The 7 Best Prop Trading Firms in 2023 (From Top 30) (2024)

EpiccTrader

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Coinmonks

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24 min read

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Dec 21, 2022

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Today there are over 200 different proprietary trading firms with which you can trade professionally. Sorting through them all is mind-numbing and confusing, but luckily I’ve done that for you. I’ve spent 160 hours comparing the top 30, to find the best 7 you can use to get started trading as a pro.

See a Table of the best prop firms

The 7 Best Prop Trading Firms in 2023 (From Top 30) (3)

Your potential for success as a trader is the #1 priority in evaluating these. But not all prop firms are alike. Some don’t have your best interests at heart. I’ve traded with several of these programs and gone through all of them with a fine-toothed comb to make the best picks. More on that later, but let’s get to it.

  1. Apex Trader Funding — best of the best for futures traders
  2. Earn2Trade (Trader Career Path) — best for beginner traders of futures
  3. Elite Trader Funding — best for futures traders who want multiple accounts with End-of-Day drawdown limits
  4. Funded Trading Plus (Single Phase) — best value for Forex traders
  5. Funded Trading Plus (Master Trading Program) — best for traders who want to skip the evaluation and get an instantly funded account
  6. Surge Trader — best for people who want a large starting account ($1,000,000)
  7. UProfit — best futures program if you want anytime withdrawals and don’t like monthly data fees

Our Verdict — Best of the Best

Price: Starts at $147/mo

The 7 Best Prop Trading Firms in 2023 (From Top 30) (4)

Apex Trader Funding is a proprietary trading firm offering maximum payouts and large scaling opportunities. We think it’s the best because you can trade the same strategy across 20 accounts at a 90% profit share, with up to $6,000,000 in capital.

The Best Part:

  • You can copy-trade 20 accounts for up to $6,000,000 in capital by making trades in only one account, and keep 90% of your profits from day one.
  • Free monthly reset included with subscription renewal if your account is blown.

The Worst Parts:

  • Evaluation accounts have an intraday trailing threshold which may rise even if you didn’t realize profits. On a funded account, it stops trailing when your drawdown level reaches starting balance +$100.
  • Withdrawals are twice monthly which is an improvement from the once-a-month policy.

Get it if you want to trade futures for maximum profit share, using NinjaTrader or Quantower copy-trader to trade up to 20 accounts in one.

I recommend you start with the $50k FULL plan, because the max drawdown is more favorable (5%) vs the$150k (3.33%), $250k (2.6%), and $300k (2.5%) accounts. Then add more accounts to scale up to the size you desire.

Copy and use code RAGVSGRE for the max discount available:

Try Apex Trader Funding now. Enter code at checkout for discount.

Apex Trader Funding is best for experienced traders who want to trade for a living and maximize their earning potential long term.

Top Features

  • Get 100% of your first $25,000 in profits in your funded account, and 90% beyond that, the highest split available across the industry.
  • Trade up to 20 contracts with one login, to scale up easily without having to push buttons on multiple accounts.
  • No failing by scaling using too many contracts, proprietary technology prevents you from getting in more contracts than your account allows.
  • No daily drawdown limits, just a simple max drawdown so you can focus on long term success.
  • One-step evaluation process lets you get funded in as little as 7 days, so you can start earning real profits after two weeks.
  • Trade your normal strategies during the news and follow a few other simple rules.
  • Free evaluation reset on your subscription renewal date if account is blown, so you don’t have to buy a reset if you don’t want to (and they’re $80 here, cheaper than most).

Learn more about features, benefits and drawbacks in our Apex Trader Funding Review.

Pricing

The 7 Best Prop Trading Firms in 2023 (From Top 30) (5)

Apex Trader Funding offers 8 funding programs. Since 7 of them are mostly similar other than account sizes, I’ll cover 4 of those and one that’s different — and some other important items:

  • $50k FULL: $167/mo for traders wanting to give Apex a try with the potential to put a little more money in their pocket.
  • $100k FULL: $207/mo for traders wanting to start with Apex and potentially earn some real income. This plan has a favorable profit-target/drawdown percentage ratio. It’s also cheaper than most $100k programs out there.
  • $250k FULL: $517/mo for traders serious about giving themselves the potential to make serious money with Apex.
  • $300k FULL: $657/mo for traders wanting to maximize their potential profits with Apex.
  • $100k STATIC: $137/mo for traders who don’t like a trailing threshold. This account comes with a static drawdown of $625 and a $2,000 profit target to get funded.
  • Data Fees: Like most firms, Apex passes their data fees on to the trader — BUT, unlike most firms, theirs are only $85/mo per account, while most firms charge $130+/mo.
  • Data Fees: A one-time fee is also an option, great for consistent traders who want to save on fees long-term.
  • Evaluation resets: $80/Reset, as many times as you want. Free reset of blown accounts included with each subscription renewal.

