Best Futures Prop Trading Firms in 2024 (2024)

Best Futures Prop Trading Firms in 2024 (1)

Author: Eduardo Montero

Last Updated on March 5, 2024

If you are interested in futures trading in the following list you will find what in my opinion are currently the best futures proprietary trading firms. In the last few years I have reviewed and thoroughly tested numerous prop firms, not only offering the futures market but also other instruments such as Forex, stocks,… I have also looked at the positive and negative opinions of other traders to know their experience working with these companies and finally here you have my assessment along with the main features of each of them:

What are the best futures prop firms?

Prop Trading Firm	Funded Account Balance	Features
Go to Topstep	50k balance for~~$165~~ $49/^month 100k balance for~~$325~~ $99/^month 150k balance for ~~$375~~ $149/^month	Highly trusted futures prop firm founded in 2012. You can trade futures on indices, foreign exchange, cryptos, crude oil, natural gas, agricultural products, gold, silver,… Keep your first $10,000 in profits and 90% after that! 1 step evaluation, 1 rule (do not exceed the Maximum Loss Limit) Reset your challenge if you hit MLL. Futures platforms like NinjaTrader, Quantower and more. More info at https://www.topstep.com	60% to 70% OFF Coupon 70% OFF USE CODE: No code needed Show Code 60% to 70% Off on Topstep 70% discount on $50k account 69% discount on $100k account 60% discount on $150k account No code required. Discounts are already applied on the Topstep website. More Less Go To Topstep
Go to Apex Trader Funding	25k balance for $147/^month 50k balance for $167/^month 75k balance for $187/^month 100k balance for $207/^month 150k balance for $297/^month 200k balance for $517/^month 300k balance for $657/^month Prices for Rithmic/NinjaTrader plans (Tradovate/NinjaTrader plans available)	You can trade futures on indices, interest rates, currencies, cryptocurrencies, agricultural products, energies and metals. Receive 100% of the first $25,000 and 90% after that! One-step evaluation (7 trading days minimum). No daily drawdowns (only live trailing threshold). Trades must be closed before 4:59 PM ET. Trade on holidays or during news. Real-time data and license included in evaluation (monthly or life time fee in paid/funded accounts). More info at https://atf.com	71% OFF Coupon 71% OFF USE CODE: OXJZBIPD Show Code 71% Off Coupon Code First month and 71% renewing months of any size Evaluation Account on Apex Trader Funding 3 Days To Pass Eval and $35 Resets ( Tradovate or Rithmic). More Less Expires on: 03/14/2024 Go To Apex
Go to Leeloo Trading	25k balance for $150/^month 50k balance for $180/^month 100k balance for $220/^month 150k balance for $305/^month	Free Ninja Trader licence key. Least expensive reset fees. One-step evaluation (10 trading days minimum). Least rules & highest % of futures traders funded. Hold positions overnight and trade during news events. Keep 80-90% of profit earned. More info at https://www.leelootrading.com	Go To Leeloo

In the following comparison table you will find the main features of these futures prop trading firms:

Futures Prop Firm	Balance / Fee	Profit Split	Profit Target	Max. Drawdown	Instruments	Visit
Go to Topstep	50k balance for ~~$165~~ $49/^month 100k balance for ~~$325~~ $99/^month 150k balance for ~~$375~~ $149/^month	100% of the first $10,000 you generate and 90% from that amount.	6%	4% to 3% Maximum Loss Limit (the percentage varies depending on the account you choose).	Futures Markets: CME Exchange (22 instruments) NYMEX Exchange (7) COMEX Exchange (6) CBOT Exchange (14)	60% to 70% OFF Coupon 70% OFF USE CODE: No code needed Show Code 60% to 70% Off on Topstep 70% discount on $50k account 69% discount on $100k account 60% discount on $150k account No code required. Discounts are already applied on the Topstep website. More Less Go To Topstep
Go to Apex Trader Funding	25k balance for $147/^month 50k balance for $167/^month 75k balance for $187/^month 100k balance for $207/^month 150k balance for $297/^month 250k balance for $517/^month 300k balance for $657/^month	100% of the first $25,000. 90% from that amount.	5.66% to 6.66% (6% in most accounts)	No daily drawdown. 6% to 2.5% Max trailing threshold (the percentage varies depending on the account you choose).	Futures Markets: CME Exchange (23 instruments) NYMEX Exchange (7) COMEX Exchange (7) CBOT Exchange (13) EUREX (11) ICE (8)	71% OFF Coupon 71% OFF USE CODE: OXJZBIPD Show Code 71% Off Coupon Code First month and 71% renewing months of any size Evaluation Account on Apex Trader Funding 3 Days To Pass Eval and $35 Resets ( Tradovate or Rithmic). More Less Expires on: 03/14/2024 Go To Apex
Go to Leeloo Trading	25k balance for $150/^month 50k balance for $180/^month 100k balance for $220/^month 150k balance for $305/^month	100% of the first $8,000. Then 80% of the profit for the first 12 months and 90% thereafter.	6%	No daily drawdown. 6% to 2.5% Max trailing drawdown (the percentage varies depending on the account you choose).	Futures Markets: CME Exchange (30 instruments) NYMEX Exchange (7) COMEX Exchange (8) CBOT Exchange (19)	Go To Leeloo

Why are these the best futures proprietary trading firms?

