FP
Guide

Trailing vs End-of-Day vs Static Drawdown: Which Is Best?

May 7, 2026 · By Adam Parusel
The drawdown model decides how much breathing room you actually have. An intraday trailing drawdown follows your highest unrealised equity tick-by-tick, so the more you\'re up, the tighter your loss buffer becomes — punishing for traders who let winners run.

An end-of-day (EOD) trailing drawdown only moves up at the daily close, so your buffer stays put during the session and you can manage trades without watching the limit shrink in real time. A static drawdown never moves at all: your loss line is fixed from day one, which makes risk planning simple and predictable.

For most traders, static and EOD models are far easier to trade than intraday trailing. If you\'re comparing two firms with similar pricing, the drawdown model should usually be the deciding factor.