Futures vs forex/CFD prop firms: the differences

At a futures firm you trade exchange-listed contracts. Topstep lists the CME Group products it permits, from the E-mini S&P 500 (ES) and Micro E-mini S&P (MES) through crude oil and gold to currency futures such as Euro FX (6E). Spot forex is not on offer: Topstep is futures-only and points forex traders to FX futures^[10].

There is also a hard close: you must be flat by 3:10 PM Chicago time (CT) every weekday, with no overnight holds^[10].

At a forex/CFD firm you trade currency pairs and CFDs on the firm's platform. FTMO lists forex, indices, commodities, stocks and crypto^[44] as tradeable. FTMO.com splits its FAQ into "CFDs" and "Futures"^[18]; our FTMO profile only covers the CFD programmes so far.

Both worlds are simulated. Topstep calls the Trading Combine and the "Express Funded Account" simulated programmes^[9]. At Take Profit Trader, orders from Test and PRO accounts do not go to the exchange^[14]. At FTMO all trading is simulated, with fictitious capital^[19].

According to Topstep, the CME charges for all market data, simulated accounts included. Topstep covers Level 1 (top of book); Level 2 (depth of market) costs USD 38 a month, and you sign the CME data agreement as a non-professional^[11].

At Topstep you trade on TopstepX^[28], developed by ProjectX Trading LLC^[9]. Take Profit Trader offers platforms with a CQG or Rithmic data feed; most need a licence key, the firm says^[16].

Topstep also deducts fees per contract, in the Trading Combine and the "Express Funded Account" too. A round turn (buy and sell) costs USD 3.78 in ES and USD 1.22 in MES there, made up of exchange fee, NFA fee and commission^[12].

FTMO offers MT4, MT5, cTrader and TradingView^[42]; the technology and data feed come from liquidity providers, FTMO says^[19]. Check the spread: Austria's FMA reports traders who saw heavily inflated spreads compared with real brokers, and gives an example of a 0.8 pip market spread against 2.5 pips at the prop firm^[1].

Take Profit Trader itself calls the end-of-day trailing limit one of the most common reasons accounts fail^[17]. The examples use three kinds:

• Trailing end of day (EOD): the limit rises only with the closing balance and never falls^[23].
• Trailing intraday: the limit follows the intraday high, open profit included^[34].
• Static: the limit stays fixed at the starting capital minus the maximum loss^[38].

In the evaluation, all three futures examples trail at the close: Topstep USD 2,000 on 50K, trailing end of day^[23], Take Profit Trader USD 2,000 on 50K, trailing end of day^[29], MyFundedFutures Rapid USD 2,000 on 50K, trailing end of day^[33]. At Topstep the limit stops at the starting balance but is monitored in real time, open losses included^[23].

Watch the switch to the paid stage. MyFundedFutures Rapid, "Sim Funded" account: USD 2,000 on 50K, trailing intraday, locks at USD 100^[34]. Take Profit Trader, PRO account: trailing intraday from the peak, open profit included^[15]; the home page advertises EOD only for the live PRO+ account^[14]. Topstep, "Express Funded Account": USD 2,000 on 50K, trailing end of day up to USD 0^[24].

In the forex/CFD examples the evaluation limit is static: FTMO Challenge 2-Step 10%, static^[38] plus a daily loss limit of 5%^[39], Alpha Pro 8% 8%, static^[45]. EOD is not a futures-only feature, though: the FTMO Challenge 1-Step uses 10%, trailing end of day^[40].

Worked example with a 50,000 starting balance and a 2,000 limit, as on Topstep 50K^[23]: you reach 51,500 during the day and close at 50,500. End of day, the limit rises to 48,500, leaving you 2,000 of room. Trailing intraday, it rose to 49,500 at the peak, leaving only 1,000.

Example of a static 10% limit on a 100,000 account, as in the FTMO Challenge 2-Step^[38]: the limit sits at 90,000 for good, however far ahead you get.

The drawdown calculator shows how the limit moves with your own numbers.

The three futures examples set a fixed maximum number of open contracts per account size: Topstep 5 minis or 50 micros (50K)^[25], Take Profit Trader 6 contracts or 60 micros (50K)^[30], MyFundedFutures Rapid 5 minis or 50 micros (50K)^[35]. At Topstep, micros and minis count at a 10:1 ratio^[13].