As you know, futures are one of the most traded financial markets in the world. Futures contracts exist for all types of assets such as equity indexes, metals, energies, agricultural products, currency pairs, cryptocurrencies, interest rates, etc. They are used both for speculation purposes (trying to take advantage of price movements to obtain profits) and for hedging purposes (for example by portfolio managers, companies, etc. who wish to hedge their exposure to a certain instrument, a certain currency, etc.).

Among the advantages of the futures market we can point out:

It is a financial market with greater transparency than others as we can easily access information on prices, participants, volume of transactions, etc.
Futures markets are open almost 24 hours a day, unlike many of the underlying assets that are traded for only a few hours a day.
Trading costs are quite low.
There is a high level of leverage.
It is easy to open short trades.
The volatility of the futures market is quite high.

The main disadvantages of futures are:

It requires more advanced knowledge than is necessary for trading other instruments.
The time commitment to develop a profitable trading strategy is usually high.
It requires an average amount of capital to make significant profits.

This last point is where proprietary trading firms add value by offering traders with a profitable strategy the possibility of:

Access to a funded account in which to manage a much larger balance than they could trade with their own capital.
A generous profit split scheme for the trader (up to 90%).
And without the trader taking significant risk as it is not their money that is at stake.

Finding prop firms to access a funded account with which to trade Forex (list of best prop firms for Forex), stocks (more information: What are the best prop trading firms for stocks?) or cryptocurrencies (best crypto prop trading firms) is quite simple as there is currently a wide range of this type of companies on the market. For example, here you can see what I consider to be the best proprietary trading firms today, where you will see popular prop firms such as The Funded Trader, Fidelcrest, The Trading Pit,…

Finding prop firms for futures is not so easy anymore because the offer is drastically reduced. In addition, in the case of prop firms for Forex or stocks it is common to find companies where the fee for accessing the evaluation period consists of a one-off payment or there are even proprietary trading firms that offer instant funding without evaluation or challenge of any kind. In the case of futures, most prop firms require a monthly fee to access the evaluation period and you must pay it as long as you do not exceed the evaluation period. That is why it is important to work with reliable and experienced prop trading firms whose objective is to attract profitable trading talent and make money from their share of the profit split and not other firms with a professional appearance that only seek to entangle you in a never-ending evaluation process and make money from the access fees.

Therefore, in order to draw up the comparison table on this page of what I consider to be the best prop firms for futures, the most important aspect I have relied on to show these companies and not others is:

The experience and reputation of the prop firms.

Both Topstep, Apex Trader Funding and Leeloo Trading are three US companies with years of experience in the market and have funded thousands of futures traders worldwide. Topstep is a trademark owned by Topstep LLC based in Chicago, Apex Trader Funding is owned by Apex Trader Funding Inc. based in Austin, TX and Leeloo Trading is owned by Natural Trading LLC based in Montana. These companies have good reputations and the majority of customer reviews I have found are positive: For example Topstep has at the time of writing an “Excellent” rating on the Trustpilot with 4.3 out of 5 stars out of over 1400 user reviews. The majority of reviews (74% give it a 5 star rating). Here you can see my Topstep review for more details. Apex Trader Funding has a rating of 4.8 out of 5 on Trustpilot with over 4100 ratings. Leeloo Trading is a lesser known company than Topstep or Apex but the rating is equally “Excellent” on Trustpilot with 4.7 out of 5 stars and 90% of users give it 5 stars.

In addition, Topstep offers this discount that will allow you to save money on your first month’s subscription to any of their funded accounts.

Other factors that I have found positive about these futures prop firms are:

Timely and uncomplicated profit payments.
Good customer support to resolve doubts or any incident that may occur.
Wide range of futures to trade.
Possibility of using professional futures platforms such as NinjaTrader,…

Is Futures prop trading legal?

Futures contracts are standardised legal contracts between two parties involving the purchase or sale of a commodity or financial instrument at a specified price for delivery at a point in the future. The contracts are traded between buyers and sellers on futures exchanges. Futures trading, for example in the United States, is regulated by the CFTC (Commodity Futures Trading Commission), which is responsible for market security and participant protection. The CFTC has supervisory and sanctioning powers if any person or company violates the regulations.

Prop trading for futures trading with funded trading accounts is legal but is not subject to the same level of regulation as trading with a futures broker and managing your own capital. Futures trading prop firms are not financial intermediaries or online brokers. A trader who trades with a futures prop firm does so managing the firm’s capital and not his or her own funds. The trading conditions, the profit sharing scheme,… are private agreements between both parties.

Which platforms can I use with these futures prop firms?

The trading platforms you can use will depend on the futures proprietary trading firm you work with. The range of platforms available varies from prop firm to prop firm.

In the case of those that we consider to be the best prop firms for futures that you can find in the comparison table at the top of this page, the trading platforms that they allow you to use are the following: