Prop firms that allow trading bots (EAs, cBots) in 2026

Updated 31 October 2026 · rules checked on the official websites and help centres

Not all prop firms treat bots the same way. Some allow them everywhere, others only on one platform, others only with a paid add-on. And almost all of them ban the same practices. Here is what the official rules of six firms say.

Our pick for trading with a bot: FTMO. Bots allowed on MT4, MT5 and cTrader, with no paid add-on and clear limits. E8 Markets and The5%ers are good alternatives if their rules suit your bot.

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Prop firm	Bots	Platforms	Main limits
FTMO	Allowed	MT4, MT5, cTrader	2,000 server requests per day, 200 simultaneous orders, no ultra-fast tools or latency exploitation
E8 Markets	Allowed	MT5, cTrader, Match-Trader, TradeLocker	One strategy per trader, 2,000 requests and 2,000 positions per day, under 50% of trades held less than 1 minute
The5%ers	Allowed, with conditions	MT5, cTrader	Source code required, no high-frequency trading or shared off-the-shelf bots, written approval required under the terms and conditions
FunderPro	Allowed	MT5, cTrader, TradeLocker	The bot must be your own, no latency exploitation
BrightFunded	Allowed	MT5, cTrader (not DXtrade)	No high-frequency trading, no latency arbitrage
FundedNext	Very restricted	MT4, MT5 only	Banned on cTrader and Match-Trader, accounts under 50k only, paid add-on required

Checked on 31 October 2026 on the official help centres. The firms allow algorithmic trading in general; few of them mention “cBots” by name.

What they all ban

High-frequency trading: positions lasting a few seconds, thousands of orders.
Latency arbitrage: exploiting a price feed that is slower than the market.
“Challenge-passing” bots sold online: several traders end up with the same trades, which gets detected.
Opposite positions across several accounts or several firms.

The limit that catches most people out: server requests

Every order opened, modified or closed is a request. FTMO and E8 Markets set the limit at 2,000 per day. A bot that moves its stop on every tick can reach it in a single morning. Group your modifications, for example once per candle.

Preparing your bot for a challenge

Code the daily loss into the bot, stricter than the firm's rule.
Add a news filter if the firm bans opening positions around economic news (The5%ers, E8 One in the funded phase).
Test for several weeks on demo with the exact account size and limits of the challenge.
Host it on a VPS: a bot that shuts down mid-position can no longer manage its risk.

The cTrader case

If you code cBots, five firms in this table offer cTrader with bots allowed: FTMO, E8 Markets, The5%ers, FunderPro and BrightFunded. FundedNext offers cTrader but bans bots on it. Details in our guide to cTrader-compatible prop firms.

See FTMO challenges

Challenges are paid evaluations and most participants fail. Only buy a challenge with money you can afford to lose. Read the risk warning