The best prop firms for beginners
FTMO is our top prop firm for beginners. It has the longest track record in our ranking (operating since 2015), publishes clear objectives, uses a static 10% drawdown on its 2-Step challenge, refunds the challenge fee with your first reward and holds a 4.8 Trustpilot rating across 55,571 reviews. The5ers and FundedNext are strong, cheaper alternatives with refundable fees, and Topstep is the pick if you want to start with futures. All figures were verified November 2026.
Our picks
- FTMO: longest track record, static drawdown, refundable fee and the highest Trustpilot rating we list.
- The5ers: operating since 2016, refundable fee, weekend holding allowed and a 3-profitable-day minimum.
- FundedNext: static 10% drawdown, refundable fee on the 2-Step and the widest platform choice in our ranking.
- Topstep: a futures-only firm that publishes its own pass rates, so you know the odds before you pay.
Beginner prop firm comparison
| FTMO | The5ers | FundedNext | Topstep | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Score | 91/100 (rank 1) | 86/100 (rank 2) | 85/100 (rank 3) | 78/100 (rank 5) |
| Founded | 2015, Prague | 2016, Israel | 2022, Ajman, UAE | Chicago, USA (year not verified) |
| Price from | €89 / $99 (10k, 2-Step) | $69 (10k, High Stakes) | $59.99 (6k, Stellar 2-Step) | $49/month (50k) + $149 activation |
| Profit target | 10% then 5% | 10% (New) or 8% (Classic), then 5% | 8% then 5% | 6% ($3k on 50k) |
| Daily loss | 5% of initial balance | 5% | 5% | Optional, set at checkout |
| Max drawdown | 10% static | 10% (static or trailing: sources disagree) | 10% static | $2k / $3k / $4.5k, end-of-day trailing |
| Min trading days | 4 per phase | 3 profitable days | Sources conflict (5 vs none) | None for Combine |
| Profit split | 80%, up to 90% | 80%, up to 100% with scaling | 80%, up to 95% with add-on | 90% |
| Payouts | Every 14 days | Bi-weekly | First after 21 days, then every 14 | After 5 winning days |
| Refundable fee | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Trustpilot | 4.8 (55,571 reviews) | About 4.7 (35k–41k reviews, secondary sources) | 4.5 (81,087 reviews) | 3.7 (15,035 reviews) |
1. FTMO: best overall for beginners
FTMO scores 91/100 and ranks first in our prop firm ranking. For a beginner, the appeal is predictability. The 2-Step challenge asks for a 10% target and then 5%, with a 5% daily loss limit measured from your initial balance and a 10% static maximum drawdown. You need at least 4 trading days per phase, payouts run every 14 days and the split starts at 80% and can reach 90%. The fee is refunded with your first reward.
The rules are plain: news trading is allowed with a 2-minute restriction on Standard accounts, EAs are allowed, and weekend holding is only permitted on Swing accounts.
Drawback: a new consistency rule on orders applies from 12 October 2026, and some reviews cite account locks after technical errors. At €89 / $99 for a 10k account it is also the most expensive of our forex picks at that size.
2. The5ers: best for a long, steady scaling path
The5ers (86/100) has operated since 2016. Its High Stakes 2-Step starts at $69 for a 10k account, with a 10% (New) or 8% (Classic) first-phase target, then 5%. The daily loss limit is 5% and maximum drawdown is 10%. You need 3 profitable days, payouts are bi-weekly and the split starts at 80%, rising to 100% through scaling. Weekend holding is allowed and news trading is allowed except for 2 minutes around high-impact releases. The fee is refundable.
Drawback: sources disagree on whether the drawdown is static or trailing and on how the refund works, so confirm both on The5ers' site. EAs are reportedly not allowed, and its Trustpilot figure (about 4.7) comes from secondary sources rather than a direct reading.
