Our Methodology
To ensure we’re listing only the best firms, we checked the following:
Variety of Tradable Assets
We checked what assets each firm lets you trade. These may include currency pairs, equities, indices, commodities, and even crypto.
Initial Balance
We checked how much money in trading funds is given to traders when first trading with the firm.
Profit Splits
This refers to how much of your profits go to your pocket, and how much goes to the firm—we checked which companies offer the highest profit splits.
Scaling
A prop firm in Forex often gives you scale-up opportunities for increasing your balance and having greater trading power, and we checked each firm’s initial balance offering.
Funding time: we checked how fast you can get funded when you start with the prop firm.
Other Fees
We checked what fees are associated with your prop firm’s accounts. These may be one-off registration payments or recurring monthly subscriptions.
Evaluation
We checked each firm’s evaluation process to see how thorough they are in checking your trading skills before giving you access to accounts funded with real money.
Traders Reviews
We checked what other traders are saying about the prop firm and its reputation in the financial markets.
Companies Reviewed
Fidelcrest
Best for plethora of account types and funding levels
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- Has various account types
- Lets you choose your risk level
- Offers high leverage
- High profit targets
- Tough drawdown limits
Overview
Fidelcrest offers 13 accounts for various types of traders, providing access to more than 1,000 financial instruments. Its profit splits are up to 90%, and the prop firm is widely known for its robust training programs and amazing support services.
Features
As one of the top prop trading firms around, Fidelcrest offers two main accounts: Micro Trader and ProTrader accounts, and each account requires you to choose between Normal and Aggressive. Three funding levels are available for each type of risk.
The Micro account has funding of between $25,000 and $50,000 for each risk type. The differences lie in the profit targets, minimum trading days, and max loss limits. For instance, the Micro Trader account has a max overall loss limit of 10%, and a profit target of 5% with Normal risk. With Aggressive risk, the max overall loss is 20%, and the profit target is 15%.
Meanwhile, the ProTrader accounts have funding of between $150,000 and $1 million—the $1 million funding is available only for Normal risk account holders. You can use up to 1:100 leverage for both accounts. Tradable assets include Forex pairs, commodities, stocks, indices, and crypto.
Evaluation
This Forex prop firm has a two-step evaluation process for each account type, which differ in the minimum number of trading days, max daily loss limit, and max overall loss. Apart from meeting the trading parameters, you should also submit documents to Fidelcrest for their KYC program.
Pricing
Fees range widely based on the type of account and the risk level you choose. Micro Normal risk accounts cost between €99 ($104) and €449 ($474). Micro Aggressive accounts cost from €149 ($157) to €549 ($579), while ProTrader accounts range from €649 ($685) to €2,699 ($2,848).
Competition Overview
Where Fidelcrest dominates:Accounts, risk levels, profit splits
Where Fidelcrest falls short:Profit targets, drawdown limits
- Fixed price, no fees to start and maintain the Funded Session account(-s)
- Get 100% of the first $30,000 per account, and then the profit split is 90/10, with 90% going to the trader
- Only One Step to Funded Session Account
- Fast withdrawals and support. 24/5 a week
- Up to 3 Funded session accounts
- Funded session account provided within 24 hours
- Limited account type
Overview
Liberty Market Investment (LMI) is a London-based firm that provides CME and EUREX futures traders with evaluation programs. With a profit split of 90/10 in favor of the traders, this firm is considered one of the best in the industry.
Features
LMI offers a trading program that enables traders to trade in Funded Session accounts and earn commissions on their profits. Traders can earn 100% of the first $30,000 per account and then a profit split of 90/10, with 90% going to the trader. Additionally, traders can trade in up to 3 Funded Session accounts at once and can withdraw earnings commission-free up to $24,000.
Traders can request withdrawals of their earnings at any time, and LMI’s platform provides access to the VolFix platform, where traders can track their trading progress, view statistics and improve their trading abilities. The platform also incorporates a risk management feature to help traders optimize their trading performance.
Overall, LMI’s trading program emphasizes the importance of risk management and offers traders the resources and tools necessary to succeed. However, it is essential to assess the risks associated with trading and conduct thorough research on the program before participating.
