The Funded Trader Review: Is the Funded Trading Program Worth It?

At first glance, The Funded Trader may seem like a glittering treasure — a prop firm enabling traders to access investing funds with ease. 

Here’s what may not be obvious from the get-go: It’s all virtual. 

So, if you’re looking to get into prop trading, it could be a stepping stone — but you won’t be putting actual money on the line (except for the fee to enter the Funded Trader challenge).   

The Funded Trader is for you if you’re looking for a trading simulator with plenty of gamified features where you can hone your skills.

Want to know the full story? Keep reading for my full The Funded Trader program review.  

What Is The Funded Trader?

The Funded Trader is Liberty Hill, Texas-based prop trading firm that began operations in 2021. 

Co-founders Angelo Ciaramello and Carlos Rico serve as the company’s CEO and CFO, respectively.

Before focusing on The Funded Trader, Ciaramello had experience working in IT at Bayer. He also got a nod on New Jersey’s top 25 Financial Technology Leaders of 2022, thanks to his prop firm ventures. 

The Funded Trader firm aims to help global traders maximize their potential by providing access to capital and leverage in various markets.

But these are not IRL trading accounts.

Per the site, these are “not live trading accounts, they are fully simulated accounts utilizing real market quotes from liquidity providers. Therefore no real money is ever traded as no orders are ever executed in live markets, they are simulated orders in a simulated environment.”

That said, the site continues, “The trading data is sent off to a partnered proprietary trading firm where trades are copied at their own discretion and proprietary trading strategies are developed using the data.”

After two years, the Funded Trader achieved a milestone of $100 million in payouts, and it now counts over 100,000 followers on its Discord and YouTube channels. 

OK, right around now you might be wondering…

How Does The Funded Trader Program Work?

Are you trading real money? No. 

The Funded Trader (TFT) is 100% virtual, simulated trading. The platform offers virtually-funded accounts to traders who successfully pass their evaluation process.

Here’s how it works:

1. Evaluation Phase: Traders start with a virtual account and must meet specific profit targets while adhering to strict risk management rules during the evaluation phase. This helps TFT assess the trader’s skill and discipline.
2. Funded Account: If you pass the evaluation, you’re given access to a virtual funded account where you execute live, but simulated, trades, in the market. Profits generated on this account are split between you and TFT, usually with a trader-friendly profit-sharing ratio.
3. Fees: Traders pay an upfront fee to join the evaluation phase. This fee acts as an entry cost and is non-refundable unless explicitly stated in certain promotions.

The reason for this sequence? It lets TFT assess traders’ skills and strategies without exposing actual capital to market risks. 

It’s important to understand that while the trading experience mirrors real market conditions through real-time quotes from liquidity providers, all transactions remain within a simulated context.

Getting Started on The Funded Trader

Although The Funded Trader works with traders worldwide, the platform doesn’t admit just anyone. 

First, you’ve got to be at least 18 and from a recognized country. From there, you need to go through The Funded Trader’s evaluation process to get a “funded” account. 

You can think of that as your first “quest” on The Funded Trader.

Why do I call it a “quest”? Well, The Funded Trader has a “Game of Thrones” vibe going on with its site art. Also, there are multiple Middle Ages-themed evaluations to choose from on this site.

One of the unique features of The Funded Trader is you can pick from five challenges —  Standard, Rapid, Royal, Knight, or Dragon — depending on your preferences. 

Each challenge has a different price, a restrictions list, and tasks you must complete to become a funded trader.

For example, the Knight challenge is one step with a 10% profit target, a 3% daily drawdown, and a 6% max drawdown. With this option, you could get your first reward in as little as seven days.

By contrast, the Royal challenge is two steps and has an 8% profit target, a 5% daily drawdown, and a 10% max drawdown. People who opt for a Royal challenge also have to wait 30 days for a first reward. 

If you manage to pass your chosen challenge, you’ll get to trade with Funded Trader’s simulated funds and enjoy a max profit sharing of 90/10. 

So, what will you be trading on The Funded Trader?

Well, this prop trading firm works with the brokers Eightcap, ThinkMarkets, and Purple Trading Seychelles to provide access to the following asset categories:

• Indices
• Commodities
• Forex
• Cryptocurrencies

Depending on the supported broker, you could use a platform like Match-Trader, MT4, MT5, or cTrader to complete your trades via the Funded Trader’s portal.

Speaking of crypto, The Funded Trader accepts ERC-20 tokens as a valid form of payment for challenges. 

Key Features and Benefits

While testing traders isn’t unique to The Funded Trader, this virtual prop firm seeks to distinguish itself with an extensive array of challenge options. 

The Funded Trader also places a heavy emphasis on community engagement and loyalty through its active social media pages and scaling incentives. 

Flexible Evaluation Challenges

As mentioned above, The Funded Trader goes crazy with its many medieval-themed entry challenges. 

These challenge phases fall into three broad categories depending on how many steps there are to complete. 

