Prop Firm Directory LIVE WIKI

A proprietary trading firm (prop firm) lets you trade their capital after passing an evaluation. You pay a fee to take the evaluation, prove you can trade profitably without breaking their risk rules, and if you pass, you get a funded account. You keep a percentage of the profits (the profit split) — typically 80–95%.

A 1-step evaluation has a single phase: hit the profit target without breaking drawdown rules and you're funded. A 2-step evaluation has two phases — Phase 1 has a higher profit target (usually 8–10%), and Phase 2 has a lower target (usually 5%). Both must be passed without violating drawdown limits. 1-step is faster but usually has stricter drawdown rules.

The path is simple: pass the evaluation, pay any required activation fees, and generate profit on your funded account. Getting paid depends entirely on the firm's specific hoops—some offer lightning-fast 2-3 day payouts with no minimums, while others enforce consistency rules and minimum active trading days. Regardless of the firm, a pro tip is to never withdraw 100% of your profits; always leave a $1,000 to $2,000 buffer to protect against daily drawdowns on your next trades.

Drawdown is how much you're allowed to lose. Daily drawdown resets each day (e.g. 5% of account balance per day). Total (or max) drawdown is cumulative — once you lose that amount across all days, you fail. Trailing drawdown moves up as your balance grows. Static drawdown stays fixed at the starting balance. End-of-day drawdown only checks at market close.

Breaking a hard rule (exceeding drawdown, using disallowed strategies, or trading restricted instruments) typically results in immediate account failure. Some firms offer a reset (for a fee, usually 50–80% of the original evaluation cost). Soft rule violations may result in a warning or a payout hold. Always read each firm's specific rulebook before trading.

Yes, you can retry, but you generally need to pay the evaluation fee again. Some firms offer discounted reset fees instead of a full re-purchase. A few firms include free resets or unlimited retries as part of their plan. Check the firm's profile page for reset fee details.

After passing all evaluation phases, you'll receive credentials for a funded trading account. Some firms require you to sign a contract or verify your identity first. The account is typically live within 1–3 business days. You then trade with the firm's capital and withdraw your profit split according to their payout schedule.

It depends on your trading style. If you trade futures, look at firms like Topstep, Apex Trader Funding, or MyFundedFutures. For forex, consider FTMO, Funding Pips, or The Funded Trader. For crypto, BEM Funding or Crypto Fund Trader. Compare profit splits, drawdown types, payout speed, and platform support using our Compare Firms tool. Always check Trustpilot reviews before buying.

There's no universal limit — you can have accounts with multiple prop firms simultaneously. Most firms allow multiple accounts with them too (check their max accounts policy). Just make sure you can manage the risk across all accounts. Many traders start with one firm, pass, get funded, then expand to others for diversification.

Scaling in the prop firm industry is when you start to stack prop firms and use a trade copier to mirror your trades across multiple accounts. The goal is to have multiple funded accounts to get closer to the maximum total allocation allowed across various firms, allowing you to maximize your leverage and payouts from a single trade execution.

Yes, absolutely. Most prop firms support trading platforms like TradingView, MetaTrader, or NinjaTrader where you can run custom indicators. A reliable indicator can give you the edge needed to pass evaluations and maintain consistency. We offer specialized HSKY Suite Indicators designed specifically for prop firm trading, as well as custom indicator building and support services to fit your strategy.

Start by choosing a firm with a low entry cost and forgiving rules (e.g. higher drawdown limit, no time limit). Read the rules thoroughly before your first trade. Focus on risk management — most traders fail by blowing through drawdown, not by being unprofitable. Trade small, consistent sizes. Don't overtrade. Use a trading journal to track your performance. Pass the evaluation the same way you'd trade a funded account.