Prop Firm Reset vs New Evaluation: When to Buy Each

## Prop Firm Reset vs New Evaluation: When to Buy Each After failing a prop firm evaluation, the platform typically offers two options: reset the current account (pay a fee to restore the starting balance with your account number) or purchase a completely new evaluation. This decision matters more than most traders realize. ## What Is an Evaluation Reset? An evaluation reset restores your account balance to the starting amount with all rules intact. For Apex, a 100K evaluation reset costs approximately $80-$130 depending on their current pricing. After the reset: - Your account number remains the same - Your starting balance is restored to $100,000 - The trailing drawdown floor resets to $97,000 - The profit target resets to $6,000 - Your minimum trading days count may or may not reset depending on the firm The reset is paid from your own capital — it is not free, and it does not guarantee you will pass the second attempt. ## What Is a New Evaluation? Purchasing a new evaluation gives you a fresh account number, fresh rules, and fresh balance — identical to starting from scratch. The cost is the same as the original evaluation purchase price (approximately $100-$165 for a 100K at Apex, depending on discounts). ## The Price Comparison The decision to reset or buy new often comes down to relative pricing. Firms frequently offer promotional discounts on new evaluations (50% off, holiday sales, etc.) that make a new evaluation cheaper than a reset. Example (illustrative, prices vary and change): - New 100K evaluation at promotional price: $90 - Reset of existing 100K: $120 In this scenario, purchasing a new evaluation at the promotional price is strictly better — you get the same fresh start for less money. Check both options' current prices before deciding. Never pay reset price if a new evaluation is cheaper or equal. ## When a Reset Makes Strategic Sense Reset the evaluation when: **1. You are close to the profit target**: If you have $4,800 of the $6,000 target earned and failed due to a trailing drawdown violation, a reset is expensive but preserves your trading momentum. You are essentially paying to restart from zero rather than capitalizing on the progress made. Note: a reset restores the balance to $100,000 — your $4,800 in profit is gone, and you start over. But if you failed on a single bad trade rather than a strategy failure, the reset is faster than a full new evaluation cycle. **2. No promotional discounts are available**: When new evaluation prices are at full retail and resets are priced lower, the reset is the better financial choice. **3. You need immediate restart**: Some firm dashboards process resets faster than new account setup. If timing matters (a specific trading week you want to be active), a reset may be faster. ## When a New Evaluation Makes Sense Purchase a new evaluation when: **1. Promotional pricing makes it equal to or cheaper than a reset**: This happens frequently. Firms run discount cycles, holiday sales, and coupon codes regularly. At equal or lower price, a new evaluation is always better — same fresh start, sometimes better. **2. You want multiple concurrent evaluations**: Running two evaluations simultaneously (same or different account sizes) gives you two shots at funding without doubling your time. This is a common strategy for traders who have proven they can execute — one account failure does not eliminate the other. **3. You failed due to a systematic issue**: If your evaluation failed because of a strategy problem (not just one bad trade), starting a new evaluation immediately is premature. Diagnose the issue, adjust the strategy, then start a new evaluation. There is no advantage to a faster restart when the underlying issue is unresolved. ## The Multi-Account Strategy Experienced funded traders maintain 2-3 evaluation accounts simultaneously at all times. This serves as a hedge — if one fails, the others continue. If one passes, it becomes a funded account while the others continue working toward funding. The cost: 2-3 evaluation accounts at approximately $150 each = $300-$450. The benefit: significantly reduced probability of a complete gap in funded status. With three evaluations running, the probability that all three fail within the same month is substantially lower than the probability of a single evaluation failing. The reset decision becomes less stressful when you are not dependent on a single evaluation — one failure is a cost of business, not a crisis. ## Tracking Evaluation Costs Keep a simple log of evaluation attempts: date, account size, cost, outcome, number of trading days, reason for failure (if applicable). Over time, this log shows: - Your average evaluation pass rate - Your average cost per successful evaluation - The common failure reasons (informing strategy adjustments) - Whether resets or new evaluations have been more cost-effective for you At 3 evaluations with a 33% pass rate and $150 average cost = $450 per funded account. At a 10% pass rate = $1,500 per funded account. The funded account needs to produce at least this much profit in payout before breaking even on evaluation costs.