Apex Activation Fee 2026: Every Size, Every Plan, and the Real Total

On Apex’s Standard plans, the activation fee is a one-time charge of $89 to $159 that you pay after passing the evaluation, to open your Performance Account. It depends on the size and the drawdown type, it must be paid within 7 days of passing, and it is never refunded. The No Activation Fee plans remove it, but their evaluation costs just over four times the Standard price on a 25K Intraday, at list price.

How much is the Apex activation fee in 2026?

On Apex’s Standard plans, the activation fee runs from $89 to $159, and it is the same on Rithmic, Tradovate and WealthCharts. EOD Trail accounts cost a little more to activate than Intraday Trail accounts.

Apex also sells Legacy accounts for a limited time: a monthly evaluation from $177 a month, with a one-time PA fee of $99 (25K), $125 (50K), $149 (100K), $179 (150K), $189 (250K) and $199 (300K). Unlike the new plans, Legacy billing keeps recurring every month until you cancel. Apex’s help center lists higher Legacy PA fees as of October 2026, $125 (25K) to $300 (300K), so check the amount at checkout; our Apex Legacy account rules guide puts both lists side by side.

What does an Apex account really cost, eval plus activation?

The real price of an Apex account is the evaluation plus the activation fee. Apex was running a 90% coupon on evaluations on October 15 and again on October 18, 2026, so we show both totals: at list price, and with that code.

With the coupon, the activation fee is more than half the bill on every plan except the 150K EOD. On a 50K Intraday, the $99 activation is 80% of the $123.90 total. The banner advertises 90% off evaluations; it does not mention the activation fee.

These totals assume you pass on the first attempt. There are no resets on the Intraday and EOD plans: a breached evaluation is closed, and every new attempt is a new evaluation fee. Apex also sells five-packs, such as five 100K Intraday evaluations for $1,725, or $172.50 with the code. Our full Apex cost breakdown adds the retries and the data fees.

Is the Apex No Activation Fee plan worth it?

It depends on the coupon, the size and how many attempts you need. At list price, the Standard plan is cheaper at every size. With a 90% code, No Activation Fee wins on a first pass, and how long it stays ahead depends on the account size.

On bigger accounts, the gap between the two evaluation prices is smaller than the activation fee, so No Activation Fee stays ahead for longer. With the 90% code, Standard becomes the cheaper plan from this attempt:

Without a big coupon, take Standard. With one, No Activation Fee pays off only on a first pass for 25K and 50K Intraday and 25K EOD, up to the second attempt on 50K EOD and 150K Intraday, and longer on 100K and the 150K EOD.

When do you pay the Apex activation fee, and what if you miss the deadline?

You have 7 calendar days from the moment your evaluation is marked as Passed. Apex reviews accounts at the market close (4:59:59 PM ET) and marks them as Passed after 6 PM ET. The clock starts then, not when you hit the profit target during the session.

• Pass on the last day of your 30-day evaluation: you still get the full 7 days.
• Pay through the Purchase PA link in the Passed Evals tab of your dashboard.
• Allow up to 6 hours for the Performance Account to be created. An activation paid after the Friday close is created on Sunday.
• Miss the 7 days and the opportunity expires. It cannot be reinstated, and you must pass a new evaluation.

Once active, the Performance Account has its own rules: a daily loss limit, a 50% consistency rule, and payouts every 5 trading days with a maximum of 6 requests. Our Apex payout rules guide covers them in detail.

Can you get the Apex activation fee refunded or waived?

No refund, ever. Apex’s help center states that the PA activation fee is not refundable, transferable or reversible, and its refund policy lists activation fees among the non-refundable purchases.

Waived: only on the No Activation Fee plans

The way to skip the fee is to buy a No Activation Fee evaluation, which costs more upfront, as shown above. Apex’s help center describes no other waiver.

Discounted: only until the promotion ends

Apex sometimes discounts PA activation fees during a sale. Its help center is precise: the discount is valid only through the promotion date, and it does not stay attached to an evaluation bought during the sale. Pass after the promotion ends and you pay the normal fee.

