The 3 Best Proprietary Trading Firms For Beginners in 2025
Finding the best proprietary trading firm for beginners can be tedious and confusing. There are dozens to choose from, all with different little details. Some firms are set up to help you succeed, while others make it hard to get funded and easy to fail.
For this comparison guide, I’ve used, ranked and reviewed the best prop trading firms for beginners.
Proprietary Trading Firms For Beginners – Comparison Table
| Header |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|
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Name | Earn2Trade | Tradeify | Apex Trader Funding |
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Passability* | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
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Minimum Days to a Check* | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
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Initial Balance | $25K – $400K | $25K – $150K | $25K – $150K |
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Profit Split | 50-80% | 90% | 90% |
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Tradable Assets | Futures (indices, metals, energy, commodities, currency) | Futures (indices, metals, energy, commodities, currency) | Futures (indices, metals, energy, commodities, currency) |
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Full Review | Earn2Trade Review | Tradeify Review | Apex Review |
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Offer | Earn2Trade Discount | Tradeify Coupon | Apex Coupon Code |
*results not guaranteed. This is a rating of the shortest possible amount of time it would take to get paid if you are successful. In some cases, that may depend on what part of the month it is when you pass, and that is also factored in. Most traders lose. Passability is a subjective rating based on the rules, goal-to-drawdown ratio, and observation of traders in the evaluations.
My pick for the best prop trading firm for beginners goes to…
1. Earn2Trade (Trader Career Path) – Top Prop Firm For Beginners
Earn2Trade has quietly helped thousands of new traders take their first real steps toward professional trading, and after two decades of watching firms come and go, I still put it near the top of my list for beginners. My own experience running through their evaluation confirmed what the structure promised. This is a firm built to move you forward, not trap you in a cycle of restarts.
The heart of it is the Trader Career Path (TCP), and the version I point most new traders toward is the TCP50, starting with a $50,000 virtual account. What makes it worth your attention is the roadmap. Earn2Trade tells you exactly what your progression looks like, step by step, all the way to a $400,000 live account. That kind of transparency is rare and reassuring.
Why I Like It for Beginners
You start by proving yourself in a $50,000 evaluation with a clear, reachable target: a $3,000 profit goal, a $2,000 end-of-day drawdown, and a $1,100 daily loss limit. Just a handful of simple risk rules to respect. That is the whole game at this stage, and it teaches you the discipline that actually keeps traders alive.
Here is what I appreciate most about the path they lay out.
You scale up without paying for a bigger evaluation. Pass the eval, get funded, and climb the ladder from $50k to $100k to $200k and finally to a $400,000 account. Each jump comes after you hit a profit goal and withdraw your share. You are not forced to buy your way into a large account. You earn your way there.
You choose LiveSim or Live after passing. Once you clear the evaluation, you decide between a LiveSim funded account or a Live funded account with the same capital. The funded stage brings weekly payouts, no monthly subscription, no consistency requirement, and no buffer requirement. That flexibility gives newer traders room to breathe.
A beginner-friendly dashboard with real learning tools. You get a free video library and study guides built into the experience, so you are not left figuring things out alone. For someone still building their foundation, that support is worth its weight.
Trade on the platform that fits you. NinjaTrader, Finamark, Tradovate, TradingView, and R Trader Pro are all available for free, with additional platforms offered as well. Data is free during the evaluation, which keeps your starting costs low.
The goal is to get you into a real account. Everything about the structure is designed to move you off sim and into managing real capital in the live market. That is the point, and Earn2Trade keeps it front and center.
Nice to Have
The setup is fast and automated. Follow the emailed instructions and you can be trading within about 10 to 15 minutes during market hours.
The minimum to complete the evaluation is 10 trading days, which is patient by design. Nothing worth doing is easy, and this pace forces you to show a real sample of your trading rather than one lucky afternoon.
There is also an active Discord community full of helpful traders and admins. Whether you have a question about the rules, want feedback on a setup, or just need to talk through a slow session, the people there show up.
My Least Favorite Parts
TCP is not the fastest route to funding. With that 10-day minimum, you are committing to a process, not a sprint. For impatient traders, that can feel slow, but honestly, patience pays in this business.
Data fees apply once you get funded. The exchanges charge these, and like most firms, Earn2Trade passes them along. I mention it so nothing surprises you later.
The live steps can carry a trailing drawdown, meaning your maximum drawdown can reset higher while you sit in a profitable trade. If you like letting winners run, plan for it.
The Progression, Made Simple
I know the ladder looks busy at first glance. It is not. Here is the reality of the TCP50 path once you pass the eval and get funded.
