Best Prop Trading Firms 2026: Evaluation Fees, Rules and Payout Terms

Prop trading firms sell you an evaluation, and if you pass it they let you trade a simulated or funded account and share the profits with you. As of October 2026, the entry fees I could read on the firms’ own pages start low: Topstep lists $49 a month for its $50K Trading Combine, FundedNext lists $74.99 (sale price) for a $50K futures challenge, and FTMO says its challenges start from 79 euros (1-Step) and 89 euros (2-Step). The number that matters more is the pass rate. Topstep’s own 2025 disclosure says 16.8% of the Trading Combines started were completed and given the chance to advance to the Funded Level, which is roughly 1 in 6. I’m Trevor Fenner, and I run Ecommerce Paradise at ecommerceparadise.com, where I teach high-ticket dropshipping. This is a comparison of what six firms publish, not a ranking and not a recommendation.

The search term people use is “best prop firms,” so I use it in the title, but I am not naming a winner. The best option for one person (a futures trader who wants a monthly subscription) is a poor fit for another (someone who wants a forex challenge on MetaTrader). I also do not describe any firm as legit or safe, because a vendor’s own marketing page cannot prove either. I describe what each page says and, just as important, what it does not show.

Prop Trading Firms Compared: Fees and Rules at a Glance

This first table covers cost items. A cell that says “Not shown” means the figure was not on the pages I could load, so check the firm’s pricing page before you rely on anything. All figures are as of October 2026 and can change without notice.

Now the rules. Targets and loss limits are what decide whether a pass is realistic for your style of trading, and they differ in type (trailing, static, end-of-day), so read the fine print on each page.

Read This First: The Risks Are Real and Specific

I want to be careful about tone. Plenty of people trade futures or forex for a living or as a side activity, and some prop programs may suit a skilled, disciplined trader. But I have never seen a marketing page that leads with the failure numbers, so it is on you to go looking for them. If you have spare cash you can lose entirely and you already have a tested trading method, an evaluation fee is a bounded cost. If you are hoping it replaces your income, the numbers below should slow you down.

How a Prop Firm Evaluation Works

The model is similar across firms. You pay a fee, you trade a simulated account against a profit target without breaking a loss limit, and if you pass you move to a funded stage with a profit split. The details that vary are what the fee covers (a one-time challenge, a monthly subscription, or both), how loss limits are measured, and what happens when you break a rule. Under a trailing loss limit, the line you must stay above moves up as your balance grows, so a good week can make the next bad day more expensive.

What “funded” means differs too. Topstep describes its Trading Combine and Express Funded accounts as realistic simulations under actual market conditions, and describes its Live Funded accounts as trading live markets with Topstep’s capital. FTMO says all its accounts are demo accounts with fictitious funds in a simulated environment and that it does not act as a broker. Take Profit Trader says its PRO accounts are simulated. The5ers says the simulated balance in evaluation is fictitious and that earning access to a Pro account is not guaranteed. Apex’s homepage text, as I loaded it, did not spell this out, so I do not state it either way.

Firm-by-Firm: What Each Page Shows

Topstep

Topstep is the clearest on cost because its pricing page lists a monthly subscription for each Trading Combine size, plus the activation fee after you pass. The Standard route is $49, $99 or $199 a month for $50K, $100K and $150K, with a $149 Express Funded activation fee. The No Activation Fee route is $85, $129 or $199 a month with $0 activation. Profit targets are $3,000, $6,000 and $9,000, and the maximum loss limit is $2,000, $3,000 and $4,500. The page also lists a daily loss limit of $1,000, $2,000 and $3,000, which it ties to an optional Responsible Trading Advantage. Resets are listed at $49, $99 and $199, which match the Standard monthly prices, and the page does not say whether No Activation Fee subscribers pay different reset prices. It also says the subscription rebills monthly until you pass or cancel, and I found no refund wording for it.

