Prop Firms
Pass the evaluation. Follow the rules. Keep up to 100% of the profit you generate.
A proprietary trading firm charges an evaluation fee, hands you a set of trading objectives, and offers a share of the profits if you meet them. Here is what that actually involves — and how FTMO and The5ers differ.
See the two firmsFigures last checked against the firms' own sites on 2026-09-18. Prop firms change targets, drawdown rules, fees and payout splits often. Treat everything below as a snapshot and confirm current terms on the firm's own page before paying an evaluation fee.
How prop firm funding works
The model is the same across firms even though the numbers differ. You are not depositing trading capital — you are buying the chance to prove you can follow a rule set.
You pay for an evaluation
A one-time fee buys a set of objectives: a profit target, a daily loss limit, a maximum loss, and sometimes a minimum number of trading days.
The account is simulated
Both firms here describe the evaluation — and in FTMO's case the funded stage — as a simulated or demo account. You earn performance-based rewards; you are not trading the firm's live capital in your own name.
Pass, then scale
Meet the objectives and you move to a funded stage where the profit split applies. Most firms grow your balance as you clear successive profit milestones.
Rules matter more than returns
A 10% target is achievable. A 5% daily loss limit that closes the account outright is what removes most traders. Read the daily rule before you read the target.
The two firms we reviewed
A short briefing on each one. Open a card for the full rulebook — targets, drawdown limits, fees, platforms and payout terms.
FTMO
Since 2015The two-step evaluation most prop traders are measured against
Since 2015, the 10% / 5% / 5% / 10% reference evaluation, with up to 90% reward on the 1-Step. Accounts from $10K to $200K on MT4, MT5 or cTrader.
Best for Traders who want the most widely recognised evaluation structure and a large, well-documented rule book — and who are comfortable that the account is simulated.
The5ers
Four funding tracks, from a low-cost bootcamp to a one-step challenge
Choose your shape: a three-step Bootcamp, a 1:100 High Stakes for leverage, or a one-step Hyper Growth with a forgiving daily pause. Scaling to $4M on two tracks.
Best for Traders who want a choice of shapes — the cheapest entry (Bootcamp), the fastest route (one-step Hyper Growth), or the highest leverage (High Stakes at 1:100).
Which one fits you
Choose FTMO for the reference standard
Two steps, 10% then 5%, 5% daily loss, 10% max loss, four trading days, no time limit. The most widely documented rulebook in the industry, and the fee is refunded when you pass.
Choose The5ers if you want to pick the shape
Four programs: a cheap three-step Bootcamp, a one-step Hyper Growth with a forgiving daily pause, a stricter one-step Pro Growth, and High Stakes at 1:100 leverage. Same firm, very different risk profiles.
Choose a CFD broker if you want to trade your own money
A broker gives you your own capital, your own leverage, and no evaluation to pass. A prop firm offers scale without risking your own balance — but only after you have proven you can follow the rules.
Evaluation fees are usually non-refundable if you fail, and most traders who buy a challenge never reach a payout. Nothing here is a recommendation, and prop firm rules change without notice. Read the firm's own terms before you pay.
Two firms. Read the rules before you pay.
Both publish their rulebooks, and both change them often. Start with the short briefing on the cards above, then open the full detail page before you commit to a fee.