The Knight challenge is in the one-step camp, while the dreaded Dragon takes three steps. As for Standard, Rapid, and Royal, you’ll find them in the two-step category. 

Each evaluation is available on different trading platforms and has multiple distinctions in leverage, profit requirements, and allowed drawdowns. 

As if that wasn’t complex enough, there are “Pro” versions of Knight and Royal with their own specs. 

Thankfully, these details are in graphs and summarized on The Funded Trader’s homepage, making it easier to compare challenges and choose the one that suits your strengths.  

Scaling Plan

The Funded Trader wants to support top performers, and it includes a graduated scaling plan to keep top talent on its platform.

If you consistently show good results with your Funded Trader account, you could reach the highest allowed balance of $1.5 million.

To reach this lofty height, you’ll have to meet the requirements set for your challenge type. 

Currently, you have to turn a profit of at least 6% over three months to start scaling your account. 

For all of you type-A competitors out there, The Funded Trader also has a Leaderboard where the best traders get massive bragging rights. 

Educational Resources and Online Community 

Another big reason behind The Funded Trader’s growing popularity is its emphasis on building an online community.

Notably, The Funded Trader has an active Discord channel with over 100,000 members and counts thousands of subscribers on its Instagram and YouTube pages. 

The Funded Trader uses these powerful communication portals to connect the community and share insights into new features and trading strategies. 

In The Funded Trader’s Media page, you’ll also find podcasts, trader interviews, and FAQs in both English and Spanish to help further support traders on their ventures. 

How Much Does The Funded Trader Cost?

You’ll have to pay an upfront fee to participate in a Funded Trader challenge. Unlike the trading you do, these fees are real money. 

However, since there are so many different tasks to choose from, not every option has the same price tag.

Although fees are constantly changing, here are recent examples of the cost to take a Funded Trader trial as of writing in early 2025:

• Dragon: $355 (or $370 for cTrader)
• Knight: $939 (or $954 for cTrader)
• Knight Pro: $945 (or $960 for cTrader)
• Royal: $1,158 (or $1,173 for cTrader)
• Royal Pro: $1,890 (or $1,905 for cTrader)

There are also different commissions per lot depending on the type of trading platform you’re using. 

TBH, it’s all a bit mind-boggling. You can find more info on The Funded Trader’s fee structure on this official FAQ page. 

The Funded Trader Reviews: Does it Have a Good Reputation?

The Funded Trader has a fair amount of reviews on the third-party site Trustpilot with a current rating of 3.3 stars.

On the bright side, 68% of these The Funded Trader reviews are five stars. 

However, the 22% composed of one-star ratings brings the average Funded Trader review into the middle of the range. 

Reviewers tend to fall on extremes when detailing their experience with The Funded Trader. 

Those who praise The Funded Trader…

Claim they have no issues getting their payouts and contacting customer support.

They also often mention the flexibility of challenges as a major draw. 

As for common The Funded Trader complaints…

Those who critique The Funded Trader raise issues like unclear trading rules or unfair penalties, particularly related to claims of the “Martingale rule” strategy. 

To The Funded Trader’s credit, the team responds to low-star reviews on Trustpilot, which shows that they attempt to reach out to dissatisfied clients. 

Pros and Cons

The Funded Trader might benefit active traders who feel confident trading but want more capital exposure. 

However, this prop firm also has many weak points to consider before deciding whether to take the plunge. 

Advantages:

• Competitive profit splits and scaling plan: One attractive feature of The Funded Trader is its high profit splits of 90% of your earnings. As a bonus, this firm provides a structured scaling plan to reward traders who consistently perform well. 
• Access to a wide trading community: Thanks to its hot Discord page, The Funded Trader boasts a robust and global social network of traders. There are also frequent educational resources and podcasts to help traders up their game and connect with an online community. 
• Multiple challenges and asset categories: Don’t feel restricted to one challenge type or asset when using The Funded Trader. This platform offers multiple quests with different parameters — as well as asset groups like forex, crypto, and commodities — so you can put your ideal strategy into place.  

Disadvantages:

• Not clear that it’s all virtual: Some investors might think that The Funded Trader is an IRL trading platform. It’s not. While you will have to pay fees for the challenges, the accounts are all virtual. 
• Subpar ratings on review sites: While 3.3 stars on Trustpilot is “average,” it raises doubts over the quality of this site’s offerings. Take care to analyze these negative ratings and look out for common themes before getting into The Funded Trader. 
• Customer service issues: Although The Funded Trader has a live chat, email, and a phone number, some negative reviews complain of long wait times to contact a representative. Given the fast-paced nature of trading, any delay in service requests could put serious money in jeopardy. 
• Complex trading restrictions: The flexibility offered by The Funded Trader’s multiple challenges is a positive for customer choice, but it also makes it difficult to choose the best option. The various parameters for different Funded Trader accounts can be daunting to sort through, especially for new traders.

