EN The basics behind evaluations, costs and risk — so the rules on every other page make sense. New to prop trading? Start here.
Prop firm vs broker
With Atlas you trade firm capital in a simulated environment and keep a share of the profit, instead of risking your own deposit at a retail broker. Your job is to hit a profit target while respecting the risk limits.
| Atlas (prop firm) | Retail broker | |
|---|---|---|
| Whose money is at risk | The firm's capital | Your own deposit |
| What you pay | A one-time account fee | You fund the account yourself |
| What you keep | 80–100% of the profit | 100% — but it was your capital |
| Risk rules | Daily loss & drawdown limits | None — you can lose the lot |
| Getting paid | Scheduled payouts, 24-hour guarantee | Withdraw your own funds |
Spreads, slippage & swaps
Three costs shape every trade. They are small individually, but they decide how much room you really have against your limits.
Floating spreads
We use floating spreads that reflect real-time liquidity. Spreads fluctuate with market conditions and can widen during high volatility, news events or low-liquidity sessions.
- Spread — the gap between the buy and sell price. Your trade starts slightly negative by this amount.
- Slippage — the difference between the price you expected and the price you were filled at, common in fast markets and around news.
- Swap — an overnight financing fee on CFD positions held past the daily rollover (around 5 PM EST), typically tripled over the weekend.
| Cost | What it is | When it applies |
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Buy/sell price gap | Every trade, at entry |
| Slippage | Expected vs filled price | Fast markets & news |
| Swap | Overnight financing | CFD positions held past rollover |
Leverage & lot sizing
Leverage lets a small margin control a larger position. Position size — lots on CFD, contracts on Futures — decides how much each price move is worth, and how fast you approach your daily loss limit.
Atlas CFD leverage
| Instrument | Evaluation | Funded |
|---|---|---|
| Forex | 1:100 | 1:50 |
| Indices | 1:20 | 1:10 |
| Commodities | 1:20 | 1:10 |
| Crypto | 1:2 | 1:1 |
What a lot is
Atlas Futures uses contract-size limits rather than a leverage ratio — each account caps how many minis and micros you can hold. See the limits on each Futures model.
How drawdown works
Two limits protect firm capital: a daily loss limit (how much you can lose in one day) and a maximum drawdown (your overall floor). Stay above both and the account stays live.
Static vs trailing: a static floor is fixed from your starting balance and never moves; a trailing floor rises with your balance as you profit, then locks. See Drawdown & Risk for the exact figures, worked examples and per-model breach points.
Key terms
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Evaluation | The challenge phase you pass to get funded. |
| Funded account | The live account where you trade firm capital and earn payouts. |
| Balance vs equity | Balance is closed P&L; equity includes open (floating) P&L. CFD limits use the higher of the two. |
| Pip | The smallest standard price increment on a forex pair. |
| Lot | Your position size; 1.00 lot = 100,000 units on forex. |
| Drawdown | How far your account has fallen from its high or starting point. |
| Trailing drawdown | A floor that rises with your balance, then locks. |
| Consistency | Spreading profit across days rather than one outsized trade. |
| Swap | Overnight financing fee on CFD positions. |
| EA | Expert Advisor — an automated trading program. |