How to get a funded account for free
By DT Terminal · Published · Prices checked 10 September 2026
There are four honest routes to a funded account you did not pay for, and most of what is marketed as free is none of them. A free trial usually buys practice: FTMO says plainly that a Free Trial grants no eligibility for a funded account, and FundedNext rewards a passed trial with a discount coupon. Free entry competitions are the realest route, because several firms run them monthly with no entry fee, though the prize is often an evaluation you must still pass rather than a funded account. Fee refunds return your money only after you have paid it and earned a payout. Scholarships have a third party pay the fee for you, which is what DT Scholarships does for traders who meet three gates. Read the prize wording carefully, because free entry and free funding are different claims.
Who wrote this
DT Scholarships is ours, and it is one of the options below rather than the conclusion of the page. Every other offer was read on that firm's own site on the date above. Competitions open and close monthly and prize tables change, so confirm the current edition on the firm's own page before you enter. We take no affiliate commission on any prop firm named here.
The routes
What each free route actually gives you.
| Route | Free to enter | What you get | The catch |
|---|---|---|---|
| FTMO Free Trial | A one phase practice account, no card needed | Its own page says a trial grants no eligibility for a funded account | |
| FundedNext free trial | A 14 day trial account | Passing rewards a 5% discount coupon, so it is a discount, not funding | |
| FundedNext competition | Cash and instant funded style accounts, hundreds of winners a month | Editions run to their own calendar, so check which one is open | |
| The5ers weekly contest | Prizes for the top 100 each week, including free accounts | The free accounts are evaluations, so you still have to pass one | |
| Audacity Capital monthly | A $200K challenge account as the top prize | Still an evaluation, and entry asks for a vote on a review site | |
| Topstep Combine | A futures evaluation | It is a monthly subscription. Free resets appear occasionally as giveaways | |
| FTMO fee refund | Your fee back with your first payout | You pay first, and only a payout gets it back | |
| PropScholar | It pays your challenge fee after you pass its own evaluation | Entry starts at a small fee, so it is subsidised rather than free | |
| DT Scholarships | A $10K evaluation paid in full | Three gates in your journal, and scholars are chosen on merit each cycle |
Read on each firm's own site on the date above. Competition editions and prize tables change monthly.
The routes, honestly
Four kinds of offer, what each one is worth, and the wording that tells you which kind you are looking at.
01First, tell free apart from discounted
The phrase "free funded account" is used for at least four different things, and only two of them cost nothing. A free trial is free to take but usually leads nowhere by itself. A free entry competition is genuinely free, but the prize may be an evaluation rather than funding. A refund or rebate is money back after you paid. A discount code is not free at all, however large the percentage.
One question sorts them: if I do everything right, what do I hold at the end, and did I pay for any of it? A prize described as a challenge account, an evaluation or a phase one account is a shot at funding, not funding. A prize described as a funded or instant account is closer to the real thing, though it still carries the firm's rules and payout terms.
- Free entry and free funding are different claims
- A prize that is an evaluation still has to be passed
- A refund is money back after a payout, not a free start
02Free trials: practice, not a shortcut
FTMO runs a Free Trial that needs no card, on account sizes up to $200,000, with the profit target halved and fewer minimum trading days. It is useful for seeing how a firm's platform and rules feel. What it is not is a route to funding: FTMO's own help pages say a Free Trial does not grant any eligibility to secure an FTMO account, so passing one still leaves you buying a challenge.
FundedNext's free trial runs 14 days from your first trade on sizes from $6,000 to $200,000, with a 5% profit target and the same 5% daily and 10% maximum loss rules as its paid evaluations. The reward for passing is a coupon for 5% off a plan. That is worth having if you were going to buy anyway, and worth nothing if you were not.
- Use a trial to test the platform and the rules, not to win an account
- Read what passing actually gives you, in the firm's own words
- A trial is still good practice for the rule tracking a real challenge needs
03Free entry competitions: the realest free route
Several firms run competitions with no entry fee, and this is where genuinely free accounts are handed out. FundedNext runs a monthly competition it describes as completely free with no entry fees, with a prize pool spread across hundreds of winners: cash at the top, instant funded style accounts through the ranks, and a lottery draw over lower placings. Its rules are the interesting part for a journal keeper: a minimum number of trades on separate days, 5% daily and 10% maximum loss, and no expert advisors.
The5ers runs a free weekly contest with prizes for the top 100, including free accounts, and Audacity Capital runs a free monthly competition whose top prize is a large challenge account. In both cases read the prize table closely: an account described as a challenge or evaluation is a free attempt, which is worth real money, but it is not a funded account until you pass it.
Two practical notes. Competitions are usually won by the largest return in a short window, which rewards concentrated risk taking that would fail a real evaluation, so treat the trading as a separate exercise from your normal method. And check the edition dates on the firm's page rather than trusting an article, because when we checked, one firm's competition page still showed the previous month's edition as the open one.