Watch the countdown

On October 15, 2026, Apex’s SAVENOW banner counted down to that same night (New York time). On October 18, it showed a new countdown, again ending that night. Do not rush a purchase for a timer. Price the evaluation and the activation fee together.

What happens to your activation fee if the Performance Account closes?

It is gone. The activation is valid only as long as that Performance Account stays open. If the account is disqualified, liquidated or closed for inactivity, it is closed for good, and you must pass a new evaluation and pay a new activation fee.

The inactivity rule is the one traders forget: at least 2 trading days with $50 or more in net profit in every rolling 30-day period. Apex sends reminders at 15 and 20 days, then closes the account at 30.

Express to Live: one price, nothing to activate

Apex vs prop firms with no activation fee

Phidias first: Express to Live bought as a one-time payment bundles the evaluation and the funded account in one price. There is no separate activation fee and no 7-day deadline to pay one.

The honest reading: with its 90% code, Apex’s first-pass total undercuts our 50K, unless BIG50 is running. Every failed Apex attempt adds a new evaluation fee, and our price includes the funded account.

What you get for it: a static drawdown that never trails ($500 on 25K, $650 on 50K), no daily loss limit and no consistency rule. Payout on Day 1 is possible, and your first payout converts the account to a LIVE account. Our record from evaluation purchase to payout is 6 hours 18 minutes, and 90% of Phidias payouts are processed in under 30 minutes, every payout within 24 hours.

Two honest notes. Express to Live positions must be closed before the end of the session. And our monthly subscription accounts do have a lifetime activation fee, from $83 to $169: only the one-time payment includes the funded account. Both are on our rules page.

Activation fees at the other futures firms

Fees read on each firm’s own website and help center in October 2026. Our guide to prop firms with no activation fee compares them in full, and our cheapest prop firm page adds monthly rebills and resets to the total.

See every Phidias account

Test: Standard, No Activation Fee, or no activation fee at all?

Four questions on how many attempts you need, the coupon, the fee that bothers you and what you want after you pass. No email.

Apex activation fee 2026: frequently asked questions

How much is the Apex activation fee?

On a Standard plan, Apex charges a one-time Performance Account activation fee of $89 to $159, depending on size and drawdown type. Intraday Trail costs $89 (25K), $99 (50K), $129 (100K) and $149 (150K). EOD Trail costs $109, $129, $139 and $159. You pay it once, after you pass the evaluation.

How much does it cost to activate a 25K Apex account?

$89 for a 25K Intraday Trail account and $109 for a 25K EOD Trail account, on Apex’s Standard plans. A 25K Legacy account has a one-time PA fee of $99. The No Activation Fee plans have no activation fee, but the evaluation lists at $690 (Intraday) or $1,090 (EOD) instead of $167 or $490.

Does Apex still have an activation fee?

Yes, on its Standard plans and on Legacy accounts. Apex also sells No Activation Fee plans in every size, where activation shows as free but the evaluation costs more: a 50K Intraday lists at $799 instead of $249.

Is the Apex activation fee refundable?

No. Apex’s help center states that the PA activation fee is a one-time payment that is not refundable, transferable or reversible. If the Performance Account is later liquidated, disqualified or closed for inactivity, the fee is lost and you must pass a new evaluation.

How long do you have to pay the Apex activation fee?

7 calendar days from the moment the evaluation is marked as Passed, which happens after 6 PM ET following the market close review. If you do not pay within those 7 days, the opportunity expires, cannot be reinstated, and you must pass a new evaluation.

Can the Apex activation fee be waived or discounted?

Apex’s help center describes one way to skip it: the No Activation Fee plans, which cost more upfront. Apex sometimes discounts PA activation fees during promotions, but its help center says the discount ends on the promotion date and does not stay attached to an evaluation bought during the sale.

Which prop firms have no activation fee?

Among the futures firms we checked in October 2026, Tradeify, MyFundedFutures and Lucid Trading charge no activation fee, and Topstep offers a No Activation Fee path. At Phidias, Express to Live bought as a one-time payment bundles the evaluation and the funded account: the 25K costs $69 with code PHIDIAS, with no separate activation fee.