Try Apex Trader Funding today with discount code RAGVSGRE

Try Apex Trader Funding now

Our Verdict — Best for Beginner Futures Traders

Price: Starts at $190 (less with coupon below)

The 7 Best Prop Trading Firms in 2023 (From Top 30) (6)

Earn2Trade Trader Career Path is a prop firm program designed to take you from a $50k evaluation to a $400k funded account quickly. I think it’s great for beginners because of its simple progression, contract availability, and reasonable risk rules.

The Best Part:

  • Easiest way to start getting paid and move up to a large account without having to pay up to start a $400k evaluation.
  • You can choose live margin accounts once you get funded, as opposed to other firms that place you in LiveSim and move you into live at their discretion.

The Worst Part:

  • It’s not the absolute fastest route to a $400k account, since you’ll work your way up to it rather than jumping right in. This could work to your advantage though. Even pros at the big Wall Street firms start small and get bigger as they prove themselves. This way you can get paid during that process.

Get it if you want to become a funded trader with a big account, and you want to get your feet wet first.

I recommend you take the $50K Trader Career Path for $190 (less with our link), work your way up to a $400k account.

Try Earn2Trade Trader Career Path now

Best For

Earn2Trade is best for beginners who want to trade real money in futures for real profits without investing their own savings.

What I like about trading with Earn2Trade Trader Career Path:

  • Trade with a prop firm’s real money, and withdraw your profits, with a minimum withdrawal of $100, one of the lowest minimums around.
  • Trade up to a $400k account with a fixed drawdown that gives you more room to trade once you have some profits
  • Fast trading account setup sends you your account information and clear instructions so you can get set up within 10 minutes of signup and start trading immediately — or prepare your platform for the next morning.
  • Micro futures contracts are available as 1/10 of a mini so you can avoid blowing up the account, and scale in/out of positions to fit your trading strategy.
  • Just a few simple risk rules to stay within to keep your account and pass the evaluation.
  • Trade with the trading platform of your choice, like Quantower, NinjaTrader 8, Bookmap, or 16 others.
  • Responsive support answers questions quickly — both before signup and after you’ve joined, and an active discord server has lots of helpful users.
  • Beginner-friendly dashboard includes tools and guides for learning trading, improving, and tracking your progress.

Learn more about features, benefits, and drawbacks in the Earn2Trade Review.

The 7 Best Prop Trading Firms in 2023 (From Top 30) (7)

Pricing

Earn2Trade offers two pricing levels of the Trader Career Path:

  • Trader Career Path 50K (as discussed above): $190/mo until you pass the evaluation and move to the next step, where you can begin to withdraw profits and work to step up to a $400k account.
  • Trader Career Path 25K: $150/mo until you pass to the next step, where you can begin to withdraw earnings and work to step up to a $200k account.
The 7 Best Prop Trading Firms in 2023 (From Top 30) (8)

Earn2Trade Also Offers Regular Evaluations, called Gauntlet Mini Programs. However, I’m not discussing these here because the Trader Career Path is where it’s at with this company.

All programs can be canceled by you at any time.

Try Earn2Trade Trader Career Path now — click to see current discount

Our Verdict — Best with End of Day Trailing Drawdown

Price: Starts at $150/mo

The 7 Best Prop Trading Firms in 2023 (From Top 30) (9)

Elite Trader Funding is a good prop trading firm for futures traders who want their loss limit to only be adjusted based on End-of-Day P&L. I think it’s a solid option because of perks like a big funding bonus, low reset fees, and a free reset on subscription renewal date for locked accounts. And it has a free trial.

The Best Part:

  • Monthly subscription includes a free reset for locked accounts so if you break a rule you don’t have to make an extra purchase mid-month if you would rather not.
  • Trade up to 20 accounts at once, for up to $3,000,000 in initial balance.

The Worst Part:

  • Withdrawals can only be made the 1st of the month and you must request them 10–15 days in advance.
  • Additional withdrawal restrictions can be inconvenient but are reasonable and meant to help you keep the account.

