Prop firm questions, answered.

A prop firm, short for proprietary trading firm, is a company that lets traders trade its capital after they pass a test. The test is called an evaluation or a challenge. The trader pays a fee to enter, follows the firm's rules, and receives a funded account if the profit target is reached without breaking a rule.

Once funded, the trader keeps an agreed share of the profits, usually 80 percent or more, and the firm keeps the rest. PropFirmTrading tracks 33 prop firms across CFD, futures and crypto markets and lists their prices, rules and payout terms in one place.

A challenge is a trading test on a demo account with a profit target and loss limits. The trader must reach the target, often 8 to 10 percent, while staying inside a daily loss limit and a maximum drawdown. Some firms also require a minimum number of trading days.

Challenges come in three shapes. A 1-step challenge has one phase, a 2-step challenge has two phases with a smaller target in the second, and instant funding skips the test for a higher fee. Traders can compare what each route costs on the PropFirmTrading pricing page.

The firm issues a funded account. At most firms this account is still simulated, which means the firm pays the trader's profits from its own revenue rather than from a live market position. The trader's share of profits is set by the profit split and usually starts at 80 percent.

Many firms raise the split to 90 or even 100 percent as the trader completes payouts or grows the account through a scaling plan. Each firm's page on PropFirmTrading lists its split, scaling rules and payout schedule exactly as the firm publishes them.

A trader can only lose the evaluation fee. If a rule is broken or the account reaches its loss limit, the firm closes the account, and the trader owes nothing beyond the fee already paid. This capped downside is one of the main reasons traders use prop firms instead of trading their own money.

Fees vary by firm and account size, and some firms also charge reset or activation fees. Traders can see the full cost of each program, with verified discount codes applied, on the pricing page.

Prop trading suits traders who already have a tested strategy and want more capital than they own. It does not suit traders who are still learning, because the loss limits are strict and a new trader usually breaks a rule before the strategy has a chance to work.

A beginner who still wants to try should start with the smallest account size, pick a firm with a static drawdown and no consistency rule, and treat the fee as tuition. The PropFirmTrading guide for beginners lists firms with the most forgiving rules.

Most firms no longer set a deadline for passing. The trader can take as long as needed, as long as the account stays active and inside the loss limits. A few firms still apply a time limit on specific programs, and some subscription-based futures firms charge a monthly fee for as long as the evaluation runs.

Inactivity rules are separate. Many firms close an account that has no trades for 30 days. Both rules are listed per firm on the rules page.

The market decides the product. CFD firms fund trading in forex, indices, metals and energy through broker-style platforms such as MetaTrader 5 and cTrader, and most use a static drawdown. Futures firms fund exchange-listed contracts such as NQ, ES and gold on platforms like NinjaTrader and Tradovate, and most use a trailing drawdown. Crypto firms fund BTC, ETH and altcoin trading around the clock.

Prices, drawdown types, trading hours and payout habits differ between the three. The market switch in the header of PropFirmTrading re-themes the whole site around the chosen market, and the learn section has a lesson on the differences.

Futures prop firms give traders access to funded futures trading after an evaluation on a simulated account. The trader pays an evaluation fee, follows the firm's rules on drawdown, daily loss and consistency, and becomes eligible for payouts once funded.

A futures prop firm is not a futures broker. The firm provides the evaluation and the funded program, while a broker provides direct market access and holds customer accounts. Traders can compare the futures firms tracked by PropFirmTrading by account size, platform, drawdown type and payout terms.

CFD firms usually offer MetaTrader 5, cTrader, Match-Trader or DXtrade, and some add TradingView charting. Futures firms usually offer NinjaTrader, Tradovate, Rithmic-connected platforms, TradingView or Project X. Crypto firms mostly use their own web platforms or TradingView.

Platform support can change by firm, account type and region. Traders should confirm the platform on the firm's site before paying. Each firm's page on PropFirmTrading lists the platforms the firm publishes.

Futures prop firms accept US traders as a rule, because the products are exchange-listed. CFD firms vary: some accept US residents, some route them through a separate entity with different terms, and some restrict them. Crypto firms also vary by state and by firm.

Every firm's page on PropFirmTrading includes the restricted-country list the firm publishes. The guide for US traders lists the firms that accept US residents and what changes for them.

A daily loss limit is the most an account can lose in one trading day before the firm closes it. It is usually 4 to 5 percent of the starting balance on CFD accounts. Some firms measure it from the previous day's closing balance, others from the starting balance, and some include open trades in the calculation.

