How you lose the account
At Dolvero, the account is closed if you breach the daily or maximum drawdown limits. Additionally, for funded accounts, there is a strict inactivity rule: the account is automatically closed after 7 calendar days without a trade. Using prohibited strategies such as arbitrage, hedging on correlated instruments, or balance tampering also results in immediate loss.
At Propr, touching either the daily or maximum drawdown limit permanently closes the simulated account. Unlike Dolvero, Propr does not specify a general inactivity rule in the provided data, but it prohibits "repeated evaluation purchases as bets" and "manipulation of payout/drawdown interactions," which are subjective rules that increase the trader's execution risk.
Maximum drawdown
The maximum drawdown rules differ significantly between the firms and even between their own account types:
- Dolvero:
- 2-Step Challenges: Static drawdown. It is always calculated from the starting balance and does not move.
- 1-Step Challenges: Trailing drawdown. The "floor" rises as the equity reaches new highs, but it never moves back down.
- Numerical Example (Dolvero 1-Step $100,000): With a 6% limit, your floor is initially $94,000. If your equity rises to $105,000, your new floor becomes $99,000 ($105,000 - 6%). If your equity then drops to $102,000, your floor remains fixed at $99,000.
- Propr:
- 1-Step (Classic/Pro/Turbo): Fixed floor calculated from the starting balance.
- 2-Step (Classic): Trailing drawdown that follows the highest equity (including floating profit) but stops rising once it reaches the starting balance.
- Numerical Example (Propr 2-Step $100,000): With an 8% limit, your floor starts at $92,000. If equity reaches $105,000, the floor trails to $97,000. If equity reaches $110,000, the floor stops at $100,000 (your initial balance) and stays there forever.
Daily drawdown
This is often the most common point of failure for traders, and both firms calculate it differently:
- Dolvero: The limit is calculated from the equity snapshot at 00:00 UTC. This includes open positions. If you have a $100,000 2-Step account (4% limit), and your equity at midnight is $102,000, your daily limit for that day is $97,920 ($102,000 - 4%).
- Propr: The percentage is based on the balance at 00:00 UTC but enforced on equity (including floating P&L). If you have a $10,000 Turbo account (3% limit) and your balance is $10,000 at midnight, the account is lost if equity touches $9,700 at any point during the day.
Rules beyond drawdown
Beyond the drawdown limits, there are technical constraints that act as "soft" or "hard" risks:
- Dolvero:
- Consistency Rule: No single day can represent more than 15% of the total net profit. It won't close your account, but it will prevent you from passing the phase until the average is balanced.
- Risk Limits: Maximum loss of 2% of current equity per trade idea. Notional exposure limits of 2x per trade and 3x total.
- Minimum Days: 5 qualifying days per phase are required, each with at least 0.5% profit.
- Propr:
- Consistency Rule: None.
- Hedging: Allowed within a single account, but strictly prohibited across different Propr accounts or external accounts.
- Trade Limits: No fixed risk percentage, but there are notional limits per asset visible in their "Asset Universe."
Risk that comes from the setup
The infrastructure you trade on is a hidden risk factor.
- Dolvero uses Bybit Demo through a read-only API. This means you are subject to Bybit's execution and liquidity. Since it only allows USDT-margined perpetuals (no spot, no USDC-margined), the risk is concentrated in the crypto market. The 50x leverage in crypto is high, which can lead to hitting the daily drawdown very quickly if not managed.
- Propr uses a proprietary terminal connected to Hyperliquid. While it offers more assets (Forex, Stocks, Indices), the leverage is much lower (e.g., 10:1 on BTC/ETH vs Dolvero's 50:1). A proprietary platform carries the risk of unique execution bugs or latency that might not exist on institutional platforms like Bybit.
What is at stake and what you recover
The financial risk is the cost of the challenge.
- Dolvero: Offers a refund of the fee with the second successful payout. This means if you are consistent, the initial "risk capital" is eventually returned. Payouts are every 14 days with a $50 minimum.
- Propr: Does not offer a refund of the evaluation fee. However, it allows "on-demand" payouts with no minimum waiting period, which reduces the risk of losing earned profits to a later market move. The minimum withdrawal is 20 USDC.
The data regarding Propr's foundation date is missing, which represents a transparency risk compared to firms with a longer, documented track record.
Frequently asked questions
Which firm is cheaper to start with, Dolvero or Propr?
Propr is significantly cheaper for entry-level traders. Its smallest account, the $5,000 Turbo 1-Step, costs only $25, while its $5,000 Classic 2-Step costs $50. In contrast, Dolvero's smallest offering is a $10,000 account, which costs $99 for the 2-Step version and $129 for the 1-Step version.
Which firm offers a more favorable drawdown structure, Dolvero or Propr?
It depends on your strategy. Propr's 1-Step accounts are safer in terms of "floor" because they use a fixed limit based on the starting balance (e.g., $94,000 for a $100,000 account). Dolvero's 1-Step uses a trailing drawdown that follows your equity up, making it harder to keep the account if you have a large winning streak followed by a correction. However, for 2-Step accounts, Dolvero offers a static drawdown, while Propr uses a trailing drawdown (until it reaches the starting balance).
Which firm has faster payouts, Dolvero or Propr?
Propr is faster as it offers payouts on demand with no minimum waiting period, provided positions are closed. Dolvero requires a waiting period of 14 days between payouts. Both firms aim to process approved requests within 24 hours, but Propr's lack of a mandatory waiting period gives it the edge for liquidity.
Which firm allows more trading freedom, Dolvero or Propr?
Propr offers more freedom in terms of assets (Forex, Stocks, Indices, and Crypto) and lacks the 15% consistency rule found in Dolvero. However, Dolvero allows much higher leverage on cryptocurrencies (up to 50x) compared to Propr's 10x on BTC/ETH. Dolvero also explicitly allows third-party bots without prior approval, whereas Propr may flag identical uncustomized bots as "coordinated trading" on funded accounts.
