Why headline split is a trap
A 90% split looks great until you discover the firm pays it only on the first 25K of profit, requires a 15% consistency rule that you never see in the dashboard, and trails the drawdown daily so a single overnight gap kills the account. The split is the marketing number. The rule schema is the actual product. Our directory tracks 14 rule signals per firm — the headline split is one of them, not the only one.
Our ranking inputs
We weight by: (1) trust score, derived from payout track record + complaint volume + age; (2) rule schema favorability for the trader's style (a scalper and a swing trader want opposite things); (3) hidden-rule density — firms that hide rules in T&Cs get penalised even when the headline numbers are good; (4) instrument allowance (news trading, weekend holding, crypto support, EAs/HFT); and (5) account-tier ladder, because a $5K cheap entry that scales to $200K beats a $100K-only firm for most traders.
Who should buy what
If you are new and risk-averse: pick a firm with no consistency rule and at least 8% max DD — start at the $10–25K tier, expect to fail two challenges before passing one, treat the entry fees as tuition. If you are a scalper: prioritise firms that explicitly allow HFT and have no consistency clause. If you are a swing trader or crypto-native: weekend holding is the non-negotiable. If you are a futures trader: the futures props (Topstep, Apex) play by different rules entirely — drawdowns in USD not percent, lower targets, hard daily-loss limits — and the FX-style props above will not serve you.
Methodology
Our rule data is collected via Playwright snapshots (HTML + screenshot + meta.json per run, persisted for audit) plus hand-verified baselines from each firm's published T&Cs. We re-run the scrape continuously; the change-feed surfaces any silent rule edits within 24 hours. Reviews are weighted by 4-tier proof (email → dashboard → payout proof → funded proof). Verified-funded reviews count 5× a karma-only review.
Frequently asked
Are these rankings sponsored?+
No. We use affiliate links to fund the work, but rankings are mechanical and the methodology is public. Sponsored placements are labeled. If a firm changes our mind about ranking position, it is because of data — never because of a payment.
How often do you update the rankings?+
The directory data refreshes every run of the scraper (live now). Phase 4 lands daily auto-scrape + AI rule parser, which will diff every firm's pricing/rules page nightly and auto-publish change notices.
What if a firm changes rules silently?+
That is exactly why the snapshot trail exists. Every scrape persists the raw HTML so we can prove what was promised on a given date. Phase 4 turns this into a public change-feed.