How Do Prop Firms Make Money? Fees, Splits, Payouts

The short version

Topstep explains it in its own guide: evaluation-based firms "make money from evaluation fees and from their share of trader profits." Fees come from every buyer, pass or fail.
Fees can include a monthly subscription, a one-time evaluation fee, an activation fee when you pass, resets, and market data. Not every firm charges every one.
On the payout side, the firm keeps a share of each payout, for example 10% when a trader is on Topstep's or Bulenox's 90% split.
Topstep's 2025 numbers: 16.8% of Combines passed, but 51.8% of people passed at least once, so many people bought more than one. One in three funded traders got a payout.
Payout rules decide how much of a funded account's profit you can actually take out. Read them as closely as the price.

Every fee and number here is quoted from the firm's or the CFTC's own page, read on the date shown. Prices change often; the firm's checkout is the final word.

The two money streams

Topstep's beginner guide puts it in three sentences: "Evaluation-based prop firms make money from evaluation fees and from their share of trader profits. Fees come from every trader who buys an evaluation, whether or not they pass. The profit split applies only when a funded trader has profits and requests a payout."

On a simulated account, the payout is the firm's own money. Topstep's help center: "Topstep pays you real money based on your simulated trading results." So the firm's income is the fees it collects, and its biggest cost is the payouts it sends.

Every fee a trader can pay

Fee	A real example
Monthly evaluation subscription	Topstep Standard Path: $49, $99 or $199 a month for a 50K, 100K or 150K Trading Combine.
One-time evaluation fee	LucidFlex: a one-time fee, with no monthly rebill and no activation fee.
Activation fee	Topstep: $149 once per Express Funded Account earned on the Standard Path. The No Activation Fee Path skips it but costs $95, $149 or $229 a month.
Reset	Topstep sells a reset from the dashboard or TopstepX once a Combine breaches its Maximum Loss Limit.
Market data	Topstep: Level 1 is free, Level 2 is a $38 a month upgrade. Lucid: professional traders pay $112 a month per exchange.
Profit share	Topstep: traders keep up to 90%. Bulenox: "the trader receives 90% of each additional payout" and Bulenox takes a 10% commission when it's sent.

Each example is from that firm's own help center or site on the date at the top. Every firm's current prices are on its profile.

Two fine-print points from Topstep's pricing page. A promo code on a subscription covers the "First month only" unless stated otherwise, and "Most fees at Topstep are non-refundable." Check both at any firm before you count on a discount or a refund.

What Topstep's 2025 numbers show

Topstep publishes its 2025 results on its site. From January to December 2025:

16.8% of all Trading Combines started were passed.
51.8% of people who entered one or more Combines passed at least one.
33.3% of people at the Funded Level got a payout.
0.71% of people in an Express Funded Account were called up to a Live Funded Account.

The gap between the first two lines is the key one. If about 1 in 6 Combines is passed but about half of people pass at least once, many people bought several Combines before passing. Each one is a fee, while payouts go to the third of funded traders who get paid.

Topstep says these statistics cover both simulated and live trading and are not indicative of future results.

Why payout rules matter as much as price

Payout rules decide how much of a funded account's profit becomes money in your bank, and how fast. The common ones:

Caps per payout. LucidFlex caps each payout at $2,000 on a 50K, for example.
Consistency rules. Most firms on our rules pages limit how much of your profit can come from one day. Our rules pages show each firm's version and include a calculator.
Minimum days and buffers. Some firms require a number of profitable days, or a cushion above your drawdown, before the first payout.
The split itself. What share of each payout you keep.

Whatever the reason a firm gives for a rule, its effect is on the timing and size of payouts. Two firms with the same price can pay out very differently.

Evaluation, instant and live: three models

Type	How you get access	What you pay
Evaluation-based	Pass a simulated evaluation, then trade a funded account	An evaluation fee, plus activation and reset fees at some firms
Instant funding	Start in a funded account without an evaluation	A higher up-front fee, often with tighter rules
Live capital	Trade the firm's real capital, often after another stage	Varies

The three types as Topstep's beginner guide describes them. For instant funding, Topstep says to check whether the account is simulated or live and how payouts work.

When the money doesn't add up

The CFTC's 2023 complaint against My Forex Funds shows what happens when the two sides of the ledger are the whole business. It alleged the firm took in about $310 million in fees from more than 135,000 customers and paid out about $137 million, and that "When customers make money, it means that Traders Global loses money."

Those were allegations, and in 2025 the CFTC's own conduct in the case drew court sanctions. The case is covered in our guide on how to check a prop firm.

Sales, codes and affiliates

Firms also spend to find buyers: sales, discount codes and affiliate programs that pay sites and creators for sign-ups. Prop Desk is an affiliate of some firms. We label every affiliate code and link, and our affiliate disclosure explains how it works. Every live public and affiliate code is on the deals page.

What it means for you

Count the full cost. Evaluation fee or months of subscription, plus activation, resets and data. Assume more than one attempt.
Read the payout rules before the price. Caps, consistency and buffers decide what you can take out.
Treat the fee as spent. It's paid whether or not you pass, and at Topstep, for one, most fees are non-refundable.
Check the firm's track record. Our news log records every confirmed rule change and closure.

Questions

How do prop firms make money?

From evaluation fees and from a share of the profits they pay out. In Topstep's words, fees come from every trader who buys an evaluation, whether or not they pass, and the profit split applies only when a funded trader has profits and requests a payout.

Where does payout money come from on a simulated account?

From the firm. Topstep says it pays real money based on your simulated trading results. The CFTC's complaint against My Forex Funds described the same thing for that firm: customer profits came out of the firm's own pocket.

What share of profits do prop firms keep?

It depends on the firm and the account. Topstep says traders keep up to 90%. Bulenox says the trader receives 90% of each additional payout and it takes a 10% commission when the payout is sent.

Are prop firm fees refundable?

Usually not. Topstep's pricing page says most fees at Topstep are non-refundable. Check the refund terms at any firm before you buy.

Does a promo code discount every month of a subscription?

Not always. Topstep's pricing page says the first month only is billed at the promo price unless stated otherwise. Read the code's terms on the firm's checkout.

How many traders pass a prop firm evaluation?

Topstep publishes its figures: in 2025, 16.8% of Trading Combines started were passed, 51.8% of people passed at least one, and 33.3% of people at the Funded Level got a payout.

Sources

Read on Nov 4, 2026:

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