How to Pass The5ers Challenge: Step-by-Step Guide (2026) ...

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The5ers Challenge Overview

The5ers is an Israeli prop firm founded in 2016 that allows forex, stock, and crypto traders to get funded accounts with scaling up to $4M. The platform operates multiple challenge programs designed to identify consistent, disciplined traders. Unlike many competitors, The5ers offers instant funding and no-time-limit evaluations, eliminating the pressure-cooker environment that forces retail traders to overtrade.

The current challenge pricing structure includes three main programs:

Hyper Growth ($6K account): $0/mo startup cost
Hyper Growth ($20K account): $0/mo startup cost
High Stakes ($100K account): $0/mo startup cost (though evaluation fees range $275–$995 depending on capital tier)
Bootcamp ($95/month): Entry-level program with scaling potential

The key advantage: The5ers refunds your challenge fee with your first profit payout, meaning if you pass and trade profitably, you get your entry cost back.

Account sizes available range from $2.5K to $100K per account, with a maximum total of $40K across multiple evaluation accounts. This allows traders to diversify their strategies across different account sizes during the challenge phase.

The5ers Challenge Rules You Must Know

Understanding every rule is critical—violating any one triggers automatic account termination. Here are the exact requirements:

Profit Target (Phase 1): 10% gain on account balance. Phase 2 targets 5% additional profit.
Daily Drawdown Limit:
- High Stakes: 5% daily loss (measured from previous day's closing equity)
- Hyper Growth & Bootcamp: 3% daily loss threshold triggers a "pause" that temporarily disables the account
Maximum Drawdown (Stop Out Level):
- High Stakes: 10% from initial balance—this is a hard floor. Hit it and the account closes.
- Hyper Growth: 6% maximum drawdown
- Bootcamp: 5% maximum drawdown
Time Limit: None. This is The5ers' biggest advantage. You can take 30 days or 300 days to hit the target. However, accounts with zero trading activity for 30+ consecutive days expire automatically (counter starts from registration).
Minimum Profitable Trading Days: High Stakes requires a minimum of 3 profitable trading days before you're eligible for funding. Hyper Growth has no minimum trading day requirement.
Weekend Holding: Fully allowed. You can hold positions over weekends. Be aware: swap fees apply (e.g., Crude Oil carries -$20 daily, multiplying on weekends), so factor this into your trading plan.
News Trading Rules:
- You cannot execute new orders 2 minutes before to 2 minutes after high-impact news events. Any profits generated in this 4-minute window are forfeited (deducted from your account) and won't count toward your profit target.
- You can hold existing positions through news—losses are absorbed, wins count toward your target.
- Bracketing strategies (pending stop/limit orders surrounding news events) are strictly prohibited.
Restricted Instruments: The5ers allows forex, stocks, and crypto but prohibits:
- Arbitrage trading (exploiting price discrepancies across markets)
- High-frequency trading (HFT)
- Copy trading or signal-following bots
Automated Trading (EAs): Allowed, but only if they don't execute prohibited strategies above.
Inactivity Penalty: 30 consecutive days without any trading activity = automatic account expiration. This resets whenever you place a trade.

Step-by-Step Strategy to Pass

Passing The5ers challenge requires a methodical approach balancing aggression (hitting the profit target) with discipline (respecting drawdown limits). Here's the framework:

Step 1: Choose Your Account Size and Calculate Maximum Risk per Trade

Let's use a $20K Hyper Growth account as the example:

Profit target: $2,000 (10%)
Max daily loss allowed: $600 (3% pause threshold)
Max account loss allowed: $1,200 (6% stop out)

Maximum risk per trade: 0.5% of account = $100 per trade. This is conservative but necessary because hitting 3% daily loss once means the account locks for 24 hours, forcing you to wait before you can trade again. If you risk 1% per trade and lose 3 trades, you hit the daily pause and waste momentum.

Calculation check: With $100 risk per trade and a 50% win rate, you need a 1.5:1 reward-to-risk ratio (win $150, lose $100) just to stay flat. With this ratio and 50% win rate, you net $25 per winning day if you take 2 trades. Over 80 days of trading, that's $2,000—your target.

Step 2: Select Your Primary Markets and Session

The5ers is forex-heavy, so:

Recommended pairs: EUR/USD, GBP/USD, USD/JPY, AUD/USD—high liquidity, tight spreads, predictable moves during London and US sessions
Avoid: Exotic pairs (USDMXN, USDZAR) with wide spreads that eat into your edge
Best trading windows: London open (8am GMT) through US market hours (1pm–8pm GMT). Avoid Asian sessions unless you specialize there; they're slower and wider.
Avoid news trading (2 min before/after high-impact releases). It's not worth the forfeited profits. Let news settle for 10+ minutes before re-entering.

