Methodology
How we grade prop firms
Six sub-scores, weighted toward getting paid
Step 1
Our analysts score each firm from 0 to 10 on six criteria. Payouts and rules carry the most weight because that is where traders lose money they thought they had earned.
| Criterion | Weight | Scores 9-10 when… | Scores under 5 when… |
|---|---|---|---|
| PayoutsDo traders get paid on time, every time? | 25% | Years of on-time payouts, typically within 48 hours, no waves of denials. | Systematic denials, payout freezes or unresolved non-payment. |
| Rules & transparencyAre the rules clear, stable and fairly enforced? | 20% | Simple, fully documented rules; no consistency traps; no vague 'sole discretion' clauses used against traders. | Rules changed retroactively or routinely used to void profits. |
| ReputationTrack record, ownership, controversies, review health | 20% | Long track record, transparent ownership, healthy review profile, no serious controversies. | Opaque ownership, regulatory warnings, review manipulation or a history of disputes. |
| Trading conditionsPrice, targets, drawdown, split and time limits | 15% | Fair price for the account size, achievable targets, static drawdown, no time limits, refundable fee. | Expensive for what you get, trailing drawdown with tight limits, restrictive time or split terms. |
| SupportHow fast and how well problems get solved | 10% | Fast, competent answers; complaints get resolved and documented. | Slow or scripted replies; complaints ignored. |
| Platforms & executionPlatform choice, spreads, commissions, slippage | 10% | Several mainstream platforms, clean execution, transparent costs. | Single proprietary platform with frequent slippage, spread or outage complaints. |
From score to grade
Step 2
The weighted score out of 10 maps to a grade. A and B are firms you can buy from with normal care. From C down, read the hidden-rules page before you pay.
- AExcellent≥ 7.5Reliable payouts, clear rules, strong track record.
- BGood≥ 6.5Solid choice with a few rules to watch.
- CAverage≥ 5.5Usable, but read the hidden rules before you buy.
- DWeak≥ 4.5Frequent complaints or risky rules. Proceed with care.
- EPoor< 4.5Serious payout or rule problems. We'd avoid it.
The Hidden Risk score
Separate from the grade
Hidden Risk measures the fine print: how likely you are to lose an account or a payout to a rule that isn't part of the headline target and drawdown. It runs from 0 to 10, and lower is better. We read the terms and conditions, the FAQ and the help center, and check traders' reports of how rules are enforced.
What raises the score:
- Consistency rules that cap your best day as a share of total profit
- Maximum lot sizes or per-trade risk caps, especially when applied after the fact
- News windows on funded accounts and bans on weekend or overnight holding
- Copy-trading, group-trading, IP and device rules
- Broad "gambling" or "abusive strategy" definitions and sole-discretion termination clauses
- Payout caps, minimum profitable days, inactivity rules and strategy allocation limits
- Costs that are easy to miss: commissions, swaps and fees that eat into the split
Low · 0 – 2.4
Few restrictions beyond drawdown; everything important is documented up front.
Moderate · 2.5 – 3.9
Some easy-to-miss rules (news windows, lot caps, consistency) but clearly published.
High · 4.0 – 5.4
Several rules that commonly void profits or accounts; read the terms line by line.
Very high · 5.5 – 10
Broad discretionary clauses or a history of applying rules after the fact.
Pass rates
Always labeled
Few firms publish pass rates, and the ones you see on comparison sites rarely say where they came from. We label every figure:
- Reported: published by the firm.
- Third-party: from an independent source with a stated method.
- Estimate: our estimate from the challenge rules.
Estimates compare a program's targets, loss limits, drawdown type and minimum days with programs whose pass rates have been disclosed (firms running standard two-step challenges have reported roughly 10% of attempts reaching a funded account). They indicate difficulty. They are not a promise.
How we analyze reviews
Bulk, not cherry-picked
For every firm we collect the most recent reviews from its main Trustpilot profile in bulk: the latest reviews of any rating plus, separately, the latest one- and two-star and three-star reviews. Trustpilot shows at most 200 reviews per filter, so a typical firm sample is 400–600 reviews; each review page states its exact sample and dates. Where Trustpilot publishes 12-month transparency figures we use them for the monthly trend. We then:
- measure sentiment and the average rating month by month, and whether it is improving or declining
- classify every negative review by complaint theme: denied payouts, account breaches, rule disputes, delays, support, execution, KYC
- count how many recent reviews mention payouts, and how many of those are negative
- flag review-health signals, such as the share of very short five-star reviews or Trustpilot warnings
- read the samples ourselves before writing the summary, so themes are checked by hand rather than left to keywords
We paraphrase what reviewers say and never republish review text or reviewer names. Shares are always stated against the sample they come from.
Sources and updates
Evidence
Each review lists its sources: the firm's website, terms, FAQ and help center, Trustpilot, PropFirmMatch, Reddit threads and press coverage. Prices are standard list prices before discount codes. We refresh every firm at least monthly and after material events. Every review shows its last update date.
We publish everything without a login. You can download the full dataset from the database and use it with a link back.
Independence
Money
Some links to firms may be affiliate links that pay us a commission if you buy. That never changes a grade, a score or what we report, and firms cannot pay for placement. Low-graded firms stay listed with the same detail as high-graded ones. Read the full disclosure.
Questions about the method
FAQ
Why letter grades instead of stars?
Stars on review platforms bunch up between 4 and 5 for nearly every prop firm, so they don't separate good firms from risky ones. A simple A to E grade built from payouts, rules and reputation spreads firms out and tells you at a glance how much risk you take.
Can a firm pay for a better grade?
No. Grades come only from the method on this page and the evidence listed in each review. Affiliate commissions, if any, never change a score, and firms cannot pay to remove information.
How often do grades change?
We refresh every firm at least monthly and immediately after material events such as rule changes, payout suspensions or ownership changes. Each review shows the date it was last updated.
A firm says your data is wrong. What happens?
Send the correction and a source to hello@propfirmgrades.com. We verify it, update the review and note the change. We don't remove accurate information on request.