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CFD, futures or crypto prop firm? The differences that matter
They all sell the same promise, a funded account after a paid test, but a CFD firm, a futures firm and a crypto firm are three different products with different prices, drawdowns, hours and payouts. Here is the whole comparison in nine short steps, with the September 2026 numbers from our database.
Three products wearing one name
A CFD firm gives you a simulated forex, indices and metals account on MetaTrader, cTrader or a similar broker platform. A futures firm gives you real CME contracts (ES, NQ, crude, gold) through Tradovate, NinjaTrader or Rithmic. A crypto firm mirrors an exchange: coins, perpetuals and 24/7 markets.
Pick the market first, the firm second. A great futures firm is useless to a EUR/USD trader.
- CFD: 15 firms in our database, the classic two-step challenge and everything that grew out of it
- Futures: 12 firms, one-step evaluations, mostly US-based
- Crypto: 4 dedicated firms, plus CFD firms that offer a few coins at low leverage
What you can trade, and when
CFD accounts trade forex around the clock on weekdays plus indices, metals, energy and sometimes stocks. Futures trade the CME session, roughly 6 PM to 5 PM Eastern with a daily close and no weekends. Crypto never closes.
Hours decide how a drawdown is measured: a market with a daily close can use end-of-day rules; one that never closes cannot.
- CFD: weekend holding is often restricted and news-trading windows are common in the fine print
- Futures: positions are flattened at the session close on most plans; no overnight risk unless the plan allows it
- Crypto: 24/7 trading and often 24/7 withdrawals, with no session boundaries at all
What a $100K account costs
The price gap is the first thing people notice, and it is real: a 100K futures evaluation averages $195 against $444 for CFD and $422 for crypto, codes applied.
Cheap is not the same as generous. Futures charge less per account and give less room per dollar of target.
- Average 100K ticket: CFD $444, futures $195, crypto $422 (616 challenges, 9 Sep 2026)
- Priced per $1,000 of drawdown room instead of account size, CFD costs about $55 and futures about $64, so the gap flips
- Most futures evaluations are monthly subscriptions; cancel after passing or the fee recurs
Drawdown: the market decides the type
About half of all challenges use a static drawdown, and almost all of them are CFD. Futures firms trail: end-of-day on the friendlier plans, intraday on the cheapest. Crypto drawdowns are static but tight because the firms price coin volatility into the rules.
The same 10% number is a different product on each market. Read the type before the size.
- CFD: static floor is the norm; your room never shrinks as you profit
- Futures: trailing floors follow your balance high; intraday versions count open profit, which is the biggest cause of failed evaluations
- Room per $1 of target (PT:DD): CFD 1:0.66, futures 1:0.58, crypto 1:0.56
Leverage and position size
CFD firms quote leverage, typically 1:30 to 1:100 on forex. Futures firms cap contracts instead: a 50K account might allow 5 minis or 50 micros. Crypto firms run conservative leverage, usually 2x to 5x.
Futures caps limit how fast you can even reach the target. A cheap account with a tight cap is slower money than it looks.
- CFD: leverage varies by instrument and by program; indices and crypto pairs get less than forex
- Futures: micro contracts let you scale risk in tenths of a mini, which is why they suit small evaluations
- Crypto: 5x on BTC and ETH, less on altcoins, so sizing feels closer to spot than to CFD
The rules that differ most
Consistency rules are a futures habit: most futures plans cap a single day at 30% to 50% of total profit, at least until you are funded. Half of CFD challenges have no consistency rule at all, and crypto firms mostly skip it. Daily loss limits run the other way: standard on CFD and crypto, often absent on futures where the trailing drawdown does the job.
Futures traders fight the drawdown type and the consistency rule. CFD traders fight the daily limit and the news windows. Crypto traders fight volatility against small fixed percentages.
- 302 of 616 challenges have no consistency rule; 80 have no daily loss limit
- Minimum trading days: 3 to 5 on most CFD and crypto evaluations; futures often count winning days before a payout instead
- News trading: restricted at many CFD firms, allowed at most futures firms, irrelevant to crypto
Payouts
CFD firms pay bi-weekly or on demand with splits from 80% to 100%. Futures firms pay 90/10 as standard but gate the first payout behind winning days, profit buffers and per-payout caps. The best crypto firms pay daily in stablecoins from a $50 minimum.
A fast payout policy is only as good as the gates in front of it. Count the winning days and the buffer before you count the split.
- 302 of 477 programs with a published split reach 90% or better; 106 advertise a 100% tier
- Futures example: five winning days of $200 or more, then a capped first withdrawal
- Crypto payouts are often verifiable on-chain, which is why the review record there is unusually clear
What trading actually costs inside the account
CFD accounts charge spreads and sometimes commissions, and the spread widens around news. Futures accounts charge a commission per contract plus platform or data fees at some firms. Crypto accounts use exchange-style commissions per side, around 0.04%, plus funding on perpetuals.
A round trip on a micro contract can cost more than the spread on a forex minor. Fold it into your expectancy before you compare targets.
- CFD: check whether the firm counts commissions inside a risk-per-trade cap; some do
- Futures: check for monthly data fees and whether the platform is included
- Crypto: funding is charged on open positions every few hours, so holding through the weekend is not free
Which one is for you
Trade what you already trade, then choose the rule set you can live with. The three lists below rank the firms in each market with the same 1-10 score.
The wrong market with the best firm still loses. The right market with a decent firm usually gets paid.
- Forex, indices, metals on MetaTrader, and you want a static drawdown: a CFD firm. Ranked at /guides/best-forex-prop-firms
- ES, NQ or crude, small budget, you can size for a trailing floor: a futures firm. Ranked at /guides/best-futures-prop-firms
- Coins, 24/7, daily payouts, you accept 3% daily limits: a crypto firm. Ranked at /guides/best-crypto-prop-firms
Theory is cheap - check it against real program rules.
See the ranked firms for each marketEducational content, not financial advice. Formulas assume independent trades and honest backtests; real trading is streakier. Never risk money you can't afford to lose.