On the funded side, Topstep’s Express Funded Account rules describe a 90/10 split. The Standard route needs 5 winning days of $150 or more and caps each request at 50% of the balance up to $5,000. A Consistency route needs 3 trading days and a 40% consistency target, with a $6,000 cap. All positions must be closed by 3:10 PM CT, and a trader can hold at most 5 active Express Funded accounts. A separate product page shows different payout caps by account size, so verify the cap on your size before you plan around it. Topstep’s help article explains the maximum loss limit: it trails your end-of-day balance upward, never moves down, and locks once it reaches your starting balance. Breaking it in the Combine liquidates the account for the day and makes it ineligible for funding until you reset. Not shown on pages I loaded: a minimum payout dollar amount and any refund terms for subscription fees.

Apex Trader Funding

Apex’s homepage lists seven standard sizes from $25,000 to $300,000. On the $50,000 plan the page shows a $3,000 profit target and a $2,500 trailing threshold; on $100,000 it shows $6,000 and $3,000; on $150,000, $9,000 and $5,000. It says there are no daily drawdowns. The split is 100% of the first $25,000 per account and 90% after that, with two payouts per month. Resets are listed at $80 (Rithmic) and $85 (Tradovate) with no limit. The page also lists $85 (Rithmic) and $105 (Tradovate) per account per month beside “20 PA Accounts Maximum” without labeling what the fee covers.

The restrictions matter. The page lists a 7-trading-day minimum to qualify, prohibits news-based strategies (including positions entered ahead of news to capture a move), and requires trades closed before 4:59 PM ET. What I could not find on pages I loaded: the evaluation price for each size, any one-time fee amount, payout minimums and pass rates. Because the per-size evaluation price is missing, ask the firm what the full price is before you add the numbers up.

FTMO

FTMO’s 2-Step page lists a 10% target in the Challenge, 5% in Verification, a 5% maximum daily loss, a 10% maximum loss and a 4-day minimum. Its 1-Step page lists a 10% target, a 3% daily loss and a 10% maximum loss. Its trading objectives page adds that 1-Step’s maximum loss is end-of-day trailing and that orders from 12 October 2026 carry a Best Day rule capping one day at 50% of total profit. Profit split is up to 90%, and the platform list is MT4, MT5, TradingView and cTrader.

On fees, a comparison page says the 1-Step starts from 79 euros and the 2-Step from 89 euros, and an FTMO FAQ says the fee is one-time with no recurring charges. The 2-Step fee is refunded with your first Reward withdrawal, while the 1-Step fee is not refunded. That refund is conditional: you only get it back if you pass and withdraw a Reward. Not shown on loaded pages: the fee for each account size, a reward payout schedule and a pass rate. FTMO also states its accounts are demo accounts with fictitious funds.

FundedNext

FundedNext sells both CFD-style and futures products. Its Futures Flex page lists sale prices of $74.99, $144.99 and $259.99 for $50K, $100K and $150K (47% off with code FNFLEX, per the page; original prices $141.99, $273.99 and $490.99), profit targets of $2,500, $5,000 and $8,000, an end-of-day trailing max loss of $1,500, $2,500 and $4,000, no daily loss limit, an $82.99 reset and a 95% reward share. It lists a 40% consistency rule during the challenge, and withdrawals every 5 days once eligible. The platform is not listed on that page.

The Stellar 2-Step page lists fees from $34.99 for $6K to $1,099.99 for $200K, targets of 8% and 5%, a 5% daily loss, a 10% static overall loss and a 5-day minimum per phase. Its headline says “up to 95%,” but its rules and comparison tables show 80% for the 2-Step, and the comparison table lists the higher figure for Stellar 1-Step. First reward comes after 21 days, then every 14 days. The fee is refunded with the first reward under its terms. Not shown: minimum payout amounts, and a pass rate. Also note the sale prices: the $6K price is tied to a promo code, the $15K to $50K sizes list higher original prices, and no original price is shown for $100K or $200K, so check what you will actually pay at checkout.

The5ers

The5ers has several programs. Its Hyper Growth page lists a 10% target, a 3% daily loss, a 6% stop-out, MT5 on desktop, web and mobile, a $40,000 cap on evaluation capital per trader, and expiry after 30 consecutive inactive days. Its homepage shows a $179 fee for the 1 Step program (without the account size) and a $249 Summer Plan for a $200K account. The profit split reads “up to 100%” on a scaling table that starts at 75% for accounts up to $300,000.

