The true cost of a prop firm: fees you only see later
The headline price of an evaluation is rarely what you pay by the time you receive your first payout.
The cost stack
Our “true cost to first payout” calculator adds the parts you can plan for:
- Evaluation fee, after any verified promo code.
- Activation or performance-account fee: charged once, charged monthly, or free.
- Data feed fees: some firms include market data, others bill you monthly.
- Resets: the cost to restart if you break a rule. Not included in our total because it depends on you.
- Payout threshold and buffer: profit that must stay in the account and so is not withdrawable.
Monthly vs. one-time evaluation fees
Some firms charge a monthly subscription for the evaluation. If you need three months to pass, you pay three times. One-time-fee firms are cheaper if you are slow and more expensive if you are fast. Our calculator assumes about two months to a first payout and shows the assumption.
Why we show “Unverified”
If we cannot confirm a fee from the firm’s own site, we do not guess and we do not count it as zero. The total is labelled “known costs only” and the missing parts are listed.