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 8 October 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 CapitalCrypto, CFD and futures accounts from a $9 entry, with a strict per-market loss limit and extension fees on Core plans.86
2The Trading PitCFDs and futures, professional platforms and scaling up to 5 million.84
1. IQ Capital
Crypto, CFD and futures accounts from a $9 entry, with a strict per-market loss limit and extension fees on Core plans.
CFDs
Crypto
Futures
Instant funding
Affiliate partner
86out of 100
Cost76
Rules83
Trading100
Safety84
IQ Capital is a young prop firm founded by Christoph Radecker. It offers crypto and CFD accounts from $10,000 to $200,000, futures accounts of $50,000 and $100,000, and instant funding without a challenge, each in several plans such as Core and Rapid. The operator is BEYOND IQ CAPITAL Ltd in Saint Lucia, with a payment agent in Cyprus. In its disclaimer the firm states that it does not carry out regulated financial or investment activities: you pay fees and trade simulated accounts, you do not deposit capital. The United States and the United Kingdom are on its list of accepted countries.
The entry price is low, but the running costs are not zero. On October 8, 2026 a promotional account cost $9, and the regular 50K futures challenge was on sale for $49 instead of $245, so check the price on the day you buy. Core accounts run for 30 days at a time and need an extension fee to continue, $5 for crypto and CFD and $19 for futures; without it, access ends. After you pass a Core challenge, an activation fee is due before the funded account starts.
On Core plans, the position loss limit is the rule to understand before you start. Your loss in one market has to stay below 1% in the challenge and 0.5% once funded, and commissions, spreads and slippage count toward it. Several trades in the same market are added together, and a stop loss alone does not protect you if slippage pushes the loss past the line. A breach closes the position, not the account; the third breach closes the account. The help center gives the base of the challenge limit once as the account balance and once as the starting balance. In our German review (August 2026) we documented a Trustpilot complaint in which the commission on a natural gas trade alone came to about $708, above the $500 limit of a $50,000 account.
Payouts on Core plans follow fixed conditions. The first request is possible after 10 active trading days. Each request may cover at most 50% of your profit and no more than a cap, for example $2,000 for each of the first two requests on a $100,000 account. The 90% split is applied to that amount, so a $2,000 request pays you $1,800. For every later request, your new profit since the last payout must be at least half of the amount you request. Funded Core accounts also have a 30% consistency rule: your best day may not exceed 30% of your total profit. IQ Capital pays in USDC or by bank transfer and promises processing within 48 hours.
Rapid plans and futures accounts work differently. Rapid accounts pay an 80% split and close after the fifth payout, and their limits differ by product, so read the help center article for your account before you buy. Futures positions are closed automatically every day at 4:45 pm New York time, which means swing trading is only possible on crypto and CFD accounts, where overnight swap fees apply. On Trustpilot IQ Capital had 4.7 stars from 555 reviews on October 8, 2026, 393 of them in German.
What we like
Low entry price: a promotional account cost $9 on October 8, 2026
Crypto, CFD and futures accounts under one roof
Core plans: no daily loss limit and no minimum trading days in the challenge
Core plans: a breach of the position loss limit closes the position first; the account closes at the third breach
Crypto and CFD positions can be held overnight and over the weekend
What to watch
Core accounts run 30 days at a time and cost an extension fee of $5 (crypto, CFD) or $19 (futures)
Commissions, spreads and slippage count toward the position loss limit, and trades in the same market are added together
Core payouts only after 10 active trading days, capped per request and at 50% of the profit
Rapid accounts pay an 80% split and close after the fifth payout
Futures positions are closed automatically every day at 4:45 pm New York time
Young firm, operator based in Saint Lucia
Programmes
Core, Rapid and instant funding; crypto and CFDs $10,000 to $200,000, futures $50,000 and $100,000
Profit target (Core challenge)
8% (crypto and CFD), 6% (futures)
Drawdown
End of day trailing, size depends on plan and account (for example $3,000 on a $50,000 Core account), fixed at the starting balance after the first payout
Position loss limit (Core)
1% in the challenge, 0.5% funded, trading costs included
Profit split
90% on Core plans, 80% on Rapid plans
Entry price
$9 promotional account (October 8, 2026)
Extension fee (Core)
$5 per crypto or CFD account, $19 per futures account, every 30 days
Operator
BEYOND IQ CAPITAL Ltd, Saint Lucia; founder Christoph Radecker
CFDs and futures, professional platforms and scaling up to 5 million.
CFDs
Futures
Up to 80% split
Scaling
84out of 100
Cost86
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 €29 on the European pricing page
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. The broker review of Interactive Brokers covers what that changed for traders with their own capital.
For futures traders, ourTake Profit Trader review shows how a funded account's drawdown rule can change after you pass the test, and what that means for payouts. Our Bulenox review compares three ways to a payout account for a one-time fee, from a test with a free Master account to no test at all.
How we score
Every firm gets four scores from 0 to 100, and the overall score is their average. Cost looks at the regular price you pay to start the cheapest $100,000 evaluation (for a subscription, the first month; sale prices do not count), the spread rating and that evaluation's standard profit split. Later payments such as activation fees, remaining fees or further subscription months are not part of the score, so we list them in each firm's facts. We recalculated the cost scores on October 9, 2026; the rules, trading and safety scores and the spread ratings are carried over from our earlier assessment. 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 the TradingView 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.
