Futures Prop Firms - The Best For 2024 - Living From Trading (2024)

Futures trading can be quite expensive, and when our account is small, it’s difficult to cover the costs and even make a profit on top of that.

The solution that a lot of traders find is to apply to a futures funded account from a proprietary firm.

In this article, you’ll learn what are the top best futures trading prop firms and you’ll be able to compare them to choose the best one for your personal situation.

The Top 3 Best Futures Prop Firms

Let’s start with the list of the 3 best futures proprietary trading firms.

Topstep

Rating: 4.9

REVIEW

Topstep is a Futures prop firm, located in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded in 2010. Read the full Topstep review

FEATURES

Instruments: Equity Futures, Foreign Exchange Futures, Agricultural Futures, Energy, Interest Rates Futures, Metals Futures.

Max balance: $150,000

Profit split: 90%

Cost: from $165/month

Platforms: TSTrader, NinjaTrader, Quantower, TradingView, Sierra Chart, T4, Jigsaw Daytradr, Multicharts, R|Trader Pro, VolFix, Trade Navigator, ATAS OrderFlow Trading, MotiveWave, Bookmap, Investor/RT

Apex Trader Funding

Rating: 4.9

REVIEW

Apex Trader Funding is a Futures prop firm, located in Austin, Texas, USA. It was founded in 2021. Read the full Apex Trader Funding review

FEATURES

Instruments: Equity Futures, Foreign Exchange Futures, Agricultural Futures, Energy, Interest Rates Futures, Metals Futures.

Max balance: $300,000

Profit split: 90%

Cost: from $137/month

Platforms: NinjaTrader, Tradovate, TradingView, Wealthcharts (web platform), Trader, ATAS, Bookmap, Edgeclear, Finamark, Jigsaw Trading, Motivewave, Quantower, Rithmic, Sierra Chart, Volfix, and Rithmic

The Trading Pit

Rating: 4.8

REVIEW

The Trading Pit is a Futures, and Forex prop firm, located in Liechtenstein. It was founded in 2021. Read the full The Trading Pit review

FEATURES

Instruments: Forex, Indices, Metals, Commodities, Stocks, Crypto, Equity Futures, Foreign Exchange Futures, Agricultural Futures, Energy, Interest Rates Futures, Metals Futures.

Max balance: $5,000,000

Profit split: up to 80%

Cost: from €99

Platforms: MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, ATAS, Quantower, R/Trader, Sierra Charts, Jigsaw, and Volfix

Other Interesting Futures Prop Trading Firms

These futures prop firms are not at the top 3, but are also interesting, and generally not really far away from the previous ones in terms of quality and services provided.

Prop Firm Type Profit Split Cost Max Balance Rating Review Visit
Futures Prop Firms - The Best For 2024 - Living From Trading (4) Futures 90% from $50/month $150,000

4.8

Read review
Futures up to 90% from $150/month $150,000

4.8

Read review
Futures 90% from $145/month $100,000

4.8

Read review
Futures Prop Firms - The Best For 2024 - Living From Trading (7) Futures 80% from $150/month $400,000

4.7

Read review
Futures Prop Firms - The Best For 2024 - Living From Trading (8) Futures up to 80% from $89/month $200,000

4.7

Read review
Futures 90% from $115/month $250,000

4.7

Read review
Futures up to 90% from $26/month $300,000

4.6

Read review
Futures Prop Firms - The Best For 2024 - Living From Trading (11) Futures 90% from $165/month $250,000

4.6

Read review
Futures 80% from $80/month $300,000

4.0

Read review

How Should I Choose A Futures Prop Firm

If you are undecided between two or more futures prop trading firms, you can use our prop firm comparison tool. Just choose the firms that you want to compare and immediately check the results with a detailed comparison.

