Best Forex Prop Firms

What is prop trading in Forex?

An alternative to trading Forex with your own funds through a broker is to trade with a proprietary FX trading firm using the funds provided by the prop firm itself.

A Forex prop firm is a company that evaluates a trader’s skills (usually via a trading challenge) and assigns its own trading capital for the trader to operate with. The aim of the challenge (evaluation) period is for the firm to get to know whether the trader is qualified and whether they are capable of trading under company’s money management rules.

Trading with a prop firm usually involves some kind of a fee — be it an entry fee to get evaluated by the firm or a monthly fee to keep trading with the firm’s capital.

Profit earned by a Forex trader with a prop firm is usually shared using a scheme like 60%/40% or similar.

Overall, a Forex prop firm is one of the best ways for a confident profitable trader to get funded and start earning money in the foreign exchange market.

However, one has to be aware of the pros and cons associated with FX prop trading. Such trading only makes sense if the pros are outweighing the cons in your particular case as prop trading is definitely not for everyone.

Advantages of trading via a prop firm

• Getting funds to earn profits on is relatively simple.
• Strict risk management rules help to stay on track and avoid most of the psychological pitfalls Forex traders suffer from.
• A rather large variety of prop firms to choose from nowadays.
• Some of these firms offer quality educational materials and tools to their traders.
• Since traders actually trade on demo accounts only, the trading conditions and availability across countries aren’t affected by regulatory restrictions.

Disadvantages of trading via prop firm

• Inherent conflict of interest — the prop company’s aim is to get as much in fees from you as possible.
• Minimum trading volume and profit requirements, short maximum holding period, news trading restriction push for a certain specific short-term trading style.
• Going through the evaluation process can be a huge waste of time and money for traders who would be better off trading for themselves using some long-term trading strategies.

Top 5 Forex prop firms

Despite some disadvantages, prop firms remain one of the most accessible ways to earn real money for retail traders, so here is our list of the best 5 Forex prop firms:

1. FTMO

Challenge: two periods — 30 days + 60 days, minimum 10 trading days

Normal mode: maximum 5% daily loss and 10% total loss, 10% profit target during the first period (5% for the second period), EUR155 fee.

Aggressive mode: maximum 10% daily loss and 20% total loss, 20% profit target during the first period (10% for the second period), EUR250 fee.

Fee refundable with the first profit split.

Funded conditions: 10% max daily loss

News trading: Allowed in swing accounts only.

Balance sizes: $10,000 / $25,000 / $50,000 / $100,000 / $250,000 (unavailable in Aggressive mode)

Account currencies: USD, GBP, EUR, CZK, CAD, AUD, CHF

Payout rate: 80%/20% scalable to 90%/10%

Leverage: 1:100 (1:30 for swing accounts)

Trading instruments: Forex, commodities, indices, cryptocurrencies, stocks, bonds.

Commission: Yes

Trading platforms: MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, cTrader, custom prop trading apps.

Free trial: Yes

Payment options: Skrill, credit/debit cards

Other features: swing account available if you want to keep trades open over-weekend, account balance scaling available to successful traders, mentorship, performance coach.

Website languages: English, German, Czech, Vietnamese, French, Spanish, Italian

EarnForex rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5/5)

Start FTMO Challenge!

2. The 5%ers

The 5%ers offer three schemes to choose from:

1. Instant funding with two modes and three balance options. All modes and options support up to $4M growth with extended 10%/25% profit targets:
   • $24K, start with $6K, stop-out $5.75K, 50%/50% payout split — €235 fee:
     • Low Risk — profit target 6%, 1:10 leverage, 1.5% stop-loss required, max time 180 days.
     • Aggressive — profit target 12%, 1:30 leverage, max time 60 days.
   • $40K, start with $10K, stop-out $9.6K, 50%/50% payout split — €385 fee:
     • Low Risk — profit target 6%, 1:10 leverage, 1.5% stop-loss required, max time 180 days.
     • Aggressive — profit target 12%, 1:30 leverage, max time 60 days.
   • $80K, start with $20K, stop-out $19.2K, 50%/50% payout split — €745 fee:
     • Low Risk — profit target 7%, 1:10 leverage, 1.5% stop-loss required, max time 180 days.
     • Aggressive — profit target 12%, 1:30 leverage, max time 60 days.
2. Freestyle:
   • Two starting balances: $25K (€285 fee) or $50K (€550 fee)
   • Evaluation lasts until 100 positions
   • Funding requirement 30+ winning positions requirement, 2+ performance factor (net profit % / max relative drawdown %).
   • Leverage: 1:30
   • Platform: MT5 (netting)
   • Funded conditions: $25K/$50K balance, profit available after 50 positions, abs stop-out level 10%, 100%/0% profit split, 2+ performance factor requirement, 120% of the fee refunded if performance factor reaches 3.
3. 100K Bootcamp — three challenges with 6% profit target, 5% max loss, 1:10 leverage, 12 months total time for three stages, €85 fee:
   • Challenge #1: $25K start
   • Challenge #2: $50K start
   • Challenge #3: $75K start
   • Funded conditions: $100K-$4M balance, 5% profit target, 4% max loss, 1:10 leverage, up to 80%/20% profit split (starts with 50%/50%), additional €215 fee.

