Five scalping-friendly firms at a glance
Scalping is a method of stacking up many small price moves over a span of seconds to minutes. Because you enter so many times a day, spread tightness, execution speed, and any scalping restrictions sway your results even more than they would in other styles. Here are the five candidates covered on this site, side by side.
| FundingPips | FTMO | Funded7 | ThinkCapital | Apex | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Founded | 2022 | 2015 | 2025 | 2024 | 2021 |
| Base | UAE (Dubai) | Czechia (Prague) | Cyprus (Limassol) and Saint Lucia | UAE (Dubai) | USA |
| Markets | FX/CFD | FX/CFD | FX | FX/CFD | CME futures |
| Profit split | 80–95% | 80% (up to 90%) | 80% (50% on One Phase and Instant Funding; up to 90% with add-on) | 80% (90% with add-on) | 100% of approved payouts (max 6 per account) |
| Eval fee | from $19 | $89–1,080 | Two Phase $118.80–$2,748.90 | from $35.10 | from $137/month |
| Payout cycle | 5 days | 14 days (first on demand) | request every 7 days, processed “within 1 day” ($10,000 monthly cap) | 14 days (weekly unlock available) | 5 qualifying days (roughly weekly) |
| Platforms | MT4/MT5/cTrader/Match-Trader | MT4/MT5/cTrader/DXtrade | MT5/cTrader (PAYG is MT5-only) | TradingView/ThinkTrader/MT5 | Rithmic/Tradovate/NinjaTrader/TradingView |
| Seconds-long closes | confirm in the official terms | confirm in the official terms | violation if under 15s exceeds 2% of trades, or under 30s exceeds 3% | confirm in the official terms | confirm in the official terms |
If you are unsure, the oldest and most trusted name in the industry, FTMO, is the reference point. If you simply want low cost and high volume, FundingPips, with eval fees from $19, is a candidate. Funded7 puts explicit numeric limits on seconds-long closes and charges $6 per round-turn lot on funded accounts, so it should be off the list if second-scale scalping is your plan. Confirm each firm’s current spread and scalping-related rules on its official site before signing up.
Three axes for choosing a scalping firm
1. Tight spreads
Scalping goes after small price moves, so the spread directly squeezes your profit. Firms that advertise tight spreads with “no markup” (no broker surcharge) are generally considered the best fit for scalping.
2. Execution speed and slippage
The more entries and exits you make, the larger the cumulative impact of execution delay and slippage. The surest way to judge server responsiveness and platform stability is to test it yourself in small size.
3. Whether scalping is restricted
This is the point most often overlooked. A firm may allow ordinary scalping yet ban tick scalping, HFT (high-frequency trading), and latency arbitrage. Some firms also impose a minimum hold-time rule. These can become a problem at the withdrawal stage even after you pass, so confirming them before signing is essential.
Firm-by-firm notes
FundingPips — for those chasing low cost and high volume
FundingPips was founded in 2022 and is based in the UAE (Dubai). Its eval fee is among the lowest in the industry (from $19), and its payout cycle of 5 days is among the fastest.
Why it fits:
- Eval fees from $19, at the very cheap end, making it easy to run small accounts for testing
- Payouts on a 5-day cycle plus an early-payout option, so cash flow is fast
- Broad platform choice across MT4 / MT5 / cTrader / Match-Trader, letting you pick a familiar environment
- A choice of three models: 1-Step / 2-Step / 3-Step
Caution: founded in 2022, it has a short operating history, and because it is in a rapid-growth phase, rule changes are frequent. Scalping-related restrictions and spread conditions can also be subject to revision, so confirm the latest handling on the official site. Support is mainly in English.
FTMO — for those who want industry-standard peace of mind
FTMO was founded in 2015 in Prague, Czechia, and with 11 years of operation (as of 2026) it is among the oldest names in the industry. It has extensive published payout records and third-party verification, and its trust level is the highest among the firms covered on this site.
