Best Prop Trading Firms

Proprietary or prop trading has become an increasingly popular investment approach for financial institutions and traders because of the numerous benefits it offers both players. In this form of trading the investor or prop trader uses the company’s fund or capital to trade various financial instruments, including equities, derivatives and currencies. The financial institutions profit directly from the financial market rather than relying solely on trade commissions from clients, and the prop trader earns a commission or profit split. 

However, finding prop trading firms that deal in your preferred assets or tradable instruments and under conditions that suit you can be challenging. In this article Benzinga researched and reviewed some of the top firms to help you make an informed choice.

Quick Look: Best Prop Trading Firms

• Best for Beginner Futures Traders: Apex Trader Funding
• Best for Experienced Traders: FXIFY
• Best for Stock Traders: Trade the Pool
• Best for Experienced and Beginner Forex, Indices and Metal Traders: The 5ers
• Best for All Futures Traders: BluSky
• Best for Seasoned and Undercapitalized Traders: Top One Trader
• Best for Instant Funding: Instant Funding
• Best for Undercapitalized Futures Traders: MyFundedFutures
• Best for Investors Using cTrader: PipFarm
• Best for Accelerated Trader Funding: SurgeTrader
• Best for Prop Traders Looking for a Multi-Asset Platform: The Trading Pit
• Best for Day Traders: FundedNext 

Best Proprietary Trading Firms

With prop trading, the key to success is choosing firms that meet specific vital requirements like a low-fees structure, accessibility to a diverse market or tradable assets and trading platforms. The risk contribution, which determines the amount of leverage offered, should be reasonable, and so should the profit split. Benzinga’s top picks below are based on some of these criteria. 

Best for Beginner Futures Traders: Apex Trader Funding

When you want to get into prop trading, it can be difficult to know where to start and which platform to choose. Using Apex Trader Funding helps you get into the futures trading space with a funded account for which you can qualify in as little as 7 days. You will trade mini or microcontracts in the evaluation period, and once the evaluation has been passed, you will move to a funded account and get paid for your trading skills.

Traders receive 100% of their first $25,000 earned per account with up to 20 accounts active at once and 90% after that, meaning this platform pays the most of any futures prop trading account. There are no daily drawdowns, you can trade on holidays and use your own system to get the best results.

Moreover, there’s no cap on payouts and you will see real-time data that can help you make the best decisions. Traders will use Rithmic or Tradovate, and can choose from one of several different accounts that will come with a particular number of contracts, a profit goal, trailing threshold and more. If you’re ready to enter the prop trading space, you can set up an account in moments with Apex Trader Funding.

Best for Experienced Traders: FXIFY

FXIFY is a new proprietary trading firm that offers access to up to $400,000 for those who pass the site’s assessment. With profit shares as high as 90%, you can scale your account up to $4 million. 

If you’re intrigued, you simply need to decide if you want to complete the One-Phase or Two-Phase assessment. Review the terms and conditions of each assessment before beginning so that you know you’re taking the right path. 

Trading is available on MT4 or MT5 and assorted trading platforms through the firm’s partnership with FXPIG. 

When you trade on FXIFY, commission-free trading is the law of the land, allowing you to access stock indices, forex, precious metals, etc. There are relatively tight spreads, no trading restrictions, customizable leverage and more. Plus, you can use expert advisors or other automated strategies to get the best results. 

With instant payouts, no consistency rules, unlimited trading days and a 125% refund on your assessment fee with your first payout, FXIFY is an attractive option for those looking to break into prop trading.

Best for Stock Traders: Trade the Pool

Founded in 2022, Trade the Pool using reputable risk management tools and ensures that traders have a place to trade that serves both parties rather well. 

