Prop Firms That Allow Expert Advisors and Bots
45 of the 48 CFD prop firms we track publish a policy on Expert Advisors. 21 allow them outright, 21 attach conditions and 3 ban them. The conditions are rarely about automation in general — most firms are trying to block one specific thing: a bot you did not write. PipFarm allows EAs but bans shared or purchased marketplace bots. Hantec Trader allows them but bans grid EAs. Goat Funded Trader singles out gold arbitrage EAs. The pattern across the table below is consistent: your own strategy, automated, is usually fine; a bot bought from a marketplace and run by hundreds of traders usually is not. Read the exception under each firm, not just the headline verdict.
45 of 48 CFD firms publish a policy on this.
Allowed
Including trade copiers and risk management tools
Allowed
One strategy per user. Not on E8 Signature (Futures)
EAs and indicators are allowed, but the trader carries full responsibility for EA-caused breaches with no resets.
Allowed
Allowed on the challenge programs.
Allowed across evaluation and funded accounts.
Your own EAs are allowed on all programs
Bots and EAs are allowed only if they run your own strategy. HFT bots, latency/slippage-exploit EAs, and purchased or shared marketplace bots are not permitted.
Not allowedShared or Purchased Bots
Automated strategies purchased from marketplaces or used by multiple traders are not permitted. Your strategy must be your own.
Except martingale and arbitrage EAs
Permitted
Available as an optional add-on at checkout
From our firm record — not independently re-verified
Conditions apply
Shared/third-party EAs may be flagged. No execution manipulation
Personally developed only. Commercial EAs prohibited
Must own source code. 1-Step: any EA allowed
Allowed on 1-Phase, 2-Phase, Rapid. Prohibited on Instant Funding
Must be customized. Commercial/free EAs without personalization prohibited
Only if assisting manual trading. Autonomous execution prohibited
Not allowedAutomated Bots
Bots/scripts that autonomously open/close positions
Risk-management EAs allowed; martingale, tick scalping, latency/reverse/hedge arbitrage, grid, and HFT (open+close inside 30 seconds) are banned.
Allowed on MT4/MT5/cTrader. Not on DXTrade/MatchTrader
Allowed if not fully automated or shared with other traders
MT4/MT5 only. Not allowed on cTrader or Match-Trader
Third-party EAs for tick scalping, rollover scalping, HFT prohibited
Risk/trade management EAs only. Other 3rd-party EAs prohibited
Allowed in 2-Phase. Banned in Instant Funding & Lightning
Must own and prove ownership. HFT/commercial EAs prohibited
Not allowedGold Arbitrage EA
Allowed in all programs except Instant Funding
Not allowedGrid EAs
Public third-party EAs restricted. Only proprietary/personal
Require pre-approval via passes@qtfunded.com
Allowed if no HFT, arbitrage, hedging, or signal copying
Must own EA or have source code access. No signal copying
Must be customized. Commercial automated EAs prohibited
EA policy is not published.
From our firm record — not independently re-verified
Not allowed
Only semi-automated with active trader monitoring allowed
Strictly prohibited at all stages
EAs and automated systems are prohibited on all platforms — all trades must be manual.
From our firm record — not independently re-verified
Frequently Asked Questions
Most do. Of the 45 CFD firms that publish a policy, 21 allow EAs outright and another 21 allow them with conditions. Only 3 ban automated trading entirely.
When hundreds of traders run the same bot, the firm carries the same trade many times over. Firms treat marketplace bots as strategy sharing rather than as your own trading, which is why a firm can allow EAs and still ban a bot you bought.
At firms that allow EAs, yes. The usual requirement is that the strategy is your own and is not exploiting execution — latency, slippage or pricing errors. Firms that ban HFT bots still generally permit a self-written EA that trades normally.
A grid EA opens layered positions at fixed intervals and averages into losses. It can look profitable for a long time and then lose the account in one move, so some firms permit EAs in general but exclude grid and martingale logic specifically.
Rules change without notice and vary by account type. Confirm with the firm before you trade.