News trading: Allowed

Account currencies: US dollar

Trading instruments: Forex, gold & silver, indices

Commission: $4/lot round trip

Trading platforms: MetaTrader 5

Free trial: No

Payment options: Bank transfer, credit/debit cards, giropay, EPS

Other features: long-term trading possible, news trading possible, free webinars, psychological coaching.

Website languages: English, Spanish, Arabic

EarnForex rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4/5)

Join The 5%ers!

3. Traderseed

Unlike other Forex prop firms, Traderseed works via multi-level challenge programs.

20x Challenge

$100K starting account, 10% profit target, 10% max loss, 5% max daily loss, 30 days per level, lot size restrictions, $100/$200/$300 fee with 4 levels:

• Level 1 payouts: $100, $200, $300.
• Level 2 payouts: $300, $600, $900.
• Level 3 payouts: $600, $1,200, $1,800.
• Level 4 payouts: $1,000, $2,000, $3,000.

20x Challenge Aggressive

$100K starting account, 10% profit target, 10% max loss, 5% max daily loss, 30 days per level, no lot size restrictions, $100/$200 fee with 5 levels:

• Level 1 payouts: $0, $0.
• Level 2 payouts: $100, $200.
• Level 3 payouts: $300, $600.
• Level 4 payouts: $600, $1,200.
• Level 5 payouts: $1,000, $2,000.

30x Quest

30 days per level, lot size restrictions, $75/$150/$250 fee with 5 levels:

• Level 1: $100K starting account, 7% profit target, 12% max loss, 7% max daily loss, no payouts.
• Level 2: $200K starting account, 8% profit target, 11% max loss, 6% max daily loss, $200/$350/$600 payouts.
• Level 3: $300K starting account, 9% profit target, 10% max loss, 5% max daily loss, $350/$650/$1,100 payouts.
• Level 4: $400K starting account, 10% profit target, 9% max loss, 4% max daily loss, $550/$1,100/$1,900 payouts.
• Level 5: $500K starting account, 11% profit target, 8% max loss, 3% max daily loss, $1,150/$2,400/$3,900 payouts.

Account currencies: US dollar

Leverage: 1:100

Trading instruments: Forex, commodities, indices, cryptocurrencies.

Commission: $7/lot round trip

Trading platform: MetaTrader 4

Free trial: No

Payment options: Bank transfer, credit/debit cards, PayPal, cryptocurrencies

Other features: over-weekend and overnight trades are allowed, any EAs and copy trading is allowed, news trading is allowed, free challenge restarts from the same level if equity change is positive.

Website language: English

EarnForex rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4/5)

Choose your program with Traderseed!

4. T4TCapital

Challenge

Practical Assessment accounts: $25,000, $50,000, or $100,000 with a $125, $250, or $350 one-time fee.

Profit target: 10% + 45% min win rate.

Time limit: None.

Leverage: 1:10

Weekly loss limit: 2%

Max drawdown: 4%

Reset fees: $75, $145, or $195.

Live trading

Six entry levels to reach a trading account balance of $1,000,000:

• Level 1: $25,000
• Level 2: $50,000
• Level 3: $100,000
• Level 4: $250,000
• Level 5: $500,000
• Level 6: $750,000
• Final: $1,000,000

10% profit target at each level and the same conditions as during the practical assessment stage.

Other requirements to scale up: 45% min win rate, 50% min winning days, 65% min win / loss ratio, min 1 Sharpe ratio, at least 50 lots of volume, 3 months minimum trading period.

Trading instruments: Forex, commodities, indices, CFDs.

Account currency: US dollar

Payout rate: 80%/20% split if you make 20%+ profit, 70%/30% split if you make 10%-20% profit, 60%/40% split if you make 5-10% profit.

Trading platform: MetaTrader 4

Free trial: No

Payment options: PayPal

Other features: scalping allowed, expert advisors allowed, paid courses with guaranteed employment at an associated trader position with the T4TCapital Incubator Fund.

Website language: English

EarnForex rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4/5)

Get started with T4TCapital!

5. SurgeTrader

SurgeTrader offers a super simple process for traders who seek to get funded. You select one of the six available packages, pass the evaluation process (called Audition), and then continue trading with the package’s starting balance on a funded account. There are no minimum time or trades requirements, just maximum loss and drawdown ones.

All packages have the same 10% profit target, 4% daily loss limit, and 5% maximum trailing drawdown. The difference is the fee and the starting balance.

