Hundreds of firms now offer funded accounts. We only write about the ones we have looked at closely: IQ Capital and The Trading Pit. Below are the scores, the rules that decide whether you keep your account, and the points to check before you pay for any challenge.
Reviewed by Karsten Kagels · Updated 16 September 2026
Disclosure: Kagels Trading is an affiliate partner of IQ Capital. The links on this page go straight to the providers, with no tracking redirect, and the scores are the same ones we use on the German site. Trading with a funded account carries risk: losses are possible.
1IQ CapitalChallenges from €1, CFDs, crypto and futures, and payouts that arrive quickly.92
2The Trading PitCFDs and futures, professional platforms and scaling up to 5 million.85
1. IQ Capital
Challenges from €1, CFDs, crypto and futures, and payouts that arrive quickly.
CFDs
Crypto
Futures
Instant funding
Affiliate partner
92out of 100
Cost100
Rules83
Trading100
Safety84
IQ Capital is still less known than the old names in the business, because the firm is young. That makes the speed of its rise all the more remarkable, and it is exactly what makes the firm interesting for many traders.
The approach is more modern than at classic prop firms. Instead of long multi-stage evaluations, IQ Capital works with simplified models and instant funding, which appeals to traders who do not want to spend weeks in a challenge. The entry price is unusually low: a $10,000 challenge starts at €1.
Other traders report quick account activation and payouts that arrive fast. The flexibility is praised as well, for example holding positions overnight or over the weekend, which is not standard everywhere.
Even with the simple structure, read the rules carefully. Risk limits per position are clearly defined and enforced by the platform. In the challenge you may risk at most 1% per trade. That is a soft-breach rule at this stage: if you break it, the position is simply closed, without further consequences. In the funded account two soft breaches are allowed, and the third closes the account. The rule pushes you toward discipline and feels fair, not least because IQ Capital keeps no hidden conditions.
The founder Christoph Radecker gives many traders a basic level of trust in the project. Even after intensive research, no refused payouts are known, while fast payouts are reported in trader groups and on Trustpilot. The picture that emerges is a dynamic, growth-oriented prop firm that is doing a lot right and building a strong reputation.
What we like
A $10,000 challenge starts at €1
CFD, crypto and futures accounts under one roof
Fast account activation and fast payouts
Holding overnight and over the weekend is allowed
What to watch
Young firm, so the track record is still short
Hard risk limit of 1% per trade, enforced by the platform
Programmes
CFDs, crypto and futures, $10,000 to $200,000 accounts
CFDs and futures, professional platforms and scaling up to 5 million.
CFDs
Futures
Up to 80% split
Scaling
85out of 100
Cost91
Rules82
Trading94
Safety74
The Trading Pit is one of the most interesting prop trading firms in the current comparison, and that is why it takes second place. It is especially interesting for traders who are not only looking for classic forex and CFD accounts but want to trade futures as well.
TTP is one of the younger prop firms and has been on the market since 2022. The offer has grown clearly since then, and today there are CFD and futures challenges to choose from.
A big plus for us is the choice of trading platforms. Futures traders get professional tools for order flow and volume analysis with ATAS and Quantower. Depending on the challenge, MetaTrader 4 and 5, NinjaTrader, Tradovate, R Trader and cTrader can be used as well. That sets TTP clearly apart from many classic prop firms.
Our main criticism follows from exactly that choice: the rules at TTP are not uniform. CFD, futures and other programmes differ in profit targets, the way drawdown is calculated and other conditions. Read the programme you actually want before you pay for it.
What we like
CFD and futures challenges side by side
ATAS and Quantower for order flow and volume analysis
Strong scaling model, up to 5 million
Entry from €49
What to watch
The rules are not the same across programmes
Profit targets and drawdown differ, so each programme has to be read on its own
Programmes
CFD and futures challenges in several account sizes
The prop trading market has grown enormously. With hundreds of providers advertising high profit splits, cheap challenges and fast funding, it is getting harder to tell a serious firm from a problematic one. Many beginners look only at the discount. In the long run, other things decide whether a firm is worth it: transparent rules, reliable payouts and a serious company behind them.
Rules and drawdown
Some firms use a static loss limit, others a dynamic one that moves with your equity. Dynamic models are much harder to trade. Many traders lose their account not because of a bad strategy, but because they misunderstood the risk model of the firm. News rules, maximum position sizes and consistency requirements matter just as much as the profit target.
Payout conditions
Almost every firm advertises fast payouts and a high profit split. In practice there are extra conditions: a number of profitable trading days, limits on the first payouts, or restrictions around certain trading methods. A serious prop firm writes its rules clearly. If the important conditions are hard to understand, be careful.
Reputation and stability
Single bad reviews are normal. It gets serious when complaints about payouts, support or rule changes repeat over time. Many new firms grow fast through aggressive advertising and discounts, which says nothing about how they will work in two years. Firms with several years on the market are usually the more stable choice.
Platforms and infrastructure
Weak platforms, slow execution or unstable servers cost you money over time. Professional traders therefore look at the trading environment, not only at the cheapest challenge. Check as well whether the firm fits your style: not every firm allows expert advisors, news trading or a high trading frequency.
One old reason for using a funded account disappeared in June 2026: the pattern day trading rule was abolished, so the $25,000 hurdle for US day traders no longer exists. Thebroker review of Interactive Brokers covers what that changed for traders with their own capital.
How we score
Every firm gets four scores from 0 to 100, and the overall score is built from them.Cost looks at the price of a challenge, monthly fees and resets.Rules covers profit targets, drawdown model, risk limits and how clearly they are written. Trading stands for the markets, platforms and account sizes on offer. Safety weighs the company behind the offer: how long it has been on the market, how payouts are handled and what traders report.
We use the same scores as on the German site, where the full list of eleven providers is maintained and updated. How we work, who reviews what, and where AI helps is described on the editorial policy page. Our market analysis lives in the forecasts, and platform questions in theTradingView review.
Please note: this page is information, not advice to buy a challenge. Trading with leverage carries a high risk of loss, and a funded account adds rules that can cost you the account even when your trading is profitable. Only you can decide what fits your situation.
