Funded trading accounts

Clear the evaluation before you trade

Traditional trading desks employ people to trade using company funds. Retail prop firms operate differently by charging upfront for access to a practice test. Your payment covers an evaluation, which is a test in a practice account. You attempt to meet a profit goal under set rules. After you pass, trading happens in a simulated environment. The firm then pays winning withdrawals from its own funds.

What's shared here is general information, not investment advice, and most evaluation buyers never receive a payout. Break any rule during the test, and the firm ends your attempt and keeps the fee. You may buy a reset and take the test again, or stop trading with nothing else owed.

What do funded trading accounts really cost?

You pass first, and then an activation fee is charged. Any monthly renewal and the upfront test fee count toward your total price. Evaluation and activation fees can't be refunded under Topstep pricing rules. Topstep also reports that in 2025 its Trading Combines had a completion rate of only 16.8%. Most tests fail, so include a reset fee in your budget before you buy.

A single fee covers some firms, and a monthly subscription runs until you pass at others. Compare total expenses across the prop firms with lowest costs, or check your own numbers with our prop firm calculator.

• Topstep 50K Trading Combine: $49 a month, plus a $149 activation fee ($198 total); or $95 a month with no activation charge.
• Tradeify Growth 50K costs $145 upfront, with no activation fee. Resets cost $95.
• Upfront, the Lucid Trading LucidPro 50K costs $172. No monthly subscription or activation fee applies, and a reset costs $120.
• You pay $170 each month for the Take Profit Trader 50K test. Activation costs a one-time $130 PRO fee; the minimum is $300.
• For the intraday evaluation, Apex Trader Funding 25K charges $167 upfront. You get 30 calendar days to hit the target.

Rules that can close your account

Every prop firm sets strict risk limits, and your plan ends once your balance reaches them. A trailing drawdown climbs with your balance and never drops again, which caps how much you can lose. At Topstep, this limit is based on each day's closing balance. Some firms track that limit during live trades instead. The daily loss limit is the most you may lose in one trading day. Trading stops once you hit that.

The pacing rules in the Topstep beginner guide apply to you as well. A consistency rule limits how much of your total profit a single day can contribute. To pass a Topstep 50K test in 2 days with a $3,000 target, your best day must stay below 55%. Take Profit Trader requires 3 test days, and Lucid Trading caps your largest day at 40% of cycle profit.

How are profit splits and payouts set up?

After you pass and earn funded accounts, the firm holds back part of your withdrawals and sends you the remainder. You keep 90% at Topstep, Lucid Trading, plus Tradeify, whereas Take Profit Trader pays out 80%. Your split comes out to 100% under the Apex payout rules. The minimum withdrawal is $500, and each account permits up to 6 payouts.

Minimum amounts and wait times differ across prop firm payouts. At Topstep, payouts start at a $125 minimum. Both Lucid Trading and Apex need a $500 minimum. It takes Lucid Trading no more than 2 working days to send payouts, but Apex takes 5 to 11 working days. Take Profit Trader charges a $50 fee on withdrawals of $250 or less. For the IRS, you are an independent contractor, and net earnings of $400 or more mean you owe self-employment tax.

Instant funding lets you skip the test

You can skip the test by using instant funding prop firms and going straight to the payout stage. There's an instant option at FTMO, and Tradeify has a Lightning plan that skips the evaluation. Such an account starts out costing much more than a standard test.

You can't buy a reset with an instant plan. If you hit the loss limit, the plan closes permanently and your fee is lost.

Who should apply for trading funding?

A funded trader role fits you when you have discipline, a strategy you've tested, and a wish to limit personal financial risk. Your personal savings can't be erased by a bad trading day because you pay only the evaluation fee. If you're a beginner and aren't yet profitable in a free simulator, you should wait.

The practices of fee-based firms have drawn regulator scrutiny. Per the CFTC, My Forex Funds was losing money even as customers made profits, though a judge later threw out the case. Take the free FTMO trial before you pay any fees, to see how disciplined you are.