One of the most consequential decisions in prop trading is rarely discussed: when you first enter a funded account, what profit split do you actually need? Not what’s advertised on the homepage — what do you actually keep after fees, spreads, and payout frequency choices are factored in?
The answer is usually different from what traders expect. Here’s how to calculate your real earnings before you commit to any firm.
The Profit Split Is Only Part of the Story
FTMO advertises 80–90%. FundingPips advertises 60–100% depending on payout frequency. The5ers advertises up to 100%. Maven Trading: 80%. But these numbers mean nothing without knowing your actual cost structure. Let’s work through a real example.
Assume you’re trading a $100,000 account, making 5% profit per month, and trading 10 standard lots per day in Forex. Here’s how each firm’s actual cost structure differs:
The Commission Factor
Commissions are deducted from your profit before the split applies. On a $100,000 account making 50 round-turn trades per month at 10 lots each:
- FTMO: ~$6–7 per round lot = $3,000–3,500 in monthly commission
- FundingPips (MT5): ~$4 per round lot = $2,000 monthly
- Maven Trading: ~$4 per round lot (but wider spreads add hidden cost)
- BlueberryFunded: ~$7 per round lot = $3,500 monthly
On a $5,000 monthly gross profit (5%), $3,000 in commission leaves only $2,000 for the profit split. At 80%, you take home $1,600. That’s 32% of your gross — not 80%. This is a critical calculation that most traders never do before signing up.
The Payout Frequency Trade-Off
FundingPips’ tiered payout system is the most transparent example of this trade-off in the industry. On a $50K account making $2,500 per month:
- Weekly (Tuesday Payday): 60% = $1,500/month. Benefit: cash flow every week.
- Bi-weekly: 80% = $2,000/month. Standard trade-off.
- On-Demand: 90% = $2,250/month. Requires 35% consistency score.
- Monthly: 100% = $2,500/month. Maximum return, once per month.
The difference between weekly and monthly is $1,000/month or $12,000/year on this account size. If you don’t need the weekly cash, monthly payout is significantly more valuable. However, for traders managing living expenses from their funded income, the weekly option’s cash flow advantage may outweigh the 40% split reduction.
The Risk Buffer Value
Here’s a metric most comparisons ignore: how much room does the firm give you to make mistakes before you breach? We call this the Risk Buffer (max loss ÷ profit target). A firm offering a lower profit split but a more generous risk buffer can produce better actual outcomes than a high-split firm with tight rules.
| Firm/Program | P1 Target | Max Loss | Risk Buffer | Split |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FTMO 2-Step | 10% | 10% | 1.00x | 80% |
| The5ers High Stakes | 8% | 10% | 1.25x | 80% |
| FundingPips 2-Step Standard | 8% | 10% | 1.25x | 60–100% |
| FundingPips 2-Step Pro | 6% | 6% | 1.00x | 80% |
| MonetaFunded 2-Step | 10% | 10% | 1.00x | 88% |
| Maven 1-Step | 8% | 5% trailing | 0.63x | 80% |
The Maven 1-Step’s trailing 5% drawdown against an 8% target creates a 0.63x risk buffer — one of the tightest in the industry. Combined with the 80% split, it requires significantly more precision than the FTMO 2-Step to generate equivalent income.
The Fee Payback Period
Some firms refund your evaluation fee with your first payout. Others don’t. Factoring this into your total cost of accessing funded capital changes the economics significantly:
- FTMO $100K: ~€540 fee, refunded after first payout. Net cost: $0 if you pass and stay funded.
- BlueberryFunded $100K: ~$349 fee, NOT refunded. Net cost: $349 regardless of performance.
- FundingPips $100K: $444 fee, refunded after 4th successful payout. Net cost: $0 long-term.
- Maven $100K: ~$299 fee. Need to verify refund policy by program.
Putting It All Together: A Real Comparison
Let’s compare FTMO and MonetaFunded for the same trader: $100K account, 5% monthly gross profit ($5,000), 50 round-turn lots per month, bi-weekly payouts preferred.
FTMO: $5,000 gross – $3,250 commission = $1,750 net. At 80% split = $1,400/month take-home. Fee refunded. Year 1 income: ~$16,800.
MonetaFunded: $5,000 gross – commission (not publicly confirmed) = estimated net. At 88% split = higher percentage on a potentially lower net. Fee refunded at first payout.
The commission structure matters as much as the split percentage. Always request the full commission schedule before committing to any firm at scale.
The Takeaway
The headline profit split percentage is a marketing number. Your actual take-home depends on commissions, spread costs, payout frequency, and whether the evaluation fee is refunded. Run these numbers for your specific trading volume before choosing a firm. The best firm for a 2-trade-per-week swing trader is different from the best firm for a 15-trade-per-day intraday trader.