Step 3: Build a Daily P&L Target Progression

Rather than grinding for 10% immediately, use phases:

Phase 1 (Days 1–10): +1% per day = +$200/day = +$2,000 total (target hit in 10 days)
Phase 2 (Days 1–20): +0.5% per day = +$100/day = +$2,000 total (target hit in 20 days)
Phase 3 (Days 1–30): +0.33% per day = +$66/day = +$2,000 total (target hit in 30 days)

Why phase it? If you target $200/day immediately, you're forced to take 2–3 trades per day and will eventually overtrade, hit bad entries, and blow the 3% daily pause. The phased approach lets you be selective, take your best setups only, and accumulate profit steadily.

Step 4: Position Sizing Formula

Use the 2% rule adapted for account equity:

Position size (lots) = (Account equity × Risk %) ÷ (Pips at risk)

Example: $20K account, risking $100 (0.5%), targeting EUR/USD, stop 20 pips away:

Position size = ($20,000 × 0.005) ÷ 20 = 0.5 lots (50,000 units)

If you win (20 pips), you gain $100. If you lose, you lose $100. This maintains consistent 1:1 risk/reward at minimum, and you can take 2% on winners for 1.5:1 or 2:1 setups.

Step 5: Entry Rules—Be Selective

Only take trades that meet ALL three criteria:

Technical setup: Support/resistance bounce, trend-following on 4h chart, or breakout above/below key level
Market timing: Trade during London or US session only; avoid within 10 minutes of high-impact news
Risk/reward: Minimum 1:1, ideally 1.5:1 or better. If the R:R is 1:0.8, skip the trade.

This filters out 70–80% of possible trades. Fewer, higher-quality trades = faster challenge completion.

Step 6: Trail Stops and Protect Profits

Once a trade is +25 pips (above break-even), move your stop to break-even + 2 pips. Once it's +50 pips, move stop to +25 pips. This locks in partial wins and limits catastrophic single-trade losses.

Never let a 50-pip winner turn into a 20-pip loss. This is how traders blow up: emotional decisions after good trades go bad.

Step 7: Stop at Daily Target

If you hit your daily +$200 (or +1%), close the platform and walk away. Chasing extra profits is how traders hit the 3% daily pause. The5ers doesn't reward you more for hitting +5% in one day vs. spreading +1% across five days—both move you toward your goal. Consistency beats heroics.

Risk Management Framework

This is where most traders fail. The5ers will terminate your account the moment you hit a drawdown limit. Your risk management isn't optional—it's the gate.

Rule 1: Maximum Risk per Trade = 0.5%

On a $20K account, never risk more than $100 per trade. On a $6K account, never risk more than $30. This is non-negotiable. If your setup requires risking 2%, skip it. The setups worth a 2% risk will appear again next week.

Rule 2: Stop Daily Trading at –3% (Daily Pause Threshold)

For Hyper Growth accounts, the 3% daily pause ($600 on $20K) is a hard warning. Don't trade to it. If you're down $400 (2%), close the platform. The pause prevents you from trading for 24 hours, and attempting to recover that day by overleveraging is how traders hit the 6% stop out and blow the account.

Build in a personal 2% daily loss limit before The5ers' 3% pause hits. This gives you a safety buffer.

Rule 3: Track Equity Drawdown Separately from Daily Loss

Your account can lose $400 in one bad day, then gain $400 back the next day. But your maximum drawdown (equity low point) never resets during the challenge. On a $20K account with 6% max drawdown, your equity must never fall below $18,800.

Some traders hit $18,850 (within the limit), then recover to $19,500. They think they're fine. But if they later drop to $18,700, they've violated the 6% max drawdown rule—even though they recovered.

Track this ruthlessly in a spreadsheet or tradingview: record your daily opening equity and lowest equity that day. Your minimum equity across all days = your effective max drawdown. Never let it exceed 6%.

Rule 4: No Revenge Trading After Losses

This is the killer. After a $150 loss, traders immediately re-enter trying to make it back, taking lower-quality setups, and then lose again. If you lose, wait at least 2 hours before your next trade. Breathing room beats speed.

Common Reasons Traders Fail The5ers

Based on prop firm data and community reports, here are the five most common failure modes:

1. Overtrading Due to Time Pressure (Even With No Deadline)

The mistake: Traders treat the 10% target like a race and force 5–8 trades per day, hitting low-quality setups. Even with no time limit, many traders feel pressure and rush.

Why it fails: More trades = more opportunities to hit the 3% daily pause or 6% max drawdown. Statistically, traders with 50% win rates blow up faster if they trade more.

Fix: Set a 3-trade maximum per day. If you haven't hit your +1% daily target in 3 high-quality trades, walk away. Return tomorrow.