Most traders have an issue with getting into the markets because they lack the capital required to take risks and see massive returns. This is why traders turn to Trade the Pool. Trade the Pool does more than give you the funds you need to get into prop trading. Trade the Pool also:

• Works for day traders, swing traders and prop traders
• Support professional trader who need another place to work
• Offers trading for stocks and CFDs
• Offers support for inexperienced traders
• Provides unlimited buying power
• A 14-day free trial
• Offers over 12,000 stocks and ETFs to trade
• Educates users
• Subscribes traders to several resources
• Provides space for traders to hone their skills

Best for Experienced and Beginner Forex, Indices and Metal Traders: The 5ers

The 5ers is a prop trading firm that makes it easy to access the prop trading market and affordable to get started. On the platform, you can trade forex, metals and indices, pay as little as $95 for a demo account and get several benefits, including:

• Instant trading access after passing the evaluation
• Freedom to develop your own trading strategy
• No subscription fees
• MT5 trading
• Profit splits up to 100%
• Exclusive resources
• Salary offers on some of the higher-stakes programs
• Easy scaling options

You can visit their website today to set up your demo account and complete your evaluation. Using the 5ers is a good way to enter the prop trading market, change your fortunes and begin to make money on your own terms.

Best for All Futures Traders: BluSky

BluSky allows you to create a funded futures brokerage account that you can bring to full strength in as few as 2 days. There are several accounts to choose from, and you can access the capital you need because you already understand risk management and have an edge that you can use to build a strong portfolio.

You can earn profit splits starting at 80% and rising up to 90% the more you withdraw, and there are even custom offers for profit splits when your account has more than $100,000 in payouts. There are no complications when you withdraw your funds, and you get the full support of the platform so that you can invest with confidence. 

Other benefits include:

• Free 1-on-1 coaching
• No consistency or minimum trading days
• Works with Tradovate, NinjaTrader, TradingView and Rithmic
• Connects to the CME, CBOT, COMEX, NYMEX and EUREX
• Free Discord server where you can learn from the community
• Trading with robots is allowed

Best for Seasoned and Undercapitalized Traders: Top One Trader

Getting into forex trading can be difficult for many traders because they need capital that will help them get started and a platform that will support their journey. When you come to Top One Trader, you can easily get both. 

This prop trading firm allows you to use a 1 or 2-step trading evaluation (challenge) and flexible conditions to get $200,000 in funding that can be scaled up to $5 million when you are successful over a long period of time. The platform makes the whole process simple, easy-to-understand and increases the chances that you willb e funded. 

There are no minimum or maximum trading days, and you can even try weekend or news trading. You can even use expert advisors, if you think that will help. Profit splits rise up to 90% on bi-weekly payouts, and you will even get a 100% refund of your challenge fee when you get your first payout. 

If you’re ready to try forex, indices and crypto trading with low commissions, this is a great place to start and begin building your career. 

Best for Instant Funding: Instant Funding

Instant Funding offers a flexible and easy-to-manage platform that helps traders enter the funded account space, no matter their level of expertise. On this platform, you will enjoy:

• Flexible evaluations
• No minimum trading days
• Weekly payouts
• Up to 90% splits
• Automated dashboard

Undercapitalized traders can obtain access to up to $200,000 in funding and up to $1.6 million via scaling. There are no time limits or daily drawdowns, and you can access leverage that goes up to 100:1. Quite a bit of support and educational material is available, and the customer service team is responsive across multiple channels.

Best for Undercapitalized Futures Traders: MyFundedFutures

Trading futures can be dicey and a difficult space to gain access. That’s why you can try MyFundedFutures, where you can get the capital and support you need, including:

• 1-step evaluation
• Trading resources and expert guidance
• Risk management tools
• Transparent and affordable fees
• Competitive payout ratios
• Fast withdrawals
• Quality customer services

You can trade on a range of platforms and earn the ability to manage up to $600,000 in capital at a time, where the first $10,000 in profits is all yours. Profit splits are generally 90% otherwise and you gain access to the CME, CBOT, COMEX or NYMEX exchanges using Tradovate, NinjaTrader and TradingView.

When it’s all said and done, this is the most affordable prop trading platform out there.

