Prices checked on the storefronts 8 storefronts · 5 ranked · 3 bench Simulated trading · not financial advice

Price ÷ account · price ÷ drawdown

Cheapest Prop Firm in 2026: Top 5 Evaluations Ranked by Price

SIMSimulated trading · not financial advice · the first button is an affiliate link

The cheapest prop firm evaluation we found is E8 Markets’ 5K "E8 One" at $36 (September 15, 2026). Alpha Capital ($40), Phidias ($55), Alpha Futures ($89/month) and MyFundedFutures ($92) follow.

From $36
5 firms, 3 bench
Futures + forex
Not financial advice

Budget · what it buyslive math

Evaluation budget$55

For $55 the biggest account is 25K at Phidias — $2.20 per $1K.

E85K$36
Alpha Capital10K$40
Phidias25K$55
Alpha Futures25K$89/mo
MFFU25K$92

Cheapest visible evaluation per firm at the time of our check; E8 from a storefront snapshot. Monthly plans marked /mo.

01 Key facts · TL;DR

Cheapest · seven lines

Cheapest sticker priceE8 One 5K, $36 (September 15, 2026)
Cheapest per $1K of accountPhidias, $2.20
Cheapest per $1 of drawdown (25K)MFFU, $0.046
Only monthly plan in top 5Alpha Futures, $89/mo
No consistency rulePhidias, Alpha Futures Zero
Biggest promo gapPhidias, $277 → $55 (80%)
Fastest stated payoutPhidias, "90% processed under 30 minutes"

cheapestpropfirm.com Editorial · updated · who we are

02 Ranking · by entry price

Cheapest Prop Firm Ranking: Top 5 by Entry Price

Sorted bycheapest visible evaluation
Spread$36 → $92
Sizes5K · 10K · 25K ×3

The table is sorted by the price of the cheapest evaluation each firm shows on its storefront — not by our opinion of the firm. "Cheapest" is a number, so the ranking is a number: E8 One at $36 sits first even though its 5K card discloses the least. A price-only ranking is deliberately different from the six-criteria scores, which live on their own page.

One date caveat: E8's live site did not open for us on September 24, 2026, so its $36 comes from a storefront snapshot of September 15; the other four were read on September 24. "Not shown on the storefront" means exactly that — the 5K E8 and 10K Alpha Capital cards print no drawdown and no consistency rule. A cheap prop firm comparison is only as honest as its blanks.

#1cheapest sticker

$36~~$48~~

5K "E8 One" · $7.20 per $1K

25% OFF · $48 → $36storefront sticker

Go to E8 Full review

Model1-phase ("Pass in one day")
Split"Max Payout 80%"
Drawdownnot shown on the storefront for 5K; 100K: Dynamic DD $6,000, Daily $4,000, target $9,000
Consistencynot shown on the storefront
Payouts"Average First Payout $5,866" (company claim)
Entity"E8 Funding LLC… 4101 McEwen Rd #205, Dallas, TX 75244"; "E8 Markets Ltd… Saint Lucia, registration number 2025-00347… Rodney Bay, Gros-Islet"; site "subject to the internal rules… of Digital Renaissance LLC… Puerto Rico"

#2cheapest 10K

$40

10K Evaluation · $4.00 per $1K

Up to 20% off all accountsmonthly promo on the official promo page; no codes here

Go to Alpha Capital Full review

Model1 Step / 2 Step; "Alpha Direct Qualified"
Split80% standard; 90% as an add-on (+10% to the price, On-Demand)
Drawdownnot shown on the storefront
Consistencynot shown on the storefront
Payouts"Bi-Weekly or On-Demand"
Entityentity not found on the homepage; "We are a proprietary trading company, not a broker"

#3best $ per 1K

$55~~$277~~

25K "Express to Live" · $2.20 per $1K

Save 80% · $277 → $55+ Rithmic activation $149 → $0 on the plan card

Go to Phidias Full review

Modeleval → live
Split"Up to 100% on Premium, progressive 75% → 100%"
Drawdown25K: DD $500, target $1,500, "Static + EOD"
Consistency"No consistency rule"
Payouts"90% processed under 30 minutes. Always under 24" (hours); "daily uncapped payouts"
Entity"owned and operated by Phidias Propfirm LTD, registered in Gibraltar"; "CFTC Required Disclaimer"