3. FundedNext: best for platform choice
FundedNext (85/100) offers MT4, MT5, cTrader, Match-Trader, Tradovate, NinjaTrader and TradingView, so you can learn on whichever platform you already know. The Stellar 2-Step costs from $59.99 for a 6k account, with an 8% then 5% target, a 5% daily loss limit and a 10% static drawdown. The fee is refunded with your first reward on the 2-Step, and its 4.5 Trustpilot rating comes from 81,087 reviews, the largest review base we list.
Drawback: rules change often, some pricing differs between the help center and checkout, and sources conflict on minimum trading days (5 vs none). News profits are subject to a 40% news-profit rule. Re-read the terms before each purchase.
4. Topstep: best for futures beginners
Topstep (78/100) is a futures-only firm with a single-step Trading Combine: a 6% target ($3k on a 50k account), no minimum days, a 90% split and payouts after 5 winning days. It is unusually honest about difficulty. By its own 2025 figures, 16.8% of Combines were passed and 0.71% of Express traders reached a Live account.
Drawback: the drawdown is end-of-day trailing, which is harder for beginners to manage than a static limit. The $49 monthly subscription keeps running until you pass, the fee is not refundable, it runs on one platform (TopstepX), and its 3.7 Trustpilot score is the lowest among the firms we rank. Its rules on news, EAs and overnight holding are not verified in our data.
A worked example: what the rules mean in dollars
On a 10k FTMO 2-Step, the 10% first-phase target is $1,000 and the 5% second-phase target is $500. The daily loss limit is 5% of the initial balance, or $500, and the 10% static drawdown puts a fixed floor at $9,000. If you grow the account to $10,800, that floor stays at $9,000, so you have $1,800 of room.
A trailing limit behaves differently. With a $2,000 end-of-day trailing drawdown on Topstep, a winning day that lifts your end-of-day balance by $1,000 moves the floor up with it, so profits do not widen your buffer the same way. See trailing vs static drawdown and try the numbers in the drawdown calculator.
Firms we left out, and why
- Funding Pips (79/100): cheap and uses a static 10% drawdown, but the fee is not refundable, its Trustpilot profile was suspended in June 2024 after a review surge, and recent reviews mention device-ID terminations and rule changes after passing. Compare it in FTMO vs Funding Pips.
- Apex Trader Funding (74/100): restructured in 2026 (the consistency rule reportedly rose from 30% to 50%), uses trailing drawdown and its price data conflicts between sources.
- Blue Guardian (70/100): trailing drawdown, a 4% hard daily breach and reviews mentioning payout denials.
- E8 Markets (66/100) and Alpha Capital Group (62/100): Trustpilot has withheld both ratings for guideline breaches, and recent reviews allege denied or rejected payouts. PropFirmMap grades Alpha Capital Group high risk. We do not recommend either to beginners.
How we chose
We started from our prop firm scores, which weigh track record (30), rules (25), cost (15), payouts and reviews (20) and platforms (10); see the methodology. For this page we then favoured years in operation, clearly published rules, static drawdown, a refundable fee and a strong Trustpilot rating from a large review base, and removed firms whose caution notes describe withheld ratings, payout disputes or rule changes after purchase.
What to check before you buy a challenge
- Drawdown type. Static limits are easier to plan around than trailing ones.
- Refund terms. A refundable fee usually comes back only with your first reward.
- Restricted behaviour. News windows, EA rules and weekend holding differ by firm and account type.
- Recent changes. Read the current terms on the day you buy.
New to funded trading? Start with what a prop firm is and how to pass a prop firm challenge, or compare FTMO vs The5ers and FTMO vs FundedNext.
Sources
Provider data on this page was verified November 2026 against these sources:
FTMO
- FTMO: trading objectives
- FTMO: programme overview
- Trustpilot: FTMO
- Finance Magnates: FTMO closes OANDA deal
The5ers
FundedNext
Topstep
Trading involves substantial risk of loss and is not suitable for everyone. A challenge fee is money at risk, and passing an evaluation does not guarantee payouts. Past performance does not guarantee future results. This page is general information, not financial advice. Rankings are editorial and not paid. Read our risk disclaimer and advertiser disclosure.