Get it if you want EOD trailing drawdown, a free trial, maximum funding bonus, and an included monthly reset.

I recommend you start with the $150k initial balance EOD evaluation and add accounts bigger or smaller to get to your desired level.

Try Elite Trader Funding today

Best For

Elite Trader Funding is best for futures traders who want an evaluation with End-of-Day drawdown limits

Top Features

  • Get 100% of your first $12,500 in profit then 80% thereafter
  • Scale up to $3,000,000 by trading up to 20 accounts with one login and have trades copied across accounts from one main account.
  • If you break a rule and fail, your account will be reset automatically when your subscription renews, or you can buy a reset for $75.
  • Micro e-mini contracts are treated correctly as 1/10 of an e-mini contract, crucial for right-sizing your trades, managing risk, and scaling.
  • Free data feed during evaluation and free NinjaTrader license with evaluation AND funded accounts
  • Trade prop firm capital while only risking your subscription fee
  • Subscription fee ends when you get funded and a reasonable data fee of $80/mo from the exchange is passed on to you.
  • Free trial lets you try before you buy an evaluation program
  • EOD (End of Day) drawdown thresholds so you don’t have to worry about unrealized profits tightening your risk allowance.

Pricing

The 7 Best Prop Trading Firms in 2023 (From Top 30) (10)

Elite Trader Funding offers 5 account sizes with the EOD drawdown rule(recommended):

  • $25,000 Eval: $150/mo until pass, great for newer traders wanting to try out the program
  • $50,000 Eval: $170/mo until pass, great for newer traders who want the opportunity to withdraw a little more profit
  • $75,000 Account: $240/mo until pass, best for traders who want the chance to earn extra money from trading
  • $100,000 Eval: $240/mo until pass, best for traders who want the chance to earn a second income from trading
  • $150,000 Account: $340/mo until pass, best for traders who want to earn a full time income and more from trading and scale up using multiple accounts

Use the coupon belowfor 20% off all evaluations.

Try Elite Trader Funding today

4. Funded Trading Plus Experienced Trader Program (Single Phase)

Our Verdict — Best Value for Crypto & Forex Traders

Price: Starts at $119 (one-time payment)

The 7 Best Prop Trading Firms in 2023 (From Top 30) (11)

Funded Trading Plus’ Experienced Trader Program is the single-phase Forex and Crypto trading evaluation that offers a better chance for success — and at the best value I’ve seen. I think it’s the best for Forex and Currency traders because of its extensive list of currencies, simple scaling plan, 80–90% profit share, and the ability to scale to $5,000,000 in funding.

The Best Part:

  • Scale an account as small as $12,500, to as much as $2,500,000 in capital, with no minimum time or trade requirements.

The Worst Part:

  • Withdrawals must be at least 7 calendar days apart, and this is not a problem for most people.

Get it if you want to trade currencies for a living, with the ability to start smaller and scale up quickly.

I recommend you start with the $100k plan for $499 (one-time) to save some time getting to the bigger scaling jumps.

Copy the coupon code below to use at checkout before visiting their site:

Code: ET10

Try Funded Trading Plus Experienced Trader Program now

Best For

Funded Trading Plus Single Phase Plan is best for experienced Forex traders who want to trade professionally with the potential for serious earnings.

Top Features

  • Scale up quickly and simply with the most straightforward scaling plan available in the Forex funded trader market, with no time or trade restrictions.
  • 80% split moves to 90% once you reach 20% profit on your starting balance, so you’re not leaving anything on the table.
  • Only two rules that result in a failure — don’t breach your daily drawdown limit of 3% or total drawdown limit of 6%
  • No minimum/maximum time restrictions to pass allows you to trade with a clear head, without arbitrary deadlines that pressure you into forced trading. This is huge, so many traders fail because of time pressure.
  • Expert advisors (EAs) are allowed as long as they don’t use arbitrage strategies, so you can trade how you want.
  • No monthly fees so you can focus on trading your strategy, not covering costs.
  • 24/7 Live chat support available allows you to instantly generate unique headers, outlines, and paragraphs from any block of text.
  • Evaluation fee gets refunded once you make your first withdrawal above your profit target.

