Guide · Updated 2026-09-27
How to find your prop firm
A prop firm lends you its capital once you prove you can follow its rules. The rules, the fee and the payouts differ a lot from firm to firm. Here is why the choice matters, the types you will come across, and what to read before you pay.
Why choosing your prop firm matters
You pay before you trade
The evaluation fee is spent before you trade a dollar of the firm's capital, and it is gone if you fail. Picking a firm whose rules fit you is the cheapest way to improve your odds.
The rules decide more than your strategy
The same trades can pass at one firm and fail at another, because of how the daily loss and the drawdown are measured. A challenge ends when a rule is broken, so rules that fit how you trade matter as much as the strategy.
A split is only worth something if you are paid
A headline 90% split means little if payouts are slow, capped or held behind extra rules. How often and how reliably the firm pays matters as much as the percentage.
Your funded record should be provable
Passing is worth more when anyone can check it. Sync the account with DT Terminal and your results come straight from the account, so your track record is verified rather than claimed.
The types of prop firm
Prop firms differ in how you get funded, what you trade and how you pay.
Two-step evaluation
The classic model
Pass a first phase, often with an 8 to 10% profit target, then a second with a lower one, then trade funded. Usually the lowest fee for the size of account, and the slowest route to a payout.
One-step evaluation
Single phase
One phase to pass, usually with a tighter drawdown or a higher target to make up for it. Faster to funded, often a little more expensive.
Instant funding
No evaluation
You trade a funded account from day one. You pay more for the same size, and the drawdown and starting split are usually tighter.
Futures prop firm
CME futures
Evaluations on futures such as the E-mini S&P 500, through platforms like Tradovate and NinjaTrader. Often a monthly subscription until you pass, and often a trailing drawdown.
Forex and CFD prop firm
MetaTrader, cTrader, TradeLocker
Forex, indices, gold and other CFDs. Usually a one-off fee, and many refund it with your first payout.
Many firms offer more than one of these, so compare the programme you would actually buy, not the firm's cheapest headline.
What to read before you pay for a challenge
- 01
Price the fee for the size you want
Compare the evaluation fee at your account size, not the headline price of the smallest one. Check if it is a one-off fee or a monthly subscription, and if it is refunded with your first payout.
- 02
Read the drawdown rule twice
A static drawdown stays at a fixed level below your starting balance. A trailing drawdown moves up with your highest balance, so a winning run tightens the limit behind you. Plenty of challenges end on a drawdown breach, not a bad strategy.
- 03
Check the daily loss limit against your worst day
If your worst day in the last three months would have broken the daily limit, you would have failed. Sync your account and each firm's write-up checks your real worst day and deepest drawdown against its rules.
- 04
Look at the split and how often you are paid
A higher profit split matters less than a firm that pays on time. Look at the payout schedule, the minimum payout, and any rule that has to be met before the first one.
- 05
Find the rules that catch people out
Consistency rules, minimum trading days, time limits, no news trading and no weekend holding each fail traders who never read them. The matcher lets you rule any of them out.
We built a free prop firm finder
Instead of reading the rules of 111 prop firms one by one, answer a few questions and let the finder shortlist them. It is free, works without an account, and nothing you pick is saved to a profile.
- Pick what matters most: lowest fee, highest split or easiest rules
- Tell it the account size you want and see the fee at every size
- Rule out what catches you: trailing drawdown, time limits, consistency rules
- Every figure is marked confirmed or not stated, never guessed
Use our broker and prop firm selection software to find what fits your needs best.
- Brokers
- 94
- Brokers
- Prop firms
- 111
- Prop firms
- Confirmed
- 88%
- Confirmed
No account needed
Worth knowing
- What is the difference between a static and a trailing drawdown?
- A static drawdown sits at a fixed level below your starting balance. A trailing drawdown follows your highest balance up, so a winning run raises the level you cannot fall below.
- Is instant funding better than an evaluation?
- Neither is better for everyone. Instant funding costs more and usually has tighter rules, but pays from day one. An evaluation costs less for the size and gives you room to prove yourself first.
- Are prop firm fees refunded?
- Many forex and CFD firms refund a one-off fee with your first payout. Monthly subscriptions, common at futures firms, usually are not refunded. The finder shows which kind of fee each firm charges.
- How do I know if I would pass a prop firm's rules?
- Hold your own worst day and deepest drawdown against the firm's daily loss and maximum loss. With a synced account, each prop firm write-up on DT Terminal does this check for you.
- Do I need an account to use the prop firm finder?
- No. The finder, the full comparison list and every prop firm write-up are free and open to anyone.