A trader can have plenty of total drawdown left and still lose the account on one bad day. Traders should check how each firm measures the daily limit, since the same percentage can behave very differently. The rules page lists the measurement per firm.

Maximum drawdown is the total loss an account may reach before the firm closes it. It comes in three main types. A static drawdown is a fixed floor below the starting balance that never moves. An end-of-day trailing drawdown moves the floor up once per day as the account grows. An intraday trailing drawdown follows the live equity peak, including open profit, and is the strictest.

The same account size and price can be a very different product depending on the drawdown type. Most CFD firms use static drawdowns, most futures firms trail. The programs table on PropFirmTrading shows the drawdown type for every challenge.

A consistency rule caps how much of the total profit may come from a single day. A 40 percent rule, for example, means no single day may account for more than 40 percent of the profit made. If it does, the firm delays the payout or asks the trader to keep trading until the ratio falls.

Consistency rules are common at futures firms and less common at CFD firms. Traders whose profits come in a few large days should filter these rules out. The challenge finder on PropFirmTrading has a one-click filter for it.

This varies more than any other rule. Some firms allow trading around high-impact news, others block trades a few minutes before and after releases, often only on funded accounts. Expert advisors, meaning automated trading programs, are welcomed by some firms and banned by others. Copy trading is usually allowed between a trader's own accounts and prohibited between different people.

Each firm's page on PropFirmTrading shows strategy chips, with green for allowed and red for prohibited, and the rules page carries the full wording for every firm.

The consequence depends on the rule. Hitting the daily loss limit or the maximum drawdown is a hard breach at almost every firm, and the account is closed the same day. Softer rules, such as a consistency rule or a minimum-days rule, usually delay the payout rather than end the account.

Conduct rules are different again. Prohibited strategies, shared accounts or VPN use can lead to a closed account and a denied payout even when the trading itself was profitable. Traders should read the firm's prohibited-strategy list before paying, since these clauses are enforced after the fact.

Once funded, the trader requests a payout on the firm's schedule and receives the agreed share of the profit. Schedules range from on-demand and daily to weekly, bi-weekly and monthly, and many firms shorten the wait as the trader completes payouts. Most firms set a minimum payout amount and a minimum number of trading days before the first request.

Payment usually arrives through a processor such as Rise, through bank transfer, or in crypto, depending on the firm and the trader's country. Each firm's page on PropFirmTrading lists its payout schedule, split and minimums.

The trader receives the profit split, which starts at 80 percent at most firms and rises to 90 or 100 percent at many. The amount depends on the account size, the profit made and any cap the firm sets on the first payouts. Some firms cap early payouts at a percentage of the account or a fixed dollar amount.

Before choosing a firm, traders should compare the split, the minimum payout, the payout frequency, any consistency rule and any withdrawal cap. The programs table on PropFirmTrading shows the split and payout schedule for every program and can be sorted by split.

Established firms do, and the pattern is visible in public trader reviews. PropFirmTrading analyses thousands of reviews per firm and reports how many reviewers describe a completed payout, how fast it arrived and what the one-star reviews complain about. Firms with the cleanest records show one-star rates of a few percent and payouts approved within hours.

Payout risk concentrates at young firms and around specific behaviours, such as prohibited strategies or shared accounts. The review analysis for each firm and the graveyard of collapsed firms are the two pages to read before paying.

Yes, in most countries. The trader is usually treated as a contractor paid by the firm, not as an employee, so the trader reports the income and pays tax on it. Firms do not withhold tax and usually issue no tax forms outside the United States.

Rules differ by country and by how the income is classified. Traders should ask a local accountant before the first payout rather than after. PropFirmTrading does not give tax advice.

Prices depend on the market, the account size and the number of steps. A 10K CFD challenge can cost under $100, a 100K CFD challenge usually costs $400 to $600 before discounts, and 100K futures evaluations often cost less than $200 because the drawdown room is smaller. Instant funding costs more than an evaluation of the same size.

Discounts of 10 to 40 percent are normal in this industry. Every price on PropFirmTrading already includes the verified code for that firm, so the table price is the price at checkout.

Some futures firms sell the evaluation as a subscription. The monthly fee covers the platform, market data and account monitoring and continues until the trader passes, cancels or resets. Other firms charge one fee for the evaluation with no recurring cost.

