Summary: Phidias allows up to five Express to Live accounts per trader, and each validated account pays a fixed bonus plus a LIVE credit. With five accounts of the same size, the rewards published by Phidias add up to $7,500 (5 x 25K), $15,000 (5 x 50K), $22,500 (5 x 100K) or $32,500 (5 x 150K), for one-time fees of $346.25 to $1,125 at October 3, 2026 prices. These totals combine bonus payouts (the 80/20 split applies) and LIVE credits on a real LIVE account, where profits are then paid every day with no maximum. They are rewards for passing two profit targets per account, not a forecast of earnings.
Express to Live is the shortest route we offer from an evaluation to a LIVE account with real money. Because the rewards are fixed and copy trading is allowed, it is also the easiest product to model. Here is the full calculation, size by size, with every assumption written down.
How Express to Live works in four steps
First, you trade an evaluation account until you reach its profit target. The drawdown is static: it is a fixed dollar amount that never trails your profits, and there is no consistency rule, no minimum number of trading days and no daily loss limit. News trading is allowed. Positions must be closed before the end of each trading day.
Second, the passed evaluation becomes a funded CASH account with the same rules, and you reach the same profit target a second time. Third, you click “Switch to Live”. A fixed bonus payout is credited to your Phidias Wallet (Phidias states that the 80/20 profit split applies to it), and a LIVE credit is applied to your new LIVE account. Fourth, the CASH account converts to a LIVE trading account at Dorman Trading, and LIVE profits can be withdrawn every day with no ceiling. There is no withdrawal request to wait on and no minimum balance to reach for the switch itself. Every detail is on our rules page and summarized on the Express to Live page.
The Express to Live grid, account by account
Each size has its own drawdown, target and reward. Prices are one-time payments with the public discount code shown on our accounts page on October 3, 2026. A one-time payment includes the CASH phase, with no activation fee and no monthly fee.
| Size | Price (list) | Static drawdown | Profit target (twice) | Max contracts | Bonus payout | LIVE credit | Total reward |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25K | $69.25 ($277) | $500 | $1,500 | 2 minis / 20 micros | $1,000 | $500 | $1,500 |
| 50K | $144.60 ($723) | $650 | $2,500 | 5 / 50 | $2,000 | $1,000 | $3,000 |
| 100K | $180 ($900) | $800 | $3,500 | 7 / 70 | $3,000 | $1,500 | $4,500 |
| 150K | $225 ($1,125) | $1,000 | $4,500 | 9 / 90 | $4,500 | $2,000 | $6,500 |
The liquidation level is simply the starting balance minus the static drawdown: $24,500 on a 25K, $49,350 on a 50K, $99,200 on a 100K and $149,000 on a 150K. It never moves, which means you know your worst case before your first trade.
Five accounts, four scenarios: the full calculation
The cap is five Express to Live accounts per trader, all sizes combined. The table below takes five accounts of the same size, which is the scenario most traders ask about. “If the 80/20 split is applied” shows the bonus after a 20% share to Phidias, which is the conservative way to read the rules. The last column divides the published total reward by the fees paid.
| Five accounts | Fees (Oct 3, 2026) | Combined drawdown | Bonus payouts | If the 80/20 split is applied | Combined LIVE credit | Total reward published | Reward per $1 of fees |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 x 25K | $346.25 | $2,500 | $5,000 | $4,000 | $2,500 | $7,500 | about $22 |
| 5 x 50K | $723 | $3,250 | $10,000 | $8,000 | $5,000 | $15,000 | about $21 |
| 5 x 100K | $900 | $4,000 | $15,000 | $12,000 | $7,500 | $22,500 | $25 |
| 5 x 150K | $1,125 | $5,000 | $22,500 | $18,000 | $10,000 | $32,500 | about $29 |
Read the scenario at the top end slowly. Five 150K accounts cost $1,125 in total and carry a combined $5,000 of static drawdown. If all five pass both targets, Phidias pays $22,500 of bonuses into your Wallet ($18,000 if you count the 80/20 split on the bonus), and your LIVE account receives $10,000 of cumulative LIVE credit. You can also mix sizes inside the five-account cap, for example three 150K and two 50K, and the rewards add up in the same way.
Now the honest part. Each account has to reach its target twice, once in evaluation and once on CASH, without touching its drawdown. Many traders fail before that, and failed attempts are part of the real cost. The numbers above are what the rules pay on success. They are not what a typical trader earns.