• Starter: $25,000 — $250 fee
• Intermediate: $50,000 — $400 fee
• Seasoned: $100,000 — $700 fee
• Advanced: $250,000 — $1,800 fee
• Expert: $500,000 — $3,500 fee
• Master: $1,000,000 — $6,500 fee

Stop-loss is required for all trades.

Weekend trades aren’t allowed.

Maximum open volume with risk, in lots: starting balance divided by $10,000. E.g., 10 lots at risk for the Seasoned packaged ($100K starting balance). Lots at risk means trades where hitting a stop-loss would incur a loss. Trades with breakeven SL or SL at profit have no lots at risk.

If you break one of the above-mentioned three rules, the breaching trade is closed, but you can continue with the audition process.

Time limit: None.

Leverage: 1:10

Trading instruments: Forex, indices, cryptocurrencies, stocks, silver, gold, oil.

News trading: Allowed.

Account currency: US dollar

Payout rate: 75%/25% split

Trading platforms: MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5

Free trial: No

Payment options: credit/debit cards, PayPal

Other features: 20% discount repeat audition fee discount, no minimum trading period, no minimum trading volume.

Website language: English

EarnForex rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4/5)

Become a SurgeTrader!

Guide to choosing the best Forex prop firm

Going with a prop firm that is right for your trading style and financial goals in crucial. Although choosing the best one seems to be a non-trivial process, you can easily accomplish this by following our guide to choosing a prop firm.

Understand your needs

Why are you joining a prop firm? Do you need more funds? Do you want to learn to trade under strict risk controls? Is evaluation period suitable for you or is it too long? Will you have place to grow or will you be limited to the same 100k account? All these questions need to be answered if you wish to find your perfect prop firm.

Reputation

There is no regulation in the retail prop trading industry. That is why a company’s reputation is paramount. Was it around for a few years? Was it founded by someone you know from the trading community? Do you like how their representatives interact with the community? Many traders rely on TrustPilot ratings nowadays, but those can be (and in some cases are) manipulated.

What do you trade?

Does the prop firm have currency pairs you need? Do they have CFDs you want to trade? If you specialize in some exotic currency pair or other trading instrument, it is best to make sure that you can trade it on a chosen website.

Profit split

Are you OK with 50/50 or do you think that 80/20 is fairer? The issue of a profit split is deeply interconnected with the fee structure, so sometimes you need to balance out what you pay in fees with what you pay in profit splits.

Fees

You don’t want to overpay, especially if you aren’t getting back any substantial improvements. When considering prop firms that work based on monthly fees, consider whether your profit will exceed monthly fees. Watch for fee reimbursement options when dealing with a profit split company.

Trading platform

Most retail prop firms offer MT4, but there are other platforms available, especially when trading futures. If you need some special platform, it is best to make sure that the prop firm can offer it. If they offer some exotic platform only, make sure it has the features you need. For example, if you often have to trade or perform analysis from a mobile phone, it should offer some sort of a mobile app.

Training and coaches

Even if you are a profitable trader, chances are you can benefit from some kind of training and learning new material. This is where courses come handy. And those proprietary trading companies that are interested in making their traders more profitable offer rather good courses. Moreover, some of them offer coaching too and not only for trading, but also for psychological support, which is often an overlooked factor in a trader’s path to success.

Support is important too!

You will run into technical and financial issues when working with a prop firm. If the website can offer timely and professional support, it can be of huge help to avoid extra stress and keep yourself focused on actual trading rather than on accompanying problems.

Watch out for discounts on challenge fees!

Some prop firms run promotions and offer discounts for subscribing to their newsletters and similar stuff. You can benefit from such setups, especially if you are new to prop trading, and spending your hard-earned money on something you don’t yet believe will suit you is a difficult choice.

Forex proprietary trading firms FAQ

Below are the answers to the frequently asked questions regarding retail prop firms.

Is prop trading legal?

This depends on the jurisdictions involved. Normally, it is legal for the prop firm to offer a platform and share of profits for a fee. In most countries, it is usually legal for traders to work with such a company. However, you should consult your local lawyer to be 100% sure whether Forex prop trading is legal where you live.

Do prop firms only offer Forex pairs?

No, prop firms also offer CFDs for indices and futures. Some prop firms, in fact, only offer futures trading. So no, prop trading isn’t limited to currency pairs.

Can I earn for a living with prop trading?

Although it might seem like an easy opportunity to earn money, prop trading is still very risky. Its main advantage is that you don’t need to commit a lot of your own capital to get started. Whether what you earn will be enough to cover your living costs will depend on your proficiency as a trader and the actual cost of your living.

Conclusion

In general, a prop firm is a great way to get started in Forex and financial trading in general if you lack substantial starting funds on your own. For better off traders, prop trading is still a convenient path to better risk management and self-control.

Discuss

If you are interested in prop firm trading and would like to discuss it with other traders, you can join our community forums.