Apex Trader Funding Minimum Payout Amount Explained

The $500 minimum: what it means and what it does not

The $500 minimum is a fixed floor on every payout request. You cannot request $499, $300, or any amount below $500. The minimum applies equally to a $25K account and a $150K account. It applies to your first payout and your sixth. It never changes.

What the $500 minimum does not tell you is whether your account is currently eligible to request a payout at all. A trader with $1,200 in profit on a $50K account has more than $500 available, but that does not mean a payout request will go through. The Safety Net threshold is a separate and more significant condition that must be met first.

The practical question is not "do I have $500 in profit" but "is my account balance high enough above the Safety Net to support a $500 withdrawal." Those are different questions with different answers depending on your account size and current balance.

The Safety Net: the condition most traders miss

The Safety Net is the threshold your account balance must remain above at all times. It exists to ensure that a payout withdrawal does not reduce your balance to a point where normal trading variance could immediately breach the trailing drawdown floor.

The Safety Net formula: Starting Balance + Drawdown Amount + $100.

On a $50K EOD account: the starting balance is $50,000, the trailing drawdown is $2,000, so the Safety Net is $50,000 + $2,000 + $100 = $52,100.

On a $100K EOD account: the starting balance is $100,000, the trailing drawdown is $3,000, so the Safety Net is $100,000 + $3,000 + $100 = $103,100.

To request any payout, your balance must exceed the Safety Net. To request the minimum $500 payout specifically, your balance must be at least Safety Net + $500. One important nuance from Apex's own documentation: the $500 minimum payout is allowed to encroach on the Safety Net by $500. This means the actual minimum balance required to request any payout is exactly Safety Net + $500, not Safety Net + $500 + a further buffer.

The common misconception

Many traders see a profit of $600 or $800 in their PA and assume they can request a payout. The profit amount in isolation is not what matters. What matters is your current account balance relative to the Safety Net threshold. If your $50K account balance is $52,400, you have $300 above the Safety Net, which is less than $500. No payout is possible until the balance reaches at least $52,600. Your account needs to be above Safety Net + $500, not just above starting balance + $500.

Minimum balance to request a payout by account size

The table below shows the Safety Net threshold and the minimum balance required to request any payout for each 4.0 account size. These figures apply to EOD account types. Intraday accounts use the same drawdown amounts.

Account size Drawdown Safety Net Min balance to request $500
$25K $1,000 $26,100 $26,600
$50K $2,000 $52,100 $52,600
$100K $3,000 $103,100 $103,600
$150K $4,000 $154,100 $154,600

These are the minimum viable balances for the smallest possible payout request. A trader on the $100K account who wants to request $2,000 needs a balance of Safety Net + $2,000 = $105,100. The balance must exceed the Safety Net by at least the full amount being requested, with the single exception that the $500 minimum is allowed to encroach on the Safety Net.

Before your first payout request

Build a buffer above the minimum. A balance of exactly Safety Net + $500 leaves no room for normal trading variance between submission and approval. If your account moves against you by even a small amount during the review window, the balance may drop below the threshold and the request will be denied. Most experienced Apex traders recommend aiming for Safety Net + $1,000 to $1,500 before requesting the first payout to provide a meaningful cushion.

If you are evaluating Apex and want to review current account options and payout details, the Apex site has the latest information.

Review current Apex evaluation options
Promo code ONKAGNVZ

Maximum payouts and the payout ladder

The minimum payout is $500. The maximum per request varies by cycle and account size and increases as you progress through the 6-payout ladder. On the $100K EOD account, for example, the maximum starts at $2,000 on the first payout and increases through subsequent cycles. After the sixth and final payout, the Performance Account closes permanently.

The 6-payout cap is a structural feature of all 4.0 accounts. It does not apply to legacy accounts opened before March 1, 2026, which could be paid indefinitely. If you are on a legacy account, there is no hard cap on the number of payouts. If you are on a 4.0 account, plan your withdrawal strategy around the 6-cycle limit from the start.

The Safety Net remains in place for all six payouts on 4.0 accounts. It does not ease or disappear after early payouts. Every payout request must clear the Safety Net + requested amount threshold, from cycle one through cycle six.

Also asked · Related questions

What traders also ask.

$500 per request, regardless of account size or type. This is a fixed floor that applies to all 4.0 accounts (EOD and Intraday) and all legacy accounts. The $500 minimum is the smallest amount you can withdraw in a single request. There is no monthly or weekly payout window: you submit a request when you are eligible and the minimum amount you can request is $500.
Your balance must be at least $52,600 to request the minimum $500 payout on a $50K EOD account. The calculation: Safety Net ($52,100) + $500 minimum payout = $52,600. The Safety Net on a $50K account is $50,000 (starting balance) + $2,000 (trailing drawdown) + $100 = $52,100. To request more than $500, your balance must exceed the Safety Net by the full requested amount.
The Safety Net is the minimum balance your account must maintain at all times. It equals your starting balance plus your drawdown amount plus $100. On a $100K EOD account: $100,000 + $3,000 + $100 = $103,100. Only the profit above the Safety Net is eligible for withdrawal. A payout request that would reduce your balance below the Safety Net (minus the $500 allowance) is automatically denied.
Only if your account balance is above $52,600. Whether you can request a payout depends on your total balance, not just your profit amount. If you started at $50,000 and have $600 in profit, your balance is $50,600. That is well below the $52,600 minimum required balance on a $50K account. You cannot request a payout until the balance exceeds $52,600, regardless of how much profit you have.
No. The Safety Net applies for the entire lifetime of a 4.0 Performance Account, across all six payouts. It does not ease after early payouts as it did on some legacy account configurations. Every payout request must leave the account balance at or above the Safety Net threshold (minus the $500 allowance). Plan your withdrawal strategy around this permanent requirement.
Maximum payout amounts vary by account size and increase as you progress through the 6-payout ladder. On the $100K EOD account, the maximum starts at $2,000 on the first payout cycle and increases through subsequent cycles. After the sixth and final payout, the Performance Account closes permanently. Legacy accounts opened before March 1, 2026 do not have a payout cap and can continue indefinitely.
The payout request is denied automatically. If your balance falls below the Safety Net threshold between submission and the automated review, the system cancels the request. The funds stay in the account and no transfer is initiated. You need to trade the balance back above the threshold before resubmitting. This is why building a buffer above Safety Net + $500 before requesting a payout is strongly recommended.
Yes. The $500 minimum per request applies to legacy accounts as well. The Safety Net formula is the same in principle but uses different drawdown amounts. Legacy $50K accounts used a $2,500 drawdown (Safety Net $52,600), while 4.0 $50K accounts use a $2,000 drawdown (Safety Net $52,100). One additional legacy difference: the Safety Net requirement eased after the first three payouts on some legacy configurations. On 4.0 accounts, the Safety Net applies permanently across all six payouts.

Check your account balance against the Safety Net threshold before submitting any payout request. A balance at or just above the minimum will be denied if trading variance moves against you during the review window.