HOTFTMO raises max funded to $400K — use code PFCHIEF10 for 10% off new|FundedNext now pays 90% profit split on all funded accounts deal|The5ers free evaluation — limited spots this week warn|E8 Markets updated drawdown rules — see our revised review
HOTFTMO raises max funded to $400K — use code PFCHIEF10 for 10% off new|FundedNext now pays 90% profit split on all funded accounts deal|The5ers free evaluation — limited spots this week warn|E8 Markets updated drawdown rules — see our revised review
Ranked & Reviewed 2026

Best Low-Cost Prop Firms 2026

The cheapest prop firm challenges in 2026, ranked by entry cost per dollar of funded capital. We include only firms with documented payout history — a low fee means nothing if the firm doesn't pay.

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#1 Best Low-Cost Pick
1
FTMO

FTMO

★ 5.0

The most trusted prop firm globally. 11 years of documented payout history, 6 evaluation sizes, and support for 40+ instruments across forex, commodities, indices, and crypto.

2-Step Static drawdown News trading ✓
Entry fee
from $79
Up to 90% split · $400,000 max
Visit FTMO → Read full review →
#2 Runner Up
2
FUND

FundedNext

★ 5.0

Best profit split in the industry at 90% from day one. Stellar evaluation model with low minimum days, fast payouts, and a large community of funded traders.

2-Step / Express Trailing drawdown News trading ✓ Weekend hold ✓
Entry fee
from $33
Up to 95% split · $200,000 max
Visit FundedNext → Read full review →
3
E8 M

E8 Markets

★ 4.8

Best for swing traders — no minimum trading days, no consistency rule, and full news trading and weekend holding. Trailing drawdown requires attention.

2-Step / 1-Step Trailing drawdown News trading ✓ Weekend hold ✓
Entry fee
from $40
Up to 80% split · $300,000 max
Visit E8 Markets → Read full review →
4
THE5

The5ers

★ 4.7

Fifty percent feels low next to FundedNext's 95 — until you realize The5ers actually gets you to 100% over time, not just on a slide deck.

2-Step / 3-Step Static drawdown News trading ✓ Weekend hold ✓
Entry fee
from $39
50% rising to 100% split · $4,000,000 (scaled) max
Visit The5ers → Read full review →
5
FUND

Funding Pips

★ 4.6

Funding Pips built a following among traders who got tired of FTMO's stricter rule book — and the weekend-and-news flexibility shows why.

2-Step Static drawdown News trading ✓ Weekend hold ✓
Entry fee
from $29
Up to 95% split · $300,000 max
Visit Funding Pips → Read full review →
6
APEX

Apex Trader Funding

★ 4.6

Twenty simultaneous funded accounts. No one else on this list gets remotely close to that number.

One-Step Intraday trailing only drawdown News trading ✓ Weekend hold ✓
Entry fee
from $147
100% first $25K then 90% split · $300,000 per account (20 max) max
Visit Apex Trader Funding → Read full review →
7
MY F

My Funded Futures

★ 4.5

16,000-plus reviews at 4.9 stars. That's not a number a firm fakes its way into.

One-Step Trailing drawdown Weekend hold ✓
Entry fee
from $77
Up to 90% split · $250,000 (up to 10 accounts) max
Visit My Funded Futures → Read full review →
8
TOPS

Topstep

★ 4.5

Topstep has been doing this since 2012. In futures prop, that makes it the elder statesman by a wide margin.

One-Step Combine (futures) Daily loss limit + EOD trailing drawdown News trading ✓
Entry fee
from $49/mo
100% first $25K then split split · $750,000 (5 accounts) max
Visit Topstep → Read full review →
9
TAKE

Take Profit Trader

★ 4.3

No single flashy feature here. Just daily payouts, sensible rules, and years without a major red flag.

One-Step Intraday trailing drawdown Weekend hold ✓
Entry fee
from $170
Up to 90% split · $300,000 (5 accounts) max
Visit Take Profit Trader → Read full review →
10
BLUE

Blue Guardian

★ 4.3

Miss your own payout guarantee, and your trader's split jumps to 100%. That's a strange incentive to build into your own pricing — and it's clever.

2-Step Static drawdown News trading ✓ Weekend hold ✓
Entry fee
from $10
90% standard rising to 100% split · $4,000,000 (scaled) max
Visit Blue Guardian → Read full review →
11
DNA

DNA Funded

★ 4.3

DNA Funded backs its prices with a regulated broker behind it — rare in this space, and worth something on its own.

1-Step / 2-Step / 3-Step Static drawdown News trading ✓ Weekend hold ✓
Entry fee
from $39
Up to 90% split · $600,000 max
Visit DNA Funded → Read full review →
12
TRAD

Tradeify

★ 4.2

Tradeify built its entire pitch around one specific complaint: the consistency rule that gets profitable traders denied elsewhere.