Pricing

The 7 Best Prop Trading Firms in 2023 (From Top 30) (12)

The Experienced Trader Program offers 5 pricing plans:

  • $12,500 Account: $119 one-time, best for newer traders who want to start on the cheapest plan possible and don’t mind the longer runway to scale up.
  • $25,000 Account: $199 one-time, best for traders who want a little head start for under $200
  • $50,000 Account: $349 one-time, best for getting to $100k on the first scale-up.
  • $100,000 Account: $499 one-time, best for traders who want to get to $200k and bigger scale-ups more quickly.
  • $200,000 Account: $999 one-time, best for seasoned traders who want to scale up to $2,500,000 as quickly as possible.

The above fee is refunded if/when you take your first withdrawal above your profit target.

Copy this 10% coupon code to use at checkout before visiting their site:

Code: ET10

Try Funded Trading Plus Experienced Trader Program now

Our Verdict — Best For Getting Funded Instantly

Price: Starts at $225 one-time

The 7 Best Prop Trading Firms in 2023 (From Top 30) (13)

Funded Trading Plus’ Master Trading Plan is a proprietary trading account that doesn’t require any evaluation, giving you a live account instantly. I think it’s the best for instant funding because it’s the best priced and comes with the same scaling plan as their evaluation accounts, but allows you to withdraw profits immediately if you want.

Note: With instant-funding accounts, you’re not getting much more drawdown than you would by funding your own personal account. The benefit comes in the scaling plan if you succeed.

The Best Part:

  • You can become a funded prop trader instantly and scale your way up to making more money quickly, but there’s no time pressure either.

The Worst Part:

  • If you want to start with a large funded account, it isn’t cheap, which is common with all instant funding programs.
  • Your initial drawdown is only 0.5% larger than it would be if you funded your own personal account.

Get it if you want the ability to scale up or withdraw profits from the start, without having to pass an evaluation.

I recommend you start with the $10,000 account for one-time cost of $450 if you want to trade a funded account instantly.

Copy our exclusive coupon code to use at checkout before visiting their site:

Code: ET10

Try Funded Trading Plus Master Trader Program now

Best For

Funded Trading Plus’ Master Trader Program is best for experienced, profitable traders who want to be able to scale up or withdraw their profits without having to go through an evaluation period.

Top Features

  • Trade real money instantly without the fear of losing more than you put in, unlike a margin account where you can end up owing more.
  • Start at 70% profit split and scale up to 90%, where other companies’ funded accounts leave you stuck at 50%.
  • Withdraw profits when you’ve made $50 or more, no big profit goals or time spent trading an evaluation account
  • No daily drawdown limit, just a 5% overall drawdown limit, and no complicated rules to follow
  • Trade news, hold overnight, trade holidays when markets are open.
  • Scale your account up to as much as $2,500,000 with the simplest scaling plan in the industry.
  • No monthly fees, so you don’t have to worry about covering a nut every week or month.
  • Use Expert Advisers, as long as they don’t perform arbitrage trading.
  • Live chat support available 24/7 and helpful from day one, so you’re not stuck waiting on an email.

Pricing

Funded Trader Plus’ Master Trader Program offers five starting account sizes:

  • $5,000 Account: $225 one-time, best for traders who want to start with a live account on the cheapest plan possible and don’t mind the longer runway to scale up.
  • $10,000 Account: $450 one-time, best for traders who want a little head start in a live account for under $500
  • $25,000 Account: $1,125 one-time, best for traders who want a live account that they can quickly scale above $50,000
  • $50,000 Account: $2,250 one-time, best for serious traders who want to get to $100k on the first scale-up.
  • $100,000 Account: $4500 one-time, best for seasoned traders who want to start with bigger scale-up jumps and reach max live account size as quickly as possible.

Copy the coupon code below to use at checkout before visiting their site:

Code: ET10

Try Funded Trading Plus Master Trader Program now

Our Verdict — Best For Traders Who Want the Largest Starting Account ($1,000,000)

Price: From $250, up to $6,500 for the $1,000,000 account

The 7 Best Prop Trading Firms in 2023 (From Top 30) (14)

Surge Trader is a proprietary trading firm offering evaluations to earn a live funded account trading Forex, indices, and crypto. Surge Trader is the only one I’m aware of that offers a $1,000,000 account for a one-time fee, up to 90% profit share, and minimal rules.

