A futures prop firm challenge costs between $69 and $369 for most account sizes. A 25K account runs about $90 to $109, a 50K sits between $85 and $165, and a 150K reaches $225 to $369. Some firms bill you monthly until you pass or cancel. Others charge once and never bill again. That difference matters more than the headline price.
How Much Does a Prop Firm Challenge Cost?
Two payment models exist in futures prop trading and they behave very differently.
Monthly subscriptions are the older model. TradeDay, Topstep and Earn2Trade all bill every 30 days from your sign-up date. Pass in week one and you’ve paid once. Take three months and you’ve paid three times. Your subscription doesn’t stop on its own either, so cancel it the moment you’re done or you’ll get charged again.
One-time fees are the newer approach. FundedNext Futures and Tradeify both charge a single fee with no rebilling. Fail, and you buy a reset rather than waiting for a renewal.
Instant funding costs considerably more. Tradeify’s Lightning accounts start at $345 for a 25K against $109 for the same size through their Select evaluation. You’re paying roughly 3x to skip the challenge entirely.
Futures Prop Firm Fee Comparison
| Firm | Program | Fee Model | 25K | 50K | 100K | 150K | Activation | Profit Split |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TradeDay | FastPass | Monthly | n/a | $85 | $149 | $225 | $0 | 80% sim, 90% live |
| FundedNext Futures | Flex | One-time | n/a | $69.99 | $129.99 | $249.99 | $0 | 80% to 90% |
| Earn2Trade | Trader Career Path | Monthly | $90 | $114 | $210 | n/a | $139 from first withdrawal | 80% |
| Topstep | No Activation Fee | Monthly | n/a | $95 | $149 | $229 | $0 | 90% |
| Tradeify | Select | One-time | $109 | $165 | $265 | $369 | $0 | 90% |
Look at the 100K column and the spread is $130 to $265. That’s a 2x difference for what is broadly the same product: a 1-step evaluation on a $100,000 simulated account with an end-of-day drawdown.
The cheapest entry isn’t automatically the cheapest outcome, though. A $95 monthly subscription becomes $285 if you need three months. A $129.99 one-time fee stays $129.99 no matter how long you take. How you trade decides which model suits you.
Profit split is the other column doing real work here. 80% versus 90% on a $5,000 payout is $500 in your pocket or theirs.
What Is a Reset Fee in a Futures Prop Firm?
A reset fee restarts a failed challenge from the original balance, clearing your trading metrics and refreshing the loss limits.
Pricing runs from roughly $60 to $280 depending on firm and account size. FundedNext charges $77.99 to reset a 50K Flex and $278.99 for the 150K. TradeDay’s resets match whatever you’re paying monthly.
On a monthly subscription you have a choice: pay for the reset now, or wait for your rebill and start fresh then. Earn2Trade gives you one free reset each time your subscription renews, which makes waiting the obvious move unless you’re impatient.
What Is an Activation Fee in a Prop Firm?
An activation fee is a one-time charge to turn your passed challenge into a funded account. Across the industry it ranges from $0 to around $800.
Competition has pushed most futures firms to drop it entirely. TradeDay, FundedNext and Tradeify all charge nothing.
Two firms handle it differently, and both are instructive.
Topstep runs two parallel paths. Their Standard Trading Combine costs $49 monthly for a 50K but charges $149 when you pass. The No Activation Fee path costs $95 monthly and charges nothing on passing. Pass on your first or second attempt and the cheaper monthly wins. Struggle for four months and you’ve overpaid. You’re essentially betting on your own pass rate, and the paths can’t be swapped after purchase.
Earn2Trade charges $139 but never asks for it upfront. It comes out of your first withdrawal instead. So the fee exists, but you only ever pay it out of money you’ve already made.
One cost almost nobody writes about: reactivation. Lose a Topstep funded account before your first payout and getting it back through their Back2Funded route costs $599 at 50K, $699 at 100K and $829 at 150K. That’s several times the original challenge fee.
Profit Split
Your profit split is a fee, even though nobody calls it one. A 90/10 split means you withdraw 90% and the firm keeps 10%.
Advertised splits and what you actually keep on payout one aren’t always the same thing. TradeDay’s FastPass pays 80% in the sim-funded stage and 90% once you reach a live funded account. Their QuickPay accounts start at 50% on the first $4,000 of net profit before stepping to 80%.
