Upload your EA backtests. Pass Lab simulates your trades against FundedNext's Stellar 2-step Phase 1 rules — including the 2026 XAUUSD leverage cut — using walk-forward Monte Carlo and bootstrap CIs. Audit-grade [low, high] range, not a marketing-grade point estimate.
95% CI from 1,000 Monte Carlo simulations on the inputs below. Upload your real backtests for audit-grade precision →
Lite estimate based on simplified inputs. Real-world pass rates depend on your actual trade distribution, news-trading rules, weekend holding, and per-firm consistency rules — all of which our audit-grade Pass Lab tool accounts for via real backtest data. CFTC Rule 4.41 hypothetical performance disclaimer applies.
FundedNext's Stellar 2-step is structurally easier than FTMO 2-step on two dimensions: lower profit target (8% vs 10%) and weekend holding allowed. The 5% daily DD is the same, both are now unlimited time (FTMO removed its 30-day cap in 2026), and the 2026 leverage changes hit gold-heavy strategies hard.
"Easier on paper" doesn't tell you whether your specific portfolio passes. Your backtest's max-DD is post-hoc on the trade order that happened. FundedNext's daily-DD rule fires on whatever order trades land in real time. Path-dependence is what determines pass probability — not your headline backtest numbers.
Pass Lab fixes this with walk-forward windows × Monte Carlo trade-shuffling × bootstrap confidence intervals. You upload your actual MT4/MT5 backtests; the engine returns a 95% CI [low, high] for FundedNext alongside 7 other firms.
| Rule | Stellar 2-step Phase 1 ($100k account) |
|---|---|
| Profit Target | 8% of starting balance |
| Max Daily Loss | 5% of starting balance (static) |
| Max Total Loss | 10% of starting balance (static line, not trailing) |
| Min Trading Days | 5 days with at least one closed trade |
| Time Limit | Unlimited |
| Weekend Holding | Allowed (challenge phase) |
| Forex Leverage | 1:100 |
| Metals (XAUUSD) Leverage | 1:10 (cut from 1:50 in January 2026) |
| Indices Leverage | 1:30 (relaxed from 1:20 in 2026) |
Source: FundedNext Help — Stellar 2-Step Rules (verified 2026-05-01).
Pay attention to the XAUUSD leverage cut. If your EA portfolio is gold-heavy, the 5x reduction in metals leverage materially affects how aggressively you can size positions. Pass Lab models the cut directly — your XAUUSD positions are constrained to the 1:10 leverage cap during simulation, which can push portfolios that previously fit FundedNext over to firms with more permissive metals leverage (FTMO 1:30, FundingPips 1:30, Goat 1:20).
Three patterns dominate the cross-firm comparison:
Trend-followers and steady-winner portfolios that take 60+ days to compound 8% can pass either firm — both removed their time caps. FundedNext's lower 8% target (vs FTMO's 10%) is the meaningful structural edge here. Pass Lab typically surfaces FundedNext over FTMO for slow-burn portfolios on the target gap, not the time gap.
Portfolios that compound 10%+ in 2 weeks pass FTMO Phase 1 quickly, and the 2-step structure protects you in Phase 2 (5% target). FundedNext's 8% target is also fast, but you still need 5 trading days minimum and time isn't a constraint either way. Pass Lab usually returns near-tied CIs for fast-compounding portfolios — pick whichever has the better profit split for the funded stage.
Mean-reversion XAUUSD EAs that depend on 1:50 leverage to size positions are now seeing materially reduced position sizes on FundedNext. FTMO's 1:30 metals leverage and FundingPips' 1:30 are now MORE permissive than FundedNext for gold. Pass Lab will rank FTMO/FundingPips above FundedNext for gold-heavy portfolios when the leverage difference matters.
Pass Lab gives you a 95% confidence interval based on walk-forward Monte Carlo simulation against FundedNext's exact Stellar 2-step Phase 1 rules. Upload your MT4/MT5 backtests at fxoptimize.com/pass-lab/ and get an audit-grade [low, high] range. The primary match is selected on the lower bound, not the point estimate.
Yes. In January 2026 FundedNext cut XAUUSD (gold) leverage from 1:50 to 1:10 — a 5x reduction in margin efficiency. Indices leverage was relaxed from 1:20 to 1:30. Forex remains 1:100. Pass Lab's FundedNext Stellar profile reflects current 2026 caps.
Stellar 2-step has an 8% target (vs FTMO's 10%), 5 min trading days (vs FTMO's 4), both unlimited time (FTMO removed its 30-day cap in 2026), same 5% daily DD, same 10% static total DD. The lower target makes FundedNext typically easier than FTMO 2-step for slow-burn portfolios. Pass Lab compares both side-by-side and surfaces whichever has the higher CI lower bound for your specific portfolio.
Static drawdown — the 10% total loss line is fixed at starting balance regardless of equity peaks. More permissive than trailing-EoD (FTMO 1-step) and significantly more permissive than trailing-intraday (the strictest variant). Mean-reversion and grid EAs that recover from large drawdowns survive static rules.
Walk-forward windows of 60 days (FundedNext has unlimited time so we cap at 60 days) slid across your backtest with 30-day stride. Per-window Monte Carlo: 1,000 iterations with within-day shuffled trade order. Bootstrap 5,000 resamples to compute 95% CI. Sample-size guard requires ≥12 windows. Full methodology here.
No. FXOptimize and Pass Lab are independent. We have no affiliate relationship with FundedNext or any other propfirm. Pass Lab models FundedNext's published rules accurately because the brand requires audit-grade fidelity. The cross-firm comparison is symmetric — Pass Lab surfaces FundedNext when your portfolio fits FundedNext best, and other firms when those fit better.
Upload your MT4/MT5 backtests. Pass Lab simulates against FundedNext Stellar 2-step plus 7 other propfirms simultaneously. Get a 95% CI per firm and an audit-grade backtest match.
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