Worked example on fees: for the limit, 50 MES count the same as 5 ES at Topstep^[13], but fees are charged per contract. A round turn costs 5 × USD 3.78 = USD 18.90 with 5 ES and 50 × USD 1.22 = USD 61.00 with 50 MES^[12].

In the forex/CFD examples, leverage limits position size; one firm adds a lot cap. Alpha Capital Group gives Alpha Pro leverage of forex 1:100, metals 1:30, indices 1:20, oil 1:10^[46] and a cap of 20 lots on 50k and 40 lots on 100k^[21]. FTMO states leverage up to 1:100 (Standard), 1:30 (Swing)^[41][18]. We found no lot cap on the FTMO pages we read, but a server limit of 200 orders at a time and 2,000 positions a day^[20].

Work out lots or contracts from your risk and stop with the position size calculator.

The futures examples pay out often, but with conditions:

• MyFundedFutures Rapid: payouts daily^[36], the first 24 hours after the first trade, once a USD 2,100 buffer is reached (50K)^[37].
• Take Profit Trader: daily^[31] on the PRO account, profit split 80% in PRO, 90% in PRO+^[32].
• Topstep: on the "Express Funded Account", Standard path, after 5 winning days of at least USD 150 net each^[26], profit split 90%^[27].

In the forex/CFD examples the rhythm depends on the model:

• FTMO: request on or after the 14th day after the first trade^[43]; the FAQ we read gives no fixed rhythm after that^[43].
• Alpha Capital Group, Alpha Pro: on the bi-weekly method every 14 days^[47], the first request 14 days after the first trade, with at least 5 trading days^[48]. On the "On-Demand" method, any time, provided the account shows at least 2% gross profit and no trading day makes up more than 40% of total profit^[22].

Daily does not mean unconditional. On MyFundedFutures Rapid the first payout only comes after the buffer, and the same stage uses the intraday trailing limit^[37][34]. The challenge cost calculator adds up what you pay before a first payout is possible.

In the US, the CFTC delegated the registration of futures brokers to the National Futures Association (NFA): futures commission merchants (FCMs) in 1984 and introducing brokers (IBs) in 1983^[4][5]. An FCM accepts orders and customer money; an IB accepts orders but no customer money^[6][7].

According to NFA BASIC, Topstep Brokerage LLC has been registered as an introducing broker and an NFA member since 8 September 2025 (NFA ID 0567079)^[8]. Topstep describes it as a brokerage for trading your own capital, while TopstepTrader LLC runs the simulated programmes^[9]. The registration covers the brokerage, not the challenge. Take Profit Trader writes that neither the NFA nor the CFTC requires futures funding firms to be members; only orders from the live PRO+ account reach the exchange, via Tradovate, which it calls its regulated broker^[14].

Topstep's own statistics for 2025: 16.8% of Trading Combines started were passed, and 0.71% of participants trading an "Express Funded Account" were called up to a "Live Funded Account"^[9].

For CFDs in the EU, ESMA agreed rules in 2018 for sales to retail clients: leverage from 30:1 on major currency pairs down to 2:1 on cryptocurrencies, a close-out at 50% of the minimum required margin, negative balance protection and a standard risk warning^[2]. ESMA let its temporary measure expire at the end of July 2019, because most national authorities had adopted permanent rules at least as strict^[3]. These rules concern CFD providers and their retail clients; FTMO says its leverage of up to 1:100 applies to simulated capital only^[18].

On the prop firms themselves, the FMA notes that most prop trading platforms are currently not supervised. Depending on the set-up, licensable investment advice can arise even with purely simulated trading, and the FMA puts that question to external traders too^[1].

• Loss limit: end of day, intraday or static, and does it change after the evaluation?
• Running costs: which data and per-contract fees apply on the simulated account?
• Position size: contracts, lots or only leverage?
• Payouts: which conditions come with short cycles, such as a buffer, winning days or a minimum amount?
• Oversight: which company is registered, and does it run the programme you buy?

Firm profiles: Topstep, Take Profit Trader, MyFundedFutures, FTMO and Alpha Capital Group.