Evaluation
There are currently 2 options in the LMI evaluation programmes for traders. Qualifying Pro is a one-step evaluation program with a consistency condition, where you can get a Funded Session account in just 10 days, and a 2-step evaluation program (Practice and Qualifying Sessions), where both stages can all be completed in 13 days (10 days for a Mini $10,000 account) with no consistency rule. This way every trader can choose the trading strategy that suits them best to pass the programme.
If a trader is interested in trading in more than one account, LMI allows you to trade in 3 accounts at the same time.
Once a trader passes, they will get to the Funded Session, where they can trade using LMI’s capital.
Pricing
Trades over $30,000 per account are divided into a 90-10 split in favor of the traders. The money earned can be withdrawn via SWIFT, IBAN or PayPal depending on the withdrawal bank location.
Competitive Overview
Where LMI dominates:Comprehensive evaluation programs, withdrawal process
Where LMI falls short: Account variety
SurgeTrader
Best for traders who want various tradable assets
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- Huge variety of securities
- Wide range of accounts
- High profit share
- Easy evaluation
- Must use stop-loss orders
- Low leverage for traders
- No weekend positions allowed
Overview
SurgeTrader offers 75% profit splits for funded traders who can meet their trading requirements. You can trade various assets like Forex pairs, equity, indices, oil, metals, and crypto—it’s the perfect prop firm for a diversified investing venture.
Features
Unlike many other prop firm trading entities that have two phases of evaluation, SurgeTrader only has one. It offers six packages suitable for a variety of traders with differing skill levels. For instance, its Starter Package gives you $25,000 in instant funding and a profit target of 10%. The max trailing drawdown is 5%. If you’re a beginner and want to avoid aggressive accounts, the Starter Package is perfect.
The highest-tier account is the Master Package, with a $1 million funding size and 75% profit splits. The target is 10%, while the daily loss limit is 4%, and the max trailing drawdown is 5%. This package is perfect if you’re super confident in your skills.
This prop firm is also popular for its wide variety of tradable securities—in fact, it recently included crypto in its roster, and gold and popular stock indices are also available. The maximum leverage is 1:10.
Evaluation
As one of the top proprietary trading firms around, SurgeTrader requires evaluation for all of its accounts. The process is called SurgeTrader Audition and it’s very quick, as you only have to pass one phase. To pass the Audition, you only have to earn over 10% of your account balance.
Pricing
The audition fee per account is between $200 and $6,500. You can try the audition as many times you want while paying the fee each time. Payment and withdrawals can be done through various methods, including credit/debit cards and PayPal.
Competition Overview
Where SurgeTrader dominates:Processing time, funding size, profit splits, securities
Where SurgeTrader falls short:Stop-loss orders, positions, leverage
Topstep
Best for futures and Forex pairs trading
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- Lets you keep your first $5,000 to $10,000
- Quick evaluation time
- Specializes in futures trading
- Has monthly fees
- Must have five “winning days” before withdrawals
Overview
Topstep is perfect if your forte is in futures trading, but it also offers tradable assets and currency pairs. It offers up to 80% profit splits while being highly affordable for beginners.
Features
As one of the greatest proprietary trading firms for beginners, Topstep allows you to choose from three account sizes based on your preferred buying power. You’ll have to pay monthly subscription fees for each account, and official funded traders can choose between Topstep’s Standard Account and Pro Account.
With a Standard Account, you can keep 100% of your first $5,000 in profits and 80% of all subsequent profits. You trade real funds up to $150,000, and are responsible for subscription fees for professional data—this is different from Topstep monthly fees.
The Pro Account is free. You’ll start with a demo account, but will earn real profits once you hit profit targets. The profits can be rolled into a Premium Funded Account, where you can continue trading your profits or withdraw them. You get to keep 100% of your first $10,000, and have 80% profit splits thereafter.
Evaluation
Like other online prop trading firms, Topstep requires you to provide your trading skills. The starting profit target is 6% of your initial balance, and you can only have five open trades at a time. The daily loss limit is $1,000, while the max trading drawdown is $2,000. Step two has greater restrictions, as Topstep will require you to prove you can be a consistent trader.
