How We Rate Prop Firms: Review Methodology

Which prop firms do we review?

A prop firm is reviewed when readers search for it and when it publishes its challenge rules, prices and payout terms on its own website. Firms are selected for review based on reader interest, not on whether they have a commercial relationship with FX Handbook. Firms with and without such a relationship are reviewed with the same method.

Prop firms are a different kind of company from forex brokers. Most are not authorised as investment firms, and challenge and funded accounts are usually simulated: the trader pays a fee for an evaluation, and the firm pays a share of simulated profits under its own terms. A prop firm review therefore cannot rest on a regulator’s register, as a broker review does: are prop firms legit?

What does a prop firm review check?

Each review states what it is based on:

• Purchased challenge: FX Handbook bought and traded a challenge with the firm. Rules, platforms, support and, where reached, the payout process are tested directly.
• Published information only: the review is based on the firm’s own terms, help centre and published data, without buying a challenge.

Rules are taken from the firm’s terms and help centre, not from advertising. For each programme the review records the fee, profit target, daily loss limit, maximum loss and its type, minimum trading days, time limit and profit split, using the $100,000 account as the common reference: prop firm challenge explained.

How are prop firms scored?

Each prop firm is scored on six criteria. The weights reflect what matters most to a trader paying for a challenge: whether the firm pays, and whether its rules are fair and clear.

Criterion	Weight	What we check
Payout reliability and track record	30%	Published payout data, and whether it is independently audited Years in operation, payout denials and past rule changes applied to existing accounts Patterns in public complaints (for example Trustpilot and Reddit), weighed with care
Fairness of the rules	20%	Drawdown type: static, end-of-day trailing or intraday trailing, and balance or equity based Consistency, news trading, weekend holding and strategy restrictions Whether the rules are written clearly before purchase and applied as written
Cost and value	20%	Fee for a $100,000 account, refund of the fee and free retries Profit split, payout frequency and the time to the first payout
Platforms and trading conditions	10%	Platforms offered (for example MetaTrader 5, cTrader, Match-Trader) Published spreads, commissions and instruments
Transparency and terms	10%	Company information: legal entity, country and ownership Clear statement that accounts are simulated, and clarity of the terms and conditions
Access and support	10%	Which countries are accepted, including the United States Support channels, hours and languages

Each criterion is scored on a scale of 1 to 5:

• 5, Excellent: clearly better than typical for prop firms
• 4, Good: above typical, with minor weaknesses
• 3, Average: typical for prop firms
• 2, Weak: notable gaps, stricter rules or higher costs than typical
• 1, Poor: serious gaps

The overall score is the weighted average of the six criterion scores, rounded to one decimal. A review that has not scored every criterion shows no overall score.

How an overall prop firm score is calculated (illustrative only)

A hypothetical prop firm scores 5 for payout reliability, 4 for fairness of the rules, 4 for cost and value, 5 for platforms, 4 for transparency and 3 for access and support:

(5 × 30% + 4 × 20% + 4 × 20% + 5 × 10% + 4 × 10% + 3 × 10%) = 1.5 + 0.8 + 0.8 + 0.5 + 0.4 + 0.3 = 4.3 out of 5

How are rules judged for fairness?

The same rule can be easy or hard to live with depending on how it is measured. Reviews look at:

• Drawdown type: a static maximum loss stays at the same level, while a trailing one follows the account’s high and leaves less room after a winning run: prop firm drawdown rules.
• Consistency rules: limits on the share of profit made on the best day: prop firm consistency rule.
• Trading restrictions: news trading, weekend holding, expert advisors and copy trading.
• Clarity: whether the rules are written clearly before purchase, and whether the firm has changed rules for accounts already bought.

Our prop firm drawdown calculator and consistency calculator apply the same rules to a trader’s own numbers.

How do commercial relationships affect prop firm reviews?

FX Handbook may earn a commission when a reader buys a challenge through a partner link. These relationships do not affect scores, which come only from the criteria above. In addition:

• Prop firms cannot pay to change a score. Paid placements, where offered, are labelled as sponsored.
• Pages with partner links say so near the top of the page, and partner links are marked as sponsored.
• Partner links are not shown to readers in countries the firm does not accept.
• Educational articles, the glossary and calculators contain no partner links.

Current relationships are listed on the affiliate disclosure page.

How often are prop firm reviews updated?

Each review shows the date its facts were last verified. Facts are checked again at least once a month, and sooner when a firm changes its rules, prices or payout terms; changes are logged on the prop firm rules page. A firm that closes or stops paying is marked as such on its review. Errors reported by readers or firms are handled under the corrections policy.

What are the limits of our reviews?

A review reflects the programmes, account size and period checked. Rules differ between programmes and change over time, so the terms on the firm’s website on the day of purchase apply. A prop firm review is not personal financial advice. The challenge fee is lost if a rule is broken or the profit target is not reached.