Compare Any Prop Firm

How Were These Futures Prop Trading Firms Chosen And Rated

The futures prop firms that appear here were rated based on different factors, which include:

  • Difficulty: How easy it is to pass the prop firm challenges or evaluations.
  • Futures platforms: The range of futures trading platforms available.
  • Customer support: How fast and reliable the prop firm’s customer support is in solving your problems and answering your questions.
  • Profit split: How much of the profits the prop firm shares with you.
  • Instruments: How vast the range of futures instruments available to trade is.
  • Cost: How much does a futures funded account cost to apply and maintain.
  • User Rating: How good the futures prop firm is rated by other users.

What Can You Trade On A Futures Prop Firm

Typically, you can trade CME Futures Assets with futures prop trading firms. That includes CME, CBOT, NYMEX, and COMEX.

The instruments available in the vast majority of the futures proprietary trading firms are:

  • Equity Futures
  • Foreign Exchange Futures
  • Agricultural Futures
  • Energy Futures
  • Interest Rate Futures
  • Metals Futures
  • Crypto Futures

How Big Are The Funded Accounts

The maximum futures prop firm’s funded accounts typically go from $150,00 to $400,000.

These accounts are not limited by margin but by the maximum number of contracts that you can trade based on the account size. This is a typical characteristic of futures trading funding.

How Much Is The Profit Split

For instant funded accounts, the profit split is not big, usually around 50%.

For funded accounts after a challenge, the payout is between 80% and 90%. This means that the futures proprietary firm only keeps 10% to 20% of the profits that you made.

Besides that, it’s also normal that the trader gets 100% of the first profits. This ranges between the first $5,000 and $10,000 in profits.

What Trading Platforms Are Available?

The vast majority of the most popular futures trading platforms are supported by futures prop firms.

Just to mention some: Ninjatrader, Rithmic, Bookmap, Agena Trader, Motive Wave, Photon, Collective2, InsideEdge Trader, Optimus Flow, ScalpTool, Medved Trader, Quantower, Trade Navigator, Overcharts, Sierra Chart, Volfix, TigerTrade, MultiCharts, QScalp, QST, TSLAB, and more.

Are Futures Prop Firms Legit?

Yes, Futures prop trading firms are legit and exist as real companies. The vast majority is registered in the US.

If you read the individual review for each prop firm you’ll find more details about the company and how to contact them.

Advantages Of Futures Prop Firms

  • When trading Futures, you are trading a “real market”
  • You don’t need to risk your own capital to trade.
  • You can get funded with big-sized accounts, so you don’t need to overleverage and gamble your small account to potentially make decent profits.
  • You are forced to follow proper risk management rules.

Disadvantages Of Futures Prop Firms

  • A lot of futures trading platforms are paid, although some futures prop firms may offer them for free, during the challenge phase and also after you get a funded account.
  • The real-time data is frequently paid as an extra. Some prop firms may offer it for free though.
  • There’s a monthly cost associated, even after you pass the challenge and get a futures funded account.
  • They keep a small part of the profits for them.

Learn More

  • What is prop trading
  • Prop firms comparison tool
  • List of thebest prop trading firms
Futures Prop Firms - The Best For 2024 - Living From Trading (2024)

FAQs

What are the best prop firms for futures trading? ›

Quick Look: Best Prop Trading Firms
  • Best for Beginner Futures Traders: Apex Trader Funding.
  • Best for Experienced Traders: FXIFY.
  • Best for Stock Traders: Trade the Pool.
  • Best for Forex, Indices and Metal Traders: The 5ers.
  • Best for All Futures Traders: BluSky.
  • Best for Seasoned and Undercapitalized Traders: Top One Trader.

Do people trade futures for a living? ›

When you're trading futures for a living it's important to treat it like any other new business venture. Keep regular hours, eat, exercise and dress well and reach out to other people in the trading community for advice and interaction. Doing so will keep you feeling healthy and centered. You'll also need a plan.

Can you make a living trading for a prop firm? ›

Also known as “prop trading,” it offers higher earnings potential much earlier in your career than jobs like investment banking or private equity. It's arguably the most merit-based industry within finance: if you make millions of dollars for your firm, you'll earn some percentage of it.

