Prop Firms 2026: Rules, Payouts and Challenge Costs Compared
A comparison of prop trading firms by challenge fee, drawdown limits, profit split and payout speed — plus how to work out the real cost of funded capital.
A prop firm gives you access to its capital after an evaluation. Your downside is limited to the challenge fee, but only a few percent of applicants pass — so the number that matters is not the price of one attempt but the price multiplied by a realistic number of attempts.
- FTMO — $10,000 – $200,000 accounts, roughly €155 to €1,080 per attempt, 80% profit split rising to 90% under the Scaling Plan
- FundedNext — $5,000 – $200,000, from about $32 to $1,000 depending on model, up to 95% profit split on some programmes
- The5ers — $5,000 – $100,000 with scaling to $4m, from about $39 per attempt, up to 100% split on some programmes, 80% as standard
- Topstep — $50,000 / $100,000 / $150,000 futures accounts, subscription from about $49 a month, 100% of the first $10,000 then 90%
- Alpha Capital Group — $10,000 – $200,000, from about $69 per attempt, up to 90% split
- E8 Markets — $5,000 – $250,000, from about $33 per attempt, up to 100% split on some programmes, 80% as standard
- MyFundedFX — $5,000 – $300,000, from about $49 per attempt, up to 90% split
- Funded Trading Plus — $5,000 – $200,000, from about $49 per attempt, up to 90% split
How to compare them
Look at the drawdown limit against your own style before you look at price. A 3% versus a 5% daily limit is the difference between one and a half mistakes a day and two and a half. After that, check how drawdown is measured — balance-based is more forgiving than equity-based — and read the news trading rules.
The alternative
Your own account at a regulated broker: the profit is entirely yours and you set the limits. See the broker comparison or read the glossary first.