How you lose the account
Losing an account in these firms is not only a matter of hitting a price level but also of breaching operational boundaries. In Audacity, the account is terminated if you violate the consistency score (if it remains below 50), trade news outside the 3-minute window, or use third-party EAs. Copying from any external source is a hard breach.
In Goat Funded Trader, the risk of loss is more sensitive to time and specific profit caps. You can lose the account through inactivity in just 30 days. Additionally, generating more than 1% profit during high-impact news events doesn't just void the trade; it is a restricted behavior. Prohibited strategies like Martingale or HFT are also grounds for immediate termination.
Maximum drawdown
The maximum drawdown is the ultimate safety net, but its calculation method changes the difficulty level significantly.
- Audacity: Uses a balance-based calculation. This is generally safer for the trader because it doesn't "eat" into your unrealized profits as much as a trailing drawdown would.
- Numerical Example: If you have a $100,000 Ability Challenge account with a 10% maximum drawdown, your account is closed if your balance drops to $90,000. If you grow the account to $110,000, your loss limit remains at $90,000, giving you a $20,000 buffer.
- Goat Funded Trader: The calculation depends on the plan. Evaluations (1-Step, 2-Step, 3-Step) are static, but the Instant Funding accounts use a trailing drawdown, which is much more aggressive as it follows your equity upward.
- Numerical Example: On a $100,000 3-Step account with an 8% maximum drawdown, the limit is static at $92,000. However, on an Instant account, if your balance rises to $105,000, a trailing drawdown of 6% would move your liquidation level up to $98,700.
Daily drawdown
The daily drawdown is the most common cause of failure because it is evaluated frequently.
- Audacity: The daily limit (7.5% in Phase 1) is based on the highest value between balance and equity. This is a strict rule because if you have a large floating profit that isn't closed, your "ceiling" for the drawdown calculation rises, making it easier to hit the floor if the market reverses.
- Goat Funded Trader: Most models use an End of Day (EOD) high-watermark. It records the highest balance or equity at the end of the day (5 PM EST) and sets the limit for the next day.
- Numerical Example: In Goat, if you start the day at $100,000 and your equity reaches $104,000 but you don't close the trade, your drawdown for the next day will be calculated from $104,000. If the limit is 4%, you cannot drop below $99,840 the following day.
Rules beyond drawdown
Both firms impose "soft" and "hard" rules that act as secondary risk factors:
- Audacity:
- Consistency Score: You must maintain a score above 70 based on the formula
[1 - (most profitable day / total profit)] * 100. - Lot Size Limit: Maximum of 10 lots per open position. While you can open multiple positions, individual size is capped.
- EA Restriction: Only self-developed EAs are allowed. Using a commercial EA bought online will result in account loss.
- Consistency Score: You must maintain a score above 70 based on the formula
- Goat Funded Trader:
- Goat Guard: An automated system that closes all trades if you reach a 2% loss of the balance. The first breach reduces your profit split to 50%; the second breach suspends the account.
- Consistency Rule: Depending on the account, a single day cannot represent more than 15% or 20% of total profit.
- Scalping Limit: Trades must be open for at least 2 minutes. Profits from shorter trades are removed.
Risk that comes from the setup
The technical environment adds a layer of "invisible" risk. Audacity limits you to MetaTrader 4 and 5. While these are industry standards, the lack of platform diversity means you are entirely dependent on their internal broker, AudaCity Global LTD. If execution is slow during news, the 3-minute news trading restriction becomes even more dangerous.
Goat Funded Trader offers a wider range of platforms (MatchTrader, cTrader, TradeLocker, Volumetrica). This allows traders to choose environments with potentially better execution for their specific style. However, they explicitly block VPNs, which is a risk for traders with unstable connections or those traveling, as an accidental IP change could trigger a security flag.
What is at stake and what you recover
The initial "risk" is the fee paid to enter the challenge.
- Audacity: Offers a full refund after the first payout. This lowers the long-term risk for successful traders. However, their payout frequency is tied to reaching a 10% profit in the Funded Trader Program, which can be a high hurdle.
- Goat Funded Trader: The refund is only issued after the fourth payout. This means you must remain consistent for a much longer period to recover your initial investment. On the other hand, they offer a "Reset" purchase (ranging from 50% to 175% of the original price) that allows you to keep your current phase even after a breach, which is a unique way to "buy back" into the game without starting over.
Frequently asked questions
Which firm is cheaper to start a $10,000 evaluation, Audacity or Goat Funded Trader?
Goat Funded Trader is cheaper for this specific size. Their 3-Step evaluation for $10,000 costs $65, while Audacity's 2-step Ability Challenge for the same amount costs $75. If you look for the absolute lowest entry, Goat Funded Trader offers a $5,000 account for $17 in its 2-Step Goat model.
Which firm offers a faster refund of the registration fee, Audacity or Goat Funded Trader?
Audacity offers a faster refund. They return the full fee after your very first payout. In contrast, Goat Funded Trader requires you to reach your fourth payout before they issue a full refund of the evaluation fee.
Who has stricter rules for using Expert Advisors (EAs), Audacity or Goat Funded Trader?
Audacity is much stricter. They only allow EAs that you have developed yourself; the use of any commercial, third-party, or publicly available EA is strictly prohibited and leads to account loss. Goat Funded Trader allows EAs more broadly, though they prohibit specific strategies like HFT or Martingale.
Which firm has a more restrictive news trading policy, Audacity or Goat Funded Trader?
Audacity is more restrictive in terms of execution, as it prohibits opening or increasing positions 3 minutes before and after high-impact news. Goat Funded Trader allows trading during news but imposes a profit cap: any profit exceeding 1% of the starting balance generated within a 2-minute window of the news event will be removed.
