Before we look at a breakdown of the best futures prop firms
I can probably save you some time…
You can’t beat being the easiest AND cheapest path to funding while also having the fastest payouts. That’s why my #1 pick is MyFundedFutures. No other firm offers evaluations that can be passed in 1 day, funding that’s even cheaper than Apex because of no activation fees, and evaluations with easier drawdown to profit target ratios than Topstep all at the same time! The list continues, but we’ll get more into it below.
Always get the highest discount for them by clicking here and using code Iman. Now, let’s get into everything else.
What are prop firms and why do people use them?
Prop firms offer tests called evaluations, and traders get funded with the firm’s money if they pass the test. You can pay as little as $76 to receive a “50k” account, and then you can make money trading through the firm. If you lose the entire account; no worries. You just need to pass the evaluation to get funded again. If you make money while following the rules, then all the firms listed on this page let you keep 90% of your profits (but typically 100% of the first $10,000 you make!). It’s a great way to get funded with a bigger trading account all while keeping costs low and limiting your risk. Let’s proceed.
The Best Prop Firms - Ranked & Compared - Pricing & Funding
When it comes to trading with firms, there’s only a couple things that matter - the evaluations, how much it costs to get funded, and if the firm is actually paying their traders. Here, you’ll see the top 3 prop firms (safe and established) compared against each other on important features like evaluation rules and policies, profit sharing, and overall funding costs. All three firms give you access to excellent trading platforms and diverse markets. These top 3 were partially picked due to their relaxed trading rules and utilization of pro-trader rules like an end-of-day drawdown system.
Here’s a big table of all the data for you to see. Or, you can skip to the main points below it.
| TradeDay | Topstep | MyFundedFutures (STARTER) | MyFundedFutures (EXPERT) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Profit split: | 90/10 | 90/10 | 90/10 | 90/10 |
| Drawdown:profit target on the 10k account | 1:1 | No 10k account | No 10k account | No 10k account |
| Drawdown:profit target on the 25k account | 1:1 | No 25k account | No 25k account | No 25k account |
| Drawdown:profit target on the 50k account | 2:2.5 | 2:3 | 2.5:3 | 2:4 |
| Drawdown:profit target on the 100k account | 3:5 | 3:6 | 3.5:6 | 3:8 |
| Drawdown:profit target on the 150k account | 3.5:8.5 | 4.5:9 | 5:9 | 4.5:12 |
| Evaluation price; 50k account (after discount) | $132 | $49 | $76 | $157 |
| Evaluation price; 100k account (after discount) | $200 | $99 | $143 | $252 |
| Evaluation price; 150k account (after discount) | $300 | $149 | $209 | $356 |
| How many trading accounts can you have? | 1 | 5 | 10 (only 3 active funded accounts) | 10 (only 3 active funded accounts) |
| Activation fee | $139 | $149 | 0 ACTIVATION FEE | 0 ACTIVATION FEE |
| Cost to get funded on 50k account first try | $271 | $198 | $76 | $157 |
| Reset fee | $100 | $49 | (same price as account) | (same price as account) |
| Cost to get funded on 50k account on 3rd try | $471 | $296 | $228 | $471 (3 x $157) |
Usually, a firm is either expensive with great evaluations or cheap with bad evaluations/policies. When it comes to MyFundedFutures’ starter plans, they break this tradition by having the easiest-to-pass evaluations and the cheapest path to funding. It’s the best of both worlds. You only benefit from these savings if you get funded though, so don’t start evaluations until you’re ready. If I thought there was a better firm, then I wouldn’t be trading through MFFU. Prop firm reviews are easy when you actually trade!
#1) Overall Best Futures Prop Firm: MyFundedFutures
MyFundedFutures offers a total of 3 different trading plans to suit the individual needs and strategies of their traders. The starter plan offers the most affordable and fair evaluations out of all prop firms, while the expert plan caters to experienced and aggressive traders looking to utilize the excellent payout policy. Regardless of which plan you go with, one of their best features is the industry’s fastest customer service team and fastest payout approvals. Traders can often have their payout requests be approved from a couple hours to just a few minutes, and no other firms of this size are doing it that fast. That’s part of how they’ve built up such a great reputation. Let’s see which plan is best for you.
MFFU’s starter plans - the best choice for 95% of traders
Low costs (the cheapest path to funding)
Fair evaluations (some of the best max drawdowns and profit targets)
MFFU’s expert plans - truly for experts
Expert evaluations are harder and more expensive. In exchange for that, you get the industry’s best payout policy (no consistency rule or minimum trading days). At this moment, I only trade the 50k expert plans. But, I would recommend starter plans to those who aren’t very experienced.
Go to MyFundedFutures and use code Iman to automatically get the highest discounts (my #1 pick and the firm I use the most). They recently removed the standard 5% discount when paying with card, but you can get that 5% off by paying via ACH. Using my code is still appreciated if you end up using a card though.
If you’d like a FAR more detailed breakdown of MyFundedFutures, then click here. I’ll show you the differences between all of their account variations, detailed breakdowns of the evaluation and funded policies, and everything else.
#2) Best for smaller accounts, reputation, and longevity: TradeDay
Tradeday is not the cheapest firm, but they do have 2 accounts that are hard to beat. You just have to determine if those prices are worth it. Like MyFundedFutures, this firm has a clear path to a live account once funded. You get access to excellent trading platforms like Tradovate and NinjaTrader, and they have an excellent reputation. This firm will never be the cheapest, but you’ll also never hear about traders being denied big payouts. Why? Because you would’ve been on a live account a long time ago, and that money has already been made in the live markets. It’s yours. You can choose to go on a live account immediately, or you can choose the funded sim option for a bit before being required to go live. This firm is where I got my first funding and payout.
