Complete Lucid Trading Prop Firm Guide — Blog

Lucid Trading is a proprietary trading firm specializing in funded futures accounts that launched in early 2025. Founded by CEO AJ, the firm has quickly established itself as one of the more trader-friendly options in the futures prop trading space. Lucid Trading sells evaluations for a one-time fee with no activation fee to upgrade to a funded account, lets you request payouts on any day you qualify, and pays a 90/10 profit split¹ ² ³.

This guide covers every plan Lucid Trading offers: LucidPro, LucidFlex, LucidDirect and LucidDaily, plus how funded traders move to live LucidLive accounts and the invite-only LucidMaxx program. It also covers fees and payouts, the trading rules that apply to every account, supported platforms and products, and how Lucid compares with Topstep and Apex Trader Funding.

Company Overview

Lucid Trading operates under the registered entity Lucid Prop Ltd. Lucid says it was built to bridge the gap between funded-account firms and traditional prop trading desks, with a clear path from evaluation to live trading⁴. Since launching in early 2025, Lucid Trading has distributed millions in payouts to traders worldwide.

The firm focuses exclusively on CME Group futures markets, supporting contracts including ES (S&P 500 E-mini), NQ (Nasdaq E-mini), YM (Dow), CL (Crude Oil), GC (Gold), and other approved products on the CME, CBOT, NYMEX and COMEX exchanges⁵. Lucid's funded accounts are simulated: traders build simulated capital to earn payouts and may later be moved to live accounts⁶ ⁷.

Lucid Trading Plans at a Glance

LucidPro, LucidFlex and LucidDaily start with a single-phase evaluation; LucidDirect starts funded. The evaluation plans share the same profit targets and Max Loss Limits by size: $1,250 and $1,000 on the $25,000 account, $3,000 and $2,000 on $50,000, $6,000 and $3,000 on $100,000, and $9,000 and $4,500 on $150,000² ⁸ ⁹. What sets the plans apart is how the drawdown, consistency rule and payouts work:

Plan	Evaluation	Drawdown	Consistency	Payouts
LucidPro	One phase, no minimum days	End of day	40% per payout cycle once funded	Any day you qualify, with a minimum profit and a buffer
LucidFlex	One phase, 50% consistency	End of day	None once funded	After 5 profitable days per cycle, no buffer
LucidDirect	None, starts funded	End of day	20% per payout cycle	After a profit goal per cycle
LucidDaily	One phase, 50% consistency	Intraday once funded	None once funded	Daily, above a buffer

LucidPro, LucidFlex and LucidDaily let you turn the daily loss limit on or off when you buy the evaluation. Turning it on lowers the price, the choice applies to both the evaluation and the funded account, and it cannot be changed later¹⁰ ¹¹ ¹². Every daily loss limit at Lucid is a soft breach: it stops trading until the next session, and you keep the account unless the Max Loss Limit is reached¹³.

LucidPro

LucidPro is the standard evaluation-to-funded plan. The evaluation has a single profit target, no minimum number of trading days and no time limit, so it can be passed in one trading day². Hitting the target upgrades the account to LucidPro funded within 5 to 30 minutes, with no activation fee.

Maximum size: 2 minis or 20 micros on $25,000, 4 or 40 on $50,000, 6 or 60 on $100,000, and 10 or 100 on $150,000, with no scaling plan² ⁶
Drawdown: end of day, rising with your highest closing balance until the balance passes the Initial Trail Balance ($26,100 on a $25,000 account), then locking at the starting balance plus $100¹⁴
Daily loss limit: optional¹⁰; with it on, $1,200, $1,800 or $2,700 on the $50,000, $100,000 and $150,000 sizes, while Lucid's pages disagree on whether the $25,000 size has one¹³ ⁶
After the Initial Trail Balance: a funded account's fixed daily loss limit becomes the LucidScale limit, 60% of your highest end-of-day profit¹³