#4only monthly

$89/mo

25K Zero Eval · $3.56/mo per $1K

Up to 25% off promosrecurring promos on the official X; reset $79, no consistency on Zero

Go to Alpha Futures Full review

Model"one step futures evaluation"; "Direct skips the Evaluation"
Split"Most account types pay a 90% performance split"
Drawdown25K Zero: Max DD $1,000, Daily Loss Guard $500, target $1,500
ConsistencyZero: None; Standard 50%; Advanced 40%; Qualified 25K Zero 40%
Payouts"processed in 48 business hours or less"; up to 50% of profit per request; cap "$15,000 per cycle"
Entity"ALPHA FUTURES LIMITED Company number 15655643 Registered office address 1 Allied Business Centre, Coldharbour Lane, Harpenden, England, AL5 4UT"

#5best $ per DD

$92~~$153~~

25K Builder · $3.68 per $1K

40% off · $153 → $92+ "$0 Activation fee on any MFFU plan"

Go to MFFU Full review

Modeleval → Sim Funded
SplitBuilder 80/20; Rapid 90/10
DrawdownBuilder 25K: DD $1,500 or $2,000, target $3,000, EOD Trailing
ConsistencyBuilder 50%; Rapid None
PayoutsBuilder "Every 48 hrs"; Rapid "Payouts Every 24h"
Entityonly "© 2023- 2026 MyFundedFutures" on the homepage; entity not stated

Smallest ticket

E8 One · 5K · $36

Start with E8 One Phidias 25K · $55

Affiliate links · promotions change · not financial advice

03 Criteria · what "cheap" means here

6 Criteria Behind a Truly Cheap Prop Firm

A cheap prop firm is not the one with the smallest sticker. Six numbers decide what an evaluation really costs, and every price in this ranking is run through all six.

01Sticker price of the cheapest evaluationE8 $36 · Alpha Capital $40 · Phidias $55 · Alpha Futures $89/mo · MFFU $92 The entry ticket on the smallest plan card, nothing more.
02Price per $1K of accountPhidias 55 ÷ 25 = $2.20 · Alpha Capital 40 ÷ 10 = $4.00 · E8 36 ÷ 5 = $7.20 Fee ÷ account size in thousands: Phidias buys five times E8’s account for $19 more.
03Price per $1 of max drawdownPhidias 55 ÷ 500 = $0.11 · MFFU 92 ÷ 2,000 = $0.046 · Alpha Futures 89 ÷ 1,000 = $0.089/mo Fee ÷ maximum drawdown: the price of the room you get to be wrong in.
04One-time vs monthlyAlpha Futures $89/mo × 2 = $178 · Phidias $55 one-time Two months of subscription outcost three one-time Phidias fees.
05Reset and activation feesAlpha Futures reset $79 · Phidias Rithmic activation $149 → $0 · MFFU $0 activation Resets and activations are the second bill.
06Dependence on promos (list vs promo)Phidias 1 − 55/277 = 80% · MFFU 1 − 92/153 = 40% · E8 1 − 36/48 = 25% A code-dependent price can vanish; the list price is the fallback.

Price is only one of six criteria; the other five get equal weight in our cheapest prop firm ranking that goes beyond price.

04 Reviews · five firms in brief

Prop Firm Reviews: The 5 Cheapest Firms in Brief

Each mini-review follows one script: the price, the rule that most often ends an account, how the firm says it pays, and who the plan suits. Full reviews live on the brand pages. The cards are our own rendering of each plan with the storefront numbers, not screenshots.