What the LIVE credit really is, and why it matters
The bonus goes to your Wallet. The LIVE credit does not: it is applied to your LIVE account, the real futures account Phidias opens for you at Dorman Trading, a CFTC-registered futures commission merchant and NFA member, through Sweet Futures. Think of it as the loss allowance Phidias funds on your LIVE account. Its static loss limit is “extensible”: every additional Express to Live account you validate adds its credit to the same LIVE account, so five 150K validations build a $10,000 cumulative credit.
A trader can hold only one LIVE account, so credits stack instead of opening new accounts. The LIVE account trades CME, CBOT, NYMEX and COMEX futures, starts at 2 to 5 lots depending on the size validated (2 lots from a 25K, 5 lots from a 150K), keeps an 80/20 split, and pays out every day with no maximum ($500 minimum per payout). The $122 monthly platform fee is waived. One rule to respect: if you fail a LIVE account that came from Express to Live, you cannot start a new Express to Live challenge for one month.
From that point, the bonuses stop being the main event. A LIVE account with daily, uncapped payouts is where a consistent trader’s income comes from, and Phidias does not cap how much you take out. That is the real reason to stack five accounts: you arrive in LIVE with a larger cushion.
How to run five accounts at once
Phidias allows copy trading within its account limits: up to five Express to Live, five Fundamental and five Premium funded accounts per person, which means up to fifteen funded accounts in total. You can use third-party trade copier software, and platforms such as Tradovate include a built-in copier. With a copier, you place one set of orders and it mirrors them on all five accounts, so the five targets are reached by the same trades.
Copy trading multiplies your results in both directions. A loss that would breach one account breaches all five. That is why the static drawdown matters so much here: on a 150K, you know that $1,000 is the line, on every account, every day. Size your position for the account with the tightest margin of safety, keep a hard stop on every trade, and remember that Micro E-mini contracts, one tenth of the E-mini size, let you scale risk precisely.
How this compares with paying for your drawdown
Some new programs remove the evaluation and charge you the drawdown instead. Vest Capital’s Instant accounts are the clearest example: their documentation states that “Payment always equals your Max. Drawdown”, so $5,000 of drawdown costs $5,000 there, for example with five $25,000 Instant accounts. The same $5,000 of combined drawdown costs $1,125 with five Express to Live 150K accounts at October 2026 prices, and success leads to fixed rewards and a real LIVE account. We published the full analysis in our Vest Markets review and in instant funded account vs Express to Live.
If you want a wider benchmark of what prop traders actually take home, read how much prop firm traders make, and compare payout speeds in our guide to daily payout prop firms.
Take action with Phidias Propfirm
Phidias was built on a simple idea: we profit when you go LIVE, not when you fail. Express to Live gives you a drawdown that never trails, no consistency rule, no minimum days and no daily loss limit, then a fixed bonus, a LIVE credit and a real LIVE account with daily payouts and no ceiling. Start with one account to learn the rules, then scale to five with a copier once your process is stable.
Choose your sizes, check today’s prices and open your first account: get funded with Phidias Propfirm.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much can you make with 5 Express to Live accounts?
If all five accounts pass both targets, Phidias publishes total rewards of $7,500 with five 25K, $15,000 with five 50K, $22,500 with five 100K and $32,500 with five 150K accounts. Each total combines bonus payouts (80/20 split applies) and LIVE credits. LIVE profits after that are paid daily with no maximum.
Can I copy trade my Express to Live accounts?
Yes. Copy trading is allowed within the account limits of five Express to Live, five Fundamental and five Premium funded accounts per person. Phidias accepts third-party copier software but is not responsible for its technical failures.
Is the Express to Live bonus paid in cash?
The bonus payout is credited to your Phidias Wallet when you click “Switch to Live”, with the 80/20 profit split applying. From the Wallet you can withdraw by bank transfer via Rise, buy new accounts or fund your LIVE account.
What is the LIVE credit on Express to Live?
It is the amount applied to your LIVE account at Dorman Trading when you switch. It acts as the static loss allowance of that real account and grows with each additional Express to Live account you validate, up to five.
What happens if I lose my LIVE account?
A trader holds only one LIVE account. If a LIVE account that came from Express to Live fails, you cannot subscribe to a new Express to Live challenge for one month. The complete conditions are listed on the Phidias rules page.
Risk disclaimer: Trading futures involves substantial risk of loss and is not suitable for every investor. Most traders do not pass evaluations. The amounts above are fixed rewards defined by the Phidias rules and paid only if every condition is met. They are not a forecast or a promise of earnings. Evaluation and CASH accounts are simulated; LIVE accounts trade real money.
