Factual information, not advice. Every company is measured the same way, against published criteria. Nothing here recommends a firm, plan or trade, or knows your circumstances.
The short answer
- A prop firm (proprietary trading firm) lets you trade a large account in return for a fee and a share of the profit.
- You pay for a challenge, trade within its rules, and if you pass you get a funded account.
- You keep a share of the profit: from 50% to 100% at the firms on this site, prop and futures.
- The rules decide everything: loss limits, news trading, weekend holds and payout conditions. They differ a lot between firms.
What is a prop firm?
“Prop” is short for proprietary: trading with a firm's money rather than your own. Traditional prop firms hire traders and give them the firm's capital. The prop firms most traders mean today work differently: anyone can buy a challenge (an evaluation account), and traders who pass get a funded account and a share of its profit.
The funded account is usually simulated. The firm tracks your trades and pays you a share of the profit from its own money, rather than placing your trades in the real market. Firms say this in their own terms:
“Trading activities on this platform are executed solely by FundedNext Ltd. using virtual funds in a simulated environment and do not involve real financial risk or trading with real financial instruments.”
“Note: Although licensed, FundingPips Corp does not conduct brokerage services or offer real trading accounts on this website. Its services are limited to simulated trading programs.”
That matters for one reason above all: whether you get paid depends on the firm, its rules and its finances, not on the market. So checking the firm is as important as checking the rules.
How prop trading works, step by step
- 1Buy a challengePick an account size and pay a one-off fee. Bigger accounts cost more.
- 2Pass the evaluationReach the profit target without breaking a loss limit or a trading rule.
- 3Trade the funded accountThe same kind of rules keep applying, but now profit is shared with you.
- 4Request a payoutOnce any payout conditions are met, you receive your share, minus any fees.
Most firms sell several programs and account sizes. On this site that adds up to 44 programs across 14 CFD prop firms, each compared on its own rules on the best plans board.
1-step, 2-step or instant funding
The evaluation is how a firm decides who gets a funded account. There are three kinds:
| Type | How it works | Programs on this site |
|---|---|---|
| 2-step | Two phases, each with a profit target. The most common kind here. | 19 |
| 1-step | One phase. Usually a higher target or tighter loss limits. | 17 |
| Instant funding | No evaluation: funded from the start, usually at a higher price and with tighter rules. | 8 |
Filter by evaluation type in Find your match, which checks every plan against how you trade.
The rules that decide everything
Two firms can sell the same account size and be completely different products. These are the rules to read, with the range they take across every plan on this site:
- Daily loss limit. How much you can lose in one day before the account is closed. It usually resets each day. It is the rule that most often limits how big you can trade.
- Maximum loss limit. How far the account can fall in total. It is either fixed (static) or follows your best balance (trailing), explained below.
- News trading. Some firms ban trades in the minutes around big releases such as CPI or interest-rate decisions, or cancel the profit from them.
- Weekend holds. Some firms close every trade before the Friday close. Swing traders need a firm that allows holds.
- Leverage. How big a position the account allows. It differs by market: see forex, gold and metals or crypto.
Static vs trailing drawdown
The maximum loss limit is where most beginners get caught. Take an example $100,000 account with a 10% limit:
26 of the 44 CFD programs on this site use a static limit. Some trailing limits stop rising once they reach the starting balance; each firm page quotes exactly how its limit moves.
How payouts work
On a funded account you keep a share of the profit, the profit split. What reaches you also depends on fees and on payout conditions: rules that can delay, reduce or cancel a payout, such as minimum trading days, consistency rules or a profit buffer.
A 90% split can pay less than an 80% one after fees and conditions. The payout calculators work out what actually reaches you, and Getting paid ranks firms on how easily the money arrives.
Try itWork out your payout, and your odds of passingEnter your risk, reward and win rate; see what it earns and how often it breaks the limitsHow prop firms make money
Firms charge a fee for every challenge, and pay funded traders a share of their profit. With a simulated funded account, those payouts come from the firm itself, so a firm's ability to keep paying depends on its business, not on the market.
That is why this site rates the company as well as its rules. The reputation board scores reviews, the payout record, whether the firm names the company you actually sign with, and how long it has been trading.
CFD prop firms vs futures prop firms
| CFD prop firms | Futures prop firms | |
|---|---|---|
| What you trade | Forex, indices, gold, oil, crypto, stocks as CFDs | Exchange futures such as the S&P 500 micro (MES) |
| Position size | Lots, limited by leverage | Contracts, limited by a contract cap |
| Loss limit | Usually a % of the account | Usually a dollar drawdown |
| Trading hours | Often around the clock on weekdays | Exchange sessions; many close you out daily |
| On this site | 14 firms | 9 firms |
Compare them on CFD prop firms and futures prop firms.
Prop firm or your own broker account?
- ✓ Big account for a fixed fee
- ✓ Usually, all you can lose is the fee
- ! Strict rules, and you share the profit
- ! Payouts depend on the firm
- ✓ Your rules, and you keep all the profit
- ✓ Real money in the real market
- ! You can lose what you deposit
- ! Trading costs come out of every trade
If you trade your own account, compare broker costs on forex, gold and more.
How to check a prop firm before you pay
- 1Do its rules fit how you trade?News, weekends, market, drawdown type.Find your match →
- 2Who do you actually sign with?The company, its country and its registration number.Reputation board →
- 3What can stop a payout?Every condition, in the firm's own words.Getting paid →
- 4What will you really receive?Your share after the split and fees.Payout calculators →
- 5How big can you trade safely?The biggest trade that survives a normal day.Safe size calculator →
- 6What do traders say?Trustpilot and traders on this site, side by side.Reviews on each firm page →
- 7How does it rate overall?Rules and reputation, out of 10.Best prop firms →
Questions traders ask
Is the money in a funded account real?
Usually not. Many firms say in their own terms that funded accounts are simulated, and pay you from the firm's own money. 5 of the companies on this site say so on their own pages.
Can I lose more than the challenge fee?
On a simulated account, trading losses are not charged to you: what you risk is the fee, plus any reset or activation fee. Check the firm's terms, because fees differ.
What happens if I break a rule?
Usually the account is closed and you start again with a new challenge. Some rules only cancel profit or delay a payout instead. Each firm's payout page lists which is which.
How many traders pass a prop firm challenge?
Firms rarely publish checked pass rates, so we don't quote one. Any figure you see elsewhere should come with its source.
Which prop firm is best for beginners?
The one whose rules fit how you trade and whose payout terms you understand. Answer six questions in Find your match to see which plans fit you.
Do I need a licence or my own capital?
No licence, and no capital beyond the fee. You trade the firm's account size; the firm sets the rules and the share of profit you keep.
Figures on this page are counted live from the records behind the site, last checked 27 Sep 2026. The $100,000 drawdown example uses round numbers to show how the rule works.
Keep reading
- Best CFD Prop Firms to Compare in 2026Every CFD prop firm we track, ranked on rules and reputation, with what each one costs and what to watch.
- Best Futures Prop Firms to Compare in 2026Monthly fees, activation fees, trailing drawdown and payout caps: the futures firms side by side.
- Funded Accounts for Day Trading: Pros, Cons, and What to CheckWhat a funded account does well for a day trader, where it hurts, and the rules to read first.
- FundingPips Review 2026: Rules, Payouts and Trustpilot, CheckedPrices, rules, payout conditions, the company behind it, and a close read of its Trustpilot reviews.