Best Prop Trading Firms For Beginners

Funder Trading tops our list of the best prop trading firms since it's the only one that offers options and stock funding without requiring upfront capital or certification.

It just requires you to pay a one-time sign-up fee that's refundable once you finish your evaluation and access a funded account. This means you retain 100% of the profits until when you have recouped your starting and subscription fees. 

There are 4 challenges with different sign-up fees and account sizes. During the challenge phase, you work hand in hand with Funder Trading expert advisors and get full access to educational resources. After beating the challenges, you get to the verification phase, where your trading consistency is tested before being awarded a funded account. Onwards, you keep 80% of the total profits earned. 

The total funding starts from $100,000 and only goes upwards. Interestingly, this funding isn't limited to stocks alone; you can get up to $200,000 to trade both stocks and options. Finally, you can personalize the risk management tools to match your risk tolerance and trading style.

Topstep ranks among the best proprietary firms for futures and forex trading thanks to its spectacular reputation, generous payouts, trader support, etc. 

No matter the account size you choose, you are eligible to keep 100% in profits for the first $5,000 to $10,000. Afterwards, you get a profit split in the ratio of 80:20, which is still a handsome payout in the industry.

Previously, Topstep had a two-step verification for traders who sign up for their simulated account; Trader Combine, which requires them to pay either $50K, $100K, or $150K. Currently, Topstep has only a one-step evaluation process, which you can finish in just two days and qualify for a Topstep-funded account. Luckily, there's no fixed timeline for completing the Trader Combine challenge. 

Topstep uses a Meta Trader 4 interface, which is easy to navigate as everything is displayed on the dashboard. As a Topstep member, you can access digital coaching services, group training sessions, and an incredible education library.

Surge Trader is a highly renowned prop trading firm that supports forex, crypto, and CFD-based indices. Though relatively new (started in 2021), it has garnered the attention of many traders because of its simple evaluation process, quick funding, and not-so-stiff trading rules.

There are two phases of evaluation: 1 and 2. Both phases have several profit and drawdown rules. For example, for phase 1, you get a profit of 10% after hitting certain targets and have a consistent drawdown that doesn't exceed 8%.

Surge Trader has 3 types of accounts: standard, intermediate, and expert, which cost between $250 to $6,500. Moreover, these accounts qualify for funding ranging between $25,000 up to $1 million. You enjoy 75% of profits made, which can increase to 90% based on your performance. In conclusion, Surge Trader cares about the success of its clients by having an excellent customer support system and comprehensive learning resources.

FundedNext is a prop trading firm that started recently in 2022 and has quickly gained popularity as a go-to company for traders seeking forex funding. Just like other forex prop firms, it uses MetaTrader 4 and 5 trading platforms for more convenience.

Getting started is simple, sign up and choose your preferred funding model: Evaluation or Express. The Evaluation model has 2-phase challenges, which span over 60 days and require you to demonstrate your trading prowess in a controlled environment. 

The Express model is ideal for expert traders who are interested in getting direct funding. For this model, you should achieve a minimum of 10 trading days in one month. After that, you should be consistent in your trading performance to sail through.

Once done with either of the evaluation models, you qualify for a FundedNext funded account with a 60% to 90% profit-sharing ratio. Best of all, your account balance can be increased after every 4 months depending on your consistency in profitability. Notably, you can increase your capital on a scaling basis up to $4M.

The 5ERS is a top-notch prop trading firm that gives you access to funding and allows you to trade in metals, forex, and indices. The firm has gained the trust of many traders due to its unique business structure, transparency, and excellent superb management team. 

What's unique about this firm is that it gives you an account that directly qualifies for funding in its Hyper Growth Program. You only pay the one-time fee and are approved to start trading with real money. So, for every 10% profit you make, you are awarded a funded account with a double amount of your initial balance of $260 to $850. 

You can scale the amount for the Hyper Growth Program up to $4 million, depending on how you achieve the profit targets. Alternatively, you can take part in the challenge-based program where you can choose between the Bootcamp Offering and the High Stakes Program. These programs have different evaluation processes and profit targets. Lastly, the profit splits range from 50% to 100%.

