A broker holds your deposit; a prop firm sells access to an account for a fee.
At a prop firm the fee caps your loss, but the rules decide how long the account lives.
A withdrawal is your money; a payout is your share of eligible profit.
Fee versus deposit
A broker account starts with a deposit. The balance is your money, every trade is paid for with it, and every loss comes out of it.
A MyFundedCapital account starts with a one-time program fee, from $29 for the 2-Step Challenge. MyFundedCapital is not a broker and does not accept deposits. The fee pays for access to an account of a fixed size with fixed rules; it is not money placed in a trading account, and there is no subscription.
Program fees are also separate from trading costs. Spreads, commissions and swaps still apply to the trades you place, just as they would at a broker.
What you can lose
Take a trader with a $10,000 plan and a bad month.
- Broker: you deposit $10,000. A month that ends 15% down costs you $1,500 of your own money, and nothing stops a worse month from costing more.
- Prop firm: you buy a $10,000 1-Step account from $189. If the account breaches, it ends and the fee is what you lost. A new attempt means a new fee.
The prop route caps your loss, but it also caps the room you get. On that 1-Step account, equity may not fall below $9,000 overall or lose more than $500 in one day. A broker would let the trade run; the rules will not.
Trading costs exist on both: spreads, commissions and swaps reduce equity whether you trade your own deposit or a program account.
Who sets the rules
At a broker the limits are mostly yours, apart from margin. On a prop account the program sets them and tests them against your equity:
- a daily loss limit and a maximum loss, both measured on equity;
- a consistency rule on funded accounts;
- permitted and prohibited strategies. Copy trading is allowed, between your own accounts and from other traders or signal services, as long as the trades follow the rules, and expert advisors are allowed by agreement after you write to support; scalping, high-frequency trading and hedging are not;
- activity: at least one trade every 30 days;
- conduct: account sharing and third-party account management are not allowed.
Breaking a hard rule ends the account. That is the trade-off: limited downside in exchange for strict limits.
Payouts versus withdrawals
At a broker you withdraw your balance when you like. On a funded MyFundedCapital account you request a payout: a share of eligible profit, paid on a schedule and after identity verification.
| Broker account | MyFundedCapital account | |
|---|---|---|
| Money in | Your deposit | One-time fee |
| Most you can lose | The whole deposit | The fee |
| Money out | Withdraw your balance | Payout of your profit share |
| Timing | Any time | First request after 7 days on the 1-Step |
Example: $1,000 of eligible profit on a funded 1-Step at the 80% base split pays you $800. On 1-Step and 2-Step accounts bought from 9 October 2026, your fee also comes back once with the first approved payout. If a funded account hard-breaches while it shows profit, that profit share is not paid.
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MyFundedCapital School
Start here checklist
Rules as of 17 Oct 2026. Tick each line before your next session.
| Rule | 1-Step Challenge | 2-Step Challenge | Instant Funded | MFC Stocks | Prediction Markets |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Profit target | 10% | 8% + 5% | — | 7% | 10% |
| Daily loss limit | 5% | 5% | 3% | 2% daily pause | 3% |
| Maximum loss | 10% · trailing | 10% · static | 6% · trailing | 5% · trailing | 6% · trailing |
| Consistency | 35% | 35% | 35% | 35% | 35% |
| First payout | after 7 days | after 14 days | after 14 days | after 14 days | after 7 days |
| Then every | 7 days | 14 days | 7 days | 14 days | 7 days |
| Profit split | 80% → 95% | 80% → 95% | 70% → 80% | 70% → 80% | 75% → 90% |
1. How does a prop firm challenge work?
- The fee is the most you can lose: you deposit no trading capital.
- Two loss limits apply at once, and open losses count toward both.
- Passing starts a review and verification; payouts follow a fixed schedule.
2. What is the difference between a prop firm account and a broker account?
- A broker holds your deposit; a prop firm sells access to an account for a fee.
- At a prop firm the fee caps your loss, but the rules decide how long the account lives.
- A withdrawal is your money; a payout is your share of eligible profit.
3. Which funded account program fits you?
- Your market narrows the choice before any rule does.
- Lower entry price usually means more phases; no phases means tighter limits.
- Compare the daily limit in dollars, not the headline account size.
4. How do you choose a funded account size?
- Rules are percentages, so a bigger account is not easier, only larger.
- Pick the size where 0.5% risk in dollars feels routine to you.
- Small accounts meet payout minimums later; large ones meet the cap sooner.
5. What do prop trading terms like drawdown and equity mean?
- Balance counts closed trades; equity adds open profit and loss.
- Limits are checked on equity, so open losses can end an account.
- Lots and pips turn a risk in dollars into an order size.
myfundedcapital.com/learn/
Questions
Do I need a broker account to trade with MyFundedCapital?
No. You trade in the MyFundedCapital Terminal (or the platform attached to your program), and you do not open or fund a brokerage account.
Is the program fee refundable?
On 1-Step and 2-Step accounts bought from 9 October 2026, and on MFC Stocks, the fee comes back once with your first approved payout. Other refunds are reviewed under the terms of your order.
Related lessons
Tools and rules
Rules shown here come from the help center and the live rulebook; your program terms apply.
