There is no single best prop firm; the right choice is the plan whose rules fit how you already trade. On October 1, 2026, Topstep's 50K Trading Combine cost $49 a month plus a $149 activation fee (or $95 a month with none), FTMO Futures' 50K Growth plan cost $119 a month, and MyFundedFutures and Apex sold one-time evaluations. All four use a $3,000 target on 50K accounts and close positions daily. FTMO's classic Challenge and Funded Trading Plus trade CFDs, not exchange futures, and My Forex Funds is not operating. Terms change often, so confirm them on each firm's site before paying.
Fees and rules checked on each firm's official site and help center on October 1, 2026. An earlier version of this page listed outdated fees and rules, star ratings, payout-speed estimates, failure-rate figures and trader profiles that we could not verify; they have been removed. Prop firms change prices, promotions and rules often, so treat every number below as a dated snapshot.
Futures Prop Firms Compared: 50K Accounts
These four firms offer evaluations on CME futures, including ES and MES. Each has several plans; the table shows one comparable 50K plan per firm.
| 50K plan | Topstep Trading Combine | FTMO Futures Growth | MyFundedFutures Pro | Apex EOD evaluation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $49 a month plus $149 activation when you pass, or $95 a month with no activation fee | $119 a month, no activation fee (Pro plan: $139) | $159 one time on current promotion, no activation fee | $590 list, one time (shown at $59 with a coupon), plus $119 activation |
| Profit target | $3,000 | $3,000 | $3,000 | $3,000 |
| Maximum loss | $2,000, trails the end-of-day balance, enforced in real time | $2,000, end-of-day trailing | $2,000, end-of-day trailing | $2,000, end-of-day |
| Daily loss limit | Optional ($1,000 if chosen) | None (Pro: $1,000 hard) | None | $1,000, pauses trading for the session |
| Daily cutoff | Flat by 3:10 p.m. CT | Auto-flattened at 4:10 p.m. ET | Auto-closed at 4:10 p.m. ET | Flat before 4:59 p.m. ET |
| Payout split | 90/10 | 90/10 | 80/20 | 100% |
Sources: Topstep pricing, Maximum Loss Limit, Daily Loss Limit and trading times; FTMO's futures comparison table and instrument FAQ; MyFundedFutures' Pro plan and permitted trading times; Apex's product selector, EOD evaluation rules and trading times.
First, Which “MFF”?
Older comparisons use “MFF” for two different companies:
- My Forex Funds was a forex and CFD prop firm. In 2023 the CFTC sued Traders Global Group, which operated as My Forex Funds, accusing it of fraudulently booking at least $310 million in customer fees. In May 2025 a federal judge dismissed the case and sanctioned the CFTC, finding it had acted in bad faith (Reuters). On September 28, 2026 the brand's new owner said it “is not currently offering any products or services under the MyForexFunds brand” (announcement).
- MyFundedFutures, often shortened to MFFU, is an operating futures prop firm and the one in the table above.
FTMO's Challenge and Funded Trading Plus Trade CFDs, Not Futures
A CFD (contract for difference) on the S&P 500 tracks the index but is not the CME futures contract: it is a product of the provider, with its own prices, leverage and trading hours. FTMO runs two separate programs, and its CFD rules do not carry over to FTMO Futures.
| CFD program | Profit target | Daily loss | Maximum loss | Reward split |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FTMO Challenge, 2-Step | 10%, then 5% in verification | 5% | 10%, static | Up to 90% |
| FTMO Challenge, 1-Step | 10% | 3% | 10%, end-of-day trailing | 90% |
| Funded Trading Plus 1-Step Express ($100K, $549) | 10% | 4%, balance based | 6%, trailing | 80% |
Sources: FTMO's Challenge comparison table, the Funded Trading Plus homepage and its note that it does not offer futures. FTMO's homepage advertised a 20% promotion on the $100K 1-Step Challenge on October 1, 2026, and its comparison table lists a full fee refund for the 2-Step Challenge but not for the 1-Step.
