Comparison

Prop firm comparison

Prop firm comparison of FTMO, The5ers, Apex, Topstep and Earn2Trade on the rules that decide whether you keep the account: drawdown type, profit target, split, payout cadence and fee. The drawdown type separates them most — FTMO's 2-Step and The5ers are static, Topstep and Earn2Trade trail your highest end-of-day close, and Apex's Intraday product trails your live equity including open profit. Every firm is shown at its flagship program on a $100K account.

The5ers logo
The5ers
Visit The5ers →
FTMO logo
FTMO
Visit FTMO →
Overview
Market
Forex / CFD
Forex / CFD
Account sizes
$2.5K–$100K
$10K–$200K
Model
2-step
2-step
Rules
Target
8% + 5%
10% + 5%
Drawdown
Static
Static (2-step)
Max drawdown
10%
10%
Daily loss
5%
5%
Consistency
None
50% (1-step)
Payout
Split
80% → 100%
up to 90%
Payout
Bi-weekly
On-demand (14d)
Min. days
3 profitable
4 / phase
Scaling
$500K
$2M
Cost
Cost
$545 once
€540 once
Platforms
MT5 · cTrader
MT4 · MT5 · cTrader

Prices are standard list rates, and futures activation fees are charged only once you pass (Earn2Trade’s $139 comes out of your first withdrawal). Earn2Trade’s split is set per withdrawal, not on total profit. Last checked July 2026.

The drawdown type decides more than the fee, so compare it first

A table can tell you the rules, but not which rules matter for the way you trade. Four things decide it, and each one has a calculator here that turns it from a guess into a number.

01

Drawdown type first, not price

The gap between static, end-of-day trailing and real-time trailing drawdown matters far more than a $20 difference in fee. A cheap firm with a punishing trailing drawdown is more expensive than it looks. Model your edge against each one before you commit.

Drawdown calculator →
02

Then your real odds of passing

A firm’s rules are only half the equation — the other half is your win rate, your average win and loss, and how often you trade. The pass-probability simulator runs thousands of accounts through the firm’s actual rules and gives you the honest number.

Prop firm challenge calculator →
03

Then whether the fee is worth it

Once you know your odds of passing and reaching a payout, the ROI calculator turns the challenge fee into an expected return — the answer to “is this specific challenge worth my money?”, which is the real buying question.

ROI & risk-of-ruin calculator →
04

Then what you keep, and when

Split and payout schedule decide what actually lands in your account. A 100% split on a firm you cannot pass beats nothing; an 80% split you reach every two weeks beats a 90% one you never trigger. The payout calculator projects it across cycles.

Payout calculator →

This prop firm comparison is built from each firm's own documentation

A $100K account is the size most people compare on and the only way the rules line up side by side. Where a rule is quoted in dollars (futures firms) rather than a percentage (forex and CFD firms), we keep it in the firm’s own terms.

Numbers come from each firm’s published rules, last checked July 2026. Firms re-price and re-promote constantly, so treat the fees as list prices and confirm the current terms on the firm’s own dashboard before you pay.

This is a comparison, not a ranking. We do not sell a “#1 firm” spot, the order is by market, and the three firms we hold affiliate links with (The5ers, FTMO and Earn2Trade) are flagged as partners everywhere they appear.

Common prop firm comparison questions

What is the best prop firm in 2026?
There is no single best firm — it depends on what you trade and how. If you trade forex or CFDs and want a fixed, predictable drawdown, the FTMO 2-Step or The5ers fit. If you trade futures and want a 100% split with no daily loss limit, Apex’s Intraday product fits. If you want an end-of-day trailing drawdown with weekly payouts, Topstep fits. The table above lines those rules up side by side.
What is the difference between static and trailing drawdown?
A static (fixed) drawdown is a floor that never moves: on the FTMO 2-Step Challenge the Maximum Loss sits 10% below your starting balance and stays there. A trailing drawdown follows your account up as you make profit, so the level you cannot cross rises with your equity. Apex’s Intraday product counts an open position at its high, while end-of-day trailing (Topstep, Earn2Trade, and FTMO’s 1-Step) only re-anchors on a closing balance, which is more forgiving. Trailing drawdown is the single biggest reason a challenge that looks easy on paper is hard in practice, so model it with the drawdown calculator before you buy.
Which prop firm has the highest profit split?
Apex pays a flat 100% split on approved payouts. Topstep pays 90% (with 100% on the first $10K for traders who joined before January 2026), FTMO starts at 80% and scales to 90%, and The5ers starts at 80% and scales toward 100% as your account grows. Earn2Trade is the one to read carefully: its split is set by the size of each individual withdrawal rather than by your total profit, so you keep 80% only on requests above the tier threshold ($3,000 on a $100K account) and 50% on anything below it. A higher split only matters if you actually reach a payout, so weigh it against how hard the firm’s rules are to pass.
How often do prop firms pay out?
It varies a lot. Topstep and Earn2Trade run weekly cycles, The5ers is bi-weekly, and FTMO and Apex are on-demand once you clear an initial waiting period (14 days from your first trade for FTMO; the 8th trading day for Apex). Most firms also require a minimum number of trading or winning days before your first payout, shown in the table above.
Are these prop firm rules accurate?
The figures were last checked in July 2026 against each firm’s published terms and reputable reviews. Prop firms change pricing, splits and payout rules often, so always confirm the specifics on the firm’s own site before you pay. These calculators and tables are for planning, not a substitute for the firm’s current terms.
Which of these firms do you have an affiliate link with?
Three of them: The5ers, FTMO and Earn2Trade. Apex and Topstep are listed with plain, non-referral links, because neither affiliate program is open to us. We keep them in the table anyway, and both beat our partners on specific rules.

Run a firm’s rules on your own numbers

01

Challenge calculator

Run your edge through any firm’s real rules and see your honest odds of passing.

 02

Drawdown calculator

Compare static and trailing drawdown across firms and see where your line sits.

 03

ROI calculator

Turn a challenge fee into an expected return, and the odds you never get paid.

Affiliate disclosure. The5ers, FTMO and Earn2Trade links on this page are affiliate links — if you sign up through them we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Apex and Topstep are listed with plain, non-referral links. Firm rules and pricing were last checked July 2026 and change often; always confirm current terms on the firm’s own site. Nothing here is financial advice.