Are EAs allowed on prop firm accounts? What to check in your rules

Free tools: Daily Loss Limiter for MT5 (locks the day at your limit) · Daily loss calculator · Last checked 5 November 2026 by the Spectar FX team.

There is no single answer: each firm sets its own rules on Expert Advisors and automated trading, and they often differ between the evaluation and the funded stage. The only reliable answer is your firm’s official rules and FAQ, read for your exact account type, and confirmed in writing by its support if anything is unclear.

Traders often ask in forums whether a certain EA is allowed at a certain firm, and the replies are usually somebody else’s memory of an old rule. Rules change, and they change by account type. This article does not name firms or say what any of them allow. It gives you a way to check your own rules properly.

Where to look

Use only the firm’s own documents, and use the current version:

• the terms and conditions or account agreement you accepted;
• the official FAQ or help centre;
• any separate page on trading rules, prohibited strategies or fair use;
• emails from the firm announcing rule changes.

A video, a review site or a message in a chat group is not a rule. If what you read there disagrees with the firm’s own documents, the documents win.

Words to search for

Open each document and search for these terms. Firms do not all use the same vocabulary:

• expert advisor, EA, automated trading, algorithmic trading, bot, robot;
• third-party tools, trade copier, copy trading;
• high-frequency, tick scalping, latency, arbitrage;
• news trading, holding over the weekend;
• hedging across accounts, opposite positions, group trading.

Note the exact sentence each time, not just the answer you hoped for. A rule such as “EAs are allowed provided they do not exploit platform weaknesses” is very different from “EAs are allowed”.

Not all EAs are the same kind of tool

Rules often treat programs differently depending on what they do. It helps to know which group yours belongs to before you read:

• Risk and utility tools that never open a trade, such as a daily loss lock, a lot size calculator or a script that closes positions. These are often treated more leniently, but that is not guaranteed.
• Trade management tools that adjust stop losses or close part of a position you opened yourself.
• Trading EAs that open trades on their own when their conditions are met.
• Copiers that mirror trades from another account or from another person.

Some rule sets also ask whether a widely sold EA is used by many customers at once, because identical trades across many accounts can look like group trading. If your EA is sold to many people, look for that clause.

Stage and account type

The same firm can have different rules for the evaluation and the funded account, and for different programmes. A tool that is fine during the challenge may be restricted after you are funded, and a rule can also be looser at the later stage. Read the section that applies to the account you actually hold, and check again when you move to the next stage. Our list of prop firm challenge rules questions covers the other points worth checking at the same time.

Asking support the right way

If the rules are unclear, ask the firm directly and in writing, so you have a record. A good question is specific:

1. Name the account type and stage.
2. Describe what the tool does in plain words: whether it opens trades, closes them, or only shows information.
3. Say whether it runs on your own computer or a VPS, and whether anyone else uses the same settings.
4. Ask whether it is allowed, and whether any conditions apply.

Save the reply with the date. If the rules change later, the reply may no longer apply, so check again when you see an announcement. We are not affiliated with any firm and cannot answer on its behalf; only the firm can.

For trading gold specifically, see trading gold on a prop firm account with MT5.

Questions

Can I use a free daily loss EA on a prop firm account?

Possibly, but check first. A tool that only closes positions at your limit and never opens a trade is often treated differently from a trading EA, yet each firm decides for itself. Read your firm’s official rules or ask its support in writing.

Are the rules the same for the evaluation and the funded account?

Not always. Some firms use different rules for each stage and for different programmes. Read the section for the account you actually hold.

Which prop firms allow EAs?

We do not keep a list and do not name firms, because rules change and differ by account type. The firm’s own terms and FAQ are the only reliable source.

Where Spectar FX Gold fits

Each firm sets its own rules on third-party tools and automated trading, and they differ by firm and by account type, so please check your firm’s rules before you use Spectar FX Gold. On MANUAL you place every entry yourself.

Spectar FX Gold is a subscription service for MetaTrader 5, for gold (XAUUSD). You set every number yourself — lot sizes, daily stop, daily target, trading hours and news window — and the rules work within those settings; we set no number for you and recommend none. When the daily stop is reached, the position is closed and nothing new is opened until the next day, which starts when the market opens in your broker’s server time.

It runs on your own MetaTrader 5 account. We never receive your broker password, never hold funds, and there are no signals. A gap in the market or slippage at your broker can carry a position past any limit; a daily stop is a setting, not a promise. The plans are MANUAL, SEMIAUTO and AUTO, monthly or yearly, with an 8-day free trial on MANUAL monthly. You can read more in the FAQ.

Keep your daily limit in one place: the free Daily Loss Limiter for MT5 locks the trading day once today's loss reaches the figure you set, and the daily loss calculator shows the balance where that happens.

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