Your $50,000 funded account carries a $2,000 Drawdown, up to 6 contracts. Hit it, withdraw your profit share, and you move to a live account with a $3,500 Drawdown. Clear that, and you step to a $6,000 Drawdown, $11,000 goal, and up to 16 contracts. From there, you move up to the $400,000 account with a $12,000 fixed loss limit, and up to 30 contracts. Hit the goal of $40K there, and you receive a custom offer.
All the while, taking payouts at goals each time.
Pricing
The Trader Career Path starts at $190 per month (before discount) until you pass the evaluation and step into your funded account. There is a one-time $139 activation fee, and the part I like is that it comes out of your first successful withdrawal, not your pocket up front.
You can get it significantly cheaper through the link and code below. You can cancel your subscription at any time.
Get the Trader Career Path, respect the simple risk rules, and work your way up the ladder while pulling profits along the way. Trade with consistency and discipline, and a custom offer for a larger account becomes a real possibility. Success lives on the other side of that patience.
Not ready to commit yet? Read my full Earn2Trade Review to see the whole picture first. Or checkout the full details of the earn2trade discount.
2. Tradeify – The Simplest Place for a Beginner to Get Funded
When you’re just starting out, the last thing you need is a rulebook that reads like a mortgage contract. That is exactly why I point a lot of beginners toward Tradeify first.
Most firms hand you one narrow road and bury the rules in fine print. Tradeify hands you three clear paths and lets you pick the one that fits where you are in your journey.
You can take the Growth path, pass in a single day, and trade with end-of-day drawdown that gives your trades room to breathe. That EOD calculation matters more than beginners realize, because it means an ugly intraday swing will not blow your account the way it would at a firm using intraday trailing.
You can take the Select path, pass in three days, and unlock daily payouts with flexible funded rules once you’re trading real size.
Or, if you would rather skip the test entirely, Lightning drops you into an instant-funded account right away.
And to make it easier on a tight budget: there are no activation fees on any account anymore. No surprise bill waiting for you after you pass. What you pay upfront is what you pay, period.
Why It Works for Beginners
- Three simple paths, so you are not forced into one style before you know your own
- End-of-day drawdown, the type most new traders find easiest to manage
- One-time payment on every path, no monthly subscription hanging over your head
- No activation fees on any account, so no hidden second bill
- Payouts that often land in under 30 minutes
- Micro contracts allowed, so you can trade small while you learn
- Professional platforms (Tradovate, WealthCharts, Rithmic/Tradesea)
Start Small: The Beginner’s Sweet Spot
Here is my honest advice for your first account. Do not chase the biggest number. Start where the math is friendliest and the cost is lowest.
| Rank | Program | Size | Drawdown | Profit Target | Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 (tie) | Select | 25K | $1,000 | $1,500 | 0.667 |
| 1 (tie) | Select | 50K | $2,000 | $3,000 | 0.667 |
| 1 (tie) | Growth | 25K | $1,000 | $1,500 | 0.667 |
| 1 (tie) | Growth | 50K | $2,000 | $3,000 | 0.667 |
The 25K Growth account at $59 one-time is the cheapest way to feel what real skin in the game does to your decision-making. It is a completely different animal than paper trading, and that lesson alone is worth the entry fee.
If you want a little more room and daily payouts once funded, the 50K Select at $99 one-time drops the daily loss limit entirely in exchange for a reasonable 40% consistency rule. That is a fair trade for a trader still building consistency.
Watch Out For (Beginner Edition)
- Micro-scalping cannot make up more than 50% of your profits, so do not build your whole plan around one-tick scalps
- Select carries a 40% consistency rule, Lightning carries 20%, meaning you cannot make all your money on one lucky day
- Minimum trading days apply before your first payout, so plan on trading a stretch before you cash out
- Growth accounts have soft daily loss limits, which means if you hit the limit you simply sit out and trade again tomorrow. No account blown.
That soft daily loss limit is actually a gift for a beginner. It teaches you to walk away on a bad day instead of revenge trading yourself into a hole.
Perfect For
New traders who want a clean, honest first shot at funding without hidden fees, and who want their profits moving fast once they earn them.
Not For
Micro-scalpers or anyone hoping to skip proper risk management and gamble their way to a payout.
Beginner Pricing Breakdown
Everything runs on one-time payments with zero activation fees. Here is where a beginner should look first.
Growth (Pass in 1 day, EOD drawdown, 5 day payouts):
- 25K: $59 one-time. The cheapest way to get real skin in the game.
- 50K: $87 one-time. The most popular pick and the value sweet spot.
Select (Pass in 3 days, EOD drawdown, daily payouts, flexible funded rules):
- 25K: $65 one-time. No daily loss limit, 40% consistency.
- 50K: $99 one-time. Daily payouts and no daily loss limit once funded.
Lightning (Instant funding, EOD drawdown, 5 day payouts):
- 25K: $207 one-time. Skip the test, but not where I would send a raw beginner first.