2. Ignoring the Daily Pause and Continuing to Overtrade

The mistake: Trader hits the 3% daily pause (account locked for 24h), panics, then immediately hits it again the next day after it resets. They're in a cycle of bad days.

Why it fails: Each time you hit the pause, it indicates you're taking 3+ oversized trades per day or trading low-R:R setups. You need to cut position sizes by 30% and tighten your entry criteria.

Fix: If you hit the daily pause even once, cut position sizes in half for the next 5 trading days. Re-calibrate. The5ers challenges aren't races.

3. Holding Trades Over Weekends and Eating Swap Costs

The mistake: Trader holds a position Friday into Monday and pays 3x the daily swap fee (Friday swap + weekend triple). Crude Oil alone costs -$60 for a weekend hold on 1 lot.

Why it fails: These hidden costs compound. A $150 winner with a –$60 weekend swap becomes a $90 win. Over 20 trades, that's $1,200 lost to swaps.

Fix: Close positions Friday before 5pm EST (end of US trading). If you want to hold into Monday, choose low-swap pairs (EUR/USD, GBP/USD) or scale to 0.25 lots instead of 0.5.

4. Trading During High-Impact News and Forfeiting Profits

The mistake: Trader executes an order 1 minute before FOMC, wins 30 pips, but The5ers deducts those 30 pips. The psychological hit causes overtrading later.

Why it fails: News trades have 2x the volatility and 0.5x the edge. You're giving up your winrate for the false allure of news-driven moves.

Fix: Avoid news windows entirely. Set a calendar reminder for high-impact US economic data. From 1:29 to 1:31pm EST, stay off the platform.

5. Losing Discipline in the Final 2% and Blowing Accounts at 8% Profit

The mistake: Trader hits $1,600 profit (8% of $20K) and feels unstoppable. They take 4 trades in one day, hit a bad one, lose $500, panic, hold the second-place trade too long, lose another $300, then close out at $800 profit lost (down to $1,300 total). They then revenge-trade to get back to $1,600, hit the 6% max drawdown rule and blow the account.

Why it fails: Complacency after early wins. Traders forget that they've achieved 8% with small, conservative trades. Scaling up the aggression near the finish line is fatal.

Fix: When you're within 2% of the target, cut position sizes by 50%. Move to 0.25 lots instead of 0.5. Trade only your absolute highest-confidence setups. The last $200 is the hardest $200 to make—protect it.

Day-by-Day Sample Challenge Plan

Here's a realistic 30-day sample progression for a $20K Hyper Growth account targeting 10% profit ($2,000):

Days 1–5: Foundation & Instrument Selection

Target: +$500 total (2.5%)
Daily target: +$100/day
Max trades/day: 2–3
Focus: Test your EUR/USD and GBP/USD entries; ensure your position-sizing formula is correct. Don't worry about hitting the exact +$100 daily—consistency matters more than precision. You might hit +$150 one day and +$50 the next.
Equity progression: $20K → $20.5K (end of Day 5)

Days 6–15: Build Momentum

Target: +$900 cumulative (so +$400 additional from Day 5 total)
Daily target: +$100/day
Max trades/day: 3
Focus: You've found your rhythm. Now increase lot size slightly if you're profitable, but only if you've gone 5+ consecutive days without hitting the daily pause. Scale from 0.5 lots to 0.75 lots (if your R:R remains 1:1.5 and stop is still 20 pips, you're now risking $150 per trade—still under 1% of account).
Key milestone: Hit Day 10 profitable. This resets your psychology and proves the system works.
Equity progression: $20.5K → $21.4K (end of Day 15)

Days 16–25: Protect & Compound

Target: +$1,600 cumulative (so +$700 additional)
Daily target: +$70/day (reduce aggression, you're 80% to goal)
Max trades/day: 2–3
Focus: This is where most traders blow it. They feel success and start day-trading or taking bigger risks. Instead, dial it back. Reduce daily target, extend stop-losses slightly (from 20 pips to 25 pips, so you're now risking $125 per trade), and take only your A-grade setups. You've proven you can be profitable—now prove you can be disciplined.
Key rule: If you're down more than $300 by Day 20, cut lot sizes back to 0.5. Don't compound losses with aggression.
Equity progression: $21.4K → $22.1K (end of Day 25)

Days 26–30: Finish Safely

Target: +$2,000 cumulative (final +$400)
Daily target: +$80/day (but you only need +$400 over 5 days, so some days you'll skip trading)
Max trades/day: 1–2
Focus: You're at the finish line. Only take 1–2 trades per day. If you don't hit your daily target, who cares—you've already got $1,600. Trade only your highest-confidence setups. If Monday is choppy, sit out. If Wednesday has a clear 4h breakout, take 1 trade. No rushing.
Equity target: $22K+ (goal is $22K minimum)
Equity progression: $22.1K → $22K+ (end of Day 30)

Why This Schedule Works

This plan front-loads aggression (Days 1–5) when losses hurt less. It builds momentum (Days 6–15) to prove viability. It protects profits (Days 16–25) by reducing daily targets. And it finishes conservatively (Days 26–30) by minimizing trades. You'll hit $2,000 profit in 15–25 days and spend the rest proving you can manage it without blowing up.

