A recurring charge some prop firms apply to active funded accounts or ongoing evaluations. Monthly fees cover platform access, data feeds, or account maintenance and are deducted from the trader's balance or charged to their payment method.
Why It Matters
- 1Monthly fees create an ongoing cost that eats into your trading profits.
- 2A $100/month fee on a funded account means you need to earn at least $100 before you see any profit.
- 3With an 80/20 profit split, you actually need $125 in gross trading profits to cover the $100 fee — because you only keep 80 cents of every dollar earned ($125 × 80% = $100). Over a year, that's $1,200-$1,500 in additional costs.
- 4Some firms have eliminated monthly fees to attract traders, while others include them as part of their business model.
- 5Always calculate monthly fees into your break-even analysis.
Example
- 1Your funded $100,000 account has a $100/month platform fee. In a slow month, you earn $300 in trading profits.
- 2After the 80/20 split, you keep $240. Minus the $100 monthly fee, your net payout is only $140. In a losing month with $0 profit, you still owe the $100 fee, which may be deducted from future payouts or charged directly.
Common Mistakes
- ✖Not factoring monthly fees into profitability calculations
- ✖Keeping a funded account active during periods of no trading, paying fees with no income
- ✖Assuming monthly fees are waived once you're profitable — they're usually not