Apex Trader Funding is a prop firm that started in 2008 and has grown tremendously over the years. It has thousands of members in over 150 countries, boosts simple evaluation tests, and has high profit-sharing ratios. This firm focuses on futures trading, and users can trade different kinds of futures like forex, equity, interest rates, metal, agricultural, or micros. 

The firm has a structured evaluation process that you can easily finish within 7 days and qualify for funding. There are different account sizes with individual contract sizes, trailing thresholds, and profit targets. The best part you'll love about this firm is that you can use up to 20 multiple accounts simultaneously; a unique feature you won't find in other prop firms. 

What's more, you can make a complete withdrawal of the first $25,000 you've generated in profits for each account you have. Thereafter, you can make profit withdrawals on a 90% basis, which is quite an attractive rate on this list.

Summing up, ATF is compatible with up to 15 trading platforms including Ninja Trader 7, Tradovate, Rithmic RTrader Pro, and WealthCharts, to offer a seamless trading experience.

This widely recognized prop firm embraces a partnership model with traders. It's a great platform for traders with different financial interests since it enables them to trade in crypto, stocks, forex, and ETFs. Upon registering, there's a trading challenge you need to pass before you get the funding.

The firm has different account sizes and challenges depending on whether you are trading in forex or futures. For example, the $10,000 or $20,000 account sizes require you to reach a profit target of 10% and have a trailing drawdown. On the other hand, account sizes of $50,000 or $100,000 require a profit target of 8% and have a constant drawdown.

After signing up with an account and passing the set profit target limits, you are now qualified to get The Trading Pit funded account. 

The funds increase on a scaling plan depending on the account you chose and can scale up to $1 million. Additionally, you are eligible for a profit split of 50% to 80% and instant payouts.

FTMO has made itself a name as one of the best forex prop firms. Besides forex, you can also trade crypto, indices, stocks, and commodities with your FTMO account. Besides, you can access the best trading platforms, like cTrader and Meta Trader 4/5; thus a great time saver.

There's an FTMO 2-step challenge that you should pass before you can get funded. For a €155 challenge, you get an FTMO funding of €10,000, while a €1080 challenge gives you €160,000. Luckily, you'll be refunded the challenge fee after passing the evaluation process. 

After being verified, you get an FTMO funding of up to $400,000, depending on your profit targets over a certain period.

Unlike other firms with a constant profit share, FTMO profit splits start at 80% and can increase on a scaling basis up to 90%. This is probably among the best profit shares in the prop trading industry.

Earn2Trade is a prop firm that aims at empowering traders to be successful in futures, has credible trading tools, and an excellent payout structure. It's also a great platform for beginners as it has plenty of educational resources for learning and growth. 

The firm gives you 2 funding pathways: the Trader Career Path and the Gauntlet Mini. All these pathways have a minimum challenge duration of 15 trading days with no fixed timelines. To join the Trader Career path, you'll pay monthly fees of $150 or $190 to qualify for funding of $25,000 or $50,000, respectively. 

Similarly, you pay monthly fees of $170 or $550 to get funding of $50,000 or $200,000 for the Gauntlet Mini pathway. Upon meeting the set targets for whichever pathway you choose, you qualify for an 80/20 profit share.

Finally, Earn2Trade supports different trading platforms like R|Trader, Finamark, NinjaTrader, and Motive Wave.

FX2 Funding is a distinguished prop firm with the goal of helping undercapitalized traders. It does so by providing a straightforward and efficient pathway for traders interested in forex trading to obtain funding. 

There are 5 programs that are classified according to a trader's level of experience. They are namely; the $10K Starter, $25K Intermediate, $50K Professional account, $100K Expert, and $200K master account. These accounts are associated with fees ranging from $95 to $925. 

Whichever account you open, you won't get direct funding as you'll first pass the one-step evaluation process. The differentiating factor from other accounts in this list is that you determine when to get a funded account; it can be after a day, a month, or a year.

In conclusion, FX2 Funding gives you a profit split that ranges from 75% to 85%, depending on your performance.

Conclusion

Don't let a lack of capital diminish your dreams of venturing into trading and eventually becoming a successful trader. Many prop firms are more than ready to offer you funding to kick-start your trading interests.

However, you may have to part with one-off or subscription fees, and pass the challenges to unlock any form of funding. Always conduct research on a prop firm's reputation, pricing structure, years of experience, and customer reviews before selecting it.