E8 Futures and Lucid Trading are both one-time fee prop firms with EOD trailing drawdown. Neither charges monthly subscriptions, which makes them attractive to traders who want to pay once and not worry about recurring costs.
But the similarities end there. Their approaches to consistency, automation, overnight positions, and profit splits are quite different. Here's the full breakdown.
What Matters in This Comparison
The key decision points between E8 and Lucid are:
- Automation policy — E8 prohibits bots entirely, Lucid allows everything
- Consistency rules — E8 has none at any phase, Lucid varies by program
- Overnight positions — E8 allows them, Lucid does not
- Profit split — E8 is 80/20 flat, Lucid offers 100% on first $10K (LucidPro)
- Payout frequency — E8 on demand (after 5 profitable days), Lucid every 3 calendar days (LucidPro)
E8 Futures
E8 Futures runs the E8 Signature model — a 1-step evaluation with no activation fee, no subscription fee, and no time limit.
Key specs:
- Account sizes: 50K, 100K, 150K
- Pricing: One-time fees — $150 (50K), $260 (100K), $390 (150K)
- Drawdown: EOD trailing. Locks at initial balance. Drawdown percentage: 4% on 50K, 3% on 100K/150K
- Daily pause: 2% on funded accounts (soft pause — not a hard breach, trading resumes next day)
- Profit split: 80/20 flat — no progression, no tiering
- Consistency: None on eval. 35% best day rule per cycle on funded
- Payout frequency: On demand after 5 profitable days (each day must be 0.3%+ profit). 3-day wait for first payout
- Payout caps: Scale by payout number — $1K, $1.5K, $2.25K, $3.5K, $5.25K+
- Activation fee: $0
- Automation: Prohibited. No bots, no algos. Copy trading allowed (own accounts only)
- Overnight: Allowed
- Platforms: Tradovate, NinjaTrader, TradingView (SimFi)
- Trustpilot: 4.5 stars (3,200+ reviews)
E8's simplicity is its strength. No consistency rule on evaluation means you can pass with any P&L distribution. The 35% best day cap on funded prevents single-day windfalls from dominating a cycle but is more lenient than the 30-50% caps at other firms. The 7-day inactivity policy is worth noting — if you don't trade for 7 consecutive days, your account is disabled.
Lucid Trading
Lucid Trading offers three distinct programs, each with different rules and pricing. The most popular for comparison purposes are LucidFlex and LucidPro.
Key specs (LucidPro — most comparable to E8):
- Account sizes: 25K, 50K, 100K, 150K
- Pricing: One-time fees — $135 (25K), $185 (50K), $285 (100K), $370 (150K)
- Drawdown: EOD trailing. Locks at starting balance + $100. DLL on 50K+ accounts ($1,200-$2,700)
- Profit split: 100% on first $10,000 in cumulative payouts, then 90/10
- Consistency: None on eval (LucidPro). 40% per cycle on funded (LucidPro)
- Payout frequency: Every 3 calendar days (LucidPro). 3 minimum days between payouts
- Payout caps: Scale by payout number — 50K example: $2K (payout 1), $2.5K (payout 2+)
- Activation fee: $0
- Automation: Bots, copy trading, and automation all explicitly allowed
- Overnight: Not allowed. Must be flat by 4:45 PM EST (auto-closed, not a breach)
- Platforms: NinjaTrader, Tradovate, Tradesea, Rithmic, MotiveWave, Quantower
- Trustpilot: 4.8 stars (2,365+ reviews)
Lucid also offers LucidFlex (one-time $100-$345, 50% eval consistency, no funded consistency, 90/10 split, scaling contracts) and LucidDirect (instant funded, one-time $340-$840, 20% consistency). After 5 payouts on LucidPro, you transition to LucidLive with a $1K-$4.5K bonus by account size.
Head-to-Head Comparison
| Category | E8 Futures | Lucid Trading (LucidPro) | |----------|-----------|--------------------------| | Entry cost (50K) | $150 one-time | $185 one-time | | Smallest account | 50K ($150) | 25K ($100 LucidFlex / $135 LucidPro) | | Activation fee | $0 | $0 | | Drawdown type | EOD trailing | EOD trailing | | Drawdown lock | At initial balance | At initial + $100 | | Profit split | 80/20 flat | 100% first $10K, then 90/10 | | Consistency (eval) | None | None (LucidPro) | | Consistency (funded) | 35% best day | 40% per cycle | | Payout frequency | On demand (5 profitable days) | Every 3 calendar days | | Payout caps | $1K → $1.5K → $2.25K → $3.5K → $5.25K+ | $2K → $2.5K (50K example) | | Automation | Prohibited | Allowed (bots, copy, algos) | | Overnight | Allowed | Not allowed | | Flat-by | None | 4:45 PM EST | | Max accounts | 5 funded | 5 per household | | Trustpilot | 4.5 (3,200+) | 4.8 (2,365+) |
Verdict: Choose Based on Your Trading Style
Choose E8 Futures if you want:
- The simplest evaluation with zero consistency rule at any phase
- Overnight position holding
- No flat-by requirement
- A single straightforward program with no plan complexity
- Lower entry at the 50K level ($150 vs $185)
Choose Lucid Trading if you want:
- Automation and bot-friendly rules
- 100% profit split on your first $10,000 in payouts (LucidPro)
- More program variety (LucidFlex, LucidPro, LucidDirect)
- A smaller starting account (25K from $100)
- Frequent payouts every 3 calendar days
- A path to live funded trading (LucidLive after 5 payouts)
For manual traders who hold positions overnight and want zero rule complexity, E8 is the better fit. For algorithmic or automated traders, Lucid is one of the few firms in the industry that explicitly welcomes bots and copy trading. The profit split difference is also meaningful — keeping 100% of your first $10K at Lucid versus 80% at E8 is a $2,000 difference in your pocket.
If you're comparing one-time fee firms more broadly, our cheapest prop firms guide ranks every firm by entry cost. For automation-specific comparisons, see the best prop firm for scalpers ranking.
Compare E8 vs Lucid side-by-side to see every rule difference, or visit the deals page for active promotions.
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