5K "E8 One"

$36~~$48~~

Phase1-phase
Max payout80%
Drawdown 5Knot shown
Drawdown 100K$6,000 dyn · $4,000 daily

Go to E8 storefront · · our rendering

E8 Markets — $36 for 5K, one phase

E8 One is the smallest ticket in the ranking: $36 for a 5K evaluation, listed at $48 with a "25% OFF" sticker on the storefront snapshot of September 15, 2026. It is a one-phase model — the site sells it as "Pass in one day" — with a "Max Payout 80%". The catch is disclosure: the 5K card shows no drawdown figure at all; only the 100K plan spells out a $6,000 dynamic drawdown, a $4,000 daily limit and a $9,000 target. The footer names three entities — E8 Funding LLC in Dallas, Texas; E8 Markets Ltd in Saint Lucia; and a Puerto Rico rules holder, Digital Renaissance LLC. Cheap to try, thin on rules for the plan you actually buy.

cheap prop firm comparison — full review of E8

10K Evaluation

$40

Steps1 Step / 2 Step
Split80% · 90% add-on
Payoutsbi-weekly / on-demand
PlatformMT5 · web

Go to Alpha Capital storefront · · our rendering

Alpha Capital Group — $40 for 10K on MT5

Alpha Capital sells a 10K evaluation for $40 — a one-time payment at the storefront promo price; the list price is not printed next to it. You choose a 1 Step or 2 Step route, trade on MT5 with raw spreads and no commission, and get an 80% split by default; the 90% split is a paid add-on that raises the On-Demand price by 10%. Payouts run bi-weekly or on demand. On the live storefront of September 24, 2026 the company describes itself plainly: "We are a proprietary trading company, not a broker" — but no legal entity is named on the homepage, and neither drawdown nor consistency rule is shown for the 10K plan.

CheapestPropFirm top 5 — full review of Alpha Capital

25K "Express to Live"

$55~~$277~~

Drawdown$500 static + EOD
Target$1,500
Consistencynone
Split75% → 100%

Go to Phidias storefront · · our rendering

Phidias — $55 for 25K Express to Live

Phidias is the value pick of the five: $55 one-time for a 25K "Express to Live" evaluation with the storefront promo, against $277 without a code — an 80% gap. The 25K card states a $500 drawdown, "Static + EOD", a $1,500 target and "No consistency rule". The split is progressive, 75% rising to 100% on Premium. Payout claims are the boldest in the group: "90% processed under 30 minutes. Always under 24" hours, with daily uncapped payouts. The $149 Rithmic activation fee shows as $0 on the card. Footer: "owned and operated by Phidias Propfirm LTD, registered in Gibraltar", followed by a "CFTC Required Disclaimer".

the five cheapest evaluations — full review of Phidias

25K Zero Eval

$89/mo

Billing$89 / month
Reset$79
Max DD$1,000 · guard $500
Split90% most accounts

Go to Alpha Futures storefront · · our rendering

Alpha Futures — $89/month for 25K Zero

Alpha Futures is the only subscription in the top 5: 25K Zero at $89 per month, reset $79. The Zero plan carries a $1,000 max drawdown, a $500 Daily Loss Guard and a $1,500 target, with no consistency rule — Standard and Advanced plans use 50% and 40%. "Most account types pay a 90% performance split"; payouts are "processed in 48 business hours or less", up to 50% of profit per request and capped at $15,000 per cycle. It is the best-documented firm here: the footer states ALPHA FUTURES LIMITED, company number 15655643, with a registered office in Harpenden, England. Two months of trading, though, already cost $178.

cheapestpropfirm.com price table — full review of Alpha Futures

25K Builder

$92~~$153~~

Builder80/20 · every 48 h
Rapid90/10 · every 24 h
Drawdown$1,500 or $2,000 EOD
Activation$0

Go to MFFU storefront · · our rendering

MyFundedFutures — $92 for 25K Builder

MyFundedFutures rounds out the five with the 25K Builder at $92 "based on current promotions", down from a $153 base, and "$0 Activation fee on any MFFU plan". Builder is the slower, roomier route: 80/20 split, EOD trailing drawdown of $1,500 or $2,000, a $3,000 target, a 50% consistency rule and payouts "every 48 hrs". Rapid trades speed for room: 90/10, no consistency rule, "Payouts Every 24h". Per dollar of drawdown, Builder is the cheapest plan in this ranking. What the homepage does not give you is a legal entity — only "© 2023-2026 MyFundedFutures" — and MFFU is not MyForexFunds.