Which prop firm is the most reliable? ›

Overview: Apex Trader Funding is the best futures prop trading firm on this list for a variety of reasons, but most notably because it boasts the highest pass rate for its evaluation program out of all the futures prop firms on this list. It is also by far the most friendly option for beginner futures traders.

Which futures is most profitable? ›

What futures are most profitable? Trading in futures markets such as the Micro E-Mini Russell 2000 (M2K), Micro E-Mini S&P 500 (MES), Micro E-Mini Dow (MYM), and Micro E-Micro FX contracts can be highly profitable due to their distinct market characteristics.

Which trading prop firm is best? ›

The most popular prop trading firms and funded programmes
  • Axi Select.
  • FTMO.
  • The Forex Funder.
  • E8 Markets.
  • The 5%ers.
  • Funded Next.
  • Funded Trading Plus.

Is it possible to live just from trading? ›

Trading is often viewed as a high barrier-to-entry profession, but as long as you have both ambition and patience, you can trade for a living (even with little to no money). Trading can become a full-time career opportunity, a part-time opportunity, or just a way to generate supplemental income.

How much do top futures traders make? ›

While ZipRecruiter is seeing annual salaries as high as $196,000 and as low as $53,000, the majority of Futures Trader salaries currently range between $57,500 (25th percentile) to $181,000 (75th percentile) with top earners (90th percentile) making $192,500 annually across the United States.

What is the success rate of futures traders? ›

Tradeciety provides clearer and more time-specific futures trading stats–namely, that 40% of all futures day traders quit in 4 months, 80% quit within a year, and that only 7% are able to last 5 years or more. Bear in mind that among the 20% who last over a year, not all of them are profitable, just persistent.

Is trading for a prop firm worth it? ›

Prop trading is worth it, although it's not recommended to invest more than you can afford to lose. Prop trading is suitable for beginner traders who don't have enough capital to start their journey.

How many traders pass prop firms? ›

According to it, 4% of traders, on average, pass prop firm challenges. But only 1% of traders kept their funded accounts for a reasonable amount of time. While this result is not nearly as bad as the one discussed earlier, it still looks bleak for prospective prop traders. But why is the percentage of failure so high?

How much capital is needed to start a prop firm? ›

How much money do you need to open a prop firm? Starting an online prop firm can cost as little as $10,000, while starting a traditional prop firm can cost up to $1 million.

Which prop firm is better than FTMO? ›

Who are FTMO Top Competitors? FTMO 's top competitors in May 2024 are: FunderPro, the5ers and more. FunderPro is currently rank as the number one on the list of top Forex Prop Firms.

Why is FTMO banned in the US? ›

FTMO have now restricted access to all new US-based traders as of January 2024. This appears to be related to regulatory issues and may have something to do with the recent My Forex Funds case.

What prop firm pays the fastest? ›

Funding Traders offers some of the fastest, most flexible payout terms in the industry. As a funded trader yourself, this industry-leading prop firm empowers you to maximize profits and get paid faster.

Do prop firms offer futures trading? ›

A lot of futures trading platforms are paid, although some futures prop firms may offer them for free, during the challenge phase and also after you get a funded account. The real-time data is frequently paid as an extra. Some prop firms may offer it for free though.

Does FTMO allow futures trading? ›

For example, FTMO clients can access CFD contracts on stock indices, crypto or futures with zero commission. However, the truth is that trading Futures is still much more difficult financially because of paying for the data feed and platforms.

What is the fastest payout futures prop firm? ›

The Top Forex Prop Firms Ranked by Pay-out Frequency
Prop FirmPayout Cycle
FunderProDaily
the5ersWeekly
City Traders ImperiumWeekly
Lux Trading FirmWeekly
12 more rows

Which platform is best for futures? ›

Best Futures Trading Platforms of 2024
  • Best for Professional Futures Traders: Interactive Brokers.
  • Best for Dedicated Futures Traders: NinjaTrader.
  • Best for Futures Education: E*TRADE.
  • Best for Desktop Futures Trading: TradeStation.

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