Most comparison articles rank firms by price. Price is roughly the tenth most important variable. Here is the list in the order that actually affects whether you end up funded and paid.
| # | What to check | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Static vs trailing drawdown | Trailing raises your floor as you win. It is the difference between a fair rule set and a trap. |
| 2 | Daily loss: end of day or intraday equity? | Intraday equity measurement breaches you on unrealised drawdown that recovers. |
| 3 | Consistency rules | A vague consistency clause is a discretionary veto over your payout. |
| 4 | Time limits | Deadlines cause overtrading. No expiry is strictly better. |
| 5 | Minimum trading days | Adds a floor to how fast you can be funded and paid. |
| 6 | Reward split and cycle | Split matters less than how often and how reliably you are paid. |
| 7 | Payout evidence | Recent, dated, multiple traders. Launch-week screenshots prove nothing. |
| 8 | News and weekend rules | If your strategy trades news, a restriction is disqualifying. |
| 9 | EA and copy-trading policy | Automated strategies need this in writing before you buy. |
| 10 | Price and refund terms | Only meaningful once the nine above are acceptable. |
| 11 | Platform and execution | Spreads and fills decide whether a tight target is realistic. |
| 12 | Support responsiveness | You will need it at the worst possible moment. |
How to use the list
Score two or three firms on rows 1–5 before you look at price at all. If a firm fails row 1 or row 3, nothing further down compensates. Only once you have two firms that pass the top five is price a tie-breaker.
Compare us against the checklist
Every rule published in full, before you pay anything.
Frequently asked questions
What is the most important thing when choosing a prop firm?
Whether the maximum loss is static or trailing. A trailing drawdown moves your floor upward as you profit, which means a normal pullback after a winning run can breach an account that is still up overall.
Should I pick the cheapest prop firm?
Not on price alone. A cheap evaluation attached to a trailing drawdown, a short time limit and a consistency rule has a much lower expected value than a more expensive one with fair rules.
FundedAxe evaluations and funded accounts are simulated. Traders do not trade real client capital; rewards are paid on simulated performance under the terms of the FundedAxe trader agreement.