Pricing
Topstep’s monthly fee depends on the account size you choose. They range from $162 to $375. After the evaluation process, these fees go away. Professional data subscription fees range between $100 to $150 per month.
Competition Overview
Where Topstep dominates:Profit splits, processing time, futures trading
Where Topstep falls short:Withdrawals, fees
FTMO
Best for prop traders who want the highest profit splits
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- High profit splits
- Generous leverage use
- Free mobile app and trading tools
- Refund of fees is possible
- Relatively smaller max fund size
- Other firms have faster scale-up opportunities
Overview
FTMO is perfect for prop traders for various reasons: it offers 90% profit splits and up to 1:100 leverage, and has a thorough two-step evaluation process that gauges your trading readiness. You can also choose your preferred risk level.
Features
Like other remote prop trading firms, FTMO lets you choose your preferred risk level: Normal vs. Aggressive. For Normal accounts, the max daily loss is 5% of your initial account balance, while the maximum profit target is 10% of the initial balance. You can scale up the account’s funding to reach $200,000 instant funding by hitting targets.
Meanwhile, Aggressive account traders have a max daily loss limit of 10%, while the profit target is 20% of their initial balance. Aggressive accounts can only scale up their funding to $100,000.
For both accounts, the tradable assets include Forex pairs, stocks, bonds, gold, and crypto. You can use up to 1:100 leverage on your trades, and trading tools and mobile app resources such as Account Metrix and Equity Simulator are also available.
Evaluation
This Forex prop firm has a two-step evaluation process starting with the FTMO Challenge, where you must meet trading objectives based on your chosen risk level and account. Step two is called Verification, where you also must meet trading objectives, but with a longer time and lower profit target. Once you pass the Verification stage, you officially become a funded FTMO trader.
Pricing
The fees you pay depend on your chosen risk level and initial balance. For Normal accounts, the fees range from $139.50 to $972. For Aggressive accounts, the fees range from $225 to $972. Payments and withdrawals can be done via regular bank transfers and Skrill, among other methods.
Competition Overview
Where FTMO dominates:Profit splits, leverage, trader tools
Where FTMO falls short:Max fund size, scale-up opportunities
Traderseed
Best for traders looking for low prices and high payouts
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- Low prices
- Copy Trading is allowed
- Weekend Trading is allowed
- Max loss limit
- Limited time to hit target
Overview
Offering multiple level programs and an opportunity to earn 20x or 30x your program fee and a free restart feature, Tradeseed is a challenge worth taking. The firm brings forward a new trading method unlike any other on the market.
Features
Traderseed is one of the most reliable prop trading firms that issues payouts to traders as soon as they pass a given level of their challenge. The level completion payouts are transparent, and can be found as part of the Challenge Objectives tables on the official website.
This demo platform offers two types of challenges: 20x Challenge and 30x Quest.
The 20x Challenge is a 4-level challenge after the completion of which you’ll have multiplied your fee by 20. Each level includes the same objectives and comes with a $100,000 account, 10% profit target, a 10% on max loss, and 5% max daily loss.
The 30x Quest earns Traderseed a seat amongst the highest-return prop trading firms, as this quest gives traders the opportunity to multiply their fee by 30. Each level comes with a different account size ranging between $100,000 to $500,000. Profit target ranges between 7% to 11%, while max daily loss and max loss start off at 7% and 12% respectively. To get a better idea of everything this challenge entails, visit the 30x Quest Objectives Table.
Traders looking for a more hands-free approach can opt for the 20x Aggressive Challenge.
Additionally, traders can put their skills to the test on the FX market, Bitcoin market, or trade in CFDs metals, oils, commodities, futures, and more.
Evaluation
One of the best things about Traderseed is that there’s no evaluation process, and anyone can set up an account. Prop traders have a 30-day time frame to complete their level.
Pricing
Traders can purchase the 30x Program for either $75, $150, or $250, while the 20x Program is available at $100 and $200, the same as the Aggressive 20x Challenge.
