top prop firms
Examine the top Prop Trading Firms through an in-depth review that includes features, comparisons, and more to determine the best proprietary trading firms.
Proprietary trading firms employ or train seasoned traders and allocate funds for them to trade various assets such as Forex, crypto, and commodities such as metals, indices, bonds, stocks, and futures. The firms offer varying levels of funding, from $500 to millions of dollars, and the traders earn profits or commissions. We have evaluated and ranked the top prop trading firms based on factors such as profit splits, maximum funding, promotion speed, and popularity.
Table Of Contents
Prop Trading Firms OverviewWhat is a Prop Trading FirmHow to Select a Proprietary Trading Firm?What are the Pros and Cons of joining a Proprietary Trading Firm?Prop Trading FAQsList of Top Proprietary Trading FirmsComparison Table of Some Best Firms for Prop Trading#1) Smart Prop Trader#2) Blue Guardian#3) The Funded Trader#4) Funded Trading Plus#5) FTMO#6) Ment Funding#7) Funded Next
Conclusion
Prop Trading Firms Overview
Market Trends:
- The majority of proprietary traders in the United States are over 40 years old.
- The majority of traders typically trade for a period of between one and two years, and hold a bachelor's degree or higher.
- The average annual income for proprietary traders is $122,000.
Expert Advice:
- When comparing the top proprietary trading firms, factors such as profit splits, maximum funding, assets traded in, the evaluation process, duration of trading, speed of account promotion, maximum funding, maximum loss and targets before promoting accounts should be considered.
- Some of the top proprietary trading firms offer features such as trial accounts, instant funding and bonuses, and some even have profit splits of up to 90%.
What is a Prop Trading Firm
Proprietary trading firms hire experienced traders and provide them with funding to trade in various markets such as stocks, bonds, forex, crypto, indices, futures, and commodities. The traders aim to earn profits and share them with the company. These firms also offer additional support, training, professional coaching, and trading tools to their traders. They also establish strict trading rules to encourage profit-making and discourage loss-making. The hiring process usually starts with an evaluation test, in which the trader must demonstrate their skills, such as risk management and profiting from live markets. They may receive commissions or profit splits during the evaluation, and qualify for increased funding if they meet targets. Prop trading companies can be remote or require traders to work in-house, and most of those listed are global.
How to Select a Proprietary Trading Firm?
The Deposit Term and Size:
The deposit term and size, when increased by a portion of the firm's capital, should provide an increase in the volume of transactions without increasing the risk of current drawdowns and not limiting the volume.
Conditions for Participation in Traders Contests:
Legitimate firms hold such events using demo accounts and not real ones. In contests on real trading accounts, there is a risk of not getting back the funds deposited by anyone Trading without a prize. However, there is no certainty that they will get the money from the prop trading firm for the winners. It is important to keep in mind that market conditions in real trading differ significantly from contest conditions.
Reputation of the Organization:
Badly reputed proprietary trading firms are plagued with many issues such as slippage, non-market price jumps, or interrupted communication. There is a higher probability that scammers may not allow withdrawing the profit and trade to the profit. So, it is important to avoid such a company.
What are the Pros and Cons of joining a Proprietary Trading Firm?
Pros
- It is possible to acquire initial funding with a low barrier to entry.
- Free training in Trading.
- Obtaining access to advanced data software.
- Ability to connect to the exchange directly.
- No conflict of interest between the company and traders as the company operates legally.
- Opportunity to leverage the company's priority algorithms for swift profit sharing.
Cons
- Requirement to pay a security deposit.
- Necessity to invest a significant amount of time and effort.
- Requirement to acquire knowledge of proprietary trading software.
- Account may be automatically blocked if there is a consistent loss.
Prop Trading FAQs
Question #1 - Is prop trading good?
Answer: Compared to investment banking or private equity jobs, proprietary trading offers a higher earning potential. It allows traders to earn money for the firm regardless of their own financial gain, making it particularly favorable for experienced traders.
Question #2 - Which are the best prop trading firms?
Answer: While profit splits or sharing with traders can be used to rank the best proprietary trading firms, other factors such as the amount of capital provided, targets, loss limits, leverage, support, training, and flexibility should also be considered. The best proprietary trading firms for beginners provide the opportunity to learn while trading and incrementally increase traders' capital limits.
Question #3 - How much do the best prop traders make?
Answer: The salary of a proprietary trader can vary greatly depending on their skills and experience, ranging from $42,373 to $793,331. The median salary for prop traders is $203,679, with the middle 57% earning between $203,679 and $400,084. The top 86% make $793,331. Beginning proprietary traders typically earn less during the evaluation stages.
Question #4 - How much do prop trading firms make?
Answer: Proprietary trading firms typically take a percentage of the profits made by traders, ranging from 20% to 50%. They may also charge a fee to open an account. Some firms may have a profit split of 90:10, where they only take 10% of the trader's profits. Some firms may also require traders to pay for training and expert coaching.
Question #5 - Is proprietary trading legal?
Answer: Proprietary trading is legal for individuals, groups, brokerages, and companies. However, in some jurisdictions and cases, it may be illegal for banks and other financial institutions to participate in proprietary trading. In general, it is considered legal.
Our Top Recommendations:
Funded Trading Plus
4.8
- 100K Account - $499
- MT4, MT5, Trading View
- Max Initial Capital - $400,000
Fill out out contact form and one of our team members will analyze the prop firm that you would suggest to be listed within our Top 7.
Get Started
List of some well-known and reputable proprietary trading firms:
#1) Smart Prop Trader#2) Blue Guardian#3) The Funded Trader#4) Funded Trading Plus#5) FTMO#6) Ment Funding#7) Funded Next
Comparison Table of Some Best Firms for Prop Trading
Company Name
Profit split
Maximum Initial capital
Headquarters
founded
Smart Prop Trader
80% | 90% with Scaling
$400,000
Austin, Texas
2022
Blue Guardian
85%
---
West Midlands, UK
2019
The Funded Trader
80% | 90% with Scaling
$600,000
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
2021
Funded Trading Plus
80% | 90% with Scaling
$400,000
London, UK
2021
Ment Funding
75%
$2,000,000
Austin, Texas
2022
Funding Next
80% | 90% with Scaling
---
United Arab Emirates
2022
Detailed reviews:
#1
Smart Prop Trader is a Texas-based firm that aims to provide top trading conditions to traders worldwide, at low prices, and with minimal restrictions. The company, which was established in 2022, offers a wide range of trading instruments and welcomes various trading styles, including the use of trading bots and assistance tools. Additionally, the company has set a target of achieving a 7.5% profit in the first phase.
Profit Splits
- 80% with scaling up to 90%
Features
- 100K Account - $475
- MT4, MT5
- Max Initial Capital - $400,000
Pros
- Live funded accounts
- Excellent Trustpilot rating of 4.7/5
- Funding up to $2,500,000 per account with scaling
- Extremely fast account / upgrade processing
- Extremely low prices
- Partnered with high end broker
- A large variety of trading instruments (all forex pairs, commodities, indices, crypto)
- No limit to your trading style
- No minimum and maximum day limits
- EA’s, tools, scripts, indicators, and hedging allowed
- News trading allowed
- Extremely reputable ownership
Cons
- Relatively new prop firm
- 4% Maximum daily drawdown balance or equity
- 7.5% Maximum non-trailing drawdown
Founded
- 2022
Headquarters
- Austin, Texas
Revenue
- N/A
Employees
- 2-25
Fees/charges
- $165/month, $325/month, and $375/month for $50,000, $100,000, and $150,000 buying power respectively.
#2
Blue Guardian Capital, officially known as Iconic Exchange Limited t/a Blue Guardian Capital, is a proprietary trading firm that specializes in providing traders with large leveraged accounts and attractive profit splits. Founded in June 2019, the firm went public in September 2021 and currently allows traders to work with capital balances of up to $1,800,000. The company is located at 2 Highlands Court, Cranmore Avenue, Solihull, West Midlands, England, B90 4LE and is a trusted partner of Purple Trading Seychelles.
Profit Splits
- 85%Profit Splits
Features
- 100K Account - $517
- MT4
- Max Initial Capital - $---
Pros
- Maximum balance of standard account up to $600,000
- 85% profit split
- Leverage up to 100:1
- Unlimited evaluation free retries
- Excellent Trustpilot rating of 4.5/5
- Scaling plan with balance up to $1,800,000
- Low evaluation profit targets of 6% for each phase
- Overnight and weekend holding allowed
- News trading allowed
- Well-structured user dashboard
- A large variety of trading instruments (forex pairs, commodities, indices, cryptocurrencies)
Cons
- 5 Minimum trading days requirement
- No free trial
- Risk desk team
Founded
- 2019
Headquarters
- West Midlands, UK
Revenue
- N/A
Employees
- 2-25
Fees/charges
- $165/month, $325/month, and $375/month for $50,000, $100,000, and $150,000 buying power respectively.
#3
The Funded Trader is a proprietary trading firm that was established in May 2021. The firm is based in the United States, and provides traders with the opportunity to work with capital up to $1,500,000, earning up to 90% profit splits. They have partnered with Eightcap and Purple Trading Seychelles as their brokers. The company's headquarters are located at 14001 W HWY 29, Suite 102, Liberty Hill, TX 78642.
Profit Splits
- 80% | 90% with Scaling
Features
- 100K Account - $549
- MT4, MT5
- Max Initial Capital - $600,000
Pros
- Maximum balance of standard accounts up to $600,000
- Has options for either balance only or balance / equity daily loss limit
- Leverage up to 200:1
- Over 2k Trustpilot reviews with an excellent score of 4.9/5
- Unlimited evaluation free retries
- Scaling plan with balance up to $1,500,000
- 90% profit split on scaling plan
- Overnight and weekend holding allowed
- News trading allowed
- A large variety of trading instruments (forex pairs, commodities, indices, cryptocurrencies)
- 3 account types
- Extremely large daily max loss - 6%
- Large 12% max loss
- Extremely trustworthy ownership
- Has options for swing accounts or standard within each of the 3 categories
- Rapid account has 0 minimum trading days
- Verified paid outs in total over $30mm to traders
- Listens to the community
Cons
- Smallest account sizes are larger on average than most prop firms
- Customer support is reliable but can be slow
- Funded account credentials can take a while to arrive
- Some account types restrict the use of EAs
Founded
- 2021
Headquarters
- Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Revenue
- N/A
Employees
- 11-50
Fees/charges
- $165/month, $325/month, and $375/month for $50,000, $100,000, and $150,000 buying power respectively.
#4
The Prop Trading is an Australian proprietary trading firm, established in February 2020 and headquartered in Brisbane. They provide clients the opportunity to trade with up to $500,000 capital per account, with the possibility to expand further through a partnership with The Brokers Capital. The company's office is located at Suite No. 1171, 17 Gould Road, Herston, 4006 QLD, Australia.
Profit Splits
- 80% | 90% with Scaling
Features
- 100K Account - $499
- MT4, MT5, Trading View
- Max Initial Capital - $400,000
Pros
- Scaling option
- Excellent Trustpilot rating of 4.9/5
- Up to $2,500,000 capital
- Profit splits up to 90%
- A large variety of trading instruments (forex pairs, commodities, indices, cryptocurrencies)
- No minimum or maximum trading days
- Overnight trading and holding is allowed
- News trading allowed
Cons
- Leverage up to 30:1
Founded
- 2021
Headquarters
- London, UK
Revenue
- N/A
Employees
- 2-25
Fees/charges
- $165/month, $325/month, and $375/month for $50,000, $100,000, and $150,000 buying power respectively.
#5
FTMO is a proprietary trading firm based in Prague, Czech Republic, established in September 2015. The company provides traders with the opportunity to trade with capital balances of up to $2,000,000, and earn profit splits of up to 90%. FTMO works with a liquidity provider who provides institutional data feed with direct market access execution on the firm's live corporate accounts. The company is located at Opletalova 1417/25 110 00 Prague, Czech Republic.