Key Prop Trading Platform Competitors

Even if you’re dead set on using a prop firm, consider a few alternatives before going with The Funded Trader. Plenty of other options offer easy access to funds plus distinctive features you may find more attractive. 

Topstep

Topstep is a well-established name in the prop trading firm space, and its history goes back to 2012. 

A significant difference between Topstep and The Funded Trader is that the former only focuses on futures trading. Also, for a flat monthly fee, there are only three different evaluations to choose from.

Thanks to its size and reputation, Topstep has many resources, including its live TopstepTV channel, coaching, and a strong Facebook community. 

Plus, you get to keep 100% of profits when you become a Topstep trader up to $10,000. After that, you’ll get a 90/10 split similar to The Funded Trader.

Trading Combine®: Traders begin in the Trading Combine, a simulated evaluation program designed to assess trading skills and discipline. Success in this phase leads to the next step.
Topstep

Express Funded Account™: Upon passing the Trading Combine, traders enter the Express Funded Account, which remains a simulated account. Despite being simulated, traders can earn real payouts based on their performance. This setup allows traders to start earning without additional fees and enables Topstep to manage risk effectively. 

Live Funded Account™: Traders demonstrating consistent success in the Express Funded Account may be invited to transition to a Live Funded Account. In this phase, traders operate with actual capital in real financial markets, with their starting balance reflecting the accumulated profits from the Express Funded Account.

Apex Trader Funding

Like The Funded Trader, Apex Trader Funding is a Texas-based prop firm with a relatively recent founding in 2021. 

Created by Darrell Martin, this prop firm offers evaluations for futures trading with between $10K and $300K account sizes on Tradovate and Rithmic. Active Trader Funding promises to reward 100% of profits to qualified traders up to the first $25,000. 

Once you collect your $25,000, Apex Trader Funding offers a 90/10 profit split with payouts twice per month. 

While the educational and community resources aren’t as robust as those on Topstep or The Funded Trader, some may appreciate the wide account sizes and generous payouts that Apex Trader Funding offers.

Prefer IRL Investing? Consider These Alternatives

If you’re a new investor who feels ready to trade without the bells and whistles of gamified challenges, there are ways to get started.

Zen Investor

Wouldn’t it be nice to look over the shoulder of a Jedi-level stock picker?

Well, that’s pretty much what you get with a Zen Investor subscription.

In this case, Steve Reitmeister is your Yoda who will reveal 20 – 30 stock ideas he discovered using the powers of the Force. 

Who is Steve Reitmeister, you ask?

Oh, just someone who’s been on Wall Street for over 40 years and a head author at the illustrious Zacks.com.

So, yeah, it’s safe to say he knows a thing or two about investments! 

While Mr. Reitmeister’s credentials are legendary enough, that’s not all you get with Zen Investor. 

Every stock recommended on Zen Investor first undergoes the rigorous Zen Ratings system, which includes over 115 factors influencing a stock’s history and likely performance. 

So, if you want extremely well-vetted stock picks delivered to your inbox each month, this service is for you.

FINQ 

Everyone wants AI to do everything nowadays, including pick stocks. 

If you’re fully onboard with robot overlords, FINQ may be the right fit for your finances.

This AI-powered service touts using “science” to make better financial decisions. In this case, FINQ uses AI algorithms to scan boatloads of data and spit out the best stock ideas. 

One unique feature of FINQ is that it doesn’t just tell you what stocks to buy.

With your membership, you’ll also see potentially lucrative short ideas in FINQ’s findings. 

Whether you’re looking for long-term investment ideas or ways to make a quick profit from options or short-selling, consider checking out FINQ.

Stock Market Guides

Backtesting is a tried-and-true strategy for analyzing the market and choosing favorable entry points for a trade. 

The only problem with backtesting is it takes a lot of time and skill to perfect. 

Sometimes, it can take years for stock traders to develop the perfect algorithm that gives them a consistent win rate.

If you’d like to avoid the long hours spent reviewing and recalibrating your backtesting results, you might consider paying for Stock Market Guides‘ alerts.

This stock alert system uses a proprietary algorithmic program that screens the market and identifies attractive opportunities.

Whenever there’s a solid setup, Stock Market Guides will send a message letting you know exactly how to take advantage of an opportunity.  

Does it work? I’d say so. The stock-picking alerts have delivered an average annualized return of 79.4% at writing. (!!)

Consider using Stock Market Guides if you’re a fan of backtesting but just can’t be bothered to put in the work required to make this method work.

Conclusion

The Funded Trader might be worthwhile if you’re a seasoned trader who wants access to more capital. 

However, since this platform is so new and doesn’t have the greatest reputation with third-party reviews, it’s probably best to steer clear — at least until there’s more clear evidence The Funded Trader is legit. 

Until then, you could start looking into other more established prop firms like Topstep or FTMO.

Alternatively, consider using stock picking services like Zen Investor to get an edge in the market without playing games.

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