Competition Overview
Where Traderseed dominates: low prices,instant funding, a wide range of trading markets, payouts 20 to 30 times the amount of your fee
Where Traderseed falls short: time frame for hitting targets
City Traders Imperium
Best for UK traders looking for speedy scale-up opportunities
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- Has aggressive scale-up opportunities
- Allows for instant funding
- High leverage
- Expensive direct funding fees
- 30-day minimum active trading
- 5% max loss limit
Overview
City Traders Imperium, or CTI, is perfect if you don’t mind waiting a year to pass the evaluation and want aggressive scale-up opportunities once you start trading. However, if you don’t want to wait a year, you can pay more and get instant funding.
Features
Like many other prop trading firms, CTI asks you to undergo an Evaluation Account challenge. You receive ¼ of the funding instantly when you purchase an account. You can choose from five account sizes and must reach a target of 7% profits before getting funded. Once funded, you can start scaling up your account until reaching $2 million in balance.
CTI also lets you get Direct Funding accounts, and you can choose from four account sizes with no evaluation process. The profit target is 10%, and your account doubles every time you hit 10% in profits.
With CTI, you can get up to 70% profit splits and use up to 1:100 leverage. You must use stop-loss orders on every trade, and the max daily loss is 5%. For Evaluation Accounts, tradable assets include Forex pairs and gold. Direct Funding accounts let you trade currency pairs, gold, and indices.
Evaluation
Unlike other proprietary trading firms, CTI only needs you to undergo one phase, where you trade for at least 30 days and show consistency in your trading styles. The profit splits for the Evaluation program are 50%, and the growth target is 7%. This process can take up to one year, but you can get funded once you hit the profit target.
Pricing
Pricing depends on your chosen account option. The fees for Evaluation accounts range from £109 ($137) to £649 ($815). Meanwhile, the fees for Direct Funding accounts range from £999 ($1,255) to £3,099 ($3,893). You can pay fees through debit and credit cards, and withdrawals can be done using various methods, including PayPal.
Competition Overview
Where City Traders Imperium dominates:Scale-up opportunities, UK market, instant funding
Where City Traders Imperium falls short:Fees, active trading days requirement, max loss limit
5%ers
Best for prop traders who focus solely on trading Forex pairs
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- Designed for currency traders
- Manages risks
- Has a variety of accounts
- Only 50% profit splits
- High one-time fees per account
- Only trades Forex pairs
Overview
5%ers prioritizes risk management and currency trading. Its two trading programs that include several levels each gauge how much risk you can take while earning profits. The maximum profit splits are up to 50%.
Features
As one of the top prop firms for Forex traders, 5%ers makes you an official Funded Traders Partner when you receive instant funding and monthly profit payouts. You can access two programs that double as a risk-gauging scheme for the company.
The Risk Manager Program is for traders with trading styles or strategies that minimize risks while maximizing profits. You must maintain a 6% gain in profits and have a max loss limit of 4%. The leverage is at 1:6, and if you upgrade to higher levels within this program, your profit target is 10%.
Meanwhile, the Aggressive Trader Program is suitable for traders with riskier trading styles. Their target profit is 12% on level one, and 25% on all other levels. The leverage is up to 1:30, and there are no restrictions on stop-loss orders.
Evaluation
This prop firm for Forex evaluates traders through a level one account, which 5%ers use to gauge your trading personality. After paying a one-time fee, traders can choose the Risk Manager or Aggressive Trader account and meet their chosen program’s profit targets.
Pricing
The one-off participation fees for trading with 5%ers range from $275 to $875. Meanwhile, withdrawals are done using the Profit Payout button. Withdrawals up to $1,000 are done through PayPal, while anything higher than that is paid through Wise. You have one free withdrawal per month, and all subsequent withdrawals are charged $15 or a 3% handling fee.