Why it fits:
- A long track record of 11 years with no regulatory enforcement and no suspension of operations
- Support for MT4 / MT5 plus cTrader / DXtrade, giving high platform flexibility
- An eval-fee refund on a failed attempt (conditions apply)
- Japanese-language support (though the primary source of truth is the English version)
Caution: FTMO has a consistency rule (a single trade whose profit exceeds a set share of the total can be excluded from payout in some cases), and there are restrictions on certain EAs and on trading around major economic releases. Confirm whether your style fits the rules — including whether scalping itself is allowed — before signing. Eval fees of $89–1,080 are higher than the cheapest tier.
Funded7 — take it off the list for second-scale scalping
Funded7 launched in 2025. Its operating entities, per the site footer, are ICHIBAN TECH LTD (Limassol, Cyprus) plus SUCCESSIO LTD and FUNDED7 LTD in Saint Lucia. This article previously listed Funded7 as a candidate on the strength of its tight spreads; after re-reading its official rules, we have lowered our assessment of it for scalping specifically.
Constraints that matter for scalping:
- If trades held under 15 seconds exceed 2% of all trades, or trades under 30 seconds exceed 3%, that is a violation, and the account is moved to a restricted tier (Silver or Bronze)
- Even without breaching those thresholds, the rules state that intent judged to be tick scalping can result in account termination
- Funded and Instant Funding accounts pay $6 per round-turn lot ($1 on crypto and indices). Ten round-turn lots a day is $60, so work out from your own lot size where the commission cancels out the benefit of a tight spread
- “Tightest-in-industry spreads with no markup” is the firm’s own claim; we have not measured it ourselves
Other things to watch:
- Trustpilot stands at 2.8/5.0 across 46 reviews (read 31 July 2026), with 46% one-star. The “4.8/5, 1k+ reviews” figure on the firm’s homepage is not Trustpilot data and cites no source
- Launched in 2025, so operating history is just over a year. Our methodology requires five or more years for a “high” trust rating
- News trading itself is permitted, but opening oversized or highly leveraged positions immediately before a release is treated as a problem
- The monthly payout cap is $10,000 per client ($20,000 on PAYG)
Trading on a several-minute horizon raises no rule issue here. What is restricted is closing within seconds.
ThinkCapital — for the TradingView crowd and the cost-conscious
ThinkCapital launched in 2024 and is a UAE (Dubai)-based firm backed by the regulated broker group ThinkMarkets. Its strength is a direct TradingView integration, which is rare in the industry.
Why it fits:
- You can place orders directly from TradingView charts, an advantage for traders who work primarily in TradingView
- EUR/USD spreads from 0.0 pips (MT5 raw), with commission around $7 per round-turn lot
- Eval fees from $35.10, among the lowest in the industry, with no consistency rule and no time limit
- Backing from ThinkMarkets, giving a clearer outlook on continuity than a newer standalone firm
Caution: to earn the 90% split you need to buy the Profit Split Booster (about 25% of the eval fee) on top, since the default is 80%. The monthly payout also carries a condition of “three business days, each with at least 0.5% profit,” which can be hard to meet for a style that pulls back from trading after a large short-term win. Launched in 2024, its operating history is on the short side.
Apex Trader Funding — for those who scalp futures
Apex Trader Funding was founded in 2021 and is a US futures-only prop firm. You trade CME-family futures such as E-mini S&P 500, Nasdaq, crude oil, and gold over professional-grade connections via Rithmic / Tradovate.
Why it fits:
- Direct access to CME futures, making it easy to scalp the high-liquidity ES / NQ while watching the order book
- On current accounts, 100% of each approved payout is yours — though payouts are capped per request and limited to six per account (accounts bought before March 1, 2026 keep the older first-$25,000-at-100% terms)
- Payout eligibility every 5 qualifying trading days, shorter than the 14 days common in the industry
- The ability to hold multiple accounts (suited to diversifying across separate strategies)
Caution: FX / CFD cannot be traded; the scope is CME futures only. Its main arena is US hours (Japanese night to early morning), so it has to fit around your daily schedule. Apex also uses a trailing drawdown, a design where your protective line rises as profit grows, so understanding the rule in advance is essential for high-turnover scalping.
