Which Prop Firms Allow EAs? 5 Rules to Check Before You Pay
By Fernando Funicelli · Founder of Lucky Dogs Trading Systems
Many forex prop firms allow EAs (trading robots) on MetaTrader 5, each with its own rules. If you are asking which prop firms allow automated trading, the answer that counts is in your firm's rulebook, and five rules in it decide whether your robot can trade.
A prop firm is a company that hands you a large account to trade after you pass a paid evaluation. The profit is split with you, and the capital is the firm's. If the model is new to you, start with what a prop firm is and how it works.
Now the scene nobody wants to live. You pay for the evaluation, turn on the robot that does so well on your own account and, one afternoon, the email arrives: account failed. The robot did not break any rule of its own. It broke a rule of the firm that it did not know about, because it was set up for an ordinary account.
The turn fits in one sentence: at a prop firm, the goal is not to win the most. It is to reach the target without touching the limit. This guide shows the five rules, how to check any firm in 5 minutes and how to set up the robot for each one.
Which prop firms allow EAs? What the rulebook says
Everything that matters is in the rulebook: the FAQ, the terms and the trading rules page. The table shows the words to search for with Ctrl+F.
| Rule | Where it shows up in the rulebook | What to ask |
|---|---|---|
| 1. EAs and automation | "Expert Advisor", "EA", "automated trading", "third-party" | Can I use an EA I bought and did not program? |
| 2. Prohibited strategies | "prohibited strategies", "forbidden practices" | Are grid, hedging on the same account and martingale allowed? |
| 3. News | "news trading", "high-impact news" | How many minutes before and after a strong news release can I not trade? |
| 4. Overnight and weekends | "overnight", "weekend holding" | Can I keep a position open overnight and over the weekend? |
| 5. Limits and consistency | "daily loss", "maximum loss", "consistency" | Does the daily loss count floating profit and loss? Is the total loss static or trailing? |
1. EAs and automation. Some firms allow any EA, others ask you to notify them first, others do not accept third-party robots. What counts is the text of the rulebook, not the firm's advertising.
2. Prohibited strategies. The lists usually include martingale, grid, latency arbitrage (profiting from the price delay between servers), high-frequency trading and copying trades between accounts. Not every firm bans all of them: yours says which.
3. News. Some firms do not let you open or close a position within a window of minutes around high-impact news, such as the Fed rate decision and NFP, the US jobs report. A robot with no news filter breaks this rule without knowing it.
4. Overnight and weekends. Some accounts do not accept open positions over the weekend, and some not even overnight. A robot that holds a position for days has to fit inside that.
5. Limits and consistency. These are the rules that fail the most people, and they get their own section just below. Consistency is a cap on how much of your profit can come from a single day.
The same robot on many accounts
A bought EA is used by other traders, sometimes at the same firm, and they all get similar trades. Before you pay, ask support two things: whether trades similar to other traders' trades, coming from the same EA, cause any problem; and whether you can use the same EA on more than one account of yours. It is a question to ask beforehand, not to find out afterward.
Which prop firm allows trading bots: how to check in 5 minutes
A list of names goes stale: the rules change, and your firm's rulebook is the only source that counts. So instead of a list, here is the method that works for any firm:
- Search the FAQ and the rules for the terms "EA", "expert advisor", "automated trading" and "third-party". Read the whole paragraph around each one.
- Send support the template message just below, with your robot's details.
- Keep the answer in writing. An email or a chat screenshot, with the date. If the rule changes, you have the answer you received.
- Test before you pay. If the firm has a free trial account, run the EA on it. If not, run the EA's demo in the Strategy Tester with the size of the firm's account, as we show further below and in how to test a trading robot before you buy.
The template message, ready to copy and fill in:
Hi! Before I buy the evaluation, I want to confirm whether I can use an Expert Advisor (EA) on MetaTrader 5.
- EA name: EA NAME
- Style: one entry per trade, with a stop and a target (or: grid baskets, no martingale)
- Lot: fixed, LOT lot on a SIZE USD account
- Uses grid or hedging on the same account: yes or no
- News filter: yes or no
- Where it runs: on a VPS, on 24 hours a day
Is this EA allowed in the evaluation and on the funded account? Is there any restriction on trades similar to those of other traders using the same EA? Can I use it on more than one account of mine?
Thanks!
The rules that fail the most robot users
A robot does not fail for lack of discipline. It fails because it was set up for an ordinary account. Three rules do that:
- Daily loss. A loss limit per day, for example 5% of the account. At many firms, it also counts floating profit and loss: a position open in the red already weighs on the limit, even if it has not closed. And the "day" is the firm's server day, not yours.
- Total loss. A limit for the whole account, for example 10%. It can be static, measured from the starting balance and fixed there, or trailing, which rises behind your best balance. With trailing, every new peak tightens the margin.
- Target and deadline. The profit target of each phase and, in some evaluations, the deadline to reach it.
The principle that sums up this section: what fails robot users the most is a lot that is too big for the total limit. The robot does what it always did. It is the lot that does not fit the rule.
How to set up a robot for a prop firm
1. A fixed lot sized to the account
On your personal account, it makes sense for the lot to grow with the balance: compounding is what makes the account move. In an evaluation, the goal is different. Use a fixed lot, calculated for the size of the firm's account and small enough that the robot's worst streak fits with room to spare inside the total limit. The account's leverage does not change this calculation: it moves the margin, not the value of each move (leverage and margin).