This was the least consistent set of pages I read. Payout minimums show as $150 on one page and $250 on another, one page says the Hyper Growth split starts at 50% while another shows 75%, a Hyper Growth page fee of $52 is not clearly tied to an account size, and one table repeated values across columns. I would treat The5ers numbers as needing a direct check at checkout. The homepage disclosures say it is not a broker, that the evaluation balance is fictitious, and that access to a Pro account is not guaranteed.

Take Profit Trader

Take Profit Trader’s homepage describes a Test stage, then PRO (80/20 split) and PRO+ (90/10) accounts. It says withdrawals start on day one of PRO, payouts typically arrive within one business day by Plaid, PayPal or Wise, and there is no maximum withdrawal or required number of profitable days. Its comparison table lists a $130 one-time fee for a PRO account (the page does not call it an activation fee, and a banner promotes a code for no activation fee) and up to 3 PRO resets. A Take Profit Trader campaign page says Test resets start as low as $79 depending on size. It trades CME Group futures only (CME, COMEX, NYMEX and CBOT), allows up to five funded accounts, and lists CQG-feed platforms (NinjaTrader, TradingView, Tradovate) and Rithmic-feed platforms (RTrader, Quantower, MotiveWave).

Not shown on pages I could load: the Test fee for each size, the profit target, the drawdown amounts and the minimum withdrawal. The page also says PRO accounts are simulated. It publishes two pass statistics, which I cover in the pass-rate section.

Loss Limits Compared: A Simple Ratio

One way to compare rules without opinions is to divide the profit target by the loss limit. A ratio of 2.0 means the target is twice the loss you are allowed. This uses only the published numbers and says nothing about your odds, because trailing, static and end-of-day limits behave differently in real trading.

Arithmetic check for a few rows: $3,000 divided by $2,000 is 1.5, $9,000 divided by $4,500 is 2.0, $2,500 divided by $1,500 is 1.67, and 10% divided by 6% is 1.67. Treat the table as a way to spot which rules are tight, not as a scorecard. A lower ratio is not automatically easier or harder, since a tight daily loss limit or a consistency rule can matter more than the headline number.

What It Can Cost: Four Worked Examples

These are examples with stated assumptions, not predictions. All use fees as shown on the pages I loaded as of October 2026, and they ignore data fees, taxes and sales tax.

Example 1: Topstep $50K Standard, passing in 3 billing months. Assume you pay the $49 subscription three times and pass. Subscription cost is 3 x $49 = $147. Add the $149 activation fee for a total of $296. If you also take one reset at $49, the total is $345. If you do not pass, the $147 is spent and nothing in the pages I read says it returns.

Example 2: Topstep Standard versus No Activation Fee at $50K. Standard costs $49 per month plus $149 once, so the total for n months is 49n + 149. No Activation Fee costs $85 per month, so 85n. For n = 4, Standard is $345 and No Activation Fee is $340. For n = 5, Standard is $394 and No Activation Fee is $425. Using these listed prices, the No Activation Fee route costs less if you pass within 4 months, and Standard costs less if it takes you 5 or more. The break-even is 149 divided by 36, which is about 4.1 months. That math ignores resets, since the page does not say whether the No Activation Fee route has different reset prices.

Example 3: FundedNext Futures Flex $50K with one reset. At the sale price (which the page ties to a promo code), $74.99 plus an $82.99 reset is $157.98. If the sale ends and the original $141.99 applies, the same path is $141.99 + $82.99 = $224.98, a difference of $67.00.

Example 4: What a profit split means in dollars. At Topstep’s 90/10, a $3,000 payout gives you $2,700. At Apex’s rule of 100% on the first $25,000 and 90% after, $30,000 of profit pays $25,000 + (0.90 x $5,000) = $29,500. At Take Profit Trader’s PRO 80/20, $1,000 of profit pays $800, and at PRO+ 90/10 it pays $900. Remember that a split applies only to profit you actually generate and that payout caps, consistency rules and minimums can reduce what is paid out in a given request.

What Regulators Say

In my searches I did not find a CFTC, NFA, FINRA or SEC page written specifically about funded-trader evaluation programs, so I am not going to pretend one exists. What I can cite are regulator pages on the products these firms commonly involve, plus one federal enforcement action that concerned a funded-trader program.

