When comparing proprietary trading firms, it’s essential to understand their unique offerings, evaluation processes, and trader support systems. Funding Pips and FundedNext are two notable prop trading firms in this space, each with distinct features. Here’s a comprehensive comparison to help you make an informed decision:
1. Company Background
- Funding Pips: Established in August 2022 and headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Funding Pips aims to provide traders with substantial capital access, offering funding up to $2,000,000. The firm emphasizes a trader-centric approach, collaborating with regulated brokers to ensure a secure trading environment.
- FundedNext: Launched in March 2022, FundedNext operates globally, including offices in the UAE, USA, UK, and Bangladesh. The firm provides traders with initial funding up to $200,000, with the potential to scale up to $4 million based on performance. FundedNext focuses on inclusivity and proficiency, catering to traders of various experience levels.
2. Evaluation Process
- Funding Pips:
- One-Step Evaluation: Traders must achieve a specified profit target without violating drawdown limits.
- Two-Step Evaluation: Involves two phases, each with its own profit targets and risk parameters.
- Three-Step Evaluation: Designed to assess traders over three phases, focusing on consistency and risk management.
- FundedNext:
- Evaluation Model: A two-phase assessment where traders must meet profit targets of 10% in Phase 1 and 5% in Phase 2, adhering to drawdown limits.
- Express Model: Offers immediate funding without an evaluation phase, allowing traders to start trading live capital right away.
Key Difference: Funding Pips provides multiple evaluation models, including a three-step process, offering flexibility. FundedNext offers both a traditional two-step evaluation and an express model for immediate funding.
3. Account Sizes and Funding
- Funding Pips: Offers funding up to $2,000,000 for traders who successfully complete their evaluation programs.
- FundedNext: Provides initial funding up to $200,000, with the potential to scale up to $4 million based on consistent performance.
Key Difference: Funding Pips offers higher initial funding limits, while FundedNext emphasizes scalability with performance-based growth.
4. Profit Splits
- Funding Pips: Offers profit splits ranging from 80% to 90%, allowing traders to retain a significant portion of their earnings.
- FundedNext: Provides profit splits up to 95%, with a notable 15% profit share available during the evaluation phase, which is uncommon among prop firms.
Key Difference: FundedNext offers a higher maximum profit split and compensates traders during the evaluation phase, whereas Funding Pips provides competitive profit splits upon successful evaluation.
5. Payouts
- Funding Pips: Allows traders to request payouts on-demand after closing the first trade on a live account, with no minimum amount or days required. Subsequent payouts can be requested as frequently as every two weeks.
- FundedNext: Offers bi-weekly payouts, with the first payout available after 14 days of trading. The firm emphasizes quick processing times, though specific durations are not specified.
Key Difference: Both firms offer flexible payout schedules, with Funding Pips providing on-demand payouts and FundedNext offering bi-weekly payouts.
6. Trading Rules and Restrictions
- Funding Pips:
- News Trading Restrictions: Disallows profits from trades closed 10 minutes before or after high-impact news events unless opened 5 hours prior.
- Prohibited Strategies: Includes restrictions on hedging, latency arbitrage, and certain algorithmic methods.
- Daily Lot Size Limit: Imposes a cap of 10 lots per day on some accounts.
- FundedNext:
- News Trading: Permits news trading across most account types, except the Express model.
- Trading Strategies: Allows various strategies, including swing trading, intraday trading, scalping, and the use of Expert Advisors (EAs).
- Consistency Rules: The Express model has specific consistency rules to ensure responsible trading.
Key Difference: FundedNext offers more flexibility in trading strategies and news trading, whereas Funding Pips enforces stricter rules and caps.
7. Trading Platforms and Instruments
- Funding Pips: Supports platforms like Match-Trader, cTrader, and TradeLocker, offering a variety of instruments, including forex, indices, commodities, and cryptocurrencies.
- FundedNext: Provides access to MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5), with a range of instruments, including forex pairs, commodities, indices, and cryptocurrencies.
Key Difference: Both firms offer robust platform support and a variety of trading instruments, with slight differences in platform offerings.
8. Scaling Opportunities
- Funding Pips: Offers scaling plans that reward consistent performance, allowing traders to increase their account size over time.
- FundedNext: Provides scaling opportunities, enabling traders to increase their account size up to $4 million based on consistent performance, though specific scaling criteria are not specified.
Key Difference: Both firms offer scaling opportunities, with FundedNext providing a higher potential ceiling based on performance.
9. Customer Support and Community
- Funding Pips: Focuses on providing a unique trading experience with customizable accounts and fast payouts, aiming to build a supportive community for traders.
- FundedNext: Boasts a global community of over one million traders, indicating a robust support network and resources for trader development.
Key Difference: FundedNext has a larger global community, potentially offering more extensive support resources.
10. Reputation and Trustworthiness
- Funding Pips:
Being a newer firm, Funding Pips is still building its reputation within the proprietary trading space. While it offers competitive funding limits and payout flexibility, some traders have raised concerns about delays in payouts, account verification issues, and occasional service interruptions. These red flags suggest that the firm is still working to establish consistent reliability and trust among its user base. - FundedNext:
FundedNext has quickly gained a strong reputation, operating in over 195 countries and catering to a diverse global audience. With a robust community of over one million traders and offices across multiple regions, the firm emphasizes accessibility and transparency. However, as a rapidly growing company, some users have reported challenges with customer service response times during peak periods.
Key Difference:
FundedNext benefits from a broader global presence and established trust among traders, whereas Funding Pips is still building its credibility and ironing out operational inefficiencies.
Conclusion: Key Takeaways
Both Funding Pips and FundedNext offer unique features catering to different trader needs. Here’s a summary of the most critical distinctions:
Feature | Funding Pips | FundedNext |
---|---|---|
Company Age | Established in 2022, relatively new | Established in 2022, globally active |
Evaluation Models | Offers 1-step, 2-step, and 3-step programs | Provides 2-step and Express models |
Profit Split | Up to 90% | Up to 95%, including during evaluation |
Funding Limit | Up to $2,000,000 | Initial $200,000, scalable to $4 million |
Payout Frequency | On-demand, bi-weekly | Bi-weekly |
Trading Flexibility | Stricter rules and restrictions | More lenient, with diverse strategies |
Platforms | Match-Trader, cTrader, TradeLocker | MT4, MT5 |
Global Reach | Focus on UAE and select regions | Operations in 195+ countries |
Reputation | Building reputation, some reported issues | Strong global presence and reliability |
Final Thoughts
If you’re looking for higher initial funding limits and a flexible payout structure, Funding Pips might be a suitable choice. However, traders seeking an established reputation, scalability, and a larger global community might find FundedNext more appealing.
Ultimately, the choice depends on your trading style, priorities, and risk tolerance. Take the time to review each firm’s rules and features to ensure alignment with your trading goals.