The Best Part:

  • The largest starting account size offered in the industry lets you start a $1,000,000 evaluation for a one-time fee

The Worst Part:

  • Profit share withdrawals are limited to once every 30 days similar to many traditional prop firms.
  • The $1,000,000 account fee is still a significant investment and should only be used by traders confident they can pass. On the plus side, you’re spending $6,500 to get $50,000 of evaluation risk.
  • The pricing and value for their smaller accounts is not as good as other firms offering those same account sizes.

Get it if you want the largest prop firm starting account size for trading Forex.

I recommend you use Surge Trader only if you want to start with the $1,000,000 or $500,000 account, for smaller accounts go with one of the better value options above.

Try Surge Trader now

Best For

Surge Trader is best for seasoned traders who want to trade professionally starting with the largest evaluation account possible.

Top Features

  • Minimal hard rules you must follow to keep your account, just stay within a 4% daily loss limit and 5% trailing drawdown.
  • 75% profit share can be upgraded to 90% for a fee, to start with the largest evaluation account and largest split in the industry.
  • No monthly fees for evaluation or funded accounts, just trade for your split.
  • No time limit pressure in evaluation and funded account.
  • Complimentary BKForex membership to help you get started on the right foot with trade ideas, coaching, live broadcast trading and more.

Pricing

  • Surge Trader offers six account sizes:
  • $25,000 Starter Account: $250 one-time
  • $50,000 Intermediate Account: $400 one-time
  • $100,000 Seasoned Account: $700 one-time
  • $250,000 Account: $1,800 one-time
  • $500,000 Account: $3,500 one-time, best for expert traders who want to start a large evaluation account and $25,000 in drawdown risk
  • $100,000 Account: $6,500 one-time, best for elite traders who want to start with the largest evaluation account possible and $50,000 in drawdown risk.

Try Surge Trader now

Our Verdict — Best For Futures Traders Who Want Anytime Withdrawals and Don’t Like Monthly Fees

The 7 Best Prop Trading Firms in 2023 (From Top 30) (15)

Price: Starts at $89/month

UProfit is a proprietary trading firm offering large amounts of funding to new and experienced traders after an affordable evaluation period. I like it because of anytime withdrawals, simple rules, and they don’t charge any monthly fees on funded accounts.

The Best Part:

  • Get a $200k funded account with no monthly fees in as little as 10 days, and then start adding more accounts to scale

The Worst Part:

  • Profit share is 80%, which isn’t the highest out there, but most still very competitive.

Get it if you want to scale up to large buying power quickly without having to worry about withdrawal restrictions and monthly fees on your funded accounts.

I recommend you get the $100k plan for $315/month ($220 with our link), then start adding $200k accounts to scale up.

Try Uprofit today

Best For

UProfit Trading is best for anyone from beginners to experienced traders who want to maximize their earnings, withdraw profits frequently, without paying monthly fees forever.

Top Features

  • Free Data feed for all platforms that support Rithmic Data, and no licensing fees for Ninja Trader 8, on evaluation OR funded accounts.
  • No monthly fees of any kind once you get funded so you can focus on trading, not covering costs.*
  • Withdrawals processed within 24 hours Monday through Friday without special requirements, so you don’t have to force trades just to make a withdrawal.
  • 100% of first $8,000 in profits goes directly to you so you can taste the fruit of your labor early on and put those profits into scaling more accounts.
  • Trade up to 3 accounts, up to $600,000 with one login so you can use copy-trading to spread risk and stay away from loss limits. Unlimited accounts can be had, but 3 per login.
  • Micro contracts are counted as 1/10 of e-mini contracts so you can trade the right size for your account and scale in and out as needed for your strategy.
  • Trade news events without restrictions or special rules, so you don’t have to worry about losing your account just because of a data release, and you can use strategies that profit from outsized moves on those days.

*there is a small one-time assignment fee to set up the account, but this is much less than what monthly fees would add up to.