cheapest prop firm challenge prices — full review of MFFU

Three ways in

E8 One $36 · Phidias $55 · MFFU Builder $92

E8 One Phidias MFFU

Affiliate links · prices as of the check date

05 Price ÷ drawdown

Sticker Price vs Cost per Dollar of Drawdown

MyFundedFutures$92 ÷ $2,000 DD$0.046
Alpha Futures$89/mo ÷ $1,000 DD$0.089
Phidias$55 ÷ $500 DD$0.110
Tradeify$251 ÷ $1,000 DD$0.251

A cheap ticket is not a cheap risk. Divide each 25K fee by the maximum drawdown the plan allows and the order of the ranking flips. MyFundedFutures Builder costs $92 and allows $2,000 of drawdown — $0.046 per dollar of room. Alpha Futures Zero charges $89 a month against $1,000 — $0.089 per dollar, every month. Phidias is the cheapest entry at $55 but allows only $500 — $0.11 per dollar. Tradeify, a bench firm, sits at $251 against $1,000 — $0.251.

Two questions, two winners: lowest entry for 25K — Phidias; most margin for error per dollar — MFFU, with Alpha Futures competing only if you pass in month one. E8 and Alpha Capital are not in the chart: their 5K and 10K cards print no drawdown, so there is nothing honest to divide by. Prop firm prices side by side only work when the denominators are published.

Plan	Fee	Max DD	$ per $1 DD
Phidias 25K	$55	$500	$0.11
Alpha Futures 25K Zero	$89/mo	$1,000	$0.089/mo
MFFU 25K Builder	$92	$2,000	$0.046
Tradeify 25K	$251	$1,000	$0.251

06 The second bill

Cheapest Prop Firm Challenge: What the Fee Does Not Include

RECEIPT · WHAT CAN BE ADDED · SEP 24, 2026

Subscription, month 2Alpha Futures 25K Zero, 2 × $89$178
ResetAlpha Futures$79
ResetVanquish (bench)$49
Rithmic activationPhidias, shown as waived$149 → $0
ActivationMFFU, "$0 Activation fee"$0
90% split add-onAlpha Capital, On-Demand+10%

One-time, same 25KPhidias $55

The sticker is the first line of the bill. The second line is time: Alpha Futures bills $89 every month, so an evaluation that takes two months costs $178 — more than three times the $55 Phidias charges once for the same 25K account. The third line is failure: a reset at Alpha Futures costs $79, at Vanquish $49; at Phidias and MFFU you buy a new evaluation instead.

Then the platform: Phidias lists a $149 Rithmic activation and shows it as $0; MyFundedFutures states "$0 Activation fee on any MFFU plan"; E8 and Alpha Capital show no platform fee on the homepage, which is not the same as having none. Finally the split: Alpha Capital's 90% is an add-on that raises the On-Demand price by 10%, so 80% is the real default. We do not publish promo codes — how promo prices in our ranking are built is explained separately.

One-time, biggest account

Phidias 25K Express to Live · $55

Go to Phidias

Affiliate link · $277 without the storefront promo · not financial advice

07 Bench · outside the top 5

Cheap-Looking Firms Outside the Top 5

Three firms look cheap in adverts and are not cheap by our rule. Vanquish sells an Options $10,000 account for $99 a month with a $49 reset, a "100% Profit share" and a 30% consistency rule — a different asset class, billed monthly. Tradeify lists a 25K Evaluation at $359, cut to $251 one-time, with a 90% split and a $1,000 EOD trailing drawdown; it is the only firm here whose brokerage arm, Tradeify Brokerage LLC d/b/a Slay Markets, is an NFA member. BluSky charges $497 for 30 days on a 100K Volumetrica account with a "100% Profit Split".

