Six prop firms let you trade a simulated account for €0 or $0 right now. Five of them say, in writing, that nothing you make on that account will ever be paid or carried into a paid challenge. The sixth, BrightFunded, isn't really a trial: it's a free $1,000 challenge that turns into a funded account if you pass. Every rule below was checked on the firm's own site on 2026-10-19, and paid prices come from our product captures dated 2026-10-14 and 2026-10-15.
- FTMO, FundedNext, FundingPips, Alpha Capital and E8 Markets offer practice-only free trials. Passing one gets you no funding, no payout and no discount on Phase 1, with one exception: FundedNext sends a 5% coupon.
- BrightFunded's Free $1K Challenge is the only free offer we found that can end in a funded account with real-cash rewards (80% split). It's capped per country per day.
- FTMO now runs three trial types (1-Step, 2-Step and Instant), all 14 days long, on MT4, MT5 or cTrader. TradingView is no longer supported on the trial.
- FundingPips is the only trial that gives you both phases, 14 calendar days each, and it closes the moment you open any other FundingPips account.
- Crypto Fund Trader has disabled free trials "until further notice". FXIFY has none, only a free monthly competition. Topstep's 150K Practice Account is free only while you pay for a Trading Combine.
Every prop firm free trial we could verify, side by side
"Free trial" covers three different things in this industry: a practice account that copies a paid rule set, a free challenge that can actually fund you, and a "practice" account that only comes with a paid subscription. The table keeps them apart. Each row is sourced from the firm's own help center or landing page, and the captures sit in content/data/free-trials.json and content/data/free-trial-offers-evidence.json.
| Firm | What you get | Time limit | How many | Can it pay? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BrightFunded | Free $1K Challenge: 1 phase, 10% target, then a $1,000 funded account | No time limit stated; 5 minimum trading days | 1 free account; only with no active accounts | Yes, 80% of simulated profit once funded |
| FTMO | 1-Step, 2-Step or Instant trial, up to $200,000; MT4, MT5, cTrader | 14 days; closes if you don't trade in the first 7 | Unlimited, 1 at a time | No |
| FundedNext | 1-phase trial, $6,000–$200,000; MT5 (Match-Trader for US clients) | 14 calendar days from the first trade | 1 at a time; request another once it's disabled | No; 5% coupon after hitting the target |
| FundingPips | 2 Step Standard ($5K–$100K) or 2 Step Pro ($5K–$200K), both phases; MT5 only | 14 calendar days per phase | Unlimited, 1 at a time, only with no other active account | No |
| Alpha Capital | $50K, $100K or $200K trial; 1:100 leverage, no EAs | 30 trading days maximum | 1 at a time | No |
| E8 Markets | E8 One conditions on Matchtrader or E8 One Perpetuals on E8 Terminal; no futures trial | Auto-closes 30 days after creation | 2 every 28 days | No |
Not on the list: Crypto Fund Trader's terms (clause 3.2.3) say it "has disabled free training trials until further notice". FXIFY's own FAQ says you start by buying a challenge and points beginners to its free monthly competition. Topstep's Practice Account is a free 150K simulator with up to 10 free resets a day, but it only works while you have an active, paid Trading Combine subscription. That makes it an add-on, not a free trial.
FTMO: three trials, halved targets, one new inactivity trap
FTMO updated its trial page on 2026-10-16, according to the page's own modified date. You now pick a 1-Step, 2-Step or Instant Account trial, and each runs 14 days. The 2-Step trial halves the Phase 1 target from 10% to 5% and cuts minimum days from 4 to 2, while keeping the 5% daily loss and 10% static maximum loss. The 1-Step trial also halves the target to 5% but keeps the 3% daily loss, the 10% end-of-day trailing maximum loss and the 50% Best Day rule. The Instant trial has no target, a 3% daily loss, a 10% intraday trailing maximum loss and 30% consistency.
The gotcha: FTMO's comparison table says each trial ends if "you don't trade in the first 7 days". If you open a trial on Friday and plan to start "next week", you can lose it before you've placed a trade. Also, the trial runs on MT4, MT5 and cTrader only. FTMO's FAQ now says TradingView isn't supported on a Free Trial, even though paid accounts offer it.