I recommend them for their 25k and 10k accounts. This is because their max drawdown is equal to their profit target, which you can see below.
25k account has a max drawdown of $1,500 and a profit target of $1,500
10k account has a max drawdown of $1,000 and a profit target of $1,000
Go to Tradeday and use code Iman to automatically get the highest discounts
#3) Best for scalpers: Topstep
Topstep is my #3 pick specifically for scalpers on Topstep’s own trading platform called TopstepX. However, when compared to MyFundedFutures, you’re paying more money for harder evaluations. So, traders need to evaluate what is most important to them. Profit targets are larger and the max drawdowns are smaller, but they do allow certain scalping strategies that other firms may not.
Hold on - are you new to trading with prop firms?
The button here will take you to a page where various prop-firm-related topics are further discussed. It includes articles on strategy tips for trading, how the different drawdown systems work, and the most important rules to look out for when choosing a firm. But, let’s briefly cover the most important parts about finding which firm is best for you.
How to Choose a Prop Trading Firm
Choosing a prop trading firm can be tricky due to how many there are, but going with an established firm is good for many reasons. There are more important factors than just the funding process and costs, so let’s get into what those are. This will ensure you pick a firm that suits your needs.
Company Reputation
There’s a reason Apex isn’t a company I recommend, and I even made a video that made them shut down their entire Discord server (still down months later). You can learn a lot about a firm based on their reviews, and Trustpilot is probably the best resource for this. With financial regulations coming soon from the CME, it’s more important than ever to be careful when picking a firm. Personally, I recommend avoiding new firms until they get more established, because many of the new ones that pop up are just scam.
Customer Support and Reliability
As with anything related to trading and your money, customer support being reliable is essential. The top firms have dedicated support channels, like emails and Discord servers. MyFundedFutures even has a built-in feature to quickly access the support team, and they boast some of (if not the) quickest response times for helping. This is the opposite of Apex, where emails are often ignored for multiple days to weeks. TradeDay is another firm with an extremely great reputation for support. Of course, no firm is perfect, and there will always be a small percentage of complaints. It just becomes a red flag when the volume and severity of those complaints starts increasing.
Flexibility in Trading Platforms and Tools
Many new firms don’t offer the tools and platforms that you’re used to trading with. Traders don’t want to deal with having to learn a new platform, so be sure that the firm you’re looking at has the right tools for you. Firms differ significantly in their available data connections and platforms, especially when it comes to more specific trading strategies (like order flow). More recently, we’ve seen NinjaTrader and Tradovate stop pairing with newer firms. So, make sure you check for this. Some companies have even been creating their own trading software like Topstep and MyFundedFutures. All the firms on this page offer access to the top trading platforms like NinjaTrader (my personal favorite), Tradovate, and TradingView.
Withdrawal and Payout Policies
There are some firms that appear excellent on the surface, but, when you look further into their FAQ and policies, you might find many ridiculous rules. These are typically designed to make it harder for you to get your money, and so those firms should be avoided. The speed at which you can get your money out of your trading account is important, and MyFundedFutures is the industry’s leader when it comes to withdrawal times. One of my payouts was approved 3 minutes after my request, and it was sent to me through Rise just 1 minute later. Nobody else is treating their funded traders like that. Make sure to pay attention to withdrawal limits as well. TradeDay is another company with extremely fast payouts, which is one of the benefits of using a small firm like them.
Funding Costs and Fees
Pay attention to all of the associated costs with becoming a funded trader. Review the evaluation policies and whether the firm has an activation fee or additional further steps to funding. Commissions for trading among firms are mostly identical, but there can be small variations. MyFundedFutures is the only top firm without huge activation fees, which saves traders a significant amount of money. This fee at Topstep is $149, so be sure to factor that into your costs when analyzing which firm to choose!
Do not start trying to get funded until you’re truly ready.
You can always do some “trial runs” of an evaluation by using a sim account and following the position-size rules, drawdown rules, consistency objectives, and minimum trading day rules for the firm you want to use. You’ve heard that you should never risk money you can’t afford to lose, and that extends to trading with firms. Set a budget for yourself for the month, and NEVER get caught in the loop of doing resets one after the other because of going on tilt. Seriously, follow a budget.
Best of luck to you in your trading, and join my free Discord server just for prop-firm traders! https://discord.gg/dX8WEwUrvS
RISK AND AFFILIATE DISCLOSURE - Never risk money you can’t afford to lose!
Futures, foreign currency and options trading contains substantial risk and is not for every investor. An investor could potentially lose all or more than the initial investment. Risk capital is money that can be lost without jeopardizing ones financial security or lifestyle. Only risk capital should be used for trading and only those with sufficient risk capital should consider trading. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Most traders do not succeed. The links on this site are primarily affiliate links, which financially supports me at no extra cost to you. I partnered with multiple firms, because I don’t see 1 firm that has it all. I like Topstep for TopstepX, TradeDay for the 10k and 25k accounts, and MFFU for being the most affordable while having the best 50k and higher accounts. When firms change, we should change with them. I have been funded with all 3 firms, so I’m recommending a product that I personally use. My partnership with Topstep is ending on 8/24/24. I could stay with them, but they want new partners to only recommend them and nobody else. I have 0 interest in being biased like that, especially since they are clearly not the #1 firm after I found out about MFFU (you should only use Topstep for TopstepX, why pay more money for worse evaluations?). I guess I’m just yapping at this point, though. Does anyone actually read these? @Iman on my prop firm Discord server (link here) and say “I found your secret message on the website.” I might not remember that I wrote this, because that’s how I operate. But, I’ll give you 10,000 imaginary Iman coins. These highly valuable coins that don’t exist can be redeemed for 17 imaginary Imoon coins. These also don’t exist, but it sounds cool. Imoon.