An activation fee is a separate charge some firms take after the trader passes, before the funded account is issued. It can add $85 to $140 to a cheap evaluation. Traders should add every fee on the path to funded before comparing prices. The pricing chart on PropFirmTrading does this per program.

Yes. PropFirmTrading tests each code at the firm's checkout and records the date of the last check on the discount page. Prices shown across the site already include the discount. A code that stops working is removed or marked as such the same day.

Some firms attribute the partner discount through the code and others through the referral link. The discount page for each firm explains which one applies and shows the exact price per challenge with the code applied.

Click the dashed code button on any PropFirmTrading page to copy the code. Open the firm through the link on the same page, choose the challenge, and paste the code in the coupon field at checkout. The price updates before payment.

If the code fails, the firm may have rotated its promotion. The firm's discount page shows the current code and the date it was last tested. Traders can also report a failed code through the contact page so it is fixed for the next visitor.

A reset restarts a failed evaluation with a fresh balance at a reduced price, usually 20 to 50 percent below the original fee. Some firms offer a free reset if the account failed while in profit, and some sell resets only within a short window after the failure.

Reset prices matter because most traders need more than one attempt. The cost to reach a funded account is the fee divided by the trader's chance of passing, plus resets. The simulator on PropFirmTrading runs this calculation against each firm's rules.

Safety means two things: whether the firm will still exist when the trader asks for money, and whether it will honour its own rules. Firms vary in transparency, payout history and business practices. A firm that clearly publishes its account model, drawdown rules, payout conditions, fees and prohibited strategies is easier to trust than one that does not.

Before joining a firm, traders should read verified trader feedback, check for recent rule changes and look at the firm's age. PropFirmTrading publishes a review analysis per firm and a graveyard page that records every collapsed firm since 2023.

Most online prop firms are not regulated in the way brokers are. The evaluation business runs on simulated accounts operated by a private company, so no client money is held and no financial licence is required in most countries. The platforms and data feeds the firm uses may come from regulated providers, but the firm itself usually is not one.

This means the trader's protection is contractual. The firm's published rules and its record of honouring them are what matter. Traders should keep screenshots of the rules on the day they pay, since firms do change terms.

Most collapses come from the payment side, not the trading side. A firm that grows fast on deep discounts can owe more in payouts than it earns in fees, and a payment processor dispute or a broker dispute can cut off its cash. Warning signs include discounts far deeper than the firm's normal pattern, payout rules that tighten quietly, and splits that get worse for existing traders.

The graveyard page on PropFirmTrading records the cause of each collapse where it is known. Traders should withdraw profits regularly rather than letting a balance build up at any single firm.

KYC, short for know your customer, is the identity check the firm runs before the first payout. The trader uploads an ID document and proof of address, and the name must match the account and the payment method. Some firms run it at purchase, most at the first payout request.

Problems with documents, name spelling or a restricted country of residence surface at payout time, which is the worst moment. Traders should check the firm's restricted-country list on its PropFirmTrading page before paying.

PropFirmTrading maintains its own database of every listed firm: challenge prices, rules, payout terms and codes. Prices are checked against the firms' checkout pages by an automated job every day, and rules are re-read from the firms' sites and help centres in regular sweeps, with the date of the last check shown on the rules page.

Every table, chart, guide and comparison on the site is generated from that single database, so a price seen in one place matches the price seen in another.

The guides use a score from 1 to 10 built from five parts: trust from Trustpilot ratings and review analysis, rule friction, cost with the verified code applied, payout terms, and years in operation. The weights are published on every guide page and the score is recomputed on each deploy.

The firms table uses a different order by default, weighing the strength of the current deal, and every column can be sorted. No firm pays for a position on PropFirmTrading.

Prop AI is an assistant connected to the same verified database as the rest of the site. A trader can ask it a plain question, such as the cheapest 100K account or which firms allow news trading, and it answers with the current prices, codes and links.

It answers from the database only and does not give trading or financial advice. It is free to use and needs no account.

Through affiliate partnerships. When a trader buys a challenge through a link or code on this site, the firm pays PropFirmTrading a commission. The trader pays nothing extra, and the code usually makes the challenge cheaper than buying direct.

Commissions do not affect rankings, review analyses or which firms are listed. Firms that collapse or stop paying move to the graveyard regardless of any partnership.

Yes. The database, the comparison tools, the pricing chart, the guides, the review analyses, Prop AI and every discount code are free, and no account is needed.

Traders who find a wrong price, a dead code or a rule change can report it through the contact page, and the fix reaches every page that uses the data.