BadTrade Disciple vs Apex Trade Copier
Two NinjaTrader 8 trade copiers compared on what each vendor publishes: price, where it runs, account limits and prop-firm status.
Disclosure: I sell Trade Disciple, so keep that in mind. Every fact about Apex Trade Copier comes from its vendor’s own pages, read on October 3, 2026. Prop-firm approval facts come from the firm’s own page. Where something isn’t published, I say so instead of guessing. Prices and promotions change.
| Trade Disciple | Apex Trade Copier | |
|---|---|---|
| Vendor | BadBuddha Customs (me) | Apex Investing Institute |
| Where it runs | Add-on inside NinjaTrader 8, on your own computer. | Toolkit installed on your computer. The product page describes NinjaTrader 8 functionality; its title also names Tradovate and TradingView, but the signup form describes the license as “NT8 Only”. |
| Price, as the vendor states it | $5/month, flat, after a 30-day free trial; or a one-time $199 lifetime license (launch price) with all future updates and support. | $150 promotional price (75% off) for a lifetime license for 2 computers, as a one-time payment by Stripe. The regular price is shown as $597 on the product page and $599 on the signup form. |
| Rough first-year cost | About $60 for the first year on the monthly plan, or $199 once for the lifetime license. | $150 at the promotional price, then nothing recurring; about $600 at the regular price. |
| Accounts | One master account to up to 20 follower (“disciple”) accounts. Licensed to your NinjaTrader account, not the computer: a desktop and a laptop signed in to the same account are covered by one license. | Copies from one account to “as many accounts as you want”. The license works on 2 computers that use the same user ID. Signing up creates a login on Apex Investing’s member site, limited to one per person. |
| Platforms | NinjaTrader 8 only. | NinjaTrader 8. The product page title also names Tradovate and TradingView, but the signup form says “NT8 Only”, so confirm with the vendor before buying for anything else. |
| Trial and refunds | 30-day free trial of every feature. All sales are final: no refund for a month already billed or for the lifetime license. Cancel the monthly plan anytime to stop renewal. | No trial or refund terms stated on the pages I read. |
| On TakeProfitTrader’s approved list? | Not named. | Not named. |
| What the vendor says about prop-firm rules | Check your firm’s rules first. No prop firm has approved Trade Disciple. | The pages I read make no statement about prop-firm rules. It is sold by Apex Investing Institute and states no connection to the prop firm Apex Trader Funding, which allows copying across accounts you own but whose own Prohibited Activities page forbids “trade copying with other traders” and says no automation or algorithm usage is allowed. Do not assume this product is allowed on Apex Trader Funding accounts. |
Pick Apex Trade Copier if
- You want to pay once, as cheaply as you can. It’s a one-time lifetime license: $150 promotional (less than Trade Disciple’s $199) and about $600 at its regular price, per its pages.
- You copy to a lot of accounts. Its page says “as many accounts as you want”. Trade Disciple stops at 20.
Pick Trade Disciple if
- You’d rather pay a low monthly price after a 30-day trial ($5/month). Or take the $199 lifetime license, which costs less than the Apex Trade Copier’s regular price of about $600 but more than its $150 promotion.
- You run Karma Guardian and want copying to stop automatically on a locked account.
- You want one vendor’s published NinjaTrader 8 feature list in one place: order types, modifications and cancellations, contract conversion, auto-cancel and a dashboard.
What I couldn’t confirm
- Which platforms it covers. The product page title names Tradovate and TradingView, but the signup form says “NT8 Only”. Ask the vendor before buying for anything other than NinjaTrader 8.
- Its regular price: $597 on the product page, $599 on the signup form.
- Whether it has a trial or refund policy. The pages I read don’t say.
- Its prop-firm compatibility. The pages make no statement, and it isn’t named on TakeProfitTrader’s list.
- Whether it’s allowed on Apex Trader Funding accounts. The product pages state no connection to that firm. Apex allows copying across accounts you own, but its own Prohibited Activities page forbids “trade copying with other traders” and says no automation or algorithm usage is allowed. See the prop-firm policy table, and ask Apex before using any copier there.
Check your prop firm first
Whether copying is allowed is the firm’s call. TakeProfitTrader publishes an approved-copier list that doesn’t name Trade Disciple, and other firms set their own conditions. The prop-firm policy table shows what six firms’ own pages say. Read your firm’s page before you copy a trade.
Trade Disciple vs Apex Trade Copier: FAQ
Is Trade Disciple or the Apex Trade Copier better for prop firm accounts?
That depends on your firm’s rules, not on either product. The Apex Trade Copier is not made by the prop firm Apex Trader Funding: it is sold by Apex Investing Institute, and its pages state no connection to that firm. Apex Trader Funding allows copying across accounts you own, but its own Prohibited Activities page forbids “trade copying with other traders” and says no automation or algorithm usage is allowed, so ask that firm before using any copier on its accounts. TakeProfitTrader’s approved-copier list names neither product. Read your own firm’s page first. The policy table on the Trade Disciple page links six of them.
How much does the Apex Trade Copier cost compared with Trade Disciple?
The Apex Trade Copier is a one-time lifetime license for two computers, priced at $150 in a promotion (75% off) and shown as $597 on its product page and $599 on its signup form at the regular price. Trade Disciple is $5 a month after a 30-day free trial, or $199 once. At the promotional price the Apex Trade Copier costs less than Trade Disciple’s lifetime license; at its regular price it costs about three times as much. Promotions end, so check its page before buying.
Does the Apex Trade Copier run inside NinjaTrader 8?
Its product page describes NinjaTrader 8 functionality, and the toolkit installs on your own computer, with a license for two computers that use the same user ID. The page title also names Tradovate and TradingView, but the signup form describes the license as “NT8 Only”, so confirm with the vendor if you need anything other than NinjaTrader 8. Trade Disciple runs inside NinjaTrader 8 only.
Sources and further reading
Official pages for the facts in this guide, last opened October 2026. Rules and schedules change, so check the source before relying on it.
- Apex Trade Copier product page — price, accounts, computers, vendor
- Apex Trade Copier signup form — license type, regular price, one login per person
- TakeProfitTrader: Trade Copier Policy — the approved-copier list