What You'll Actually Spend
The advertised price of a prop firm evaluation is the tip of the iceberg. Let's break down what traders actually spend before reaching profitability — if they ever do.
Typical Cost Stack: 50K Account
| Evaluation fee (first attempt) | $75-$180 |
| Reset/retry fees (avg 2 resets) | $100-$260 |
| Monthly subscription (3 months avg) | $150-$750 |
| Activation fee | $0-$149 |
| Data feeds & platform | $50-$150/month |
| Minimum total (if you pass on attempt 2-3) | $500-$1,500+ |
That's the optimistic scenario. Survey data shows the average trader spends $4,270+ on evaluations before ever reaching profitability. Many never get there at all.
Most traders need 2-3 attempts to pass their first evaluation. At $75-$100 per reset on top of the initial fee, costs compound fast. And that's just one account at one firm.
The Fee Machine
Understanding the business model is critical to understanding why prop firms exist.
Follow the Money
A firm with 10,000 applicants per month charging $150 per evaluation:
- Monthly evaluation revenue: $1,500,000
- Traders who pass (8%): 800 funded accounts
- Funded traders who get payouts (20%): 160 traders
- Estimated payout total: $500,000-$800,000
- Net to firm: $700,000-$1,000,000/month
The evaluation fees are the business model. Trading profits are the marketing story. Industry analysis shows that 80-95% of some firms' revenue comes from evaluation and reset fees, not from profit-sharing on successful traders.
This isn't inherently wrong — it's a service. But you should understand that the firm profits regardless of whether you succeed. Their incentive is to attract as many evaluation attempts as possible.
The starkest example: My Forex Funds collected $310 million in fees before regulators shut them down in 2023. That's $310M from traders — most of whom never saw a return.
Running the Numbers: Break-Even Analysis
Let's work a realistic scenario:
Scenario: Trader on a $50K account
| Failed attempt #1 ($150 eval + 2 months @ $75/mo) | -$300 |
| Failed attempt #2 ($75 reset + 1 month) | -$150 |
| Passed attempt #3 ($75 reset + 1 month + $129 activation) | -$279 |
| Data feeds (4 months @ $50) | -$200 |
| Total cost to get funded | -$929 |
| First payout (avg 4% of $50K, 80% split) | +$1,600 |
| Net after first payout | +$671 |
In this optimistic scenario (passing in 3 attempts and receiving a payout), you're up $671 after 4-5 months of effort. That's not bad, but it's a far cry from the "get funded, make thousands" narrative. And remember: most traders never reach this point.
Use our Profit & Expense Tracker to run your own numbers.
The Opportunity Cost
Money is only part of the picture. The real cost includes:
Time
4-8 hours/day of screen time for active traders. Over 4 months of attempts, that's 400-800+ hours. At even $20/hour, that's $8,000-$16,000 in opportunity cost.
Learning Curve
Most studies suggest 1-3 years before consistent profitability (if ever). That's years of near-zero or negative income.
Mental Health
Repeated failures erode confidence. The stress of drawdowns, blown accounts, and financial pressure is real and underestimated.
Alternative Returns
$4,270 invested in an S&P 500 index fund at 10% average returns = $4,697 after a year. Boring, but profitable for 100% of participants.
The Bottom Line
None of this means prop trading is a scam. The service is real: you get access to capital you wouldn't otherwise have. But the cost is also real, and it's much higher than the headline evaluation fee suggests.
Before you start, set a hard budget for total prop firm spending. Decide in advance how much you're willing to invest before you walk away. Track every dollar with our Tracker.
Next: Realistic Expectations — what success actually looks like.
Sources
- FPFX Tech prop trading analysis — Finance Magnates
- How Prop Firms Make Money — BabyPips
- Prop Firm Statistics 2026 — QuantVPS
- Prop Firm Industry Data — Atmosfunded
- Prop Firm Total Cost analysis — Funded.Now