Last Updated: March 25, 2026
There are hundreds of prop firms running challenges right now. They all advertise high splits, fast payouts, and trader-friendly rules. But when you actually start comparing them, the differences matter. Drawdown rules, evaluation structures, payout frequency, fee types, and scaling plans all vary significantly from firm to firm. The right choice depends on what you trade, how much you want to spend, and what your trading numbers actually look like.
We analyzed and compared over 30 prop trading firms to build this guide. We looked at payout reliability, profit splits, evaluation rules, Trustpilot reviews, and how long each firm has been operating. The 10 firms below are the ones that stood out. For each one, we break down how it works, what it costs, and who it is best suited for.
Whether you are choosing your first prop firm, switching from one that changed its rules, or you have failed a couple of challenges and want to make a smarter pick next time, this guide gives you the data to decide.
We weighted six factors. Payout reliability gets the highest weight because nothing else matters if the firm does not pay you.
Each firm below includes a breakdown of how it works, what it costs, and our honest take on the Pros and Cons. All data is based on publicly available information as of March 2026.
FTMO is the firm every other prop firm gets compared to. Ten years of payouts since 2015, a Trustpilot around 4.8 from thousands of verified reviews, and zero major scandals. There is a reason they are still the first name that comes up in every prop trading conversation.
The evaluation is two steps. You need 10% profit in Step 1 and 5% in Step 2, staying under a 5% daily drawdown and 10% max drawdown. Pass both and you start at 80% profit split. The drawdown is static, meaning the floor does not move up as your account grows.
What It Costs
The $100K challenge costs around $619 (prices vary). If you pass both steps and reach the funded stage, FTMO refunds that fee with your first profit split. So if you pass on the first attempt, your net cost is zero. If you fail, you pay again for each retry.
Payout Structure
The Scaling Plan increases your split to 90% and grows your account by 25% every four months when you hit 10% net profit. Total allocation starts at $400K and can grow to $2M through scaling. Payouts are monthly by default, with on-demand withdrawals available after 14 days, and processing averages about 8 hours.
Pros
Cons
Topstep has been around longer than any other prop firm. They launched in 2012, focus exclusively on CME futures (ES, NQ, CL, GC), and have been paying traders consistently for over 13 years. For futures traders, that track record speaks for itself. Trustpilot sits around 3.4.
The evaluation is a single-step Trading Combine with no minimum time requirement. Some traders pass within a few days.
What It Costs
Topstep updated pricing in February 2026. The Standard Path runs $49/month (50K), $99/month (100K), or $149/month (150K), plus a $149 activation fee when funded. The No Activation Fee Path costs more monthly ($109/$159/$209) but skips the activation fee.
Payout Structure
January 2026 change: New accounts after January 12 get a flat 90/10 split from day one. The older 100%-on-first-$10K deal only applies to legacy traders. Many reviews still mention the old structure, so check current terms.
Pros
Cons
FundedNext pays you 15% of your profits during the evaluation phase, even if you fail. That is something no other major firm offers. Make $8,000 during a challenge and fall short of the target, and you still collect $1,200. It completely changes the math on challenge fees.
What It Costs
As of January 2026, Stellar challenges start at 80% split. Profit targets, daily drawdown limits, and max drawdown vary by challenge type, so check the current terms for the specific program you are considering. Prices vary by account size and promotions. Trustpilot is around 4.6. Platforms include MT4, MT5, cTrader, and Match-Trader.
Payout Structure
The Lifetime Payout Add-On pushes your split to 95%. Accounts scale up to $4M. One thing to watch: trades within 5 minutes of high-impact news events are subject to a 40% news profit split rule on Stellar accounts.
Pros
Cons
Apex keeps things simple. Their March 2026 v4.0 update removed six rules, replaced monthly subscriptions with one-time fees, and automated payouts through a third-party payment provider. Futures only on CME markets, up to 20 accounts. Trustpilot is around 4.4. Platforms include NinjaTrader and Rithmic.
What It Costs
One-time challenge fees replaced the old monthly subscription model. Prices vary by account size and promotions.
Payout Structure
The first $25,000 you earn is 100% yours. After that, the standard 90/10 split applies. You are eligible for your first payout after 8 trading days, as long as you have at least 5 days with $50+ in profit. Payouts are automated through a third-party payment provider.
Pros
Cons
Tradeify is one of the fastest-growing futures prop firms in 2026. With over $150 million in verified payouts, 80,000+ traders, and a 4.7 Trustpilot rating, they have quickly earned credibility in a space dominated by older firms like Topstep. Tradeify focuses exclusively on CME futures and runs on Tradovate and WealthCharts platforms.