Profit Splits
- 80% | 90% with Scaling
Features
- 100K Account - €540
- MT4, MT5, cTrader
- Max Initial Capital - $400,000
Pros
- Trading Psychologist for Traders
- Scaling Plan to increase capital
- CEO openly talks to the public
- Over 3k Trustpilot reviews with an excellent score of 4.9/5
- Excellent customer service
- 24/7 Live Chat support
- Free trial option
- Unlimited evaluation free retries
- Bi-weekly payouts
- A large variety of trading instruments (forex pairs, commodities, indices, stocks, bonds, cryptocurrencies)
- Leverage 100:1
Cons
- 10 Minimum trading days
- Educational videos are not for skilled traders
- Maximum 2 accounts with $200,000
Founded
- 2014
Headquarters
- Prague, Czech Republic
Revenue
- 15.3M
Employees
- 51-200
Fees/charges
- $165/month, $325/month, and $375/month for $50,000, $100,000, and $150,000 buying power respectively.
#6
Ment Funding, a Texas-based proprietary firm, was established in October 2020 with an emphasis on education for traders. In June 2021, the company expanded its offerings to include funding options for forex traders. The firm enables traders to trade with a balance of $2,000,000 per account through the use of Eightcap, an ASIC-regulated broker based in Melbourne, Australia. The headquarters of Ment Funding is located at 5900 Balcones Drive, Suite 100, Austin, TX 78731.
Profit Splits
- 75% Profit Splits
Features
- 100K Account - $750
- MT4, MT5
- Max Initial Capital - $2,000,000
Pros
- Live Funded accounts
- Excellent Trustpilot rating of 4.4/5
- Funding up to $1,000,000 per account
- No account number limitations
- 1-step Evaluation
- Partnered with Eightcap
- A large variety of trading instruments (all forex pairs, commodities, indices, stocks, crypto)
- No limit to your trading style
- No minimum and maximum day limits
- EA’s, copy traders, scripts, indicators, and hedging allowed
- News trading allowed
Cons
- Relatively new prop firm
- 5% Maximum trailing drawdown (stops at accounts original value)
- No weekend positions
- Low leverage 10:1 and 2:1
Founded
- 2022
Headquarters
- Austin, Texas
Revenue
- N/A
Employees
- 2-25
Fees/charges
- ---
#7
FundedNext is a proprietary trading firm established on March 18, 2022, with the goal of providing traders with a comfortable trading environment through its two funding models. The company has offices in the UAE, USA, UK, and Bangladesh and offers traders capital of up to $4,000,000 with profit splits of up to 90%. They are partnered with Eightcap as their broker. The company's headquarters is located in the United Arab Emirates at AI Robotics HUB, C1 Building, AFZ, Ajman, United Arab Emirates.
Profit Splits
- 80% | 90% with Scaling
Features
- 100K Account - $549
- MT4
- Max Initial Capital - $4,000,000
Pros
- In development for 2.5 years before the launch
- Excellent Trustpilot rating of 4.7/5
- Unlimited evaluation free retries
- Maximum balance of $4,000,000
- Profit split of 15% for evaluation stages
- Up to 90% profit split
- No restrictions on trading style
- Overnight and weekend holding allowed
- Scaling account option
- Leverage 100:1
- A large variety of trading instruments (forex pairs, commodities, indices)
Cons
- Consistency rule for express accounts
- Minimum trading days: 5
- New prop firm
Founded
- 2022
Headquarters
- United Arab Emirates
Revenue
- N/A
Employees
- 2-25
Fees/charges
- ---
Conclusion
The best prop trading firms offer 90% and above profit split. With some of the best offers from FTMO and My Forex Funds, you get 90% and 85% profit splits. You also ought to evaluate prop trading firms based on how much capital they can provide maximum.Lux Trading Firms provides up to $3.5 million in funding while City Traders Imperium provides up to $4 million.For those looking to diversify their trading, most prop firms on the list offer trading assets beyond stocks, futures, and forex. Thus you can get crypto prop trading with firms like FTMO, My Forex Funds, Lux Trading Firm, 3Red Partners, and Akuna Capital.
Fill out out contact form and one of our team members will analyze the prop firm that you would suggest to be listed within our Top 7.
Get Started