Free 14 page PDF · September 2026
How to choose
a prop firm
The Select Prop Firms buyer's guide for CFD and futures traders. Compare challenges on what decides whether you get paid: the full cost, the drawdown rules, the payout terms and the firm's track record.
- Work out the real cost of reaching your first payout
- Understand static, trailing, end of day and intraday drawdown
- Spot the payout rules and red flags that catch traders out
- Use the scorecard, plus shortlists of 21 firms with current codes
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What's inside
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1
What you're actually buying
How challenges work, what firms earn from, and one firm's published pass rate.
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2
CFDs or futures?
Platforms, fee models and drawdown styles, side by side.
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3
The true cost of a challenge
A formula for the cost of reaching your first payout, with three worked examples.
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4
Drawdown rules, decoded
Static or trailing, balance or equity, end of day or intraday, with a chart.
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5
Getting paid
Payout frequency, caps and buffers, with a worked consistency rule example.
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6
Rules that catch traders out
News windows, weekend holding, inactivity, copy trading and device checks.
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7
Reputation and red flags
How to read ratings across review sites, and a background check that takes five minutes.
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8
The scorecard
Weighted criteria to compare three firms in ten minutes.
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9
Shortlists and codes
21 CFD and futures firms with prices, rules, ratings and current codes.
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10
Before you pay
A checklist of ten questions, and how to apply a code.