What Is a Futures Prop Firm?
A plain guide for new traders. How prop firms work, the rules that end most accounts, what it really costs, and the rules for seven firms, taken from each firm's own pages. Checked October 10, 2026.
What is a prop firm?
A proprietary trading firm, or prop firm, lets you trade an account that is bigger than your own money. You pay a fee to take a test. The test is called an evaluation.
If you reach the profit target without breaking a rule, the firm gives you a funded account. After that, the firm pays you a share of the profit you make, as long as you keep following its rules.
Two things many ads leave out. You pay the fee whether you pass or not. And a funded account is usually a simulated account, so your payout comes from the firm, not from the market.
How does it work?
The rules that end accounts
Every firm uses its own words, but the same six rules show up almost everywhere. Learn them before you compare prices.
1. Profit target
The profit you must reach to pass. On the $50,000 plans below it is $3,000.
2. Maximum loss, also called the loss floor
A balance your account cannot touch. It starts under your starting balance and moves up as you make money. It does not come back down. Touch it once, at any time, and the account is over.
3. End of day or intraday
An end-of-day floor moves only after the market closes. An intraday floor moves while your trade is open, so a winning trade that pulls back can raise the floor on you. Know which one you have.
4. Daily loss limit
The most you can lose in one day. Some firms pause your account for the day. Some firms end the account. Some firms have no daily limit at all.
5. Consistency rule
Your biggest day cannot be too large a share of your profit. Example: with a 50% rule and $3,000 in profit, no single day can be $1,500 or more. One big day can push your target higher or hold up a payout.
6. Payout rules
Passing is not the end. Before the first payout, most firms ask for a number of winning days, a buffer (profit you leave in the account), or both. Many firms also cap how much you can take out each time.
Seven firms, side by side
These are the rules for each firm's $50,000 evaluation plan. Every number comes from the firm's own pages, and we read them again on October 10, 2026. The firms are listed A to Z. We do not rank them or tell you which one to buy.
Apex Trader Funding
End-of-day evaluation- What you pay
- $590 one time (list). 30 days, no resets.
- Profit target
- $3,000
- Maximum loss
- $2,000, end of day
- Daily loss limit
- $1,000
- Consistency rule
- None in the evaluation
- Minimum days
- 1
- Maximum size
- 6 minis / 60 micros
- First payout needs
- 5 days of $250 or more, $52,600 balance, no day 50% or more of profit
- Payout cap
- $1,500 at first, up to $3,000. 6 payouts at most.
- Your split
- 100%
Lucid Trading
LucidFlex- What you pay
- $146 one time (list)
- Profit target
- $3,000
- Maximum loss
- $2,000, end of day. Locks at $50,100.
- Daily loss limit
- $1,200, optional. Pauses your day.
- Consistency rule
- 50%, evaluation only
- Minimum days
- Not stated
- Maximum size
- 4 minis / 40 micros
- First payout needs
- 5 days of $150 or more profit
- Payout cap
- 50% of profit, up to $2,000
- Your split
- 90%
My Funded Futures
Builder- What you pay
- $153 one time (list)
- Profit target
- $3,000
- Maximum loss
- $2,000, end of day. Locks $100 above your start.
- Daily loss limit
- $1,000. Pauses your day.
- Consistency rule
- None in the evaluation
- Minimum days
- 1
- Maximum size
- 4 minis / 40 micros
- First payout needs
- $2,100 buffer plus $500 profit, 2 or more days, no day over 50% of profit
- Payout cap
- $2,000 per payout
- Your split
- 80%
Purdia Capital
End-of-day evaluation- What you pay
- $179 a month + $130 to activate
- Profit target
- $3,000
- Maximum loss
- $2,000, end of day
- Daily loss limit
- $1,000
- Consistency rule
- Not stated
- Minimum days
- 5
- Maximum size
- 5 minis / 50 micros
- First payout needs
- Pass a second stage first: $2,000 more profit
- Payout cap
- See the firm's payout page
- Your split
- 90%
Take Profit Trader
Test, then PRO- What you pay
- $170 a month + $130 to activate
- Profit target
- $3,000
- Maximum loss
- $2,000, end of day in the Test. Intraday once funded.
- Daily loss limit
- None
- Consistency rule
- Best day below 50% of profit. Over that, the goal rises.
- Minimum days
- 3
- Maximum size
- 6 minis / 60 micros
- First payout needs
- Balance above a $52,000 buffer. No minimum days.
