How we rate prop firms
Every firm is scored on the same five criteria, using fixed rules applied to data from its official website and help center. Here is exactly how the scores are decided.
Last updated
Rating criteria
Each criterion gets a score from 1 to 5. The weights below turn the five scores into one weighted score. Futures and forex challenges are built differently (monthly subscriptions on 50K accounts versus one-time fees on 100K accounts), so cost, rules and payouts have separate scoring rules for forex firms. Both lead to the same 1 to 5 scale.
Cost
25%The cheapest route to a funded 50K account at the price you can actually pay: the evaluation (one month if it is a subscription) plus any activation fee, with the firm's own public discount code applied.
- Up to $100: 5
- Up to $150: 4.5
- Up to $200: 4
- Up to $250: 3.5
- Up to $300: 3
- Up to $400: 2.5
- Above $400: 2
- Many firms sell almost every account with a sitewide code, so list prices would overstate what traders pay. We apply a code only if the firm itself publishes it on its website or help center, together with its discount, and we re-check it whenever we verify the firm.
- Codes from affiliates, creators or giveaways are not counted, and a firm without such a code is scored at its list price.
Forex firms
The cheapest one-time fee for a 100K challenge that leads to a funded account, with the firm's own public discount applied. Euro prices are converted at the ECB reference rate (1.1193 on 2026-10-23).
- Up to $350: 5
- Up to $450: 4.5
- Up to $550: 4
- Up to $650: 3.5
- Up to $750: 3
- Up to $900: 2.5
- Above $900: 2
- Refunds of the fee after a first payout are scored under Payouts, not here.
Rules
25%How easy the main plan's rules are to live with, from the evaluation to the funded account. Starts at 5, minus points for each restriction.
- Consistency rule in the evaluation: −0.5
- Consistency rule on the funded account: −0.5
- Intraday trailing drawdown on the funded account: −1
- Time limit to pass the evaluation: −0.5
- Daily loss limit that can close the account: −0.5
- News trading restricted on the funded account: −0.5
- Maximum drawdown below 3% of the account size: −0.5
Forex firms
How easy the main plan's rules are to live with, from the challenge to the funded account. Starts at 5, minus points for each restriction.
- Consistency rule in the challenge: −0.5
- Consistency rule on the funded account: −0.5
- Trailing maximum loss on the funded account: −1
- Time limit to pass the challenge: −0.5
- Daily loss limit below 5% of the account size: −0.5
- News trading restricted on the funded account: −0.5
- Positions must be closed overnight or over the weekend on the funded account: −0.5
Payouts
20%What you keep and how easily you can withdraw it on the main plan.
- Base score from the profit split: 80% = 3, 90% = 4, 95% or more = 4.5
- Payouts possible at least weekly: +0.5
- Cap per payout of at least $2,000 on a 50K account, or no cap: +0.5
- Fee deducted from every payout: −0.5
- Limited number of payouts per account: −0.5
Forex firms
What you keep and how easily you can withdraw it on the main plan.
- Base score from the profit split: 80% = 3, 90% = 4, 95% or more = 4.5
- Payouts possible at least weekly: +0.5
- No cap per payout: +0.5
- Challenge fee refunded with the first payout: +0.5
- Fee deducted from every payout: −0.5
- Limited number of payouts per account: −0.5
Trust
20%How long the firm has operated, based on a founding date we could verify from official sources, and how live trading is handled.
- 10 or more years: 5
- 5 to 9 years: 4.5
- 3 to 4 years: 4
- Under 3 years, or no verifiable founding date: 3.5
- Live accounts run through a named registered broker or the firm's own brokerage: +0.5 (maximum 5)
- We don't score unverified complaints or rumours.
Platforms
10%How many trading platforms you can use.
- 8 or more: 5
- 6 to 7: 4.5
- 5: 4
- 4: 3.5
- 3: 3
- 2: 2.5
From weighted score to rating
The rating shown on each review places the firms we cover on a scale from 3.5 to 4.9: the firm with the highest weighted score gets 4.9, the lowest gets 3.5, and every other firm sits in proportion between them. Ratings are therefore relative to the firms we review, and they are recalculated whenever we add a firm or update its data.
Where a firm offers several plans, we score rules and payouts on its main plan (the one in the pricing table of our review) and cost on its cheapest route to a funded 50K account (100K for forex firms).
Current scores
| Firm | Cost | Rules | Payouts | Trust | Platforms | Weighted | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Topstep | 5.0 | 4.5 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 2.5 | 4.63 | 4.9 |
| FTMO Futures | 4.5 | 4.5 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 3.0 | 4.55 | 4.8 |
| Tradeify | 4.5 | 4.5 | 5.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.45 | 4.6 |
| Phidias Propfirm | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.0 | 4.5 | 5.0 | 4.45 | 4.6 |
| Blue Guardian Futures | 5.0 | 4.5 | 5.0 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 4.42 | 4.6 |
| FundedNext Futures | 5.0 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.0 | 3.0 | 4.38 | 4.5 |
| Alpha Futures | 5.0 | 3.5 | 5.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.33 | 4.4 |
| FTMO | 4.5 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 3.5 | 4.27 | 4.3 |
| Apex Trader Funding | 4.5 | 4.0 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 3.0 | 4.22 | 4.2 |
| TradeDay | 5.0 | 3.0 | 3.5 | 4.5 | 5.0 | 4.10 | 4.0 |
| FundedNext | 4.5 | 4.5 | 3.5 | 4.0 | 3.5 | 4.10 | 4.0 |
| The5ers | 5.0 | 4.0 | 2.5 | 5.0 | 3.0 | 4.05 | 3.9 |
| FundingPips | 4.5 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 3.0 | 4.02 | 3.8 |
| Top One Futures | 4.5 | 3.5 | 4.5 | 3.5 | 4.0 | 4.00 | 3.8 |
| My Funded Futures | 4.5 | 3.0 | 4.5 | 3.5 | 5.0 | 3.98 | 3.8 |
| Goat Funded Futures | 5.0 | 2.5 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 3.97 | 3.8 |
| FuturesElite | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 3.5 | 4.5 | 3.95 | 3.7 |
| Alpha Capital Group | 5.0 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 3.5 | 3.95 | 3.7 |
| E8 Markets | 5.0 | 2.5 | 4.0 | 4.5 | 3.5 | 3.92 | 3.7 |
| E8 Futures | 4.0 | 4.5 | 3.0 | 4.5 | 2.5 | 3.88 | 3.6 |
| Take Profit Trader | 4.5 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 3.5 | 4.5 | 3.83 | 3.5 |
How we collect data
We take prices and rules from each firm's official website, help center and terms of service. Every review shows the date its data was last verified and lists the exact pages we used.
How often we update
Prop firms change prices and rules often. We re-check the firms we list regularly and update a review, and its scores, as soon as we learn about a change. If you spot something out of date, please let us know.
Affiliate relationships
We may earn a commission when you buy through our links. This does not affect scores or the order of firms. See our affiliate disclosure.