LucidPro Payouts

LucidPro payouts are split 90/10; accounts bought or reset before November 28, 2025 at 3:00 PM EST are still eligible for 100% of the first $10,000³. Each payout cycle needs all three of the following, and they reset after every approved payout:

Minimum profit: $250, $500, $750 or $1,000 on the $25,000 to $150,000 sizes³
Consistency: your largest single-day profit can be no more than 40% of the cycle's profit, or 35% on accounts bought or reset before November 28, 2025 at 3:00 PM EST¹⁵
Buffer: your profits must exceed the Initial Max Loss Limit plus $100, a required balance of $26,100 on a $25,000 account, and payouts cannot come out of the buffer³

The minimum request is $500. The first payout is capped at $1,000, $2,000, $2,500 or $3,000 by account size, and later payouts at $1,500, $2,500, $3,000 or $3,500. There is no fixed payout window, and funds reach your payment method within 2 business days of approval³.

LucidFlex

LucidFlex trades a consistency rule in the evaluation for fewer rules once funded. To pass, your largest single day can be no more than 50% of your profit when you reach the target; a small cushion built into the rule means you can pass in two days¹⁶ ⁸. There is no scaling plan during the evaluation¹⁷, and passing upgrades you to a LucidFlex funded account within 5 to 30 minutes, with no activation fee.

LucidFlex funded accounts have no consistency rule and no payout buffer, use an end-of-day drawdown, and keep the daily loss limit setting you chose at checkout¹⁸. The drawdown locks at the starting balance plus $100 once the balance passes the Initial Trail Balance, or as soon as you request a payout¹⁹. Unlike LucidPro, a funded LucidFlex account has a scaling plan: your contract limit starts at 1, 2, 3 or 4 minis by account size and rises with simulated profit, reaching the full 10 minis on a $150,000 account at $4,500, and it updates at the end of each session¹⁷.

LucidFlex Payouts

Profitable days: 5 days in the cycle with at least $100, $150, $200 or $250 of profit on the $25,000 to $150,000 sizes, plus positive net profit for the cycle²⁰
Size of each payout: 50% of profit, up to $1,000, $2,000, $2,500 or $3,000 by account size, with no increase for later payouts²⁰
Number of payouts: up to 5 per account, after which the account is moved live²⁰
Split and timing: 90/10, a $500 minimum, no fixed payout window, and funds within 2 business days²⁰

LucidDirect

LucidDirect skips the evaluation: you buy a funded account for a one-time fee and start building toward payouts right away⁷ ¹. Its Max Loss Limits are higher on the larger sizes, $1,000, $2,000, $3,500 and $5,000, with an end-of-day drawdown that locks at the starting balance plus $100 once the balance passes the Initial Trail Balance ($103,600 on a $100,000 account)²¹. Its fixed daily loss limit is $1,200, $2,100 or $3,000 on the $50,000, $100,000 and $150,000 sizes, with none on $25,000, and it becomes the LucidScale limit above the Initial Trail Balance²². There is no scaling plan.

LucidDirect Payouts

Profit goal: $1,500, $3,000, $6,000 or $9,000 by account size for the first payout, then $1,250, $2,500, $3,500 or $4,500 for each payout after that²³
Consistency: your largest single-day profit can be no more than 20% of the cycle's profit²⁴
Payout caps: $1,000, $2,000, $2,500 or $3,000 for payouts 1 to 3, and $1,000, $2,500, $3,000 or $3,500 for payouts 4 and 5²³
Split and timing: 90/10, a $500 minimum, and no fixed payout window²³

LucidDaily

LucidDaily is built for daily payouts. The evaluation uses the same targets and 50% consistency rule as LucidFlex, and you choose its drawdown at checkout: intraday for a lower price or end of day for more room⁹ ¹². Once funded, every LucidDaily account uses an intraday drawdown that moves with your real-time profit and loss, and has no consistency rule²⁵ ²⁶. With the optional daily loss limit on, it is $600, $1,200, $1,800 or $2,700 by account size in both phases²⁷.