Firms that restrict scalping — the other side of the coin
If you choose on spread tightness alone, you can stumble at the withdrawal stage because the rules restrict scalping. Even among the firms covered on this site, the following warrant caution for short-term, high-frequency scalping.
- FXIFY: it explicitly lists tick scalping, HFT (high-frequency trading), and latency arbitrage as prohibited conduct. Confirm the line between ordinary scalping and the high-frequency methods barred by the rules before signing. Note that Trustpilot also documents a pattern of reported withdrawal denials citing “latency arbitrage.”
- CityTradersImperium: a firm optimized for swing trading, designed to hold positions for days to weeks. It is a mismatch for scalpers who trade dozens of times a day, and the firm officially states that it is not geared toward short-term scalping.
Beyond these, a minimum hold-time rule may be set on a firm-by-firm basis. The latest hold-time and scalping-related rules for each firm covered here should be checked on their official sites. If you scalp on a seconds timeframe, make sure you know exactly which methods are permitted before you commit.
How to choose — decision axes by style
First, set the broad frame by your trading instrument. To scalp FX/CFD, the candidates are FundingPips, FTMO, and ThinkCapital; for order-book scalping of CME futures, it is Apex. Funded7 also trades FX, but note the seconds-level limits described above. The FX-focused firms let you tap the liquidity of the Japanese evening through late night, whereas Apex’s main arena is US hours.
Second, estimate your expected cost and volume. If you plan to take on many challenges repeatedly, FundingPips (from $19) and ThinkCapital (from $35.10), with cheap eval fees, are designed to keep cumulative cost down. With the subscription-style Apex, note that the longer you take to pass, the more the monthly fee stacks up.
Third, get a feel for spread and execution in small size. If you put tight spreads first, ThinkCapital, with EUR/USD from 0.0 pips (MT5 raw), is a candidate. The numbers vary by conditions, so confirming them on a live account is the surest approach. Plenty of firms sell themselves on tight spreads, but those are their own claims — we have not measured them.
Fourth, confirm scalping restrictions and minimum hold times before signing up. This determines whether you can ultimately withdraw. If you want to lower your initial cost with a discount, check the coupon list as well.
The final investment decision is your own. This site does not provide investment advice and does not guarantee profits.
Frequently asked questions (FAQ)
Q. What makes a prop firm good for scalping?
Three things, in order: tight spreads, fast execution, and not banning scalping. When you enter dozens of times a day, tiny differences in spread and slippage accumulate into a large gap in results.
Q. Is scalping banned at prop firms?
It depends on the firm. Most 2-Step programs allow ordinary scalping, but some firms ban tick scalping, HFT (high-frequency trading), and latency arbitrage. FXIFY, for example, explicitly lists tick scalping and HFT as prohibited conduct. Always confirm the official rules before you sign up.
Q. Do I need to watch out for minimum hold-time rules?
Yes. Some firms set a minimum hold-time rule, such as not counting positions held for less than a set number of seconds. The latest hold-time rules for each firm covered here should be checked on their official sites. If you scalp on a seconds timeframe, confirm this before you sign up.
Q. Are there time-zone constraints for scalping from Japan?
The FX-focused firms (FundingPips, FTMO, Funded7, ThinkCapital) let you trade the high-liquidity European and US hours, which fall in the Japanese evening through late night. Apex, by contrast, is a CME futures specialist, so its main arena is US hours (Japanese night to early morning).
Recommended firms
Scalping permissions and spread conditions change, but if you choose on long-term track record and transparency, the following two firms are the industry’s mainstays.
The5%ers — for those who want to start without an evaluation
A veteran with 10 years of operation (since 2016). With Instant Funding you can start immediately, with no evaluation pressure. The profit split scales up to 100%.
→ See The5%ers official site (coupon code “HZZS4” for a discount)
FTMO — the peace of mind of the largest name in the industry
The industry standard, with 11 years of operation (since 2015). An orthodox model in which a funded account is granted after passing the Challenge. It publishes one of the largest cumulative payout track records in the industry.