Compare Prop Firms

How to Compare Prop Trading Firms

Comparing prop firms is essential before committing your time and money to an evaluation. Every firm has different rules for drawdown types, profit targets, payout schedules, and consistency requirements — and those differences directly affect whether you stay funded or get blown out on a normal trading day. This comparison tool covers all 36 prop trading firms reviewed on ThePropFirmGuide — 14 futures firms and 22 forex firms — letting you select up to 4 firms and compare them side-by-side across more than 15 key features. Account sizes range from $625 at Instant Funding to $2M at Ment Funding, with profit splits up to 100% and payout times ranging from daily to monthly.

When comparing prop firms, the single most important factor most traders overlook is the drawdown type. Futures firms commonly use EOD trailing or intraday trailing drawdown, while most forex firms offer static drawdown. Static drawdown gives you a fixed loss limit from your starting balance that never moves. EOD trailing adjusts upward at end of day, locking in gains at the close. Intraday trailing updates in real-time as your equity hits new highs during the session — meaning a strong open can tighten your drawdown before you've taken profit. Firms like DayTraders, Elite Trader Funding, and TradeDay offer static drawdown options on the futures side, while nearly all forex firms on this page default to static. Read our full breakdown of prop firm drawdown types to understand exactly how each structure works.

Profit Splits and Maximum Allocation

Profit split percentages across the 36 firms on this page range from 15% at Darwinex Zero to 100%. Six futures firms offer 100% splits: Apex Trader Funding, AquaFutures, Bulenox, DayTraders, Elite Trader Funding, and Lucid Trading. On the forex side, FundingPips and FXIFY reach 100%. AquaFunded and Instant Funding offer up to 90%, while Blue Guardian ranges from 80% to 90% depending on the program. Most established firms — FTMO, Funded Trading Plus, Blueberry Funded, Goat Funded Trader, ThinkCapital, Alpha Capital, and Maven — offer 80% splits. Don't chase profit split in isolation — a 100% split at a firm with slow payouts and strict consistency rules may be worth far less than 80% at a firm that pays out quickly and lets you scale.

Maximum allocation — the total funded capital you can hold across multiple accounts — is arguably the most underrated metric. On the futures side, Apex Trader Funding allows up to $3M, Bulenox up to $2.75M, and Elite Trader Funding up to $2M. On the forex side, Ment Funding and Blue Guardian each allow up to $2M, while Instant Funding reaches $940K and FXIFY goes to $800K. If scaling is your goal — running multiple funded accounts simultaneously — the max allocation ceiling matters as much as the per-account split. See our guide on how many prop firm accounts to hold for a full strategy breakdown.

Consistency Rules, News Trading, and Payout Frequency

Consistency rules cap how much of your total profit can come from a single trading day. On the futures side, Alpha Futures applies a strict 50% daily consistency rule, AquaFutures uses 40% on their Beginner and Standard programs, and TradeDay applies 30%. Apex Trader Funding has no consistency rule at all. On the forex side, For Traders and FundingPips apply 15%, AquaFunded, Blue Guardian, City Traders Imperium, and Maven use 20%, while Funded Trading Plus, Ment Funding, and QT Funded each apply 35%. Firms with no consistency rule — including FTMO, Blueberry Funded, BrightFunded, Crypto Fund Trader, and The5ers — are the most flexible for traders with high-variance strategies.

News trading policies matter especially for forex traders who trade around NFP, CPI, and FOMC events. Firms allowing news trading without restrictions include Funded Trading Plus, Goat Funded Trader, Crypto Fund Trader, and Instant Funding. Firms with some form of restriction include Blue Guardian, AquaFunded, Blueberry Funded, FXIFY, For Traders, The5ers, ThinkCapital, Top One Trader, and Trade The Pool. Most futures firms on this page allow news trading. If you trade fundamentals or volatility events, always check the specific rules before committing to an evaluation.

Payout frequency ranges from daily to monthly across the 36 firms. On the futures side, Take Profit Trader and Top One Futures offer daily payouts. Apex Trader Funding, Lucid Trading, and Tradeify pay every 5 days. On the forex side, Funded Trading Plus offers on-demand payouts on several programs. FTMO and Blueberry Funded pay every 14 days. For traders who depend on consistent cash flow, faster payout cycles matter — but always check whether the firm has a minimum profit threshold or buffer period before the first payout is eligible. Check our prop firm payouts guide for a deep dive into how payout systems actually work.

Trading Platforms Supported

Platform support is a practical constraint that many traders don't think about until they've already paid for an evaluation. On the futures side, NinjaTrader is the most widely supported platform, followed by Tradovate and TradingView. Rithmic is supported by Bulenox, DayTraders, Lucid Trading, and Phidias. On the forex side, MT5 is the most widely supported platform, followed by cTrader, Match Trader, and TradeLocker. FXIFY is one of the few forex firms supporting TradingView. ThinkCapital runs exclusively on ThinkTrader, and Trade The Pool uses TraderEvolution exclusively. Always confirm platform support before purchasing an evaluation.

Instant Funding and Straight-to-Funded Programs

Several firms on this page offer instant funded or straight-to-funded programs that skip the traditional evaluation. On the futures side, Top One Futures offers Instant Funded and S2F accounts, AquaFutures has Instant Pro and Instant Funded options, Lucid Trading offers LucidDirect, and DayTraders has their S2F program. On the forex side, Funded Trading Plus offers true instant funding at $5K–$200K with no evaluation phase. Blueberry Funded has Instant Lite and Instant Elite options. Instant Funding specializes in direct funded accounts across a wide range of sizes. AquaFunded, Goat Funded Trader, and FXIFY all have instant or no-evaluation options. Read our guide to straight-to-funded prop firms for a full breakdown.