Reset fees are low and clearly posted (Growth resets run $60 on the 25K), so even if your first attempt does not stick, getting back in the ring will not break you.
Pro Tip: Start with the 25K Growth account. Prove to yourself that you can follow rules and stay disciplined at a low cost before you scale up. It is far better to succeed small and grow than to blow up big and start over.
Tradeify
40% Off All Accounts (Up to 5 uses)
EPICCGet comfortable, follow the rules, and let the account grow as your skill does.
Not ready yet? Check out the full Tradeify Review, or grab the details on the Tradeify discount.
3. Apex Trader Funding: Where Most Beginners Actually Get Their First Payout
When I think back to the traders I’ve watched take their first real step into funded trading, most of them started somewhere simple and affordable. Just a low-cost path from “I think I can do this” to “I just got paid for doing this.”
That’s what makes Apex worth your attention when you’re new.
Here’s the reality. Most beginners don’t fail because they lack talent. They fail because they pick expensive programs built like an obstacle course, then blame themselves when they trip up and run out of money. Apex strips a lot of that away. Low-cost accounts, one evaluation step. Reasonable profit targets, and guardrails that protect you from yourself while you learn.
You follow the rules, you get paid. I’ve heard it from funded traders more than once.
Why Beginners Do Well Here
Let me show you something most new traders miss.
When you’re learning, you want to avoid confusion. Too many rules, too many moving parts, and you spend more energy managing the program than reading price.
Apex keeps the structure clean with their new programs.
There’s a one-step evaluation, so you’re not grinding through phase after phase before you ever see a funded account. Some traders pass in a day. That doesn’t mean rush it, but it means the door isn’t locked behind ten deadbolts.
Apex now offers two trailing styles: Intraday Trail and End of Day Trail. The EOD Trail accounts come with a daily loss limit, and for someone new, that’s a feature, not a flaw.
Think about it like a fence at the edge of a cliff. A daily loss limit caps how much damage a single bad session can do. When you’re still learning to control your emotions, that fence keeps one revenge-trading afternoon from wiping out weeks of progress. The Intraday Trail accounts don’t carry that daily loss limit, which gives more experienced traders room to maneuver but removes the very guardrail a beginner benefits from most.
If you’re just starting, the EOD Trail structure with that daily loss limit is often the smarter, safer place to learn.
And their platform tech won’t let you exceed your contract limit. You literally can’t fat-finger yourself out of the game by loading up too many contracts. For someone still building discipline, that’s another quiet safety net worth having.
What Sets Them Apart for New Traders
- A clean one-step evaluation, so you can get funded fast and start learning what real pressure feels like
- EOD Trail accounts with a built-in daily loss limit, a guardrail that protects beginners from one catastrophic session
- Tech that blocks you from oversizing past your contract limit
- Your choice of respected platforms including Tradovate, TradingView, NinjaTrader, or Quantower – Anything that will connect to Tradovate or Rithmic, basically.
- A track record of hundreds of millions paid out to traders since 2022 (source: Apex)
That last point is the one I’d underline if you’re skeptical. And you should be skeptical. If you’ve been burned before, that scar tissue is doing its job. But a firm that’s paid out that kind of money over years isn’t running a disappearing act.
Real Talk for the Beginner
If you’re just starting, resist the urge to swing for the biggest account. Bigger capital feels exciting, but it also means a bigger drawdown number to respect and more pressure than a new trader needs.
Start where you can breathe. Learn the mechanics. Learn how your own emotions move when real money and real rules are on the line. A smaller account that teaches you consistency is worth ten times more than a large one that teaches you fear.
Here’s a truth I’ve watched play out for twenty-three years. The traders who last aren’t the ones who start big. They’re the ones who start smart, protect their downside, and let their skill compound.
Watch Out For
No program is perfect, and pretending otherwise would insult your intelligence.
Apex uses a trailing threshold that can move up as your account grows.
If it’s their intraday account, that happens even before profits are realized.
It stops trailing once your drawdown level reaches your starting balance plus a small buffer. As a beginner, you need to understand this before you trade, not after it surprises you.
Withdrawals are available frequently, but you’ll need to trade at least 8 days between them. So if daily withdrawals are your dream, this isn’t built for that.
And whichever trailing style you choose, you’ll need real risk management. Not fancy. Just consistent. Know your stop, know your size, know when to walk away. The EOD daily loss limit helps enforce that discipline, but it can’t replace it. That skill has to come from you.
Who This Is Right For
Apex fits the beginner who’s serious. Someone who’s done a little homework, understands that trading is a skill and not a slot machine, and is ready to learn the ropes without getting buried in complexity.
If you want a clean path to a funded account, a daily loss limit that protects you while you learn, and a firm with a proven history of paying, this is a strong first home.
