• Main revenue stream: evaluation fees paid by traders
  • Roughly 80–90% of traders reportedly fail the evaluation, so the firm keeps those fees
  • Simulated trading environments keep operating costs low
  • Additional margin comes from internal spreads and commissions

A prop firm is not a charity, and understanding how it makes money helps you read the rules with realistic eyes. In our review of the major operators, evaluation fees are the dominant revenue line, supplemented by Instant Funding pricing and small internal margins on spreads. That said, the model is sustainable only as long as the firm pays out the minority who pass — which is why the ten-year veterans are the safest place to test your own edge.

The revenue lines

  • Evaluation fees. The bulk of revenue. With reported industry pass rates around 10–20%, the firm collects multiple challenge fees for every funded trader it onboards.
  • Instant Funding pricing. Direct purchase of a simulated funded account at 3–5x the cost of an equivalent evaluation. The firm absorbs the evaluation risk in exchange for the higher upfront fee.
  • Simulation efficiency. Most firms publicly state that trading occurs in a simulated environment with no orders routed to real markets. This keeps execution costs near zero and lets the firm legally avoid being classified as a broker in many jurisdictions.
  • Internal spreads and commissions. On top of fee revenue, the spread you pay during the evaluation produces a small margin for the firm.

Why this matters for you

The structure means the firm has a financial interest in challenge failure. By contrast, a firm that consistently publishes payout proofs is signaling that the funded-trader side of the ledger is also a meaningful revenue line — which is the configuration you want as a trader. Specifically, look for cumulative payout disclosures rather than one-off screenshots.

FTMO — Industry standard

The free trial lets you test everything at no cost, and the 2-Step Challenge fee is refunded with your first payout after passing (no refund if you fail). See the FTMO free trial guide.

→ FTMO official

The5%ers — for building up from a small ticket

Operating since 2016. Three plans run in parallel — the one-step Hyper Growth, the two-step High Stakes and the three-step Bootcamp — with fees from $19. The profit split climbs in steps toward 100%, but a flat 3.5% is deducted from every withdrawal. On 2026-08-01 this site re-rated The5%ers from High to Low trust (★4.6→3.3) after the firm itself acknowledged payout delays in March 2026. If you use it, keep the ticket small and confirm your first payout arrives before scaling up.

→ The5%ers official (coupon “HZZS4”)