One-Step / Instant Trailing drawdown News trading ✓ Weekend hold ✓
Entry fee
from $49
Up to 90% split · $250,000 max
Visit Tradeify → Read full review →
13
ALPH

Alpha Capital Group

★ 4.2

Alpha Capital Group doesn't lead the pack on any single number, but a consistent 4.4-star rating across multiple sites says something too.

2-Step Static drawdown News trading ✓ Weekend hold ✓
Entry fee
from $39
Up to 90% split · $250,000 max
Visit Alpha Capital Group → Read full review →
14
LUCI

Lucid Trading

★ 4.1

Lucid Trading's whole pitch is straightforward rules. In a category full of complicated fine print, that's a real selling point.

One-Step Trailing drawdown Weekend hold ✓
Entry fee
from $90
Up to 90% split · $250,000 max
Visit Lucid Trading → Read full review →
15
AQUA

Aqua Funded

★ 4.1

Aqua Funded sits in the same $4 million scaling tier as Blue Guardian and The5ers, just without a standout feature of its own yet.

2-Step Static drawdown News trading ✓ Weekend hold ✓
Entry fee
from $15
Up to 90% split · $4,000,000 (scaled) max
Visit Aqua Funded → Read full review →
16
BULE

Bulenox

★ 4.1

Bulenox lets you run EAs on a funded account. That alone separates it from almost every other futures firm on this list.

One-Step (Option 1 or Option 2) EOD (Option 2) or Trailing (Option 1) — trader's choice drawdown News trading ✓ Weekend hold ✓
Entry fee
from $16
Up to 90% split · $2,750,000 (scaled via 11 accounts) max
Visit Bulenox → Read full review →
17
TRAD

TradeDay

★ 4.0

TradeDay is solid and unremarkable in the best sense — fair pricing, no alarming rules, nothing to specifically warn you about.

One-Step Trailing drawdown Weekend hold ✓
Entry fee
from $99
Up to 90% split · $200,000 max
Visit TradeDay → Read full review →
18
GOAT

Goat Funded Trader

★ 3.9

A dollar gets you in the door at Goat Funded Trader. Just know that the payout track record behind it is a fraction of what the bigger names can show.

1-Step / 2-Step / Instant / Pay Later Static drawdown
Entry fee
from $1
80% rising to 100% via add-on split · $400,000 max
Visit Goat Funded Trader → Read full review →
19
FINO

Finotive Funding

★ 3.9

Finotive Funding is a fair, middle-of-the-road choice — nothing wrong with it, nothing that makes it your first pick either.

2-Step Static drawdown Weekend hold ✓
Entry fee
from $39
Up to 85% split · $200,000 max
Visit Finotive Funding → Read full review →
20
HOLA

Hola Prime

★ 3.8

Hola Prime competes mainly on price. The single-platform limit and the strict rules are the tradeoff for that.

2-Step Static drawdown
Entry fee
from $39
Up to 80% split · $200,000 max
Visit Hola Prime → Read full review →

The True Cost of a Prop Firm Challenge

The entry fee is only part of the cost. Most firms refund the challenge fee on your first payout — which means the true cost, for traders who pass, is zero. For traders who fail, the entry fee is the cost of the attempt. Evaluate total cost as: entry fee × expected failure rate before your first pass. A $100 challenge that takes three attempts costs $300. A $500 challenge you pass on the first try costs $500. The pass rate from consistent position sizing and risk management matters more than the headline fee.

Free Retry Policies

Some firms offer free retries after a failure — particularly if you were close to the target. Others offer discounted re-entry for failed candidates. These policies meaningfully change the expected cost of getting funded. Check the retry terms before you buy the initial challenge.

The Cost-Per-Dollar Metric

Compare entry fees as a percentage of the account size you’re funding. A $299 fee for a $100K account is 0.3%. A $199 fee for a $25K account is 0.8%. The smaller account costs proportionally more. If you’re choosing account size based on the entry fee, this metric helps make the comparison apples-to-apples.

What Low Cost Sacrifices

The cheapest firms are typically newer. Newer firms have shorter payout track records. This is the core trade-off: lower cost versus higher certainty of payment. We only include firms on this list that have documented, verified payouts — but the track record depth is shallower than the most established firms.

Useful Tools

Position Size Calculator → Drawdown Calculator → Profit Split Calculator → Challenge Cost Comparator → Find My Firm → Risk Limit Calculator →

See How Every Firm Compares

Full side-by-side table — all 20 firms, every spec

Open Full Comparison →
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