--- title: "How Much Do Day Traders Make? - Get Funded Now" description: "There is no typical day trader income. What large studies of retail day traders found, why averages mislead, and how a simulated funded account differs." url: "https://getfundednow.com/learn/how-much-do-day-traders-make" language: "en" last_modified: "2026-09-22" publisher: "Get Funded Now (getfundednow.com)" translations: es: "https://getfundednow.com/es/learn/how-much-do-day-traders-make" pt-BR: "https://getfundednow.com/pt-br/learn/how-much-do-day-traders-make" fr: "https://getfundednow.com/fr/learn/how-much-do-day-traders-make" it: "https://getfundednow.com/it/learn/how-much-do-day-traders-make" de: "https://getfundednow.com/de/learn/how-much-do-day-traders-make" disclosure: "All trading at Get Funded Now is simulated. 'Funded' means a simulated or virtual account; GFN is not a broker and does not hold client funds." --- Trading styles # How much do day traders make? What the evidence says. There is no typical figure, and the evidence on retail day traders is discouraging. A study of everyone who began day trading Brazilian index contracts from 2013 to 2015 found 97% of those who persisted over 300 days lost money. European regulators found 74-89% of retail CFD accounts typically lose money. A few profit; most do not. [All trading lessons](https://getfundednow.com/learn) · [Read the trading rules →](https://getfundednow.com/rules) ## What the research found The Brazilian study by Chague, De-Losso and Giovannetti followed every individual who started day trading one market over three years. Of those who kept going for more than 300 days, 97% lost money; only about 1% earned more than the Brazilian minimum wage from it, and the authors found no evidence that traders improved with experience. The European Securities and Markets Authority reported that national regulators' analyses showed 74-89% of retail accounts trading CFDs typically lose money. These are different markets and products, but they point the same way. ## Why a per-month figure misleads Questions like how much a day trader makes per month, or what 1,000 dollars can earn, assume a steady rate of return. Trading results are not a salary: they vary widely month to month, include losing months, and depend on the size of the account, the risk taken and costs. A figure that sounds like an income usually comes from a survivor, a small sample or someone selling a course. What a trader controls is risk per trade and costs. Whether there is a positive result after those is something only a long, honest record can show - see [PnL](https://getfundednow.com/learn/what-is-pnl) and [backtesting](https://getfundednow.com/learn/backtesting). ## How a simulated funded account differs A prop firm evaluation does not change the odds of a strategy; it changes what the trader stands to lose. At GFN, the trader pays a one-time fee for a simulated account, and a trader who passes and trades a funded account can receive a share of simulated profits as real payouts. The fee is the maximum loss. See [how payouts work](https://getfundednow.com/payouts). Step by step ## How to identify it Before believing any income figure, ask four questions. 1. How many traders is it based on, and were losing traders included? 2. Over what period, and does it include losing months? 3. Is it net of commission, spread and other costs? 4. Who is publishing it, and are they selling something? Worked example ## The concept, walked through ### Why returns are not a salary, described An illustrative twelve months in words, with no real figures. It is not a record of any trader. 1. 1. Months 1-4 Two small gains, one flat month and one large loss. 2. 2. Months 5-8 Three gains in a row, which the trader starts to think of as a monthly income. 3. 3. Months 9-12 Two losses that take back most of the year's gains. Dividing the year's result by twelve would produce a monthly figure that never happened in any single month. That is why the income question has no useful average answer. Common mistakes ## Where traders go wrong ### Planning around a monthly income Trading results vary too much to pay fixed bills from. ### Trusting survivor stories The traders who lost rarely publish their results. ### Increasing risk to reach an income target It raises the chance of large losses faster than the chance of the target. Limitations ## What it cannot tell you No chart concept predicts price. These are the limits worth keeping in view. - The studies cited cover particular markets, products and