The CFTC’s futures basics page describes speculating in futures and options as a volatile, complex and risky venture, rarely suitable for individual investors, and notes that many people lose all their money and can be required to pay more than they put in. Its forex customer advisory says about two-thirds of customers at registered off-exchange forex dealers lost money over the past year it cites. That figure is about forex dealers’ customers generally, not prop firm traders, but it is a useful sense of the odds in that market. The same advisory tells readers to check registration through NFA BASIC and says you should never have to pay money to get your money back. It also names unrealistic profit promises and pressure to move to private messaging apps as warning signs.

In September 2023 the CFTC announced a complaint against a company that operated as “My Forex Funds,” a funded-trader program, in a press release. The CFTC alleged, among other things, that the company was the counterparty to substantially all customer trades and used pretexts to close accounts, and that more than 135,000 customers paid at least $310 million in fees. Those are allegations in a complaint, not findings. A later CFTC statement from May 2025 says a court-appointed special master recommended sanctions against the CFTC for its conduct in that case. I did not find a CFTC page stating the final outcome, so I draw no conclusion about that company. I mention it for one reason: it shows that the funded-trader model has drawn regulatory attention, and that you should know who sits on the other side of your trades.

The NFA’s page on commodity trading advisor registration explains that people who advise others on futures, options on futures, retail off-exchange forex or swaps for compensation may need to register, with some exemptions. Whether a given prop firm needs any registration is a legal question I am not qualified to answer, and I did not see registration statements on the firm pages I loaded. If it matters to you, search the NFA BASIC database yourself and ask the firm directly.

Pass Rates: What Is Shown and What Is Not

Only two of the six firms published pass-rate figures on pages I loaded. Topstep’s disclosures for 2025 say 16.8% of all Trading Combines started were successfully completed and given the opportunity to advance to the Funded Level, 51.8% of individual participants advanced in at least one Combine, 33.3% of individuals at the Funded Level received a payout, and 0.71% of individuals in an Express Funded Account were called up to a Live Funded Account. Topstep states these combine simulated and live environments and do not indicate future results. In plain terms, 16.8% is about 1 in 6 Combines, and 0.71% is about 1 in 140 Express Funded traders.

Take Profit Trader’s homepage states that 36.22% of all trading tests were passed in 2025, and, in an FAQ, that 20.37% of its currently registered users had passed a trading test, for the period 1/1/23 to 8/31/23. These numbers use different bases (tests started versus registered users), so I would not compare them directly with Topstep’s, and I did not find how each firm defines a pass. For FTMO, Apex, FundedNext and The5ers, a pass rate was not shown on the pages I loaded. Ask the firm for one, and ask what base it uses.

How to Read Any Prop Firm Page Before You Pay

Before paying a dollar, I would go through the same checklist I use for any vendor I do not know yet. Write the answers down; if a page does not answer a question, treat the answer as unknown.

• What is the full cost to reach the first payout, including resets, activation, data, platform and sales tax?
• Is the fee one-time or recurring, and what stops the billing?
• How is the loss limit measured: static, end-of-day trailing or intraday trailing?
• Is the funded account simulated or live, and who is the counterparty to your trades?
• What are the payout minimums, caps, consistency rules and timing, in writing?
• Which strategies, news windows or holding rules are restricted?
• Is a pass rate published, and with what definition?
• Are you eligible in your country, and are there age or residency limits? FundedNext, for example, lists excluded jurisdictions and a minimum age of 18.

Also be skeptical of countdown sales and promo codes. Several pages I read mention discount codes or sale prices next to higher original prices, which is common marketing. The price you can compare is the one at checkout on the day you buy.

The Business Owner Angle: Where This Fits and Where It Does Not

I get questions from store owners who see trading as a way to escape inventory, suppliers and customer service. I understand the appeal, and I also think a prop firm evaluation is not a replacement for running a store. A store gives you assets you can inspect: a product, a supplier, a customer list, a margin you can measure on each order. An evaluation fee buys you a rules-bound attempt at a task where, by Topstep’s own 2025 disclosure, about 1 in 6 Combines were completed with the chance to advance to the funded level.

If you are building an ecommerce income, the same discipline applies to both routes: know your costs and cap your downside. The route I teach is high-ticket dropshipping. Start with what high-ticket dropshipping is. Then pick a category from the high-ticket niches list.