LucidDaily funded accounts also have a strict news rule: when a high-impact U.S. release is scheduled, you must be flat from 1 minute before until 1 minute after it, or the account is breached²⁶.

LucidDaily Payouts

You can request a payout on any day your profit exceeds the buffer, the Initial Max Loss Limit plus $100, and you have made a net profit since your last payout²⁸. There is no per-request cap: you can withdraw the simulated profit above the buffer, with a $500 minimum and a 90/10 split. Instead, each account has a maximum daily profit of $6,000, $8,000, $10,000 or $12,000 by size, and reaching it puts you in line to be moved live²⁹.

When a LucidDaily trader is moved live, the buffer funds the starting live drawdown, simulated profit above the buffer is paid out up to a total of $15,000 across all accounts, and there is no live bonus²⁹. Moves happen in the evening after the 6 PM EST session report: open positions are closed, and the prior day's closing balance is used, so that session's profit or loss does not count.

Going Live: LucidLive

Lucid's risk team moves traders from simulated funded accounts to live LucidLive accounts. You enter the review pool after the final payout on your plan (Payout 5), after being paid a significant amount over time, for exceptional performance in a funded account, or if you have been moved live before, and every move is at the risk team's discretion³⁰.

Accounts: one live account for each funded account that has had at least one payout. Every simulated account closes when you go live, evaluations included, and a funded account with no payouts gets its evaluation fee back only if at least 50% of its drawdown is left³⁰
Starting terms: a $0 balance, daily payouts, an end-of-day drawdown and no daily loss limit, with a starting live drawdown of $1,000, $2,000, $3,000 or $4,500 by funded account size³⁰
Contract limits: a live scaling plan starts you at 1, 2, 3 or 4 minis on CME products by account size, fewer on COMEX, and raises your size with profit at the end of each day³¹
Drawdown lock: the Max Loss Limit locks at $100 once live profit equals your starting live drawdown, or when you request your first live payout³⁰
Live Bonus: the first time you are moved live under the new program, finishing a session at the live target of $1,100, $2,100, $3,100 or $4,600 pays a one-time bonus per account of $1,000, $2,000, $3,000 or $4,500, split 90/10, if you have never held a Legacy Live account. LucidMaxx traders and traders moved live from LucidDaily do not get it³⁰ ²⁹
Rules: no consistency requirement, no swing trading, positions closed by 4:45 PM EST on Tradovate Live or 4:15 PM EST on Rithmic Live, and no hedging³⁰ ³²

If one member of a household trades live, no one else in it may trade simulated accounts. Blowing a live account starts a two-week cooldown before you can buy a new evaluation³⁰. LucidPro, LucidFlex and LucidDirect accounts bought or reset on or before February 27, 2026 follow the older, legacy live rules³³ ³⁴ ³⁵.

LucidMaxx

LucidMaxx is invite-only: Lucid's risk team offers it to traders with a record of consistent profitability, and it cannot be bought by the public³⁶. Its evaluation uses the standard targets and Max Loss Limits with a 40% consistency rule and a 5 trading day minimum, and passing moves you straight into a live account³⁷. LucidMaxx accounts pay 90/10 from the first payout, with daily, uncapped payouts, no daily loss limit and an end-of-day drawdown, on up to 5 accounts.

LucidMaxx is the only plan whose prices appear in Lucid's help center: $110, $180, $270 or $425 by account size for traders who have blown fewer than five live accounts without clearing the drawdown, rising in tiers after that, with no discounts³⁸. Blowing your last LucidMaxx live account starts a two-week cooldown³⁹.

LucidBlack is now a legacy plan: its evaluation came in $25,000 to $100,000 sizes with a 60% consistency rule⁴⁰.