Pricing

  • UProfit offers four evaluation programs, each with 10 trading days minimum:
  • Basic: $9k account for $89/month until funding, for those just getting started with trading. $900 profit target, 5 contracts max (50 micros), $350 Daily Loss Limit, $800 Pro Drawdown
  • Advanced: $50k account for $160/month until funding, for those looking to put a little more profit in their pocket. $2,500 profit target, 6 contracts max (60 micros), $1,100 Daily Loss Limit, $2,000 Pro Drawdown
  • Elite: $100k account for $315/month until funding, for traders planning to earn real income from trading but not ready for the biggest plan. $6,000 profit target, 12 contracts max (120 micros), $2,200 Daily Loss Limit, $3,000 Pro Drawdown
  • Premium: $200k account for $580/month until funding, for traders ready to maximize their earnings as quickly as possible. $10,000 profit target, 20 contracts max (200 micros), $4,000 Daily Loss Limit, $5,000 Pro Drawdown

Try Uprofit today

Here’s a quick summary of our top three picks:

  1. Apex Trader Funding — best of the best for futures traders
  2. Earn2Trade (Trader Career Path) — best for beginner traders of futures to get to trade with real money at a prop firm.
  3. Elite Trader Funding — best for futures traders who want an evaluation with End-of-Day drawdown limits

Quick comparison table of our top seven picks

The 7 Best Prop Trading Firms in 2023 (From Top 30) (16)

Here are the top 30 prop firms we considered in this review:

  1. Apex Trader Funding
  2. Earn2Trade (Trader Career Path)
  3. Elite Trader Funding (EOD Drawdown)
  4. Funded Trader Plus (Experienced Trader Eval)
  5. Funded Trader Plus (Master Trader Instant Funded Account)
  6. Surge Trader
  7. UProfit
  8. Take Profit Trader
  9. TopStep Trader
  10. Elite Trader Funding (Trailing Drawdown)
  11. Trade Day
  12. OneUp Trader
  13. FTMO
  14. MyForexFunds
  15. FundedNext
  16. Fidelcrest
  17. Trade The Pool
  18. The Funded Trader
  19. The Alpha Trader Firm
  20. Traders With Edge(Evaluation Programs)
  21. Traders With Edge (Instant Funded)
  22. Top Tier Trader
  23. Audacity Capital
  24. TheProp Trading
  25. ELEV8
  26. Integra Capital
  27. GreatPoint Capital
  28. SMB Capital
  29. Kershner Trading Group
  30. Maverick Trading

Prop trading firms, a.k.a. prop firms, provide capital for traders in exchange for a share of the trader’s profits. They may also provide education, technology, support, and other resources.

Proprietary firms have been around a long time, but many more firms have launched in the last 5 years, providing more and more traders access to the capital needed to earn a living from trading.

Yes, prop trading firms are legitimate businesses. Although any industry can have bad actors, I’m not personally aware of any proprietary trading firms that have outright scammed traders.

That said, not all firms are equal, and not all of them operate with the same priorities. Some, especially some of the new ones, seem to be more interested in collecting fees than in having successful traders.

Above all, that is the number one factor I looked for in choosing the best firms. I only want to trade with firms who want traders to succeed, and who set up their programs in the best way possible for trader success. And I want the same for you.

The best prop firms make money by sharing in the profits of their traders, and then helping more and more traders be profitable. They also earn money from fees, but for the best firms, the focus is on trader success. Why? They make more money that way.

For example, a firm keeping 10% of profits from a trader who averages $20,000 profit each month will net them $2,000 a month on average. In three months, they earn $6,000 from that trader, which they hope will continue and grow as the trader grows.

That amount beats what they would earn from an unsuccessful trader who pays $200/mo for three months and then quits — only $600, and no future revenue.

The top priority is long term trading success. So you have to decide based on factors that will help you reach that. It’s a personal decision, and your factors may vary a little from mine. But, since joining my first prop firm in 2007, I have seen many traders succeed, some of them making tens of millions of dollars.

I have also seen countless traders fail. So I have a good idea of what prop firms can do to help Traders succeed, and what sets them up for failure.

Firms that want traders to succeed…

  • Encourage discipline — Traders are responsible for our own discipline, but we can always improve. Rules, limits, and goals should be set to build and reward disciplined habits.
  • Offer appropriate trading vehicles for the desired risk (like micro futures on small accounts
  • Provide access to capital and remove barriers to entry (costs, technology, etc.)
  • Let traders trade in the way that works best for them
  • Encourage self-reflection — Traders must constantly evaluate their own thoughts and actions, AND commit to actions that will stop leaks in their trading.
  • Encourage self-learning and personal development (not necessarily providing education, but everyone has to start somewhere)
  • Use simple rules that encourage proper risk management
  • Provide the ability to scale up gradually based on performance and risk management

Firm policies that set traders up for failure:

  • Complicated rules that create pitfalls a trader will easily fall into
  • Not allowing appropriate sizing (like treating micro e-mini contracts the same as one e-mini contract)
  • Imposing maximum time limits for goals to be achieved, like 30 days to pass an evaluation. Time pressure causes traders to make bad decisions, build bad habits, and over-trade, among other things.
  • Discouraging slow growth and pressuring traders to get bigger faster. Slow and steady wins the race, and sometimes choosing to trade smaller is the best trade of all.
  • Forcing traders to trade strategies that don’t fit their style, or imposing rules that don’t allow them to trade their strategy properly
  • Charging excessive fees that make it harder for a trader to break even and make a profit each month.

