a set period can be closed, and many keep a minimum number of trading days. Programs sold as a monthly subscription have no deadline in name but charge every month until you pass, so time has a direct cost. A longer evaluation also delays the first payout and any fee refund, and rule changes made during a long attempt may or may not apply to accounts already bought. Some firms balance an open ended program with a higher fee or tighter loss limits.
Some firms remove the deadline from every phase, while others remove it from one phase only or only from certain programs. Inactivity periods differ, as does what counts as activity: a single trade may be enough at one firm, while another wants trading on a number of days. Minimum trading days, whether the funded account also has an inactivity rule, and whether a monthly fee applies all vary between firms.
With the deadline removed, compare the rest of the test. Put the profit target next to the maximum loss for each program, and note whether the loss limit is static or trailing. Then compare the total cost, including any monthly fee over the months you expect to need, along with the inactivity and minimum day rules. Finish with the funded terms: profit split, first payout timing and any consistency rule. Each firm's profile lists its rules by program, and the comparison table narrows the field by platform and country.
How long it takes to pass a challenge sets out realistic timelines, and how to build a prop firm trading plan covers pacing an attempt. The position size calculator helps keep risk constant over a long evaluation, and programs that spread lower targets over more phases are listed under three step challenges.
No. Many programs with no deadline still have an inactivity rule, so an account with no trades for a set period can be closed or suspended. The period and what counts as activity vary by firm. If you expect a break from trading, check the rule before it starts, since the account can be lost even though no loss limit was broken.
Often, yes. Many programs with no time limit set a minimum number of trading days per phase, and some define what counts as a trading day, such as a day with at least one closed trade. The minimum is there to stop a pass from one or two large trades. Check the number and the definition before planning how long the attempt will take.
Funded accounts do not usually have a deadline, but they have payout cycles, inactivity rules and sometimes a minimum number of trading days before each payout. Some firms close funded accounts that are inactive for a set period. Read the funded account terms as well as the evaluation rules, since the absence of a deadline in the challenge says nothing about them.
Not quite. A monthly evaluation usually has no deadline to pass, but you pay the fee each month until you pass or cancel, so every extra month adds to the cost. A single fee program with no time limit costs the same whether you pass in two weeks or six months. Compare the likely total cost over the time you expect to need.