Converting: there's nothing to convert. FTMO says Free Trial results "don't count towards" an FTMO Account. You buy a challenge and start at Phase 1: our 2026-10-14 capture lists the $100K 1-Step at €499 and the $100K 2-Step at €540, both priced in euros. The full rule-by-rule walkthrough, including a $100K worked example of the 1-Step trailing floor, is in our FTMO Free Trial guide. Fees and splits are in the FTMO review.
FundedNext: the only practice trial that rewards a pass
FundedNext's Help Center lists a single 1-phase trial: 5% target, 3 minimum trading days, 5% daily loss, 10% maximum loss, balances from $6,000 to $200,000, and up to 30 open positions. The 14-day clock starts at your first trade, not at sign-up, so you can open the account and wait for a setup. EAs are blocked (the account stops you opening new trades), there's no reset, and US clients trade on Match-Trader instead of MT5.
Converting: hit the 5% target and FundedNext generates a coupon for 5% off CFD plans. It's for new users only, valid for 14 days, and doesn't apply to resets. On a $100K Stellar 2-Step, priced at $549.99 in our 2026-10-15 capture, that's $27.50 off. It's useful, but small next to the public codes on our checked discount-codes page. Compare both before you use the trial coupon. The paid Stellar products are in the FundedNext review.
FundingPips: both phases free, but it locks you out of everything else
FundingPips copies its paid 2 Step Standard and 2 Step Pro models "exactly", and it's the only trial here with a Phase 2. Standard means 8% then 5% targets, a 5% daily loss and a 10% maximum loss, on $5K–$100K. Pro means 6% in both phases, a 3% daily loss and a 6% maximum loss, on $5K–$200K. Each phase gets 14 calendar days from activation (weekends count), and the timer can't be paused or extended. Sign-up takes a name and an email, with no card and no ID.
The gotcha: the trial "can't run at the same time as a paid evaluation, Master, giveaway, or competition accounts". If you already hold a funded FundingPips account, you can't use the trial to test a second model alongside it. The trial's 0 minimum trading days per phase matches the paid model: FundingPips' 2-Step Pro article, rechecked on 2026-10-19, says 2 Step Pro has 0 minimum trading days for new and reset accounts, while accounts bought before 26 Aug 2026 keep 1 day.
Converting: FundingPips says the trial "cannot be converted into an evaluation account or a Master Account under any circumstances". Our capture prices the $100K 2 Step Standard at $544 and the $100K 2 Step Pro at $422. Details are in the FundingPips review.
Alpha Capital and E8 Markets: longer windows, fewer guarantees
Alpha Capital's trial is the slowest clock on this list: up to 30 trading days on a $50K, $100K or $200K account, with a 10% target, a 5% daily loss, a 10% maximum loss from the initial deposit and 3 minimum days. Those numbers line up with Phase 1 of Alpha Pro 10 in our 2026-10-14 capture, where the $100K bi-weekly version costs $497. EAs are disabled, so this trial can't test an automated strategy. Alpha also says passing does not allow "an upgrade to an Evaluation/Verification account". The paid lineup is in our Alpha Capital review.
E8 Markets allows 2 free trials every 28 days, each closing 30 days after creation. The E8 Terminal trial opens with one click from the homepage, while the Matchtrader version requires a verified profile. Both mirror E8 One conditions, and there's no futures trial. E8 One's default configuration, rechecked on 2026-10-19, is a 9% profit target, a 4% daily loss and a 6% dynamic drawdown. The 6% / 3% / 4% set in E8's help article is the 4% drawdown option you can pick at checkout, not a different default. Check which configuration your trial dashboard shows and compare them with the E8 Markets review before paying.