Fees, Payments and Payouts

Evaluation fees: a one-time fee with no subscription or automatic rebilling; a failed evaluation can be restarted by buying a reset, which is not automatic or free¹. Current prices for each plan are on the Lucid Trading plans page
Activation fees: none to upgrade a passed evaluation to a funded account¹ ⁸ ⁹
Paying: Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, Diners Club and Maestro cards⁴¹
Payout requests: final once submitted, and a trade before approval that drops your balance into the buffer or below the profit goal can get the request denied³ ²³
Getting paid: Plaid instant bank transfers for U.S. traders, WorkMarket by ADP for U.S. and international traders by bank transfer or PayPal, and BTC, ETH, LTC, USDT or USDC for international traders⁴²
Business accounts: you can register as a business, but a trader may only ever have one Lucid profile, and a business must be paid as a business after sending incorporation, ownership and ID documents⁴³

Trading Rules

Lucid Trading's rules apply across its plans, with a few plan-specific exceptions:

Closing time: on LucidPro, LucidFlex and LucidDirect, positions must be closed by 4:45 PM EST, Monday through Friday; Lucid closes anything still open, and that does not fail the account. On holidays with early closes, you must be flat before the market closes³²
News: allowed on LucidPro, LucidFlex and LucidDirect, while trading high-impact U.S. news is a hard breach on LucidDaily⁴⁴
Scalping: genuine scalping is allowed, but microscalping is prohibited, and an account is flagged when more than 50% of its profits come from trades held 5 seconds or less⁴⁴ ⁴⁵
Automation: automated trading systems are permitted as long as they follow Lucid's rules, and you are responsible for any software errors or malfunctions⁴⁴
High-frequency trading: prohibited, with a warning first and closed accounts after repeated offenses⁴⁶
Hedging: prohibited across your own accounts, other traders' accounts and other firms, including opposite positions in correlated contracts held in separate accounts⁴⁷
Other strategies: scaling into positions and flipping are allowed, and exploiting system errors or simulated prices is prohibited⁴⁴ ⁴⁸
Inactivity: an account with less than $1 of net profit or loss in 30 calendar days is deleted, and a breached account is deleted after 30 days unless you buy a reset⁴⁹
Account limits: per household, up to 10 evaluation and funded accounts combined, no more than 5 of them funded, and up to 5 live accounts⁵⁰
Restricted countries: citizens and residents of the countries on Lucid's restricted list, which includes Russia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Turkey and Vietnam, cannot use its services⁵¹

Supported Platforms

Lucid Trading supports platforms on two data and execution connections, and all of them work with every Lucid account type⁵²:

CQG: NinjaTrader, Tradovate and TradingView
Rithmic: MotiveWave, Quantower, Tradesea, Sierra Chart, Jigsaw, Bookmap, ATAS, R|Trader Pro and MultiCharts

That includes order-flow tools like Bookmap and Jigsaw through Rithmic⁵².

Products and Commissions

Lucid publishes a closed list of approved futures and a commission for each, charged per side⁵:

Equity index: E-mini S&P 500, Nasdaq-100, Russell 2000 and Dow, and Nikkei/USD, at $1.75, and the micro S&P, Nasdaq, Russell and Dow at $0.50
Currencies: Australian dollar, British pound, Canadian dollar, euro, yen, Swiss franc and New Zealand dollar at $2.40
Energy: crude oil, E-mini crude and natural gas at $2.00, E-mini natural gas at $1.30, and micro crude at $0.50
Metals: gold, silver, platinum and copper at $2.30, micro gold at $0.80, and micro silver at $1.60
Agriculture: lean hogs, live cattle, soybeans, corn, soybean oil, soybean meal and wheat at $2.80

Treasury futures are not on the list⁵.

Automation with TradersPost

Lucid Trading accounts can be connected to TradersPost for automated trading. Traders can send alerts from TradingView or TrendSpider directly to their Lucid Trading accounts through the TradersPost platform.