None gets under the $92 that closes the top 5, so they sit on the bench — scored on the same six criteria and compared with all cheap prop firms, futures and forex, not ranked by price here.

Options $10,000
$99/mo
Options, not futures; $99 every month
bench
25K Evaluation
$251~~$359~~
Entry above $92 even after the 30% promo
bench
100K
$497/mo
$497 for 30 days on Volumetrica
bench

08 Legal frame · US

Is a Prop Firm a Broker? What US Rules Cover

Depositnone — you buy an evaluation
NFA / CFTCnot required for evaluation programs
NFA membersaffiliated brokers only

A prop firm sells an evaluation on a simulated account. You pay a fee, trade simulated funds under drawdown rules and, if you pass, receive a share of simulated profit. You do not deposit money to trade your own funds. Alpha Capital says it on its homepage: "We are a proprietary trading company, not a broker."

That is why the US frame is thinner than it looks. Take Profit Trader's FAQ, read on September 24, 2026, states that neither the National Futures Association nor the CFTC "require that Take Profit Trader (or any futures funding firm) be part of any organization". Where NFA membership exists, it sits with brokerage affiliates — Topstep Brokerage LLC as an introducing broker, Tradeify Brokerage LLC d/b/a Slay Markets as a CFTC-registered IB — not with the evaluation programs themselves. No firm in this ranking is "regulated" as a prop firm, and none should claim to be. The mechanics — phases, drawdown types, consistency — are on the cheapest prop firm explainer.

09 FAQ

FAQ

Q1What is the cheapest prop firm right now?

On our September 2026 check, E8 Markets had the lowest sticker price: $36 for a 5K "E8 One" evaluation (25% off $48, storefront snapshot of September 15, 2026). Alpha Capital Group followed at $40 for 10K with a storefront promo. Promotions change, so the order can shift within days.

Q2Which prop firm gives the biggest account for the least money?

Phidias: $55 one-time for a 25K "Express to Live" evaluation with the storefront promo, versus $277 list. That works out to $2.20 per $1,000 of account size, against $4.00 at Alpha Capital (10K for $40) and $7.20 at E8 (5K for $36).

Q3Are monthly prop firm subscriptions cheaper than one-time fees?

Only if you pass fast. Alpha Futures charges $89 per month for 25K Zero, so two months cost $178, more than three times Phidias' $55 one-time fee for the same account size. A reset at Alpha Futures costs $79.

Q4Which cheap prop firms have no consistency rule?

Phidias states "No consistency rule". Alpha Futures lists no consistency rule on its Zero plan, while Standard uses 50% and Advanced 40%. MyFundedFutures' Rapid plan has none, but its cheaper Builder plan has a 50% rule.

Q5Do cheap prop firms actually pay out?

Each firm publishes its own totals: MyFundedFutures says $250M+, Alpha Capital $100M+, E8 $78M+, Alpha Futures $70M and Phidias $15M+. These are company statements that we cannot audit. Payout terms differ: Phidias pays daily, MFFU Builder every 48 hours, Alpha Capital bi-weekly or on demand.

Q6Is a prop firm regulated by the CFTC?

Evaluation programs are not brokerage accounts. Take Profit Trader's FAQ states that neither the NFA nor the CFTC requires a futures funding firm to join any organization. NFA membership sits with affiliated brokers, such as Topstep Brokerage LLC, not with the evaluation itself.

10 Verdict

For the smallest possible cheque, E8 One: $36 for 5K on the September 15 snapshot, one phase, 80% max payout — and the least disclosure of the five. For the biggest account for the least money, Phidias: $55 one-time for 25K, $500 static drawdown, no consistency rule, payouts promised inside 24 hours. For room to be wrong, MyFundedFutures Builder: $92 for 25K with $2,000 of EOD trailing drawdown — the lowest cost per dollar of risk in the ranking. Prices are as of the check date; promotions change.

Verdict · three picks

E8 One · Phidias · MFFU Builder

E8 One $36 Phidias $55 MFFU $92

Affiliate links: we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you; it does not change the price order.