Competition Overview
Where 5%ers dominates:Risk management, Forex market, number of accounts
Where 5%ers falls short:Tradable assets, profit splits, fees
Lux Trading Firm
Best for evaluation process with no time limits
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- Limitless evaluation processing time
- Plenty of tradable assets
- Allows for swing trading and weekend holding
- Low leverage
- Tough drawdown limit
Overview
Lux Trading is perfect for beginner traders who want to spend as much time as possible hitting their evaluation goals. It offers up to $150,000 in trading money, with no recurring monthly fees and no time limits on your profit targets.
Features
This proprietary trading firm offers trading in various securities on top of Forex, such as stocks, bonds, and CFDs. You can choose between three capital levels before getting a demo account and trying to meet profit targets.
This prop firm’s Professional accounts let you move to higher capital levels by meeting 10% profit target in 49 trading days. The max drawdown limit is 4%, which is reset to its initial level every month if you make profit withdrawals. The profit splits remain 65% for all stages.
Meeting those parameters doubles your account size until you reach $1 million in balance. This scale-up mechanism makes Lux Trading a cut above the rest. You can use a 1:10 leverage on Forex pairs and metals, 1:5 on indices, bonds, and commodities, and 1:1 on equity. Unlike other firms, Lux Trading allows overnight and weekend holding.
Evaluation
As one of the most fantastic proprietary trading firms for beginners, Lux Trading lets you take as much time as you want to reach your evaluation profit target of 6% and stay above the 4% max drawdown limit. Meeting the target within 29 trading days allows you to earn back your initial fee and move on to step two, which lets you use real capital. The parameters stay the same, but you keep 65% of the profits.
Pricing
The pricing for Lux Trading accounts ranges from £299 ($375) to £499 ($626). Withdrawals can be done via wire transfer, bitcoin, Wise, and more.
Competition Overview
Where Lux Trading dominates:Evaluation processing time, tradable assets, trading styles
Where Lux Trading falls short:Leverage, drawdown limit
Buyer’s Guide to Prop Trading Firms
Choosing the right firm for your trading needs might be challenging. There are a lot of options out there, and you have to choose wisely. This buyer’s guide will help you do just that!
What Is a Prop Firm Actually?
A prop firm is a financial firm or commercial bank that invests for direct market gains instead of earning commissions. They trade various securities such as stocks, futures, Forex pairs, bonds, and commodities like oil, metals, gold, and other financial instruments.
Banks and other financial institutions engage in prop trading to make excess profits, often getting better access to market information than average traders. Depending on their goals, these firms can use different trading styles.
If you’re considering investing in stocks and Forex—or other tradable assets—trying a prop trading firm will allow you to test your capability while earning money. They often let you use a demo account to prove your skills while also sharing a part of the profits with you.
How to Choose the Right Proprietary Trading Firm
When searching for a good prop firm to trade with, you should consider the following:
Tradable Assets
Check whether the firm has the asset you want to trade. Most prop firm entities are Forex-focused, but it’s not uncommon for companies to also trade other assets, such as TaaS stocks, futures, commodities like gold and oil, and other securities. Note that when you trade crypto here, you must consider crypto taxes, which can work a bit differently from usual tax rules for other securities. To be on the safe side, you might consider using tax software for crypto.
Profit Split
Consider how much you want to get from your earnings on every trade. A prop firm can let you have up to 90% of the net profits, but many offer lower than that. Before joining any online prop trading firms, decide what rate is acceptable for you.
Initial Balance
This is the amount of money your account will have when you first get it, and it’s used when calculating your max daily loss limits and profit targets. Your account balance typically scales up whenever you hit profit targets while minimizing losses.
Funding Time
You want to get a prop firm that offers instant funding. For instance, if you found in-demand stocks with low prices that you must buy quickly, you should be able to get funding right away—or the stock’s price movement will take away your chances at earning profits. Most firms require evaluation before funding real money, but others let you use a real account right away in exchange for a higher fee.
Additional Fees and Refunds
Prop firm trading often requires one-time fees before you can access demo and live accounts. Although many don’t refund fees, some firms offer reimbursem*nts when you pass their initial verification and challenges. It’s wise to look for firms with promotions or discount offerings.