What to Know About Each Futures Firm
Topstep
- Billing: the Trading Combine is a monthly subscription.
- Rules: best single day at or below 55% of the profit target, or the target rises (consistency rule); up to 5 minis or 50 micros on 50K (parameters). The Daily Loss Limit is optional in the Combine and Express Funded Account, and triggering it pauses trading rather than failing the account.
- Payouts: 90/10 in the Express Funded Account, after 5 winning days of $150 or more on the standard path, up to 50% of the balance per request with caps ($2,000 on 50K) (payout policy).
- Platform and live capital: TopstepX is the only platform, and traders are called up to the Live Funded Account by Topstep's risk team.
FTMO Futures
- Plans: Growth and Pro, each on its own monthly subscription; Growth has no daily loss limit and a 40% consistency rule, Pro a hard daily loss limit and a 50% rule.
- Payouts: 90/10, with requests every 4 days on Growth and every 5 days on Pro, capped per request ($2,500 and $5,000 on 50K).
- Session: the trading day closes at 4:10 p.m. ET and reopens at 6:00 p.m. ET, and open positions and pending orders are flattened at the close.
MyFundedFutures
- Plans: four (Builder, Rapid, Rapid EOD and Pro), with no activation fee on any of them. Prices move with promotions, so confirm the amount and billing terms at checkout.
- Rapid 50K: $3,000 target, $2,000 end-of-day loss limit in the evaluation, then an intraday trailing drawdown once funded, daily payouts and a 90/10 split (Rapid guide). News trading around top-tier releases is allowed in the evaluation but not in the funded stage.
- Pro 50K: end-of-day drawdown, no daily loss limit, 80/20 split, and a review for live capital after three consecutive payouts.
Apex Trader Funding
- Accounts: new evaluations since March 2026 are one-time purchases that run for 30 days with no resets, in end-of-day or intraday trailing versions. Standard versions add a Performance Account activation fee when you pass ($119 for the 50K EOD, $89 for the 50K intraday).
- Payouts: 100% split after 5 trading days with at least $250 of profit each on a 50K EOD account, a $500 minimum, a 50% consistency rule, a safety net of the drawdown limit plus $100, and at most 6 payouts per account (EOD payouts).
How Trailing Drawdown Changes the Math
The maximum loss rule deserves more attention than the profit target, because the same “$2,000” behaves differently depending on how it trails. A worked example on a 50K account with an end-of-day trailing limit that locks at the starting balance, as Topstep describes:
| Day | Closing balance | Loss limit after the close |
|---|---|---|
| Start | $50,000 | $48,000 |
| Day 1 | $51,200 | $49,200 (trails up) |
| Day 2 (dips to $49,500 intraday) | $50,300 | $49,200 (never moves down) |
| Day 3 | $52,400 | $50,000 (locks at the starting balance) |
After day 3, a $2,000 cushion has become $2,400 above a fixed floor. An intraday trailing limit follows your highest equity during the session, open profits included: if a trade is up $800 and then comes back to flat, the limit has still moved up $800. That version penalizes traders who let open profits run and then give some back, so check which type your plan uses at each stage.
What an Evaluation Really Costs
Compare the total you might pay, not the headline price. For budgeting only, not as a prediction of how long passing takes, here is what two months costs at the October 1, 2026 prices above:
- Topstep 50K: $98 for two months on the Standard path plus $149 activation if you pass, or $190 on the no-activation path.
- FTMO Futures 50K Growth: $238 for two months; a reset costs $109.
- MyFundedFutures and Apex: one-time fees, but each failed attempt means buying a new evaluation, and Apex adds activation when you pass.
Add platform and data fees where they apply, and treat every evaluation fee as money that may not come back. A cheaper plan whose rules fight your strategy is the expensive one.
