I’ve passed 4 prop firm evaluations and failed 7. That ratio pretty much tells you everything about how this industry works.
A prop firm gives you money to trade. Could be $50K, could be $300K. You don’t put up the capital. You pay a fee to take an evaluation, prove you can trade without blowing up, and if you pass they fund you. You keep 70-90% of whatever you make.
Sounds great on paper. And honestly it kind of is, if you know what you’re getting into.
How the Eval Works
You pay somewhere between $100 and $500 depending on account size. Then you trade a sim account with real market data. Hit the profit target (usually 8-10% of account size) without violating the drawdown limit (usually 5-10%) and you get funded.
The catch? Most people fail. Not because the targets are impossible but because trading with rules feels completely different than trading your own money. You start thinking about the drawdown limit instead of the setup. You take profit too early because you’re scared of giving it back. You overtrade on day 3 because you’re behind pace.
I failed my first three evals in the first week each time. Same mistake every time. Sized too big on day one, took a hit, then revenge traded to make it back. Classic.
What Happens After You Pass
You get a funded account. Real money, real P&L. Most firms start you on micros (MES, MNQ) and let you scale to minis after you’ve shown consistency for a few weeks or months.
Profit splits range from 70/30 to 90/10 in your favor. Some firms have scaling programs where your account grows as you hit milestones. Go from 50K to 100K to 150K over time.
The rules don’t go away though. You still have daily loss limits, max drawdown, sometimes position size caps. Violate any of them and the account gets pulled. I’ve seen guys pass the eval, make $8K in two weeks, then lose the account on one bad Friday because they ignored the daily limit.
The Money Part Nobody Talks About
Failed evals add up. If you’re paying $200 per attempt and it takes you 4 tries to pass a 50K account, that’s $800. Not the end of the world but it stings when you’re already strapped for cash.
Some firms run promos, some offer free retries if you hit certain thresholds. Shop around. The eval fee is a real cost of doing business in this space.
Also taxes. You’re an independent contractor. Nobody’s withholding anything for you. Set aside 25-30% of your payouts or you’ll hate yourself in April.
Is It Worth It
If you can already trade profitably on a sim, yeah. Prop firms are the fastest way to get real capital without saving up $50K of your own money.
If you’re still figuring out your strategy or you can’t follow rules, save your eval fees. Trade a demo until you’re consistent. The prop firm will still be there when you’re ready.
I trade with Elite Trader Funding for futures evals. They’re solid.
If you’re trying to figure out contract sizing in a funded account, read my micro vs mini futures guide first.