Limitations
This refers to what you can do with the account in terms of max daily losses, max overall losses, trading styles, and positions. For example, many firms require you to maintain losses below a certain rate, or prohibit specific trading styles or holding positions over the weekend, during news releases, or holidays. Make sure you fully understand the restrictions for each account before signing up.
Evaluation
Before you get an account with real money, you have to pass an evaluation process where the prop firm checks your ability to earn profits consistently while also minimizing the risks you take. You’re given a specific profit target and max loss limit that change as you pass each evaluation stage.
Mobile App
You want a prop firm that provides useful investment tools to maximize your chances of earning profits. These include powerful mobile apps and trading platforms like MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5.
Customer Support
Check the firm’s customer support quality, as they should be easy to reach whenever you need help or assistance.
Traders Reviews
As trading company scams are rampant in the financial markets, you should be wary of them and check a firm’s reputation by reading traders’ reviews to gain insight into how they actually work with their traders.
Benefits and Drawbacks of Proprietary Trading Firms
Trading with a prop firm holds many benefits for traders, including:
Leverage
With a prop firm, you can access leverage that’s unavailable with traditional brokers and financial institutions. With leverage, you can take large positions in the market while spending only a portion of your trading capital. However, be careful—leverage magnifies potential losses as much as it amplifies potential profits.
Professional Support
You can trade alongside a team of seasoned traders willing to share their knowledge and trading styles with you. You may also access the prop firm’s educational resources to further hone your trading skills. Even if you’re a beginner, it’s easy to learn Forex trading and how it works when you’re surrounded by skilled individuals or familiarize yourself with researching stocks with their help.
Access to Huge Capital
The fee you pay for access to funds is quite small when compared to the thousands of dollars in trading money you’ll be able to use.
On the other hand, remote prop trading firms also hold some drawbacks you should watch out for:
Stress
Facing a thorough evaluation process scrutinizing your abilities can be quite stressful. You must meet profit targets that scale up whenever you meet previous ones, and not lose a specific amount of money on any trading day, or you’ll go back to square one. On top of that, there’s the ever-present unpredictability of the financial markets.
Job Security
Many critics question the profitability of the Forex market, and that’s another thing to consider. Are you sure this is what you want as a full-time job? If so, you must be ready to risk your own money to get a chance of making it big in the market.
Fees
While fees are small compared to the funds you can access, they can still accumulate and eat away at your profits. Unless you’re an experienced trader with money to spare, paying fees every time to miss targets and open a new funded account can be highly expensive.
Best Prop Trading Firms at a Glance
| Company | Tradable assets | Profit split | Initial balance | Best for |
| Fidelcrest | Forex, crypto, commodities, indices, and stocks | 90% | $25,000 to $1 million | A plethora of account types and funding levels |
Liberty Market Investment | CME and EUREX | 80% | $10,000 to $100,000 | Professional trading and global financial markets. |
| SurgeTrader | Forex, equities, major stock market indices, oil, metals, and crypto | 75% | $25,000 to $1 million | Traders who want various tradable assets |
| Topstep | Futures and Forex pairs | 80% | $50,000 to $150,000 | Futures and Forex pairs trading |
| FTMO | Forex, indices, commodities, stocks, crypto, bonds | 90% | $10,000 to $200,000 | Prop traders who want the highest profit splits |
| Traderseed | FX market, Bitcoin market, CFDs metals, oils, commodities, futures, and more | N/A | $100,000 to $500,000 | Traders looking for an innovative approach to trading |
| City Traders Imperium | Forex, gold, indices | 70% | $10,000 to $70,000 | UK traders looking for fast scale-up opportunities |
| 5%ers | Forex pairs | 50% | $24,000 to $80,000 | Prop traders who focus solely on trading Forex pairs |
| Lux Trading Firm | Forex pairs, metals, bonds, indices, and stocks | 65% | $50,000 to $150,000 | Evaluation process with no time limits |
Wrap Up
When checking any list of prop trading firms, consider which one offers the most affordable and attainable trading parameters to ensure success in trading with them. Always check if they have the tradable assets you want to trade, whether that’s Forex pairs or other financial instruments. Decide what’s acceptable to you in terms of profit splits, targets, and limitations.