- Payout cap
- None stated
- Your split
- 80%
Topstep
Trading Combine- What you pay
- $49 a month + $149 to activate, or $95 a month with no activation fee
- Profit target
- $3,000
- Maximum loss
- $2,000, end of day. Locks at your starting balance.
- Daily loss limit
- $1,000, optional. Pauses your day.
- Consistency rule
- Best day 55% of target or less. Over that, the target rises.
- Minimum days
- 2
- Maximum size
- 5 minis / 50 micros
- First payout needs
- 5 winning days of $150 or more
- Payout cap
- $2,000, or 50% of balance if lower
- Your split
- 90%
Tradeify
Select, then Select Flex- What you pay
- $165 one time
- Profit target
- $3,000
- Maximum loss
- $2,000, end of day. Does not lock in the evaluation.
- Daily loss limit
- None
- Consistency rule
- 40% (a 50% version costs more)
- Minimum days
- 3
- Maximum size
- 4 minis / 40 micros
- First payout needs
- 5 winning days of $150 or more
- Payout cap
- 50% of profit, up to $2,500
- Your split
- 90%
Prices are list prices. Sale and coupon prices change often and are not shown. "Not stated" means the firm's pages did not say. Rules and prices change often, so the firm's own rules page always wins. Read it yourself before you pay.
Want all seven on one page? The free Prop Firm Cheat Sheet puts this table on a single sheet you can print or save.
Get the free cheat sheetWhat it really costs
Add it up before you start. Example: a $170 a month plan that takes 3 months, plus a $130 activation fee, is $640 before your first payout.
Monthly plans cost more the longer you take. One-time plans can expire, and a reset or a new account costs more.
Size for the loss floor, not the account size. A $50,000 account with a $2,000 floor is a $2,000 account. If you risk 1% a trade, that is $20, not $500. Our free lesson on how to size a futures trade shows the math.
What is good about prop firms
1. Your risk in the test is the fee.
In an evaluation you can lose the fees you paid, not your savings. That is a known cost you can plan for.
2. The rules teach risk habits.
A loss floor and a daily limit force you to trade small and stop on a bad day. Those are good habits in any account.
3. More size than a small account allows.
If you already follow a written plan, a funded account lets that plan work with more contracts than your own account could carry.
What is hard about prop firms
1. Many traders do not pass.
If you do not pass, the fee is gone. Treat every fee as money you may not get back.
2. One touch ends the account.
A good week does not protect you. If your balance touches the loss floor one time, the account is closed.
3. Fees add up.
Monthly fees, activation fees, resets and new accounts. Traders who rush often pay for the same test many times.
4. Passing is only half.
Winning days, buffers and caps decide when you get paid and how much. Read the payout rules before the evaluation rules.
5. Rules change.
Firms change prices, rules and plans, sometimes with little notice. What you read last month may not be true today.
6. The pressure is real.
A target and a floor push many traders to trade bigger and more often than their plan says. The firm's rules do not replace your own rules.
Before you pay, answer these
- Can I reach the target with my normal size, without one big day?
- Where is my loss floor right now, and does it move during the day?
- What do I pay each month, to activate, and to reset?
- What must happen before the first payout, and what is the cap?
- Does the firm allow how I trade: news, overnight holds, bots?
- Can I afford to lose this fee?
- Do I have a written plan I already follow on a simulator?
- Did I read the firm's rules page myself, today?
If any answer is unclear, wait. The evaluation will still be there next month.
Keep learning
- How to vet a futures prop firm
- Prop firm trading rules explained
- Why traders fail the prop firm evaluation
- Futures 101: what is futures trading?
Learn it the right way
We are Glenn and Reid, two traders based in Hawaiʻi. We teach risk first, then edge, then the mental game.
Take the free Trader Assessment. It takes about 3 minutes and shows what is holding your trading back. Or book a free discovery call with us.
Mahalo for reading and trade well!
Glenn & Reid | Hawaiʻi Trading Academy
Disclosure: Hawaiʻi Trading Academy is an affiliate partner of Apex Trader Funding, Purdia Capital and Tradeify, and may earn a commission when someone buys through our partner links. This page has no affiliate links. It lists facts and does not rank or recommend any firm. Sources: each firm's own pricing and rules pages, checked October 10, 2026.
Risk disclaimer: Trading futures involves substantial risk of loss and is not suitable for every investor. Many traders do not pass an evaluation and lose the fees they paid. Funded accounts are usually simulated accounts with payouts paid by the firm. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Hawaiʻi Trading Academy provides education only. We are not financial advisors, and nothing here is a recommendation to buy any account or product.
