Cheapest Prop Firm Challenge in 2026: Full Price Comparison

The price you see on a prop firm’s website is almost never the price you pay. Every firm runs discounts, affiliate codes, and seasonal promotions. The “cheapest” firm depends on what you’re actually comparing: evaluation fee only, total cost to get funded, or all-in cost including data feeds and platform fees.

I calculated all three for every major futures prop firm at the 50K account level — the most popular size for beginners.

Evaluation fee only (50K account)

By raw evaluation cost, Apex at $13 and Bulenox at $16 are in a league of their own. You could buy 10 Apex evaluations for $130 — the cost of one month at several competitors.

Total cost to get funded (evaluation + activation)

MFF Flex at $58 total (with discount, zero activation fee) is the cheapest path to a funded account. Apex intraday at $92 is second. The firms with zero activation fees (MFF, TPT with SAVEMAX code) have an advantage that grows larger with multiple accounts.

All-in monthly cost while trading

Once you’re funded, ongoing costs matter too:

Apex’s $85/month Rithmic data feed is a significant ongoing cost that other firms don’t charge. Over 6 months, that’s $510 in data fees alone. MFF, TradeDay, and Topstep include data/platform costs in their funded accounts.

Topstep’s $30 per withdrawal fee adds up. A trader making 4 withdrawals per month pays $120/month in withdrawal fees. That’s almost as much as Apex’s data feed.

The real cheapest option depends on your situation

If you pass on the first try: MFF Flex at $58 total, zero ongoing platform costs, zero withdrawal fees. Cheapest possible path from evaluation to payout.

If you need multiple attempts: Apex at $13 per attempt. Ten failed evaluations cost $130. On any other firm, 10 attempts would cost $500-$1,500+.

If you’re running multiple accounts: Apex’s lack of activation fee scaling (each PA is $79 regardless of how many you have) plus the $13 eval fee means 5 funded accounts cost $460 total ($65 in evals + $395 in activations). On MFF Rapid, 5 accounts would cost $630 ($126 × 5). Apex wins on volume.

If you want the lowest ongoing cost: MFF or TradeDay. No data fees, no platform fees, no withdrawal fees. Once you’re funded, the only cost is your trading losses.

What cheap doesn’t tell you

The cheapest evaluation isn’t necessarily the best value. Apex at $13 uses intraday trailing drawdown by default — the hardest drawdown type. MFF Flex at $58 uses EOD trailing with no daily loss limit — much more forgiving.

If the cheap eval leads you to fail 15 times ($195) before passing, and the more expensive eval ($126) has rules that let you pass on the first try, the “expensive” eval saved you $69 and weeks of frustration.

Price matters. Rules matter more. A $13 evaluation you can’t pass is more expensive than a $126 evaluation you pass on the first try.