Firm comparison
Data updated 2026-08-03How to read this: We track payout-reliability watch-outs for every firm — even large, well-known names, which have also faced payout complaints and disputes — and separate independently verifiable facts from self-reported marketing numbers. A big brand, a high star rating across thousands of reviews — or a green cell in this table — is not a guarantee that you'll be paid, so read a firm's recent payout and withdrawal reviews yourself before you fund — not just its headline score. And a big number isn't your odds: a marketed “X% of payouts approved” or “billions paid out” only counts the traders who reached a payout at all — most people who buy an evaluation lose the account first, so those figures describe the few who made it, not your personal chance of being paid. And “reliable” isn't the same as “fast”: even a firm that always pays can leave you waiting days, and a marketed “instant” or “24-hour” payout often means your request is logged instantly — not that the money lands in your bank that day. Why don't firms pay out? →
| Firm | Entry price | Profit split | Drawdown | Consistency rule | Payouts | US | Watch-outs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FTMO | from ~$449 ($100k 2-step; range €79–€1,080) | 80% → 90% after first $100k | Static | — | Monthly, on-demand after 14 days · 99.8% on-time | Yes | Phase 1 target unclear (8% vs 10%, unresolved) |
| FundedNext | from ~$33 | up to 95% CFD / 100% Futures | Static | — | Bi-weekly · 24h payout guarantee | No | 3.5% withdrawal fee; Bolt retired 7/2026 |
| Topstep | $49–$149 / mo | 100% of first $10k, then 90% | EOD trailing | ≤40% (Express Funded) | Weekly · $2k–$6k per-cycle cap | Yes | Per-payout cap limits each withdrawal; +$149 activation when funded |
| Apex Trader Funding | ~$131 + $79–99 activation | 100% of first $25k, then 90% | Selectable (intraday / EOD) | 50% | Weekly · 6-payout cap | Yes | 6-payout cap ≈ $18k max on $100k, then account closes; no overnight (4.0) |
| The5ers | from ~$39 (Bootcamp $20) | up to 100% at higher tiers | Static | 30% (both stages) | Bi-weekly (14-day) | Yes | Consistency rule applies to eval and funded |
| E8 Markets | from ~$40 | up to 100% | Static | 35–40% (Zero: none) | On-demand | Yes | E8 Zero (7/2026): no consistency rule or trailing drawdown — new product, short track record · 5-payout cap → account closes; buffer non-withdrawable · E8 Pro: each payout releases up to 50% of profit (rest kept as a rolling drawdown buffer, still yours) |
| Alpha Capital Group | from ~$40 | 80% → up to 90% (scaling) | Selectable (static / trailing) | 40% (Best Day) | Bi-weekly or on-demand | Yes | 2-Minute Rule (≥50% of profit from trades held >2 min); fees non-refundable |
| TakeProfitTrader | from ~$150 / mo (Test $25k; to ~$360) | 80% (PRO) → 90% (PRO+) | Intraday trailing (PRO) | 50% (Test) | Instant · Plaid / PayPal / Wise | Yes | Intraday trailing DD on PRO — top-cited blow-up cause |
| FundingPips | from ~$32 (2-Step $32–$499) | 60–100% by reward cycle (Zero 95%) | Static (Zero: trailing) | — | Weekly to on-demand · $260M+ paid | — | Zero plan trails; On-Demand payout needs 35% consistency; US not confirmed |
Reality check: In a 500,000-trader analysis by hoc-trade, about 70% of blown accounts failed on loss limits — not on missing profit targets. The encouraging part: what ends most accounts is risk and drawdown mechanics, which are learnable — so the column that pays off most to understand is Drawdown.
In a PipFarm poll cited by Finance Magnates, trailing drawdown (~54%) and consistency rules (~53%) were the two mechanics traders said they hate most — and they're exactly the two columns you can sort and compare here: Drawdown and Consistency rule.
New here? What “Drawdown”, “Consistency rule”, “Payout cap” and hidden rules actually mean →
- Drawdown — how your loss limit moves
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Static — a fixed floor that never moves, so you always know exactly where you're out. Easiest for beginners.
EOD trailing — the floor rises with your best end-of-day balance, updating only once a day.
Selectable — you choose intraday or end-of-day when you buy. If you're new, pick end-of-day.
Intraday trailing — the floor chases your peak balance in real time, counting profit you haven't banked yet — so a trade that's up and then dips can bust you while you're still technically in profit. This is the mechanic that blows up the most accounts.
Check the price of "safe", too: a few firms sell static drawdown as a paid "No Trailing Drawdown" add-on — meaning you pay extra to switch off a trap other firms simply don't set, so the low-risk setting isn't always the free default.
- Consistency rule — a hidden cap on your payout
- ≤40% / 50% caps how much of your total profit can come from a single day. One big winning day can push you over that cap and block your first payout — even though you clearly made money. “—” means the firm has no such cap.
- Payout cap — a ceiling on money you already earned
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Some firms pay you, but only up to a fixed limit per payout — anything above it is locked until the next cycle. Say you earn $3,800 in a week: the firm approves $2,000 and holds the other $1,800 back.
Many also cap the total number of payouts, then close your account once you hit it — even while you're still in profit. A “100% split” doesn't help if a cap limits what you can actually take out.
- Hidden & auto-enforced rules — surprises that can close the whole account
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Drawdown and payout caps aren't the only things that can cost you an account. A rule you didn't know existed can wipe it too — for example a minimum hold time: trades held only seconds or a minute can be labelled “scalping”, so that profit isn't counted and the account can even be breached for it — or several correlated trades being grouped and treated as a single oversized position.
Automated monitoring can also get it wrong: sharing a WiFi network or IP address with another trader — or an IP that jumps between cities — can be flagged as copy trading or “linked” or “coordinated” accounts, and an honest account can be closed for it. These flags often surface right when you request your first payout, and closures tend to be immediate. Before you trust a firm with your time and money, check not just its price and split, but what rules it enforces and how strictly and predictably it enforces them.
And firms don't all treat these the same: a VPN, a VPS or automated (EA/bot) trading that one firm flags or bans, another spells out as explicitly allowed — so confirm your specific firm's policy before you buy, rather than assuming it's a trap (or fine) everywhere.
Click a column header (Firm, Entry price, Drawdown, Consistency, US) to sort; blank cells (—) always sort last. Colors flag risk: green safest → red riskiest. Prices are indicative entry-tier figures and vary by account size and promotions. How you pay differs too, not just how much: some firms take only part of the fee upfront and the rest after you pass, or refund it once you reach your first payout — so the cheapest sticker isn't always the least you actually risk. Each row reflects a firm's standard plan — many firms also offer other plans or optional rule settings (e.g. consistency %, drawdown type), so the exact variant you buy can carry different rules. Blank cells (—) mean we haven't independently verified that field yet. Always confirm current terms on the firm's site.
Know before a prop firm stops paying
The pattern is always the same: payout-denial complaints stack up, payouts slow down, new challenges quietly pause — then the firm goes silent. Get an email the moment a firm we track starts showing those warning signs — before your payout is the one that gets denied.
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