Prop trading firms are a perfect opportunity to capitalize on success trading a prop firm’s capital.
Prop traders primarily work remotely from across the world, which provides a much higher degree of flexibility than a regular 9-5 job does. However, only some prop firms are available in any country in the world due to local regulations and restrictions.
That’s why I have completed this list of the best prop trading firms in the United States for your convenience.
Best Prop Firm in the United States
Let’s start with the best proprietary trading firm in the United States.
TopStep
- Rating: 4.9/5
- Prop Firm Type: Futures prop firm
- Tradable Instruments: Futures contracts
- Funded Account Sizes: $50,000 - $2,000,000
- Profit Split / Profi Share: Trader keeps up to 100% of profits
- Platforms: TopstepX, NinjaTrader, Quantower, 13 others
All Prop Trading Firms in the United States
Besides the best prop trading firm in the United States, various other firms accept traders in your country. I’ve added details like ratings, prop firm type, trading challenge types, profit split, and costs.
| # | Prop Firm | Rating | Type | Profit Split | Platforms | Account Sizes | Challenge Types | Deal | Visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | TopStep | ★★★★★ | Futures | 90%-100% | TopstepX, NinjaTrader, Quantower, TradingView, 10+ more | $50K - $150K | 1-Step | 70% Off | Visit Site |
| 2 | Earn2Trade | ★★★★★ | Futures | 80% | NinjaTrader, Finamark, R|Trader, 10+ more | $25K - $200K | 1-Step, 2-Step | No | Visit Site |
| 3 | FTMO | ★★★★★ | Forex | 80% | MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, cTrader, DXtrade | $10K - $200K | 2 Step | No | Visit Site |
| 4 | SurgeTrader | ★★★★★ | Forex | 75%-90% | MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5 | $25K - $500K | 1-Step, 2-Step | No | Visit Site |
| 5 | FundedNext | ★★★★★ | Forex | 60%-90% | MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5 | $6K - $200K | 1-Step, 2-Step | No | Visit Site |
| 6 | The5ers | ★★★★★ | Forex | 50%-100% | MetaTrader 5 | $5K - $100K | 1-Step, 2-Step, Instant | No | Visit Site |
| 7 | Trade The Pool | ★★★★★ | Stocks | 50%-80% | Trader Evaluation | $20K - $260K | 1-Step | No | Visit Site |
| 8 | Apex Trader Funding | ★★★★★ | Futures | 90%-100% | NinjaTrader | 25K - 300K | 1-Step | No | Visit Site |
| 9 | The Funded Trader | ★★★★★ | Forex | 80%-90% | MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5 | $5K - $400K | 1-Step, 2-Step | No | Visit Site |
| 10 | TradeDay | ★★★★★ | Futures | 90%-100% | NinjaTrader, TradingView | $10K - $250K | 1-Step | No | Visit Site |
| 11 | Elite Trader Funding | ★★★★★ | Futures | 90%-100% | NinjaTrader, TradingView | $10K - 300K | 1-Step | No | Visit Site |
| 12 | FXIFY | ★★★★★ | Forex | 75%-90% | MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5 | $15K - $400K | 1-Step, 2-Step | No | Visit Site |
| 13 | UProfit | ★★★★★ | Futures | Not disclosed | NinjaTrader, R|Trader | $9K - $200K | 1-Step | No | Visit Site |
| 14 | Finotive Funding | ★★★★★ | Forex | 75%-95% | MetaTrader 5 | $2.5K - $200K | 1-Step, 2-Step, Instant | No | Visit Site |
| 15 | True Forex Funds | ★★★★★ | Forex | 80% | MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5 | $10K - $200K | 1-Step, 2-Step | No | Visit Site |
| 16 | Skilled Funded Traders | ★★★★★ | Forex | 80%-90% | MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5 | $5K - $200K | 2-Step | No | Visit Site |
| 17 | FunderPro | ★★★★★ | Forex | 80% | TradeLocker | $25K - $200K | 2-Step | No | Visit Site |
| 18 | FundingPips | ★★★★★ | Forex | 80%-90% | MetaTrader 5 | $5K - $100K | 2-Step | No | Visit Site |
| 19 | City Traders Imperium | ★★★★★ | Forex | 50%-100% | MetaTrader 5 | $2.5K - $100K | 1-Step, 2-Step, Instant | No | Visit Site |
| 20 | Ment Funding | ★★★★★ | Forex | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | $25K - $2M | 1-Step | No | Visit Site |
| 21 | Audacity Capital | ★★★★★ | Forex | 50% | MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5 | $15K | Instant | No | Visit Site |
| 22 | OFP Funding | ★★★★★ | Forex | 26%-80% | MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5 | $5K - $100K | Instant Demo | No | Visit Site |
| 23 | Funded Trading Plus | ★★★★★ | Forex | 80% | MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5 | $5K - $200K | 1-Step, 2-Step, Instant | No | Visit Site |
| 24 | OneUp Trader | ★★★★★ | Futures | 90%-100% | NinjaTrader | $25K - $250K | 1-Step | No | Visit Site |
| 25 | Lux Trading Firm | ★★★★★ | Forex | 75% | The Lux Trader, MetaTrader 5 | $25K - $1M | 2-Step | No | Visit Site |
| 26 | Fidelcrest | ★★★★★ | Forex | 80%-90% | MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5 | $15K - $1M | 2-Step | No | Visit Site |
| 27 | Bulenox | ★★★★★ | Futures | 90%-100% | NinjaTrader | $10K - $250K | 1-Step | No | Visit Site |
| 28 | FTUK | ★★★★★ | Forex | 80% | MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5 | $14K - $90K | 1-Step, Instant | No | Visit Site |
| 29 | InstantFunding.io | ★★★★★ | Forex | 70%-90% | MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5 | $1.25K - $200K | 1-Step, 2-Step, Instant | No | Visit Site |
| 30 | Maven Trading | ★★★★★ | Forex | 80% | MetaTrader 5 | $2K - $200K | 1-Step, 2-Step | No | Visit Site |
| 31 | Bespoke Funding Program | ★★★★★ | Forex | 80% | MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5 | $10K - $400K | 2-Step | No | Visit Site |
How To Choose a Prop Trading Firm
When you are undecided about which prop trading firm to choose, extend your due diligence method by taking a closer look at the specific terms and conditions of the firm:
- Review the prop trading firm’s terms and especially the profit-sharing structure carefully. It’s vital to understand how much of your generated profits you can withdraw to your bank account versus what percentage the firm keeps. A profit slit of 80% or 80/20 means that the prop trader is entitled to withdraw 80% of the profits made.
