Challenge Reset
Also known as: evaluation reset, challenge retry, account reset, reset fee
What is it?
A challenge reset is the paid option to restore a failed or stalled prop-firm evaluation to its starting balance and begin the phase again, without buying a brand-new challenge at full price. It is priced as a discount rather than a favour, typically 20% to 50% of the original fee, and it is what a firm offers instead of losing the customer entirely after a breach. A reset normally restores the starting balance, clears the profit and drawdown counters, and drops you back at the beginning of the phase you failed.
| After a breach, your options | Buy a reset | Buy a new challenge | Stop and rebuild first |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost on a $500 challenge | About $200 | $500 | $0 |
| Starting balance | Restored to $100,000 | Restored to $100,000 | Not applicable |
| Phase you resume at | The phase you failed | Phase 1 | Not applicable |
| Time before trading again | Immediate | Immediate | As long as the fix takes |
| What has changed about your edge | Nothing, unless you change it | Nothing, unless you change it | The reason you breached |
Some firms also sell a voluntary reset to a trader who has not breached but has dug a hole they would rather not trade out of. The decision is arithmetic, not emotion. If a $100,000 two-step challenge cost $500 and a reset costs $200, then three resets have spent $1,100 chasing a funded account, and the honest question is whether anything about the strategy has changed since the breach.
A reset that follows a genuine fix - a corrected position size, a news filter added - is a reasonable second attempt. A reset bought within an hour of the breach is usually the same attempt repeated.
Why it matters: A reset is the cheapest way back into a failed evaluation, but repeated resets quietly turn a one-off fee into a recurring cost with no funded account at the end.
A reset changes no market risk, but it does change the total cost of reaching a funded account.
Real-world example
A trader breaches a $100,000 challenge that cost $500, buys a $200 reset, breaches again on the same oversized position size, and has now spent $700 with no funded account.
How SignalBots handles it
SignalBots keeps a per-strategy record of historical win rate and drawdown, so you can check whether a breach came from the strategy or from your own sizing before paying for a reset. See /risk-warning.
Pro tip
Write down the specific rule you broke and the change you are making before buying a reset - if you cannot name both, the reset is buying the same outcome again.
Common pitfalls
Buying a reset within minutes of a breach, while the trading decision that caused it is still the one you would make again.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a challenge reset cost?
Typically 20% to 50% of the original evaluation fee, so a $500 challenge often resets for $150 to $250. Some firms include one free reset in higher-priced plans or during promotions.
Does a reset restore my progress?
No, the opposite. It restores the starting balance and clears your progress toward the target, so the phase begins from zero. Only the fee is discounted, not the work.
Can I reset a funded account after a breach?
Some firms sell a funded-account reset, others require a fresh evaluation. Where it exists it usually costs more than an evaluation reset and may come with a reduced profit split.
Is it cheaper to reset or to buy a new challenge?
A reset is almost always cheaper per attempt. The relevant comparison is not reset versus new challenge, but whether either is worth buying before the cause of the breach is fixed.
Do resets affect my scaling or payout history?
Resets happen at the evaluation stage, before any payout history exists, so they do not affect scaling. Firms do track repeated resets internally when reviewing later payout requests.
Trading involves substantial risk of loss. Historical and backtested results do not guarantee future performance. Read the full risk warning.