The5ers vs Other Prop Firms

The5ers is one of the easier challenges in the industry due to its no-time-limit structure. Here's how it stacks up:

The5ers vs FTMO

Ease of challenge: The5ers wins. FTMO has a two-step structure (Phase 1 10% profit in 30 days + Phase 2 5% in 60 days). The5ers has no deadline.
Drawdown flexibility: FTMO: 10% max drawdown, fixed. The5ers: 6–10% depending on program, but you can increase your max drawdown by keeping profits in the account.
Cost: The5ers Bootcamp ($95) is cheaper than FTMO's $165–$199 challenges.
Profit split after passing: FTMO: 80% immediately. The5ers: 50–80% (scales with profitability milestones).
Scaling potential: The5ers: $4M maximum. FTMO: $500K–$1M typical.
Verdict: The5ers is easier if you're undisciplined with time (no deadline = less pressure). FTMO is easier if you're a quick, consistent trader who can profit in 30 days.

The5ers vs FTMO: Detailed Comparison

FTMO's two-step structure creates artificial urgency. The5ers' single-step, no-deadline approach aligns better with realistic trading psychology—you trade at your pace, not the firm's pace.

Why Compare at All?

Choose The5ers if: You're a swing trader (hold 2–3 days), prefer forex, and don't want time pressure.

Choose FTMO if: You scalp or day-trade, profit consistently within 2–4 weeks, and want the highest immediate profit split (80%).

Internal link: See full prop firm comparison page

What Happens After You Pass

Passing the challenge is exciting, but the real work begins. Here's what you need to know about your funded account:

Challenge Fee Refund

Your initial $95–$995 challenge fee is refunded with your first profit payout. So if you pass and your first $500 profit withdrawal hits, that's really $405 to you (after fee refund is processed).

Profit Split Structure

Entry level: 50% profit split (for Hyper Growth traders)
High Stakes traders: Start at 80% profit split
Scaling: Once you hit cumulative profit milestones (e.g., $5K, $10K), your split may increase to 60%, 70%, or 100% depending on your program tier

This is detailed in The5ers Payout Rules Explained: How Withdrawals Work.

Payout Schedule & Minimums

Withdrawal cycle: Every 14 days
Minimum withdrawal: $150 per request
First withdrawal: Available 14 days after your funded account is activated (after passing the challenge)
Methods: Bank transfer (3% fee), crypto (2% fee, $1.5K max), Rise, or Hub Credits (0% fee)

Key point: Each time your account scales (e.g., from $20K to $40K), the 14-day withdrawal timer resets. Plan ahead—if you're close to a scaling milestone, it might be worth waiting to withdraw until after scaling to avoid the 14-day reset.

Scaling Plan: The Path to $4M

This is The5ers' biggest advantage over competitors. The5ers allows consistent traders to scale their account size rapidly:

Phase 1 ($20K account): Hit $2,000 profit (10%) to unlock
Phase 2 ($40K account): Hit $2,000 profit on the $20K, then scale to $40K. Repeat 5% profit target.
Phase 3 ($100K account): Continue the pattern. Each scaling milestone doubles your capital.
Final ($4M cap): Top-performing traders who've scaled consistently can reach $4M in live trading capital

A trader starting with a $6K Hyper Growth account can theoretically reach $4M in 18–24 months if they scale immediately after each phase (with 50% profit split, that's serious income).

Account Rules After Funding

Drawdown limits remain: You must still respect the 6–10% max drawdown rule
No profit target: Once funded, there's no required profit target—but staying profitable keeps your scaling moving
Leverage: Typically 1:30 for forex (same as challenge)
No inactivity penalty: Unlike the challenge, your funded account doesn't expire after 30 days of no trading

Hub Credits & Other Incentives

The5ers offers Hub Credits that you can redeem for additional challenge attempts, discounts, or perks. High-account traders ($1M+) get fixed monthly payouts, which converts your trading account into a managed fund—useful if you want passive income without constant trading.

The Bottom Line

Passing The5ers challenge is Step 1. The real profit comes from the funded account and scaling. The no-time-limit structure of the challenge lets you build discipline and systems that carry into funded trading—and that's why traders choose The5ers over faster (but harder) competitors.

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