- Consider funding account sizes and whether a paper trading account is offered. Look for prop firms that allow you to start with smaller accounts or provide access to paper trading to practice your strategies. Trading with paper money reduces the stress level and provides a risk-free time to practice trading and test strategies.
- Evaluate which financial markets and securities you can trade. Your favorite prop firm should give you flexibility in trading the instruments and markets you want to focus on, such as stocks, forex, futures, or options. Being unrestricted in your trading opportunities enables you to capitalize on different trends in different markets.
- Make sure the firm provides you with powerful trading platforms, real-time market data and helpful analytical tools. With the appropriate technology and data resources, it will be easier to conduct research and execute trades efficiently. A good prop shop invests in the tools its traders require.
- Check detailed reviews from various sources and talk to other prop traders about their experiences with a firm. Ask about things like funding requirements, customer service quality, speed of the trading platform and order execution, problems they faced and more. Getting honest feedback helps you avoid potential issues and quickly identify legitimate prop firms.
How We Evaluated and Rated the Prop Firms for the United States
First, we verified which prop trading firms accept traders from your country. Then, we ranked them based on factors like:
User Ratings: What ratings does a prop firm get on various rating websites like Trustpilot and other independent reviewers?
Costs: What are the costs and fees, and how do they relate to the potential outcome?
Profit Split: How much money can a prop trader withdraw to his bank account or keep to grow the account further (also known as profit share)?
Tradeable Financial Instruments: What type of assets and instruments are tradeable (e.g., stocks or forex pairs), and how many of a group of instruments can be traded (e.g., 100 different forex pairs, 30 futures contracts, etc.)?
Trading Platforms: What trading platforms are available to trade with?
Customer Support: How can prop traders contact the support team to get help when having questions?
Product Innovation: Does the prop trading firm have innovative ideas and tools that help their traders become more successful?
Which Financial Instruments Can You Trade With a Prop Firm
If you want to become a prop trader to trade from the United States, you can select between two main types of prop firms – prop firms for futures trading and prop firms for forex trading. While those two types dominate the proprietary trading firm market right now, some prop firs already focus on trading stocks or cryptocurrencies.
Instruments you typically trade with a prop firm that specializes in futures trading:
As a futures prop trader, you focus on trading futures contracts listed on U.S. futures exchanges, such as CBOT, COMEX, CME, and NYMEX. More specifically, here are the future contract types that can be traded:
- Equity Futures
- Forex Pair Futures
- Interest Rate Futures
- Energy Futures
- Metals Futures
- Agricultural Futures
- Crypto Futures
Instruments you typically trade with a pro firm that specializes in forex prop firm:
As a forex prop trader, you focus on trading forex pairs, such as EUR/USD or USD/JPY. Something unique about forex-focused prop firms is that most of them let you also trade other assets based on contracts for difference (CFDs) besides forex pairs, like:
- Indices
- Stocks
- Metals
- Commodities
- Cryptocurrencies
Funded Account Sizes for Prop Traders in the United States
Funded account sizes can be as low as $5,000. However, they can also go into the millions of trading capital and buying power. A regular trading challenge, on average, starts with a $25,000 account (due to the well-balanced ratio between costs and potential earnings), and larger account sizes can typically be reached through scaling.
Scaling is different from prop firm to prop firm. Some firms double your position size for every 10% in profits, others at a faster or slower pace. The more successful you are, the bigger the account size and buying power of the portfolio becomes.
As a prop trading beginner, it’s an excellent approach to start with smaller account sizes to find out if this type of trading is right for you. This way, you keep the costs low, and you learn without pressure.
Prop Firm Platforms to Trade With
When it comes to available trading platforms, you have to separate the market once again by the two leading prop firm industries: the prop firms focusing on futures trading and the ones focusing on forex trading.
Futures trading-focused prop firms use mainly leading platforms in the futures trading segment, which are NinjaTrader, Quantower and Tradovate.
In contrast, forex prop firms typically use MetaTrader as their top platform in the versions MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5.
Advantages of United States Prop Firms
- Reasonable prop firm fees.
- Wide range of tradeable financial assets available.
- No personal capital is required to fund a trading account.
- Scaling plans can scale account sizes into the millions.
Disadvantages of United States Prop Firms
- The terms and conditions vary between prop firms, and it is necessary to gain awareness of the exact regulations before starting.
- It can be challenging for beginners to trade by the rules without breaking them.
- Lower-priced funded accounts can be less advantageous when it comes to profit splits.
