At a glance
EAs and algorithms: Automated trading is allowed under the same trading rules as any other trading, with the conditions in our Terms. You may automate with an Expert Advisor you built yourself (you may be asked to prove you own it), or use someone else's tool only to manage risk or execution. Purchased or off-the-shelf EAs are not allowed, and nor is automation that overloads or degrades the platform (Terms §10.3).
Copy trading: Copy only between your own accounts, in the same direction, up to $500,000 of simulated capital in total across the linked accounts, and only with tools we permit (Terms §10.2). Opposing positions across accounts are prohibited, and every account must be traded by you.
Set-up | Allowed? | Condition |
An EA you developed yourself | Yes | Proof that you own it, if asked (Terms clause 10.3) |
A purchased, rented or off-the-shelf EA | No | Terms clause 10.3 |
Someone else's tool used only for risk or execution | Yes | Only to manage risk or execution on trades you place (Terms clause 10.3) |
Running your EA on a VPS | Yes | The same trading rules apply |
Copying between your own accounts | Yes | Same direction, up to $500,000 in total across the linked accounts, only with tools we permit (Terms clause 10.2) |
Copying any other person or any outside account | No | Terms clauses 10.1 and 10.4 |
Key rule: A platform being able to run an EA does not make the EA allowed. The conditions in the Terms decide, and they travel with every permission in this article.
Expert Advisors and algorithms
Allowed | Not allowed |
An EA you developed yourself. You may be asked to show that you own it, for example with uncompiled source files, version history, and an explanation of its logic on a call. A compiled file on its own is not proof (Terms clause 10.3). | Off-the-shelf, purchased, rented or "challenge-passing" EAs (Terms clause 10.3). |
A third-party tool used only to manage risk or execution on your trades, such as stop loss, take profit, trailing stops or position sizing (Terms clause 10.3). | Automation that overloads or degrades the platform (Terms clause 10.3). |
Running your tools on a VPS. | Any EA used for exploitation, abusive trading or unreasonable risk-taking, which are prohibited with or without automation. The Terms list examples (Terms clause 11.1). See Which trading practices are prohibited?. |
Keep proof that an EA is yours: source files and version history are what the Terms name. This article does not ask you to register your EA with us. Check that your EA runs on Match-Trader before you buy: see Which trading platform do EverFunded accounts use?.
Copy trading
Allowed | Not allowed |
Copying trades between EverFunded accounts that are registered to you and traded only by you, in the same direction (Terms clause 10.1). | Opposite or offsetting positions across accounts, yours or anyone else's. |
Copying the trades of any other person or account, including another EverFunded trader or any account outside EverFunded, your own account at another firm or broker included, even with that person's consent (Terms clause 10.1). | |
Following signals from a third-party signal provider, copier or bridge service (Terms clause 10.4). | |
Letting anyone else manage your account, paid or unpaid. | |
Using copying to get around the prohibited practices, such as farming rewards across accounts (Terms clause 10.5). |
Three conditions on copying between your own accounts:
Each account keeps its own rules. Objectives, loss limits and every other rule of an account apply to each account separately, so a copied losing trade counts on each account it lands on (Terms clause 10.2). Copying multiplies losses as well as gains: each copied account can reach its own Max Daily Loss or Max Loss. See What is drawdown, and how do the Max Daily Loss and Max Loss work?.
Account limits apply. You can hold up to 4 active 2-Step, 1-Step and Instant accounts combined, and 1 active Flash account. Copying does not change those limits. See How many accounts can I hold at once?.
An overall size limit applies. You can copy up to $500,000 in total across the linked accounts, and only with tools we permit (Terms §10.2). Ask us which tools are permitted before you connect one.
Worked examples
Example: Two 1-Step accounts of yours both buy EUR/USD at the same time. Allowed: your own accounts, same direction. If instead one of your accounts buys EUR/USD while another sells it, that is prohibited: opposing positions across accounts.
Your own EA on a 2-Step account. You wrote it and can show its source and history. Allowed.
An EA bought online and advertised as passing challenges. Not allowed.
A third-party trailing-stop tool that only manages exits on trades you place. Allowed, as a risk or execution tool.
A friend's account copying your trades, or yours copying theirs. Not allowed on either account.
A paid signal service bridged into your account. Not allowed.
Before you use a tool
Your account stays yours. Nobody else may run an EA or a copier on your account for you. See Can someone else trade my account, or can I transfer it?.
Not sure whether your specific tool is allowed? Describe it to us before you use it: what it does, who made it, and whether it places orders or only manages them. A person answers.
Told that a tool or a copy set-up broke a rule? That is a question about your account, so a person handles it. See My account failed or was closed: what happened?.
Related articles
Next step
If you are unsure before you start, ask first: message us in the chat and ask for a person. Never send your trading password, a login code or remote access to your computer. Every way to reach us is in How to contact EverFunded support. What is not allowed is set out in Which trading practices are prohibited?.