Prop Firm Evaluation: How the Process Works (2026)

A prop firm evaluation (also called a Trading Combine, challenge, or eval) is a simulated trading test you must pass before a prop firm grants you access to a funded account. You pay a fee, trade a demo account to hit a profit target while staying within drawdown limits, and—if you pass—advance to a funded stage where real payouts are made from the firm’s operating funds. This comparison covers two documented futures examples: Topstep and MyFundedFutures (MFFU); other prop firms are not covered here.

What Is a Prop Firm Evaluation?

A prop firm evaluation is the entry gate to funded trading. According to MFFU, the evaluation is a simulated trading challenge using real-time market data, accessed via a one-time payment. The trader’s job is to hit a defined profit target while staying within a maximum drawdown limit—without a countdown clock running against them. Topstep calls its equivalent the Trading Combine, a monthly-subscription evaluation that leads to an Express Funded Account (XFA) or, eventually, a Live Funded Account (LFA).

The evaluation exists because prop firms need evidence that a trader can manage risk before committing firm capital to payouts. Rules are set in advance: every profit target, drawdown limit, and payout condition is documented before you buy, and—according to MFFU—never changed once your account is live. Understanding what the evaluation measures, and what it does not measure, is the first step to approaching it with a realistic plan. For the underlying definition and challenge stages, see what a prop firm challenge is. For a broader look at challenge structures, see Prop Firm Challenge Types and Drawdown Rules Explained.

How the Three-Stage Process Works

According to MFFU, the funded journey has three distinct stages: Eval, Sim Funded, and Live Capital. Each stage has different rules, different costs, and different earning potential.

1. Eval: Trade a simulated account to hit the profit target within the maximum drawdown. MFFU states there is no time limit; you need at least two trading days to qualify (or as little as one on the Builder plan). Pass and your sim-funded account unlocks instantly—no waiting period, no extra fees.
2. Sim Funded: You trade a simulated account on real market data. No real capital is deployed, but payouts are real cash from MFFU’s operating funds, subject to rules compliance. On the Rapid plan, traders can request a payout every 24 hours, with approximately 80% of requests auto-approved in under one second. Positions auto-close at session end, and a 7-day inactivity rule applies.
3. Live Capital: After hitting payout milestones (3–5 consecutive payouts depending on plan), traders become eligible for a live funded account. MFFU’s Risk Team reviews top performers and extends invitations on merit, sometimes early. A 21-day cooldown applies if a live account breaches its limit.

This three-stage model is common across futures prop firms, though the specific thresholds differ by firm and plan.

Evaluation Costs and Fees

Evaluation costs vary significantly between firms and between paths within the same firm. This section covers documented costs for MFFU and Topstep only.

MFFU: According to MFFU, the evaluation fee starts as low as $63 depending on current promotions. There is no activation fee and no renewal fee—a single one-time payment is made upfront and nothing further is charged before funding.

Topstep: According to Topstep’s pricing page, the Trading Combine is billed as a monthly subscription. Two paths are available, and paths cannot be changed after purchase:

On the Standard Path, a one-time $149 activation fee is charged per XFA earned after passing. On the No Activation Fee Path, no activation fee applies when passing. Topstep describes the Standard Path as suited to traders still building consistency, and the No Activation Fee Path as suited to traders confident they will pass in one or two attempts. For more detail on Topstep’s fee structure, see Topstep Accounts Price.

Payout Rules in the Funded Stage

Passing the evaluation is only the first hurdle. Each firm sets separate conditions that must be met before a payout can be requested from the funded account.

MFFU (Rapid plan): According to MFFU, traders can request a payout every 24 hours once sim-funded and payout conditions are met. Approximately 80% of requests are auto-approved in under one second. The profit split is up to 90/10 on the Rapid plan. Payout conditions vary by plan; MFFU states every condition is published before purchase.

Topstep XFA — Standard path: According to Topstep’s XFA parameters page, traders must hit 5 winning days with at least $150 profit each. The normal per-request limit is 50% of balance, capped at $2,000 for 50K, $3,000 for 100K, or $5,000 for 150K XFAs. Profit split is 90/10.