- No entry fee, but the prize may be an evaluation rather than funding
- Winning usually needs a return profile that would breach a real challenge
- Confirm which edition is open on the firm's own page before entering
04Refunds and rebates: free only in hindsight
Most large firms refund the evaluation fee once you reach a payout. FTMO advertises a 100% refund of the initial fee with the first reward withdrawal. That is a real benefit and it changes the maths on trying, but you fund it yourself in the meantime and get nothing back if you do not pass and then earn.
Treat a refundable fee as a deposit on your own discipline. It is the cheapest route for a trader who is already consistent, and the most expensive one for a trader who is not, which is the same test a scholarship applies before the money is spent.
- A refund needs a pass and a payout, in that order
- Nothing comes back from a failed evaluation
- Discounts and resets are cost reductions, not free entries
05Scholarships: someone else pays the fee
A scholarship is a third party paying your evaluation fee because your record suggests you will use it well. It is the only route on this page where the decision is made on how you trade rather than on how you place in one short contest.
The category is small and worth checking carefully. PropScholar, for example, pays a prop firm challenge fee, but you first pay a small entry fee and pass its own evaluation, so it is subsidised rather than free. Read who pays whom, and when.
- Judged on a record rather than a one week return
- Check whether there is an entry fee before calling it free
- Ask what the sponsor takes from the funded account afterwards
06DT Scholarships, and what it asks for
DT Scholarships is ours. 10% of DT Terminal revenue goes into a fund that pays the evaluation fee for a $10K prop firm challenge in full. We are not a prop firm: we do not provide the capital, hold the account or take a cut of it, 100% of your payouts stay yours, and we take $0 from the funded account.
The application is the record you have already been keeping, measured by three gates: 10+ trades logged, 14-day logging streak, 1+ backtest completed, plus an account in good standing. Forward tests count toward the trades, the gates are open to free accounts as well as Pro, and a card on your dashboard tracks each one so you know before you apply.
The form is short: a few questions about how you trade and two written answers with a minimum length, because a one line answer is not an application. Applications are reviewed each cycle and chosen on merit rather than first come first served, a decline can be reapplied after 30 days, and sponsorship covers the fee only. The trading outcome is yours either way.
- 10+ trades logged, forward tests count
- 14-day logging streak, reached at least once
- 1+ backtest completed, a reviewed session
07Be the trader these routes are looking for
Every route on this page eventually asks the same question: can you follow rules under pressure? A competition asks it over a week, a scholarship asks it over a couple of months of your own record, and a paid challenge asks it with your money on the table.
So the work that improves your odds on all four is the same. Keep a record with the trades, the reasons and the mistakes in it. Practise the rule tracking a challenge needs before you are paying for the privilege. Connect the account if you can, because a synced record is the one a firm or a sponsor has any reason to believe. The record you build waiting for a free shot is also the thing that makes the shot worth taking.
- Log the trades, the reasons and the mistakes, from now rather than from the challenge
- Track a daily loss limit on a practice account first
- A connected account is the difference between a claim and a record
Questions
Can you really get a funded account for free?
Yes, by two routes. Free entry competitions at firms such as FundedNext, The5ers and Audacity Capital cost nothing to enter and hand out accounts to the leaders, though the prize is often an evaluation you still have to pass. And scholarships, where a third party pays the evaluation fee, cost nothing if you meet the criteria. Everything else marketed as free is a trial, a discount or a refund.
Do prop firm free trials lead to a funded account?
Not by themselves. FTMO's own help pages say a Free Trial does not grant any eligibility to secure a funded account, and FundedNext rewards a passed trial with a 5% discount coupon rather than an account. Trials are worth taking to test the platform and rehearse the rules, but the funded account still comes from a paid evaluation, a competition win or a sponsor.
Are free prop firm competitions worth entering?
They are free, so the only cost is time and the habits you pick up. The caution is that competitions are usually won on the largest short term return, which rewards risk taking that would breach a real evaluation. Enter with an account you treat as separate from your method, read the rules for minimum trading days and expert advisor restrictions, and check that the edition you are joining is the one currently open.
What is the catch with a free challenge account prize?
Usually that it is an evaluation rather than funding, so you still have to hit the profit target inside the daily loss and maximum drawdown rules. Sometimes there are conditions attached to entry, such as posting a review or voting on a comparison site. And some prizes are discount codes rather than accounts, which the prize table will say if you read to the bottom of it.
How do I qualify for DT Scholarships?
Three gates, all of them things you would do anyway if you journal: 10+ trades logged, 14-day logging streak, 1+ backtest completed, plus an account in good standing. Forward tests count toward the trades and the gates are open on a free account. A card on your dashboard tracks each one and flips to qualified when you clear the last, then the application is a short form reviewed on merit each cycle.
Does DT Terminal take a share of the funded account?
No. $0 comes to us from the funded account and 100% of your payouts stay yours. We pay the evaluation fee at an established prop firm and step away; the firm funds the account and pays out. We are not a prop firm and we do not dictate how you trade the account.