Best for Investors Using cTraders: PipFarm

PipFarm is a cTrader funded trading platform that offers the capital you need (along with other resources) that will help you function and succeed as a trader. This is a good place to go for those who don’t have the money to get started, but it’s also a place that offers the information you need to grow in your career.

With fast payouts, a single-stage evaluation and many more benefits, you can easily get started at your leisure. You can get into $100,000 of funding with a payout that can rise up to 90%. Plus, you can scle up to $300,000, if you so choose.

Remember, this platform exclusively uses cTrader, so make sure you’re ready to work on this platform when you get started. Assets that are supported include:

• Forex
• Metals
• Energies
• Indices
• Crypto

Leverage options are competitive, industry-leading spreads help you save money and you can trade in several styles:

• Automated trading
• News trading
• Weekend positions
• Overnight positions

Best for Accelerated Trader Funding: SurgeTrader

SurgeTrader is one of the most prominent figures in the prop trading scene. When you want to invest with the massive funds available for a larger trading house, you can turn to a prop trading firm. SurgeTrader offers a range of benefits, including:

• Quick trader funding after your evaluation
• Quick account setup
• Powerful educational tools
• High profit shares (up to 90%)
• Several account styles
• A simple platform that’s easy to use

Turning to prop trading is a good way for you to learn, invest and grow your career. You can also make money if you know how to trade well and work well with the platform. Reach out SurgeTrader at any time for more information on prop trading.

Best for Prop Traders Looking for a Multi-Asset Platform: The Trading Pit

At The Trading Pit, you can entire the funded trading space with help from up to $5M in funding and up to an 80% profit share. The process is simple, you can look into multi-asset trading of:

• CFDs
• Futures
• Crypto (coming soon)
• Stocks (coming soon)

There are also multiple account styles, including:

• Lite—3 days of trading minimum, 90 day challenge periods, $1,000 profit target
• Standard—3 days of trading minimum, 90 day challenge periods, $2,000 profit target
• Executive—3 days of trading minimum, 90 day challenge periods, $5,000 profit target
• VIP—3 days of trading minimum, 90 day challenge periods, $8,000 profit target

All you need to do is pass the challenge for your account type, and when you do, you will become a funded partner with $5 million in funding where you will keep 80% of your profits. With simple rules, easy setup, real learning tools and quick payouts, you can access the prop trading space in your own time.

Best for Day Traders: FundedNext 

Although a relatively new prop trading firm, FundedNext's 15% profit split offering at the evaluation stages distinguishes it from competitors. The idea is to reward traders handsomely for their efforts and commitment to learning. By opting for the most extensive evaluation package, you can access maximum funding of up to $300,000 (or $4 million with the scaling option). Available instruments include forex, commodities and indices, which you can trade via its partner brokerage platform — EightCap. FundedNext adopts two funding models — the evaluation model (funding model 1) and the express model (funding model 2). 

The Evaluation model allows you to prove your expertise in two phases with realistic profit targets. In phase one of this model, you're required to hit a profit target of 10% within four trading weeks without any rules violation. On successful completion, you can kickstart phase 2, which requires meeting a profit target of 5%  within eight weeks without violating any rules. The rules include a maximum of 5% daily and 10% overall drawdown. Once you achieve the target, you are funded and eligible for an 80% payout from your earnings. The payout can rise to 90%, depending on your performance. 

In contrast, the Express model requires you to hit a profit target of 25% with no time limit. Similar drawdown rules as the evaluation model apply here, plus a mandatory 10 trading days per month. Once you achieve the Express target, you'll start trading a funded account with a 60% profit split which can go up to 90% depending on your performance. 

For those who need more time, try the Stellar Challenge model, where there are no time limits, balance-based drawdowns and 15% profit splits.

Furthermore, suppose you maintain a consistent profitable performance. In that case, you become eligible for a 40% increase in account balance every four months, capped at $4 million in line with the company's scale-up plan. You can kick start your journey with  FundedNext via three simple steps — pick a funding model, maintain consistency and get funded. You can download the  FundedNext iOS and Android app for easier accessibility. The company's educational blog is valuable. For help, you can reach out to customer support via live chat, email, Discord, Telegram and Facebook.

What is Prop Trading?

Prop trading occurs when financial institutions like brokerage firms and commercial and investment banks directly trade or invest in the equity market. Specifically, these institutions use their funds or capital to invest in or trade diverse financial instruments, including stocks, bonds, commodities, derivatives and currencies.

Besides earning commissions for processing trades for their clients, these institutions also profit through their direct and active investment in the financial market. Proprietary trading firms invest money in trading assets through their hired or trained professionals and experienced traders (or prop traders). Funding offers vary among companies but can range between $500 to a few million dollars. 

Coaching, training or hiring expert traders makes sense since such professionals can trade more profitably by applying their expertise or strategies and using sophisticated modeling or trading tools and raw market information provided by the company. Since they earn commissions or profit splits, the professionals naturally strive to deliver maximum profitability by employing diverse strategies, including merger arbitrage, index arbitrage, global macro-trading and volatility arbitrage. 

With the increased potential for profit maximization comes higher risk, especially considering that prop trading is relatively speculative and sometimes occurs via a range of derivatives or other complex investment vehicles. But the benefits can be substantial.

Benefits of Prop Trading

Prop trading is highly advantageous to both the firm and the prop trader. While the benefit for the firm is largely increased profit, the trader enjoys the following benefits. 

Excellent Support 

Due to the nature of the operation, proprietary trading firms often comprise a closely-knitted community of people. The implication is that traders are offered quick support, and issues are resolved timely, unlike retail brokerages.

Liquidity through Open Order

If you mainly trade in open positions, you're better off as a prop trader. The reason is that most prop firms allow you to open multiple orders simultaneously. 

Market Accessibility for Undercapitalized Traders

Prop trading makes it easy for undercapitalized traders with requisite trading expertise to access and profit from the financial market. Proprietary accounts might be ideal if you've less than $10,000 in investment capital. The reason is that your buying power will trump anything you can get as a retail client.

Availability of Multiple Trading Platforms 

Unlike retail trading, where you're essentially bound to whatever the retail firm offers you, prop trading allows you to choose your favorite trading platform from a long list of options.

Streamline Short Selling 

For effective short selling, you first need to locate shares that are good candidates for shorting. This process might be challenging as a retail trader, especially as some equities may be on the threshold or hard to borrow and so unavailable for shorting. With prop trading, you can access a long list of shorting inventories.

Drawbacks of Prop Trading

Despite its benefits, prop trading can be disadvantageous. Some of the disadvantages are: 

Potential for Loss of Capital 

Compared to retail brokers, prop trading firms are highly under-regulated. While this means fewer operating costs, there's an inherent risk of losing your capital, especially if the principals are fraudsters. You must therefore do due diligence and invest only what you can lose.

High and Unaffordable Fees 

Most prop firms require you to pay for the modeling and trading software, especially if you trade remotely. The monthly fee for most sophisticated trading software may be as high as $300. When you factor in other costs that may arise, you may have no alternative but to reconsider, especially on comparing with retail trading fees.

Mostly Lean Toward Day Trading 

Prop trading leverage mainly applies in day trading. You may likely get different leverage for overnight positions than day trading. The implication is that, to a greater extent, prop trading is essentially day trading. Most prop firms do not permit overnight trading.

Intellectual Theft

If your strategy consistently delivers profitability, the prop firm may look for a way to decode your approach. For instance, they can piggyback your method and teach them to computers via machine learning.

Prop Trading: A Lucrative Career Path for Financial Traders

Prop trading is highly profitable since the prop trader has access to sophisticated modeling and trading tools and pools of market information that are vital in critical decision-making. If you have an excellent understanding of the financial market trends and can trade successfully, prop trading firms can accelerate your journey to financial independence. Undercapitalized professional traders can also tap into the opportunity provided by proprietary trading firms to reap a return. 

Frequently Asked Questions