Tradeify offers four paths to funding. Growth is an evaluation-based program. Lightning gives you instant funding with no evaluation. Select Flex has no daily loss limit and no funded consistency rule. Select Daily offers daily payouts with structured buffer requirements. All accounts use end-of-day trailing drawdown, which means your drawdown is calculated based on your closing balance, not intraday swings. That is a meaningful advantage for traders who see large unrealized moves during the session.
Select evaluations run $159/month (50K), $259/month (100K), or $359/month (150K). Lightning instant-funded accounts are a one-time fee ranging from $349 (25K) to $729 (150K). Growth evaluations are priced lower. Account sizes range from $25K to $150K per account, with up to 5 accounts totaling $1M in max capital.
Payout Structure
The profit split is 90/10 across all account types. Growth and Lightning accounts get 100% on your first $15,000 in payouts. Select Flex pays out after every 5 winning days. Select Daily allows daily withdrawals once you build a buffer. After 5 approved payouts, you become eligible for Tradeify Elite, which moves you to real CME capital accounts with daily payouts and a personal risk manager.
Take Profit Trader built its brand around one feature: withdraw from day one. There are no waiting periods, no minimum profitable days before your first payout, and no payout windows. Hit the buffer requirement and request your money. Trustpilot sits at 4.4 from 6,700+ reviews. The firm focuses exclusively on CME futures.
The evaluation is a single-step Test with a 6% profit target. A $50K account needs $3,000 in profit to pass. You need at least 5 trading days to qualify. There is no daily loss limit on any account, which is rare in the prop firm space. Drawdown is end-of-day trailing on the Test. Once funded, PRO accounts use intraday trailing drawdown, while PRO+ upgrades you back to EOD trailing.
Monthly fees start at $170 for the 50K account. When you pass, you activate a PRO account with a one-time $130 activation fee. You can upgrade to PRO+ for EOD drawdown, a 90/10 split, live market execution, and no buffer requirement. You can run up to 5 PRO accounts simultaneously. Platforms include NinjaTrader, TradingView, and Tradovate (CQG) plus RTrader, Quantower, and MotiveWave (Rithmic).
PRO accounts have an 80/20 profit split with intraday trailing drawdown. PRO+ accounts get 90/10 with EOD trailing and live market execution through Tradovate. There is no maximum withdrawal amount on either account type. There is no minimum number of profitable days before you can withdraw.
My Funded Futures has the highest Trustpilot rating of any prop firm on this list. A 4.9 from over 16,000 reviews is not something you can fake. The firm focuses on CME futures and has built a reputation for fast, reliable payouts with an automatic approval system.
The evaluation offers account sizes of $25K, $50K, $100K, and $150K. Profit targets and drawdown limits vary by account and plan type. You can hold up to 5 sim-funded accounts at the same time, bringing your total max capital to $600K. Platforms include Tradovate, NinjaTrader, TradingView, and Quantower.
The Rapid plan runs $109/month (25K), $157/month (50K), $267/month (100K), or $347/month (150K). Flex and Pro plans are also available at different price points. There are no activation fees on any plan. On the Rapid plan, daily payouts are available starting from your first day of trading, with a $500 minimum and up to $10,000 per day.
My Funded Futures restructured their accounts in July 2025. The current plans are Rapid, Core, and Pro. Rapid accounts offer a 90/10 profit split with daily payouts. Core and Pro accounts use an 80/20 split. Activation fees were eliminated across all plans. The firm uses an automatic approval system that typically processes withdrawals within 24 hours. For high-performing traders with a long track record, live CME capital accounts are available through discussion with a risk manager.
ThinkCapital is backed by ThinkMarkets, a global broker regulated by the FCA (UK), ASIC (Australia), CySEC (Cyprus), and FSCA (South Africa). That broker backing sets it apart from most prop firms. Your trades execute through ThinkMarkets infrastructure with real market conditions. The firm offers forex, indices, and commodities through the ThinkTrader platform.
ThinkCapital runs three challenge types. Lightning is a single-step evaluation. Dual Step is a traditional two-phase challenge. Nexus is a three-step program for different skill levels. Account sizes range from $5K to $100K, with scaling up to $1.5 million through consistent performance. Trustpilot is around 4.3.
A $25K Nexus challenge costs $139 and the $25K Lightning and Dual Step both start at $199. The smallest $5K accounts cost less. Larger accounts cost more. Minimum trading days across all programs is 3 days.
Profit split goes up to 90%. Payouts are processed every 14 days, with the first payout available after 14 trading days on the funded account. Processing takes 1 to 3 business days. Scaling adds 20% of your initial balance every 3 months when you hit 10% profit and have 3 withdrawals.