Topstep XFA — Consistency path: Traders must trade at least 3 days with at least 1 trade per day, and keep the consistency ratio at 40% or below. Consistency is calculated as: Largest Winning Day ÷ Total Net Profit. The normal per-request limit is 50% of balance, capped at $3,000 for 50K, $4,000 for 100K, or $6,000 for 150K XFAs. Profit split is 90/10. Consistency resets after each payout. These are baseline caps: a qualifying limited-time DLL-at-Combine-purchase offer can change them. Check your account entitlement against the detailed payout policy, not only a headline maximum.

For example (Topstep’s own illustration): total profit $1,000, best day $400 = 40% ✅. Best day $450 = 45% ❌—the trader would need to continue trading to bring that percentage down before requesting a payout. See also How to Request a Payout on Topstep and Prop Firm Payout Rules.

Ongoing Costs After Passing

Costs do not end when you pass the evaluation. Both firms document ongoing costs that apply in the funded and live stages.

Topstep XFA (sim-funded): According to Topstep, no monthly subscription fee applies after passing. Level 1 (Top of Book) data is included. Level 2 (Depth of Market) is available as an upgrade for $38/month, billed on the 28th of each month and not prorated. Trading commissions are additional; use the product-specific TopstepX schedule rather than assuming one fee for every contract.

Topstep LFA (live capital): According to Topstep’s LFA costs page, traders in the Live Funded Account are classified as Professional Traders and are responsible for three costs: Professional Market Data ($133 per exchange per month; Topstep covers 1 exchange by default), round-turn commissions deducted from the brokerage balance, and a platform license. The source gives an inconsistent four-exchange total, so confirm the actual invoice for additional exchanges instead of relying on that aggregate. Topstep notes it does not profit from data fees—they are passed directly from the exchange.

Topstep Back2Funded: If an XFA is lost before the first payout, traders can reactivate via Back2Funded within 30 calendar days of account closure. According to Topstep, reactivation fees are $599 (50K), $699 (100K), and $829 (150K). This is a meaningful cost to factor in before choosing an account size.

Account Structure and Limits

Understanding how funded accounts are structured helps traders avoid common misconceptions about balance and buying power.

Topstep XFA balance mechanics: According to Topstep, the XFA balance starts at $0 and grows from trading profits. The account size (50K, 100K, or 150K) represents buying power, not a cash balance. A trader seeing a $0 balance on activation has not lost anything—their full buying power is still available. Traders can hold up to 5 active XFAs at a time, and can mix account sizes (for example, two 50K XFAs and three 150K XFAs). XFAs with no trading activity for more than 30 days may be closed, and XFAs cannot be put on hold.

Topstep LFA structure: In the Live Funded Account, traders operate on a real brokerage account with real capital. The Professional Market Data classification applies from the moment the LFA is active, which is why data costs are higher than a personal brokerage account—exchanges charge professional fee structures that differ from non-professional rates.

MFFU sim-funded structure: According to MFFU, the sim-funded account operates on real market data but deploys no real capital. Payouts are real cash from MFFU’s operating funds. A 7-day inactivity rule applies, and positions auto-close at session end. For a detailed side-by-side of these two firms’ structures, see MyFundedFutures vs Topstep.

Pass Rates and Path to Live Capital

Documented pass-rate data gives a realistic picture of how many traders advance through each stage. According to MFFU’s program performance disclosure, during the applicable measurement period:

• 19.97% of all evaluation participants completed the required objectives and advanced beyond the evaluation stage.
• 39.2% of participants who reached the simulated funded stage earned at least one payout.
• 4.2% of participants trading in a simulated funded account were promoted to a live funded account.

MFFU notes these results occurred solely within a simulated environment and are not indicative of future results. This data covers MFFU only; comparable figures for Topstep are not available in the documented sources reviewed here.

For MFFU, the path to live capital requires hitting plan-specific payout milestones (3–5 consecutive payouts depending on plan), after which MFFU’s Risk Team reviews performance and extends live invitations on merit. According to MFFU, some traders have been invited early. For Topstep, the XFA is described as the proving ground before a call-up to the Live Funded Account, though specific promotion criteria beyond the XFA payout structure are not detailed in the sources reviewed here.

These figures illustrate that passing the evaluation is a meaningful filter, and reaching live capital is a further, smaller subset. Traders considering an evaluation should review full program terms before purchasing. See My Funded Futures Review and Topstep Review for additional documented detail on each firm.