What a futures prop firm is, and what you're actually paying for

A futures prop firm sells you an evaluation: a simulated account with a profit target and loss limits. Pass it and you get a funded account, usually also simulated at first, where a share of your simulated profit is paid out in real money. You risk the fees, not your own trading capital.

By FundedSim Desk · updated October 20, 2026

The basic deal

1. You buy an evaluation. A one-time fee or a monthly subscription, depending on the firm.
2. You trade a simulated account under the firm's rules. Hit the profit target without touching the drawdown or breaking other rules.
3. You get a funded account. Sometimes for an activation fee. At most futures firms it's still simulated.
4. You request payouts. The firm pays you a share of your profit, typically 80% to 100%, once you meet its payout rules.

What the fees actually buy

You're paying for a rule test and the chance at payouts. You're not paying for capital in the usual sense: the firm isn't lending you $50,000 to trade on the exchange during the eval. That's why the rules matter more than anything else on the sales page. They decide whether the fee turns into a funded account or into a lesson.

The rules that decide it

• Trailing drawdown: the floor that follows your best balance up.
• Daily loss limit: at most firms a pause for the day, not a fail.
• Consistency rules: limits on how much of your profit can come from one day.
• Profit target: usually 6% of the account.
• Contract limits, trading hours and prohibited strategies: different at every firm, all on the firm's rule pages.

Is it worth it?

It can be, if the rules fit how you already trade. It's an expensive habit if you keep buying evals to discover the rules by breaking them. That's the gap a free simulator fills: run the exact rules on your own trades until you stop breaking them, then decide.