periods; they describe retail traders as a group, not any individual. - No page can tell you what you will make. Past results, yours or anyone's, do not determine future ones. In an evaluation ## Using it on a simulated account GFN accounts are simulated. Payouts are a share of simulated profit, paid to eligible traders, and passing an evaluation is never assured. Treat the fee as money you can afford to lose. - [How often do I get paid?](https://getfundednow.com/rules/payouts) - Trading rule - How and when payouts are made. - [How much of the profit do I keep?](https://getfundednow.com/rules/profit-split) - Trading rule - The share of simulated profit paid to traders. - [What is the daily loss limit?](https://getfundednow.com/rules/daily-loss-limit) - Trading rule - The limit most evaluation accounts are lost to - 3% on Instant and 5% on 1 Step and 2 Step. Questions ## Asked about this concept There is no typical figure. Large studies found most retail day traders lose money, and results for those who profit vary widely from month to month. A trader who opens and closes positions within the same trading day and holds nothing overnight - another name for a day trader. Keep learning ## Related lessons - [Swing Trading vs Day Trading](https://getfundednow.com/learn/swing-trading-vs-day-trading) - Indicators and trading styles - How swing trading and day trading differ on holding time, screen time, costs and overnight risk - and why neither is the easier route. - [Backtesting a Trading Strategy](https://getfundednow.com/learn/backtesting) - Indicators and trading styles - How to test a strategy's rules on historical data, the costs and biases a fair test must include, and why a good backtest is not a forecast. - [What Is PnL? Profit and Loss in Trading](https://getfundednow.com/learn/what-is-pnl) - Risk and performance - What PnL means, the difference between realised and open profit and loss, and how costs turn a gross result into the number that counts. - [The History of Social and Copy Trading](https://getfundednow.com/learn/history-of-copy-trading) - Indicators and trading styles - From signal sharing to automated copying: how social and copy trading developed, how the three forms differ, and why the rules around it tightened. - [What Is a Retail Trader?](https://getfundednow.com/learn/retail-trader) - Indicators and trading styles - Who retail traders are, how they differ from institutional traders on capital, costs and access, and where a prop firm evaluation fits between the two. - [Trading Plan Template and Example](https://getfundednow.com/learn/trading-plan) - Indicators and trading styles - A fill-in template for a trading plan - markets, times, setups, risk and review - with a forex example and the gaps most plans leave. Sources ## What this page relied on 1. [Day Trading for a Living? (Chague, De-Losso and Giovannetti)](https://ideas.repec.org/p/fgv/eesptd/525.html) - RePEc / FGV EESP working paper. Retrieved 23 September 2026. Of individuals who day traded Brazilian index contracts for more than 300 days, 97% lost money and very few earned more than the minimum wage. 2. [ESMA agrees to prohibit binary options and restrict CFDs to protect retail investors](https://www.esma.europa.eu/press-news/esma-news/esma-agrees-prohibit-binary-options-and-restrict-cfds-protect-retail-investors) - European Securities and Markets Authority. Retrieved 23 September 2026. National regulators' finding that 74-89% of retail CFD accounts typically lose money. 3. [Day trading](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Day_trading) - Wikipedia. Retrieved 23 September 2026. Day trading as opening and closing positions within the same trading day. Educational content only, not investment advice or a recommendation to trade. Chart concepts describe what price has done; none of them predicts what it will do, and trading any strategy can lose money. Get Funded Now accounts are simulated and trade virtual funds. Last reviewed 22 September 2026. Ready when you are ## Your capital stays yours. The risk is ours. One evaluation fee, no time limits and up to 90% of simulated profits. Pick an account size and your credentials arrive by email within minutes. [Start your challenge →](https://getfundednow.com/challenges) · [Read the rules](https://getfundednow.com/faq) No subscriptions or hidden fees Payouts every 14 days $400,000 max total allocation --- Source: https://getfundednow.com/learn/how-much-do-day-traders-make Facts about Get Funded Now in one file: https://getfundednow.com/llms.txt