Who Should Look Elsewhere
If you’re not willing to follow basic risk rules, this will frustrate you. And if you need money withdrawn every single day, the waiting period between payouts won’t suit you.
There’s no shame in either. Just know yourself before you commit.
Here’s what I’ll leave you with. Everybody starts somewhere. The traders who make it aren’t the ones who found the perfect firm. They’re the ones who found a fair path, respected the rules, and stayed in the game long enough for their skill to catch up to their ambition.
Patience beats force every time. Start smart, and let the rest follow.
Top 3 Apex Accounts by Drawdown : Profit Ratio
| Rank | Account Size | Drawdown | Profit Target | Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 (tie) | 25k | $1,000 | $1,500 | 0.667 |
| 1 (tie) | 50k | $2,000 | $3,000 | 0.667 |
| 3 | 100k | $3,000 | $6,000 | 0.500 |
Top 3 Apex Accounts by Drawdown Value Per $ Spent
| Rank | Plan | Drawdown | Effective Price | Drawdown per $1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 50k Intraday Trail — Standard (Five Pack) | $2,000 | $19/account | $105.26 |
| 2 | 100k Intraday Trail — Standard (Five Pack) | $3,000 | $35/account | $85.71 |
| 3 | 150k Intraday Trail — Standard (Five Pack) | $4,000 | $49/account | $81.63 |
Apex
90% Off All Accounts
EPICCEarn2Trade has helped thousands of new traders get started on the path to professional trading. Based on my 20 years of trading experience, and my experience with Earn2Trade, it’s a great option for new traders.
Earn2Trade’s Trader Career Path (TCP) program and rules help you scale up gradually to a sizeable prop firm account.
Why I like it:
- Start trading, get funded, and level up to a $400k account without having to pay more to start a large account evaluation. It takes several steps to get to $400k, but the opportunity is there.
- Micro futures contracts make it easier to manage risk and are treated as they should be here, as 1/10 of a mini contract – so you can scale in/out according to your strategy.
- Just a few simple risk rules to stay within to keep your account and pass the evaluation.
- Beginner-friendly dashboard includes tools and guides for learning trading, improving, and tracking your progress.
- Trade with the trading platform of your choice, like Sierra Chart, NinjaTrader 8, Bookmap, or 16 others. I personally used and liked Overcharts for my Earn2Trade eval.
- Data is free during the evaluation and there are four free licenses available for trading software (NinjaTrader, Overcharts, R|Trader & R|Trader Pro, and Finamark)
- Complimentary 60-day access to Journalytics ($78 value) to track your trading and work on improvement.
- The goal is to get you to a sizeable prop firm account trading real money in the live market, not keep you on a sim.
Nice-to-have:
- Fast trading account setup is automated, just follow basic emailed instructions to be trading within 10-15 minutes (during trading hours).
- Minimum withdrawal threshold of $100, among the lowest I’ve seen.
- Active discord server with helpful members and admins, to answer questions about the program, trading, or just shoot the breeze on a slow trading day.
My least favorite parts:
- TCP is not the fastest route to funding, with a 15-day minimum evaluation.
- Data fees work like most prop firms, once you pass and get funded, you’ll have to pay monthly data fees – the exchanges charge these, so most firms pass them on to traders. Just didn’t want you to be surprised by these.
- The first live step might have a trailing drawdown, so your max drawdown can reset higher while you’re in a profitable trade, so you’ll want to consider using a trailing stop when letting winners run.
Try the TCP to get started trading, learn the ropes, and manage an account that’s geared towards newer traders.
Earn2Trade is the best proprietary trading firm for beginners because of this Trader Career Path
Pricing:
Trader Career Path (as discussed above): $190/mo until you pass the evaluation and move to the next step, where you can begin to withdraw profits and work to step up to a bigger account.
I recommend you get the Trader Career Path for $190, work your way up to a $400,000 account, and pocket some profits along the way. If you trade consistently and with discipline, you may get a custom offer for a larger account.
Trader Career Path can be canceled by you at any time. Pro-rated refunds are not offered at this time.
Not ready yet? Learn more in my Earn2Trade Review.
Proprietary Trading Firms For Beginners – Comparison Tables
| Header | Earn2Trade | Tradeify | Apex Trader Funding |
|---|---|---|---|
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Location | Registered in Wyoming, with global offices | Apopka, FL |
Austin, Texas |
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Support | Chat, email, discord | Email, chat, discord |
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Pricing (before discounts) | $150-350 | $165-$375 |
$137-657 |
|
Offer |
The Bottom Line
With their easy setup, basic rules, and opportunities for quick funding, these are some of the beast proprietary trading firms for beginners. They can help you get started on your journey to become a professional trader, and are set up to help you succeed.
If you want to start with the best prop firm for beginners, and get the best current deal, check out the current max Earn2Trade Discount.