FundedNext lists 80% as standard on Flex, with 90% available as a paid add-on at purchase: $14.99 on the 50K, $24.99 on the 100K, $34.99 on the 150K.
Read the tiers, not the headline number.
Withdrawal Fees
Withdrawal fees cover moving profits from the firm to your bank. They vary by firm and by payout provider, and many firms waive them above a minimum threshold. Topstep pays out through Wise and bank transfer, TradeDay through RiseWorks, FundedNext through RiseWorks and stablecoins. Confirm the fee on your specific payout method before your first request.
Platform and Data Costs After You Get Funded
Trading platforms are usually free during the challenge. NinjaTrader is the classic example: free while you’re evaluating, then a subscription or a licence purchase once you’re on a real live account.
Data is where funded traders get surprised. Level 1 market data is generally included, but depth of market usually isn’t. Topstep charges $38 per month for their Level 2 bundle, billed on the 28th and not prorated. If you trade off a DOM or a matrix, that’s a real monthly cost during the challenge, not just after.
The bigger hit comes at live funding. The exchange reclassifies you as a professional trader, and professional real-time data runs around $130 per month per exchange. That money goes to the CME, CBOT, COMEX or NYMEX, not to your prop firm. Trade ES and CL and you’re paying two exchanges.
Prop Firm Commissions on ES, NQ, MES and MNQ
Every fill costs you, in the challenge and in the funded account alike.
| Contract Type | Examples | Per Side | Round Turn |
|---|---|---|---|
| E-mini | ES, NQ, RTY, YM | $3 to $4 | $6 to $8 |
| Micro E-mini | MES, MNQ, MYM, M2K | around $0.50 | around $1 |
Clearing and regulatory fees sit on top, charged per contract per trade. They’re small individually and forgettable in aggregate, which is exactly the problem.
Scalping 20 round turns a day on ES puts $120 to $160 of commissions between you and your profit target. The same volume on MES costs roughly $20. For anyone trading size on a small account, micros aren’t just a risk decision.
What It Actually Costs to Get Funded
A trader takes a Topstep 100K on the No Activation Fee path, trades off a DOM, passes in month 2, and runs about 40 round turns a month on MNQ.
| Cost | Amount |
|---|---|
| Trading Combine, 2 months | $298 |
| Level 2 market data, 2 months | $76 |
| Activation fee | $0 |
| Commissions, roughly 80 round turns | around $80 |
| Total to first payout | around $454 |
The $149 headline price is a third of the real number. Nothing here is hidden, but nothing here is on the pricing page either.
Before You Buy
The challenge fee is rarely the biggest number in the total. Data feeds, commissions and profit split all take their cut, and which one hurts most depends on how fast you pass and how much you trade. Work out your realistic timeline first. Then pick the fee model that fits it.
| Prop Firm Fee | When You Pay It | Impact on Profitability |
|---|---|---|
| Challenge / Evaluation Fee | Upfront, once or monthly until you pass | Medium-High |
| Reset Fee | Only if you fail and restart | Medium |
| Activation Fee | Once, when you pass | Low to Medium |
| Reactivation Fee | Only if you lose a funded account | High, when it applies |
| Profit Split | Every payout, forever | High |
| Trading Commissions | Every fill, in every stage | Medium-High |
| Data Feed Fees | Monthly, heaviest at live funding | Medium-High |
| Trading Platform Fee | Monthly, live accounts only | Low |
| Withdrawal Fee | Per payout | Low |
Frequently Asked Questions
Which prop firms have the lowest challenge fees?
FundedNext Futures Flex at $69.99 for a 50K is the cheapest in this comparison. Topstep’s Standard path starts at $49 monthly but adds $149 on passing.
Do you pay a prop firm challenge fee monthly or once?
Both models exist. TradeDay, Topstep and Earn2Trade bill monthly. FundedNext Futures and Tradeify charge a single one-time fee.
Is the activation fee refundable?
No. Activation fees are one-time charges that convert your passed challenge into a funded account, and firms don’t refund them.
What happens if I forget to cancel my subscription?
You get charged for another month. Monthly challenge subscriptions renew automatically and don’t stop when you pass or fail.
By Ashley Akin, CPA