Prop Traders don’t earn a salary, and trader profits are not disclosed by firms. Some of the newer funding firms disclose how much they’ve paid out, but there’s no way to know how much the individual traders made.

Trading is a challenging career, and not everyone makes it. Some people never get paid a dime.

I personally know (in real life, not online) several prop traders who have made over $50million in their career as a trader. I know a handful who regularly make several million each year. I know dozens who make 100k-300k per year, with an occasional year of 500k or more.

Fun fact — none of those successful traders go around telling people what they make. I only know because I’ve sat next to them while they did it, and/or watched them on a firm-wide P&L monitor.

None of them brag online. None of them post screenshots on twitter, instagram, or tiktok.

You’ll see many people these days bragging online about what they make, and posting screenshots. I don’t trust any of that. They could be telling the truth, but most of them are trying to sell you a course or something.

The best traders don’t like talking about the money they make. And most of them would do the job for much less, because it’s a fun and engaging career.

So what really matters is, do you enjoy it? How much do you need to make in order to live comfortably? The opportunity is there, and anything above that is a bonus. Make it happen.

The best prop trading firm is Apex Trader Funding. Best-in-industry profit split, ability to scale, simple rules, affordability, and more, make it the best for traders who want to trade for a living.

The Bottom Line

To recap, here are the best prop firms to try this year:

  1. Apex Trader Funding — best of the best for futures traders
  2. Elite Trader Funding — best for futures traders who want an evaluation with End-of-Day drawdown limits
  3. Earn2Trade (Trader Career Path) — best for beginner traders of futures
  4. Funded Trading Plus (Single Phase) — best value prop firm for Crypto & Forex traders
  5. Funded Trading Plus (Master Trading Program) — best prop firm for Crypto & Forex traders who want to skip the evaluation and get an instantly funded account
  6. Surge Trader — best crypto prop firm for those who want a large starting account ($1,000,000)
  7. UProfit — best futures program if you want anytime withdrawals and don’t like monthly data fees

Our top pick is Apex Trader Funding because it offers a 90% profit split, simple rules, and up to $6,000,000 in accounts under one login.

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Content is for informational purposes only. I’m a trader, but I don’t give financial advice and this article is not financial advice. I’m not currently registered as a financial advisor and I’m not a financial advisor. You should consult a financial professional before making any financial decisions.

I work hard to keep the content current and accurate with frequent updates. Sometimes data changes, deals lapse, or actual information can differ from what’s stated on this site. Trademarks, logos, images, screenshots, and other branded content is property of the company being discussed. While independent, I may be compensated when you click on a link on this site.

RISK DISCLOSURE:

Trading contains substantial risk and is not for every investor. An investor could potentially lose all or more than the initial investment. Risk capital is money that can be lost without jeopardizing one’s financial security or lifestyle. Only risk capital should be used for trading and only those with sufficient risk capital should consider trading. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results.

HYPOTHETICAL PERFORMANCE DISCLOSURE:

Hypothetical performance results have many inherent limitations, some of which are described below. No representation is being made that any account will or is likely to achieve profits or losses similar to those shown. In fact, there are frequently sharp differences between hypothetical performance results and the actual results subsequently achieved by any particular trading program. One of the limitations of hypothetical performance results is that they are generally prepared with the benefit of hindsight. In addition, hypothetical trading does not involve financial risk, and no hypothetical trading record can completely account for the impact of financial risk of actual trading. For example, the ability to withstand losses or to adhere to a particular trading program in spite of trading losses is material points, which can also adversely affect actual trading results. There are numerous other factors related to the markets in general or to the implementation of any specific trading program, which cannot be fully accounted for in the preparation of hypothetical performance results and all of which can adversely affect trading results. Testimonials appearing on this website may not be representative of other clients or customers and is not a guarantee of future performance or success.

Originally published at https://epicctrader.com on December 21, 2022.

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