FundingPips is a CFD prop firm founded in 2022. It has already paid more than $282 million to its funded traders.
I'll compare its accounts, go through their main pros and cons, and explain which offers I find most interesting.
I'll also explain how things like reward cycles and the Striking System work, because they can be hard to follow at first.
1) Account types
FundingPips offers five models:
- 1 Step Flex has a single evaluation phase, with a higher profit target in exchange for a shorter process
- 2 Step Standard follows a conventional two-phase CFD evaluation
- 2 Step Flex has two phases but no minimum trading days
- 2 Step Pro has two phases with tighter targets in exchange for a lower entry price
- Zero provides direct access to a funded account without an evaluation
Drawdown type
Every account except Zero uses static drawdown.
Zero uses trailing drawdown.
Access to the funded account
After passing the evaluation, or immediately with Zero, the trader can access a funded account, also called a Master account.
Identity verification comes first, followed by an account review that takes up to two business days.
The capital is still simulated, but the profits you make entitle you to a "reward": a payment in real money based on a share of those gains.
Profit split
The reward amount and how often you can request it depend on the model:
- 2 Step Standard: once funded, choose between 60% weekly, 80% every two weeks, 90% on demand or 100% monthly
- 2 Step Flex: choose at purchase between 85% with no additional condition, or 95% provided you record three profitable days of at least 0.5% in each two-week cycle
- 2 Step Pro: a fixed 80% share, paid weekly
- 1 Step Flex: a fixed 85% share, paid every two weeks
- Zero: a 95% share every two weeks, subject to several conditions being met together, discussed in the disadvantages section
Regardless of the model, you must make at least 1% profit on the Master account before requesting a reward.
On a $50,000 account, that means $500 in profit.
Prime accounts
You do not need to withdraw an entire reward from a Master account.
You can reinvest between 20% and 100% of it to open a Prime account.
The new account starts with capital equal to 12.5 times the amount transferred.
For example, reinvesting $1,000 opens a $12,500 Prime account.
Prime then works as a second Master account, with its own rewards at an 80% split. You can request them daily once you meet the minimum profit requirement.
The capital then increases in stages, up to a maximum of $2 million.
2) Advantages
A free trial
FundingPips offers a free trial of its 2 Step Standard and 2 Step Pro accounts.
Each phase reproduces the targets, loss limits, spreads, commissions and trading conditions of the paid challenges. However, the trial has a 14-calendar-day limit per phase, while the paid evaluations have no time limit.
You do not need a payment card or identity documents to try it.
Trial profits cannot be withdrawn, and passing the trial does not give you a Master account.
Static drawdown
All models except Zero use static drawdown, calculated from the initial capital rather than profits made.
This is the simplest and most accessible drawdown type for a trader.
By comparison, competitor FundedNext only offers trailing and end-of-day drawdown.
Profit sharing
FundingPips is among the CFD prop firms that let traders keep up to 100% of profits.
This rate applies only to the monthly cycle on 2 Step Standard. You must still wait 30 calendar days after the first trade on the Master account.
Prime accounts
The ability to scale an account can be particularly valuable to successful traders who achieve several payouts from funded accounts.
3) Disadvantages
A complex offering
The firm uses several concepts specific to its model, including reward cycles, Prime accounts and the Striking System, covered below.
These systems aren't necessarily difficult once you understand them. But they aren't intuitive at first, and you really need to work through them to know exactly what you're signing up for.
That complexity also carries over to the options available after obtaining a funded account.
To me, all these terms, rules and choices give you far too much to keep track of, especially if you're new to prop firms.
It makes the offer harder to understand and can leave you feeling confused.
On this point, I find its main competitor, FTMO, much clearer and easier to understand.
Holding positions over the weekend
Weekend holding is allowed only during the evaluation phases.
Once you have a Master account, all positions must be closed before the market closes on Friday.
Otherwise, they are closed automatically.
On evaluation-based models, this forced closure does not directly cause the loss of the account.
Zero is stricter: holding a position over the weekend causes immediate account closure.
This can be a deal-breaker for swing traders, because it prevents them from keeping positions open across the weekend.
Risk per instrument
On some Master accounts, all positions in the same direction on the same instrument are combined when calculating total risk.
A position reopened within ten minutes of closing a losing trade may also count towards that calculation.
The limit depends on the model and account size, but is generally between 2% and 3% of initial capital.
Exceeding it can close the account, even if no individual position breaches the permitted threshold.
This rule limits the ability to split a position into several orders and requires you to monitor combined risk on each instrument.
The Striking System
1 Step Flex and some 2 Step Standard accounts use a warning system when combined risk on an instrument exceeds the permitted limit.
Each additional warning brings a heavier penalty. The profit share is progressively reduced, and the account is closed on the fourth breach.
Warnings stay on record for the account's entire lifetime, including after a reward has been paid.
Profits from the affected positions may also be removed when a warning is triggered.
4) My recommendation
I prefer the 2 Step Flex 50K with the 95% profit split.
It gives the most room for error before passing and costs less than 2 Step Standard.
The 95% split requires three profitable days of at least 0.5% per cycle, which should be manageable for a consistently profitable trader.
I'd advise against 2 Step Pro, despite its lower price.
The model is too strict, and its maximum loss allowance leaves very little room.
5) FundingPips Labs
FundingPips groups its experimental challenges under FundingPips Labs.
They are sold as numbered editions with a limited number of accounts:
- Labs 001: Starter Edition
- Labs 002: 247 Edition
- Labs 003: Infinity Edition
To see how these Labs work, let's take Infinity Edition: a 25K account with a one-phase evaluation and static drawdown.
On the Master account, traders can request several payouts per day, with a minimum of $250 per request and an 80% profit share.