Simulated Accounts, Payouts and Protections
A prop-firm evaluation is a purchase of access to a program, not a deposit in a brokerage account. FTMO's site notice says the accounts it provides “are demo accounts with fictitious funds” in a simulated environment, and MyFundedFutures describes requesting “real payouts from simulated trading.” Topstep and MyFundedFutures offer live capital only to traders their risk teams invite. Payouts are governed by each firm's terms, which the firm can change, so save the rules that applied when you bought.
If a firm or person claims to be registered with the CFTC, you can check in NFA's BASIC database, which covers firms and individuals in the U.S. futures industry.
How to Choose: A Checklist
- Session: can your strategy be flat by the firm's cutoff every day, including early holiday closes?
- Drawdown type: end-of-day or intraday trailing, and does it change after you pass?
- Daily loss rule: none, a pause, or an account-ending hard limit?
- Consistency: would your best recent day break a 40%, 50% or 55% rule?
- Size: does the contract limit fit your normal ES or MES size?
- Costs: monthly or one time, activation, resets, platform and data.
- Payouts: minimum days, buffers, per-request caps and the split.
- Evidence: run your last 30 trading days through the rules. If you would have failed, the plan does not fit yet.
Build and test the trading process before paying for any evaluation. Our ES futures trading strategy guide covers sizing from the stop, and the ES scalping guide shows how costs change the win rate a short-term method needs. For a rules-only comparison focused on ES traders, see the best prop firm for ES futures.
Evaluation fees are a cost at risk, passing an evaluation does not guarantee a payout, and trading futures in your own account can lose more than you deposit.
Prop Firm Comparison FAQ
What is the best prop firm for futures traders in 2026?
There is no single best firm. Compare the specific plan's drawdown type, daily loss rule, session cutoff, contract limit, total cost and payout conditions against your own trade log, and choose the plan your tested process already fits.
Does FTMO offer futures?
Yes. FTMO Futures is separate from the CFD-based FTMO Challenge. On October 1, 2026 its 50K Growth plan cost $119 a month and its 50K Pro plan $139, both with a $3,000 target, an end-of-day trailing drawdown and a daily close at 4:10 p.m. ET, when open positions are automatically flattened.
What does MFF mean in prop trading?
It can mean two different firms. My Forex Funds was a forex and CFD prop firm that the CFTC sued in 2023; the case was dismissed in 2025, and the brand's new owner said in September 2026 that it offers no products under that name. MyFundedFutures, often shortened to MFFU, is an operating futures prop firm.
Does Funded Trading Plus offer futures?
No. Funded Trading Plus says it does not offer futures in its simulated platform; it offers simulated CFD markets, including the Nasdaq, SPX and US30. Its $100K 1-Step Express listed at $549 with a 10% target, a 4% daily loss limit and a 6% trailing maximum loss.
Can I hold futures positions overnight at a prop firm?
Not at the four futures firms compared here. Topstep requires positions closed by 3:10 p.m. CT, FTMO Futures and MyFundedFutures close positions at 4:10 p.m. ET, and Apex requires accounts to be flat before 4:59 p.m. ET. Markets close earlier on some holidays.
Which prop firms charge monthly and which charge once?
Topstep's Trading Combine and FTMO Futures are monthly subscriptions. Apex listed one-time evaluation fees on October 1, 2026, and MyFundedFutures' homepage described one-time payments with no renewals. Topstep's Standard path and Apex's standard evaluations add an activation fee when you pass.
Do I keep 100% of the profits?
It depends on the plan. Apex lists a 100% payout split; Topstep's Express Funded Account, FTMO Futures and MyFundedFutures' Rapid plan list 90/10; and MyFundedFutures' Pro plan lists 80/20. Buffers, minimum days, consistency rules and per-request caps limit how much you can withdraw and when.
Is passing an evaluation the same as getting live capital?
No. The funded stages at these firms are largely simulated accounts. FTMO describes its accounts as demo accounts with fictitious funds, and Topstep and MyFundedFutures move traders to live capital only by invitation from their risk teams. Payouts are made under each firm's terms, which can change.
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