One rule to watch: a 4-minute news blackout window applies around high-impact events. No trading activity is allowed 2 minutes before or 2 minutes after listed news releases on funded accounts.
Lucid Trading launched in early 2025 and grew faster than any other futures prop firm in its first year. Over $60 million paid out to 50,000+ traders with an average payout processing time of 15 minutes. Trustpilot sits at 4.8 with a growing review base. The firm focuses exclusively on CME futures and supports NinjaTrader, Tradovate, Rithmic, MotiveWave, and Quantower.
Lucid offers three main programs. LucidFlex has no daily loss limit, no funded consistency rule, and pays out after 5 winning days. LucidPro adds structure with consistency rules and a buffer system, with payouts possible every 3 days. LucidDirect is an instant-funded option that skips the evaluation entirely. All accounts use one-time fees with no monthly subscriptions. A 58,000+ member Discord community provides active support.
One-time fees range from $89.95 to $1,495, depending on account type and size. Account sizes go from $25K to $150K. No recurring charges. News trading is allowed on all accounts including during major events like NFP, FOMC, and CPI.
The profit split is 90/10 on sim-funded accounts. LucidLive (real capital) accounts drop to 80/20. All positions must be closed by 4:45 PM EST each trading day. Payout processing averages under 15 minutes with same-day ACH deposits for US traders.
Funding Pips is the cheapest way into prop trading. Based in Dubai, they offer challenges starting from $29, the lowest in the industry. Tens of thousands of Trustpilot reviews at a consistent 4.5 rating show the low price point has not come at the expense of quality.
2-Step accounts offer 80-100% splits depending on payout frequency (Tuesday payouts get 80%, monthly gets 100%). The Zero instant funding program offers 80% bi-weekly. Accounts scale to $2M through performance. Your evaluation fee is refunded after your 4th successful payout on the 1-Step and 2-Step programs. Platform is MT5, cTrader, and MatchTrader.
Watch for the 45% consistency rule on 2-Step Pro accounts and note that some rules differ between evaluation and funded stages.
Pros
Cons
Every firm has specific drawdown limits, profit targets, and sometimes consistency rules. Your trading strategy either fits within those rules or it does not. Guessing is expensive.
Before buying any challenge, know your actual win rate across at least 50-100 trades, your average risk-to-reward ratio, your worst drawdown over the last 3 months, and which setups generate most of your profit.
TradeZella is a trading journal that does this tracking for you. Link your brokerage or prop firm account, and your trade data flows in automatically. You can see your win rate by setup, your drawdown history, and which sessions actually make you money. Instead of discovering you do not fit a firm's rules after paying, check your journal first.
You can also use the free TradeZella Prop Firm Calculator to compare challenge costs, profit splits, and what you would actually take home at different firms.
The prop trading industry is not regulated in most countries. That means anyone can launch a website, sell challenges, and call themselves a prop firm. Before giving any firm your money, check these things:
What is the best prop trading firm in 2026?
It depends on what you trade. For forex and CFDs, FTMO has the longest track record of reliable payouts. For futures, Topstep has been operating since 2012, and My Funded Futures holds a 4.9 Trustpilot from 16,000+ reviews. For budget-friendly entry, Funding Pips starts at $29.
How much does it cost to join a prop firm?
Challenge fees range from $29 (Funding Pips) to over $500 for larger accounts. A typical $100K challenge costs $300–$600 as a one-time fee. Topstep and Take Profit Trader use monthly subscription models. Lucid Trading and Tradeify Lightning offer one-time payment options with no recurring fees.
Do prop firms actually pay traders?
The established firms on this list have paid millions. FTMO has paid since 2015, Topstep since 2012, and Tradeify has over $150 million in verified payouts. My Funded Futures processes payouts automatically within 24 hours, and Lucid Trading averages 15-minute payout times. But not all firms are reliable. MyFundedFX shut down in February 2026 with little warning. Always check recent reviews and payout proof before buying a challenge.
Which prop firm has the highest profit split?
Apex gives 100% on the first $25,000. Tradeify gives 100% on the first $15,000 (Growth and Lightning). FundedNext offers up to 95% with their Lifetime Payout Add-On. My Funded Futures Rapid accounts and Take Profit Trader PRO+ both offer 90/10. FTMO maxes at 90% through their Scaling Plan.
Yes. Knowing your win rate, drawdown patterns, and best setups lets you choose a firm whose rules match your style. TradeZella Prop Firm Sync feature makes this easy by connecting to your account and showing your actual performance data. You can also use the free TradeZella Prop Firm Calculator to compare challenge costs, profit splits, and what you would actually take home at different firms.