2. A stop below the firm's limit
Set the robot to close everything and stop before it touches the limit. If the firm cuts you off at 5%, a stop at 4.5% leaves room for the spread and for slippage (the difference between the requested price and the executed one). On our three EAs, this stop already exists. On Pitbull Gold it is the daily limit: at 4.5%, it closes and pauses until the next day. On Collie Gold and Beagle Gold it is the drawdown protection in "close and stop" mode: at 4.5% of open loss, it closes the positions and stops the EA until you turn it back on.
3. News filter on
Even when the firm does not ban it, the minutes around a Fed decision or NFP bring wide spreads and slippage. If the robot has a news filter, turn it on. If the firm restricts news, check that the filter's window covers the rule's window.
4. VPS and the firm's server time zone
The daily loss keeps running with your computer off, too. Run the robot on a VPS, a cloud computer that stays on 24 hours, so it follows every trade to the end. And check the time zone: the "day" of the daily rule is the firm's server day. A robot that detects the time zone on its own closes the day at the right hour. On a VPS, the installation is the same as on your computer: how to install an expert advisor (EA) in MT5.
Before you pay for the evaluation, do a rehearsal. Run the robot's free demo in the Strategy Tester (Ctrl+R) with the firm's account size, the fixed lot and the "Every tick based on real ticks" modelling. Find the worst day on the equity chart and compare it with the firm's daily limit. If it stays far away, the lot fits.
What kind of robot suits a prop firm
| Style | How it trades | At the firm |
|---|---|---|
| One entry with a stop and a target | Every trade is born with its exit defined on the server | The best fit: the maximum loss of each trade is known before the entry |
| Grid | Several entries in the same direction, closed together | Check the rulebook; with a stop on every basket, the risk has a ceiling |
| Martingale | Doubles the lot after every loss | The one that blows through the daily limit the most; many firms ban it |
| Hedging on the same account | A buy and a sell open at the same time | Check the rulebook |
The firm confirms whether the robot fits the rule, but does not say whether it is any good. You check that beforehand: see how to tell if a forex robot works before you pay.
Our EAs at a prop firm
All three of our EAs trade gold on MetaTrader 5 and have a prop firm setup: a fixed lot and the 4.5% stop that closes everything and stops. The lots below are each one's official examples.
| EA | Style | Example fixed lot | At the firm |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pitbull Gold | One entry, target and stop on the server | 0.02 on 5,000 USD; 0.57 on 100,000 USD | Daily limit at 4.5%, closing and pausing; turn on the news filter and check that the firm allows EAs and hedging |
| Beagle Gold | One entry with a stop, at most two trades | 0.01 on 10,000 USD; 0.15 on 100,000 USD | "Close and stop" at 4.5%; from 6,000 USD, the minimum lot already fits the firm's margin |
| Collie Gold | Fast baskets, grid without martingale | 0.02 on 5,000 USD; 0.40 on 100,000 USD | "Close and stop" at 4.5%; check that the firm allows grid and hedging |
If your firm punishes the daily loss and scrutinizes grids, the most direct fit is Pitbull Gold, with a fixed lot and the daily stop at 4.5%. One entry per trade, target and stop on the server from the first second and a news filter. And away from the firm, on your own account, with the lot growing along with the balance, it made +478% in 2025 on the Balanced profile, in the test with real ticks.
If you want to fix the risk of each trade, choose Beagle Gold, which fits the firm's margin from 6,000 USD. It enters with the stop on the server and never goes past two open trades at the same time.
And if the rulebook allows grid and hedging, it is worth looking at Collie Gold, if your firm allows grid: short baskets, no martingale and a stop on every basket. The typical basket stays open for 8 minutes.
Before you pay for the evaluation, run the chosen EA's free demo in the Strategy Tester with the firm's account size and the example fixed lot. You see, trade by trade, whether the worst day stays far from the limit.
Frequently asked questions
Do prop firms allow EAs bought on the MQL5 Market?
It depends on the firm's rule on third-party EAs, the ones you did not program. Some accept them, others ask for notice, others do not accept them. Send support this guide's template message and keep the answer.
Can I use the same robot on several prop firm accounts?
Ask support both things: whether you can run the same EA on more than one account of yours, and whether trades similar to those of other traders using the same EA cause any problem. On our side, each EA's license gives 5 activations.
Do prop firms allow martingale and grid?
Many ban martingale, and it is the style that blows through the daily limit the most (what martingale is and why it blows up the account). Grid depends on the firm: check the rulebook. Our EAs do not use martingale. Pitbull Gold and Beagle Gold do not use grid; Collie Gold is a grid without martingale, with a stop on every basket.
What account size does a robot need at a prop firm?
It depends on the robot and the minimum lot. In the official examples, Pitbull Gold and Collie Gold start on 5,000 USD firm accounts, with 0.02 lot. Beagle Gold fits from 6,000 USD.
Do I need a VPS at a prop firm?
It is recommended. The daily loss keeps running with your computer off, too, and the robot has to be on to follow every trade to the end. A VPS keeps MetaTrader on 24 hours.
Can the robot pass the evaluation on its own?
It trades on its own, follows the rules without getting tired and does not try to win the day back after a loss. The target depends on the market in that period. Your part is the setup: a fixed lot, a stop below the limit and the news filter on, so it reaches the target without touching the limit.
The firm does not ask whether your robot is good. It asks whether it fits the rule. Pick the EA that matches your firm's rule: start with Pitbull Gold, built for anyone who needs a stop on every trade, or compare the three EAs side by side and run the free demo with your account size.