BrightFunded's Free $1K Challenge: small account, real payouts
This is the one free offer that can actually pay you. BrightFunded's Help Center describes a single phase with a 10% target ($100 on $1,000), 5 minimum trading days, a 3% daily drawdown measured from the higher of equity or balance at the start of the day, and a 6% trailing maximum drawdown. Pass, and a $1,000 funded account activates with an 80/20 split. The first reward can be requested 30 days after your first funded trade, then every 14 days, with no minimum reward.
Worked example. The 6% trailing floor starts at $940 and follows your highest equity in real time. At a $1,030 peak it sits at $970, so a $55 pullback to $975 leaves you $5 from a breach. Once equity reaches $1,060, the floor locks at $1,000 for good. On the funded account, a 5% month ($50) at 80% is a $40 reward, which is the same figure BrightFunded's landing page shows. This won't replace a paid account. It's a no-cost way to prove you can follow a trailing drawdown for 5+ days before you risk a fee.
The gotchas: you can claim it only with no active BrightFunded accounts, you get one per verified phone number, restricted-country residents are excluded, and "a limited number of Free $1K Challenges can be claimed per country each day". The 15% evaluation profit bonus applies to paid challenges only. If you later buy the $100K 1-Step, it's €497 in our 2026-10-14 capture. The trial's 10% target, 3% daily loss and 6% trailing drawdown match that paid 1-Step, so the free account is practice for the exact product you'd buy.
Want a free account that can actually pay? Claim BrightFunded's Free $1K Challenge from its dashboard after verifying your email and phone and completing the survey. Daily claims are capped by country.
Open BrightFunded (affiliate link) or read the BrightFunded review first.
Which free trial should you use?
- Pick BrightFunded if you want the free account to pay you. Expect a $1,000 balance, a 6% trailing drawdown and a 30-day wait for the first reward.
- Pick FTMO only if you're choosing between a static and a trailing drawdown. Its three trial types let you run the same strategy under 5% / 10% static, 3% / 10% end-of-day trailing and 3% / 10% intraday trailing rules in back-to-back 14-day windows.
- Pick FundingPips only if Phase 2 is where you usually fail. It's the only trial that makes you clear both targets, and your first 14 days start the moment Phase 1 activates.
- Pick FundedNext if you'd start trading on a schedule rather than on sign-up day, because its clock starts at the first trade. You'll want the 5% coupon too.
- Pick Alpha Capital if you trade slowly and need more than 14 days. Skip it if your strategy runs on an EA.
Whichever you pick, run the trial as if the fee were real. Write down your daily loss line in dollars before Day 1, log every rule warning on the dashboard, and only buy once you've finished a full window with zero hard breaches. The rules that usually end accounts on Day 9 are the ones covered in our consistency rule guide and the balance vs equity drawdown guide. If cost matters more than practice, start with the cheapest prop firms list.
FAQ
Which prop firms offer a free trial in 2026?
On 2026-10-19 we verified free trials at FTMO, FundedNext, FundingPips, Alpha Capital and E8 Markets on their own sites, plus BrightFunded's Free $1K Challenge. Crypto Fund Trader has disabled its trials, and FXIFY offers only a free monthly competition.
Can a free trial prop firm account get me funded?
Not at FTMO, FundedNext, FundingPips, Alpha Capital or E8, which all say trial results don't count toward funding or payouts. BrightFunded's Free $1K Challenge is the exception: pass its single 10% phase and a $1,000 funded account activates with an 80% split.
How long does a prop firm free trial last?
FTMO and FundedNext give you 14 days (FundedNext counts from your first trade), FundingPips gives 14 calendar days per phase, E8 closes trials 30 days after creation, and Alpha Capital allows up to 30 trading days. BrightFunded publishes no time limit for its free challenge, only 5 minimum trading days.
Can I run more than one free trial?
Usually one at a time. FTMO and FundingPips allow unlimited trials in a row, E8 caps you at 2 every 28 days, and BrightFunded allows a single free account per phone number. FundingPips and BrightFunded also require you to have no other active account with them.
Does Topstep have a free trial?
Topstep's Help Center describes a free 150K Practice Account, but it's only available with an active Trading Combine subscription, so you pay for the Combine first. For Topstep's paid rules, see our Topstep review.