Next, work through how to find suppliers. After that, set the company up properly using the business formation guide. None of that is risk-free either, but your spending goes into things you can sell.

If you are still deciding how much money to put at risk anywhere, I would write the loss number down first. Think of an evaluation fee the way you would think of a test ad budget: money you are prepared to lose, spent against a plan, with a stop point. If paying it would affect your rent, your inventory payments or your tax savings, it is not that kind of money. How these fees would be treated for taxes or business accounting is a question for a CPA, not for me.

For the platform side, my post on stock trading apps covers brokerage tools that exist independently of any prop firm. Some of the firms above list TradingView as a supported platform, and I compare charting tools in the TradingView alternatives guide listed under Related Articles below.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which prop trading firm is best?
I do not rank them, because the right fit depends on what you trade, how much you can afford to lose, and which rules you can follow. Among the six I covered, Topstep, Apex and Take Profit Trader list futures platforms, FTMO and The5ers list MetaTrader-style platforms, and FundedNext lists both futures and CFD products, but I cannot tell you which one will suit your strategy. Compare the fee tables above, read each firm’s current rules and treat any “best” list, including this one, as a starting point only.

Do I get my evaluation fee back?
It depends on the firm and the product. FTMO says the 2-Step fee is refunded with your first Reward withdrawal and the 1-Step fee is not refunded. FundedNext says the Stellar 2-Step fee is refunded with the first reward, subject to its terms. For Topstep, Apex and Take Profit Trader, refund terms were not shown on the pages I loaded. In every case the refund is tied to passing, so assume the fee is spent.

What percentage of traders pass the evaluation?
Topstep’s 2025 disclosure says 16.8% of Trading Combines started were completed and given the chance to advance to the Funded Level, and Take Profit Trader states 36.22% of tests were passed in 2025. These use different definitions. FTMO, Apex, FundedNext and The5ers did not show a pass rate on the pages I loaded, so I cannot give one.

Are prop firm accounts real money?
It varies. Topstep describes its Combine and Express Funded accounts as simulations and its Live Funded accounts as trading live markets with Topstep’s capital. FTMO says all its accounts are demo accounts with fictitious funds. Take Profit Trader says its PRO accounts are simulated. Read the disclosure on each firm’s page, and ask who holds the other side of your trades.

Can a prop firm replace the income from an ecommerce store?
I would not plan on it. The firms’ own disclosures say results vary and that earning a funded account or payout is not guaranteed, and nothing I read supports treating it as a steady income source. A store sells products you can source and measure. This article is general information, not personal advice, so talk to a qualified professional about your own situation.

Related Articles

If you want to go deeper on trading tools and how to judge investing claims, these posts from Ecommerce Paradise are good next reads.

• How to Start Day Trading in 2026: Rules, Taxes and Risks for Business Owners
• Best Stock Trading Apps 2026: Robinhood, Schwab, Fidelity and 5 More Compared
• Best Trading Platforms for Beginners (2026): Charts, Paper Trading and Order Tickets Compared
• TradingView Alternatives in 2026: 6 Charting Platforms Compared by Price and Fit
• How Entrepreneurs Can Evaluate Online Investment Advice

Trevor Fenner

Trevor Fenner is an ecommerce entrepreneur and world traveler from Seattle, Washington, and the founder of Ecommerce Paradise, a platform focused on helping entrepreneurs build and scale profitable high-ticket ecommerce and dropshipping businesses. With over a decade of hands-on experience, Trevor specializes in high-ticket dropshipping strategy, niche and product selection, supplier recruiting and onboarding, Google & Bing Shopping ads, ecommerce SEO, and systems-driven automation and scaling. Through Ecommerce Paradise, he provides free education via in-depth guides like How to Start High-Ticket Dropshipping, advanced training through the High-Ticket Dropshipping Masterclass, and fully done-for-you turnkey ecommerce services for entrepreneurs who want a faster, more hands-off path to growth. Trevor is known for emphasizing sustainable, real-world ecommerce models over hype-driven tactics, helping store owners build scalable, sellable, and location-independent brands.

He maintains homes in Seattle and Bali, spends most of the year overseas, and usually returns to Seattle for about a month each summer.

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