One canonical place for the terms, rules, and fees that decide whether a prop firm actually suits you. Learn the concept, then compare firms by it.
Skim the glossary below so the comparison table stops being jargon.
Jump to glossarySee every firm side by side on the rules and costs you just learned.
Open comparisonsUse the True Cost Calculator to pick the firm that fits your plan.
Open calculatorA short checklist of what to verify before you pay for any evaluation.
The rules, costs, and red flags to compare before you buy.
Common mistakes that blow evaluations — and how to avoid them.
Add up evaluation price, activation fees, and resets to see the real first-month cost.
Side-by-side on drawdown, daily loss limits, profit targets, and payouts.
Each term has a short plain-English definition. Where a deeper guide exists, we link to it.
An evaluation (sometimes called a challenge) is the paid test phase a prop firm uses to decide whether to fund a trader. You typically need to hit a profit target while staying inside loss limits and other rules. Pass it and you're offered a funded or simulated-funded account.
A funded account is the post-evaluation stage where you trade a firm's capital (real or simulated) and share in the profits. The same loss limits usually still apply, plus payout-specific rules.
The profit, in dollars or percent, you must reach during the evaluation to advance. Some firms have one phase, some have two, and some funded accounts have additional milestone targets.
The maximum amount you can lose in a single trading day, measured from a specific starting point (often start-of-day equity or balance). Breach it and the account is typically failed.
Drawdown is the maximum overall loss allowed on the account. Static drawdown stays fixed at a dollar level. Trailing drawdown follows your equity or balance upward and locks at some point. End-of-day drawdown only updates after the trading day closes, so intraday spikes don't shift it.
A rule that caps how much of your total profit can come from a single day or trade, encouraging steady performance over one big win. The threshold (often a percentage of total profits) varies by firm.
Payout cadence is how often you can request a withdrawal (e.g. on-demand, biweekly, monthly). Minimum trading days are the number of active days required before you're eligible for a payout.
A one-time charge some firms add after you pass the evaluation, before you can start trading the funded account. It's a real cost of getting funded and should be added to the evaluation price when comparing firms.
The cost to restart an evaluation (or sometimes a funded account) after a rule breach, instead of buying a brand-new account. Resets are usually cheaper than a new evaluation but may have conditions.
A defined path for increasing your account size or buying-power after hitting performance and payout milestones. Some plans are automatic; others require an application or additional fees.
The percentage of net profits paid to you on a funded account. Splits often start lower and increase with milestones, scaling, or specific account tiers.
Now that the rules make sense, see every firm side by side.