How we review prop firms
Most prop firm "review" sites rank whoever pays the biggest affiliate commission. We do the
opposite. Before a firm appears on this page, our team buys and completes its evaluation, trades
the funded account, and requests a genuine payout — because the only review that means anything
is one where the reviewer actually got paid. We read the full rulebook line by line to surface
the hidden consistency rules and drawdown traps that marketing pages never mention, and we
re-check pricing and rules every week, since this industry changes faster than almost any other.
How our rankings work
Every firm earns a single 1–10 PropFirmVector score, and the order on this page
is driven by that score, not by who advertises with us. We routinely rank firms that pay us
nothing above firms that do, we publish the negatives plainly, and when a firm slows payouts or
quietly changes its rules, it drops — affiliate relationship or not. That independence is the
whole point. The "trust score" badge on each card (Very High, High, Good) is a quick reflection
of the firm's payout reliability and track record specifically.
Our testing methodology
Testing is hands-on and repeatable. We take each firm's most popular account size through its
evaluation using a fixed, low-risk approach so the rules — not luck — determine the outcome. We
log how the daily loss and drawdown behave in practice, whether the platform fills cleanly, how
support responds when something breaks, and exactly how long the first payout takes from request
to received. Where a firm offers multiple models (1-step, 2-step, instant), we note how the
rules differ, because two products from the same firm can behave very differently.
Our scoring system
The PropFirmVector score is weighted across five pillars:
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Payout reliability — 35%. Do they pay, on time, every time? The heaviest
pillar, because a generous split is worthless if you can't withdraw.
-
Pricing & value — 20%. Challenge cost relative to funding size, plus
reset terms and refunds.
-
Rules & fairness — 20%. Drawdown model, consistency rules, and how many
"gotchas" hide in the fine print.
-
Profit split — 15%. How much you keep, and how quickly the top tier is
reached.
-
Platform & support — 10%. Execution quality, platform choice, and
responsiveness.
Ratings are editorial and based on this hands-on testing — we never invent user reviews or
payout numbers. New to prop trading? Start with our
beginner's guide and learn
what firms expect from you before you buy. Already
know your style? Jump to trading styles, shortlist two or
three firms, and settle it in the comparison tool.