This integration works because Lucid Trading supports Tradovate, which is one of the primary brokers that TradersPost connects with⁵². Lucid permits automated trading systems as long as they follow its rules, and it prohibits high-frequency trading and microscalping⁴⁴ ⁴⁶ ⁴⁵.

Comparison to Other Prop Firms

Lucid Trading competes with established firms like Topstep and Apex Trader Funding. Key differences include:

Profit Split: Lucid pays 90/10, with 100% of the first $10,000 on older LucidPro accounts³. Topstep also pays 90/10, with 100% of the first $10,000 in lifetime profits for traders who joined its new dashboard before January 12, 2026⁵³. Apex offers 100% on the first $25,000, then 90/10.

Payout Frequency: Lucid lets you request a payout on any day you qualify, and LucidDaily and live accounts pay daily³ ²⁶ ³⁰. Topstep's Standard Express Funded Account pays out after five winning days of $150 or more, and its Consistency account after three days at a 40% consistency target⁵³. Apex offers up to daily payouts with conditions.

Activation Fees: Lucid charges no activation fee to upgrade a passed evaluation¹. Topstep's Trading Combine is a monthly subscription, and activating an Express Funded Account costs a one-time $149 if the Combine was bought on its lower-priced Standard path, or nothing on the pricier No Activation Fee path⁵⁴ ⁵⁵. Apex charges an $85 activation fee.

Evaluation Structure: Lucid uses single-phase evaluations, or none at all on LucidDirect² ⁷. Topstep also has one evaluation, the Trading Combine, which leads to an Express Funded Account and then a Live Funded Account⁵⁶.

Trading Restrictions: Lucid allows news trading on every plan except LucidDaily, but LucidPro, LucidFlex and LucidDirect positions must be closed by 4:45 PM EST⁴⁴ ³². Topstep doesn't require traders to flatten positions during economic releases, though it recommends caution⁵⁷, and it prohibits deliberately trading your full maximum position size into a scheduled major news event⁵⁸. Apex has moderate timing and news rules.

Pros and Cons

Advantages

Four plans with different rule sets, so you can pick the one that fits your trading
No fixed payout window, and daily payouts on LucidDaily and live accounts
No activation fee on evaluation upgrades
90/10 profit split
Single-phase evaluations, with a one-day pass possible on LucidPro
End-of-day drawdown on LucidPro, LucidFlex and LucidDirect, and an optional daily loss limit on most plans
Multiple platform options
TradersPost automation compatible

Disadvantages

Futures only (no stocks, forex, or options)
Newer firm (launched 2025)
CME Group contracts only, from an approved list with no Treasury futures
Must close LucidPro, LucidFlex and LucidDirect positions by 4:45 PM EST (4:15 PM EST on Rithmic live accounts)
Consistency rules on LucidPro and LucidDirect payouts, and on LucidFlex and LucidDaily evaluations
A scaling plan limits size early in a funded LucidFlex account
LucidDaily funded accounts use an intraday drawdown and prohibit trading high-impact U.S. news
Accounts left untraded for 30 days are deleted

Conclusion

Lucid Trading has emerged as a competitive option in the futures prop firm space. No activation fee on evaluation upgrades, payouts on any day you qualify, a 90/10 profit split and a choice of four plans make it attractive for futures traders who want straightforward rules and quick access to their profits.

Choose LucidPro for the fastest evaluation, LucidFlex for the fewest rules once funded, LucidDirect to skip the evaluation, and LucidDaily for daily payouts if you can live with an intraday drawdown and its news rule. For traders who use automation through platforms like TradersPost, the Tradovate integration enables seamless strategy execution.

While the firm is newer than established names like Topstep, its rapid growth and payout reliability have earned it positive reviews in the trading community. Traders should verify current rules and pricing directly on the Lucid Trading website before signing up.

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