Before you pay for an evaluation, five checks that take half an hour and can save you several fees. Everything linked here is free.
According to industry estimates, out of every 100 people who buy an evaluation, about 14 pass and about 7 get paid at least once (the data, in this article). Most don't fail because of bad luck: they fail because of a strategy with no edge, a size that can't survive a normal losing streak or a rule they didn't know.
1. Does your strategy have an edge?
If it doesn't after costs, no firm and no amount of discipline will fix it. See how many trades you need to know. If you trade with NinjaTrader, Prop Firm Lab tests your strategy on data you didn't use to design it (14-day free trial).
2. Run your numbers through the simulator
With your win rate, average win and average loss, the evaluation simulator shows how often you'd pass and how often you'd fail under the rules of the firm you choose. If you fail more often than you pass, save this month's fee.
3. Read your firm's rules on one page
Profit target, drawdown, when the floor stops rising, daily loss limit, consistency, minimum days, time limit and what fails the account. Checked in each firm's help center, with the date and the source:
- Apex Trader Funding on one page (PDF)
- Lucid Trading on one page (PDF)
- Tradeify on one page (PDF)
- Topstep on one page (PDF)
If a rule isn't clear: trailing drawdown explained, the consistency rule and news and bots at each firm.
4. Choose your size before you buy
Your buffer should survive about 10 normal losses in a row: with a $2,000 drawdown, about $200 per trade. In our simulations, with a buffer of 4 to 6 losses the same strategy fails more accounts than it passes. The full math, with micros: how many contracts to trade on a prop firm account.
5. Compare the firms with your numbers
Apex vs Lucid, Apex vs Topstep, Apex vs Tradeify and Lucid vs Tradeify. And if time matters: how to choose a firm by the time you have.
After you buy: keep an eye on the floor
If you trade with NinjaTrader, the Prop Firm Copilot shows you every day, before you trade, how far each account is from its floor, how many losses your buffer can take and your plan for the day. It knows the rules of Apex, Lucid, Tradeify and Topstep. It doesn't trade for you: it warns you. 14-day free trial (the page is in Spanish; the app speaks English).
About the links on this page
None of them are affiliate links: we earn nothing if you buy from a firm. If that ever changes, we'll say so here and on each link, it will be the same with every firm, and it won't change any data or comparison.
General information about rules published by the firms, not investment advice. Rules change: check them on each firm's website before you buy. FondeoReal is not affiliated with any of them. Futures trading involves a high risk of loss.