Best Prop Firms in the USA

Topstep is a Chicago-based futures prop firm running a single evaluation product, the Trading Combine, in three sizes ($50K/$100K/$150K). The split is a flat 90/10 with no upgrade to buy — but the headline "100% of your first $10,000" perk CLOSED to new accounts on 12 January 2026 and is now grandfathered only. The rule that decides most accounts is the Maximum Loss Limit: it trails on your END-OF-DAY balance, but it breaches INTRADAY on unrealised P&L, so you can be liquidated by an open drawdown you never actually realise — and after your first payout it is forced to $0, leaving your balance as your entire buffer. Express Funded accounts are simulated; Topstep's own 2025 data shows 16.8% pass the Combine and just 0.71% reach a real Live account. Minimum payout $125, five winning days of $150+, no subscription once funded.

E8 Markets (E8 Funding LLC, Dallas + E8 Markets Ltd, Saint Lucia) runs three single-phase products: E8 Zero, E8 One and E8 Pro. Two things dominate. First, the profit split is a PAID CHOICE at checkout — in E8's own words, 'select 80%, 90%, or 100% at checkout. Higher splits cost more upfront,' and the choice is permanent. Second, and more dangerous: on E8 Zero and E8 Pro your first payout permanently raises the loss level to your initial balance. E8's own worked example shows a $104,000 account requesting a $4,000 payout, dropping to $100,000, and BREACHING immediately. Withdrawing your own profit can destroy the account that produced it. E8 Zero also deactivates permanently after 5 payouts, capping lifetime earnings between $15,000 and $35,000 depending on account size. There is no fee refund of any kind.

TradeDay (TradeDay LLC - an ILLINOIS company, not a UK one) is a futures-only prop firm trading simulated capital, rebuilt as TradeDay 2.0. Its best feature is genuine: there is no daily drawdown at all. The constraint to understand before you buy is the $10,000 lifetime ceiling, which takes your profit once you reach it - and prior withdrawals count toward it. The firm is unusually transparent about its own numbers, which we credit in the review.

Apex Trader Funding replaced its entire product line on 1 March 2026. Everything on sale now is a one-time fee with no rebill, a 100% profit split and no consistency rule in the evaluation. The old model - monthly subscription, 90/10 split, the 30% negative P&L rule and the 5:1 risk-reward rule - is now Legacy and cannot be bought. Most reviews of Apex, including our previous one, still describe the old product.

Top One Futures (Top One Futures, LLC, Wyoming) is a simulated futures prop firm running six programmes — Elite Challenge, Elite Daily, Elite Access, Instant Sim Funded, Ignite and S2F Sim PRO. The split is a flat 90/10 with no upgrade to buy, though promotion to a Live account paradoxically DROPS you to 80/20. The rule that decides most accounts is Lock Upon Payout: the moment you withdraw, your trailing drawdown locks at your starting balance plus $100. Top One's own worked example leaves a $100,000 account with $1,900 of room after a $3,000 payout — and their own advice is not to withdraw the maximum. Consistency rules vary by programme (15% Ignite, 20% Instant, 25% Elite, 40% Elite Access). Note also that the Terms prohibit negative statements on review platforms under threat of profit forfeiture.

Top One Trader is registered in Anjouan, Union of Comoros, under licence L15829/TOT - not in the United States, as an earlier version of this review stated. It runs six programmes on Match Trader, TradeLocker and MT5, with splits from 60% to 100% and payouts through RiseWorks. Drawdown varies by product: the 2-Step PRO v2 is static, while FLASH, NOVA and both Instant plans trail.

OneUp Trader is one of the longest-running futures prop firms - founded in 2016 - offering 1-Step Evaluation funded trader programs with account sizes from $25,000 to $250,000. The firm uses a unique profit split structure (100% on first $10,000, then 90/10) with an 80% consistency rule at payout, and supports 20+ trading platforms including a free NinjaTrader license and free real-time data. Futures-only across CME-listed markets. Trustpilot 4.7/5 from 2,502 reviews - strong reputation in the futures community.

My Funded Futures runs four futures plans - Rapid, Pro, Flex and Builder - across NinjaTrader, Tradovate, TradingView and others, with no activation fee and payouts as fast as 24 hours. The evaluation is a MONTHLY SUBSCRIPTION, not a one-time fee, which is easy to miss. Rapid carries the headline 90% split and daily payouts, but it is also the only plan whose drawdown trails INTRADAY off your equity high, and the word intraday appears nowhere in the marketing.

Elite Trader Funding is a US futures firm offering six evaluation types across fourteen platforms, with payouts processed twice a week. Every account you can buy is simulated - the firm says so itself, and its LIVE ELITE stage, which uses real capital, cannot be purchased at any price. The mechanic that most affects a successful trader is the $25,000 lifetime sim payout cap: reaching it moves you to LIVE ELITE, and the firm's terms state that sim balances do not carry over.

Top Tier Trader no longer exists as a brand. The firm now trades as TX3 Funding, operating from TX3 Funding FZCO in Dubai, and toptiertrader.com redirects to tx3funding.com. If you hold an old account or are researching the old name, this is the firm you are actually dealing with. Two things most reviews still get wrong: the max drawdown TRAILS on the 1 Phase and both Instant products, and Expert Advisors are banned outright.

Day Traders (daytraders.com) is a US futures prop firm founded in February 2023 by the co-founder of Apex Trader Funding. It offers Trail, Static, and Straight-to-Funded (S2F) evaluation pathways with a 100% profit split - one of the highest in the industry. With a 45% challenge pass rate (vs. industry average of 15–25%), $2M+ in payouts processed, and automated 32-minute payout approvals via the proprietary ProjectX platform on TradingView, it's a standout for futures traders.