For experienced traders
Stop comparing features. Audit the business model.
You already know the rules. The edge at this level is understanding how the other side makes money— because that's what quietly shapes every rule, spread and payout term. Here's the honest breakdown, so you can read a firm the way it reads you.
How the house actually makes money
Prop firms: two revenue engines
Evaluation fees (plus resets and add-ons) are the reliable engine — collected up front from everyone. Payouts to consistently profitable funded traders are the second, smaller engine. A firm that only earns from fees has an incentive to make rules hard; a firm confident in its funded traders competes on fairness. The funnel below is why the fee engine dominates.
Brokers: spread, commission and how they fill you
A broker earns from the spread and commission — and from whether it internalizes your order (B-book) or routes it to the market (A-book). Neither is automatically bad, but it explains why “0.0 pips” comes with commission, why leverage is marketed so hard, and why the regulated entity you sign up to matters more than the brand.
The true cost of a trade
The headline spread is one line of a four-line invoice you pay whether you win or lose:
- Spread — paid on entry; 'zero commission' just hides it in a wider one.
- Commission — the explicit fee on raw/ECN accounts (compare all-in, not the 'from' spread).
- Swap — overnight financing on the whole leveraged notional; quietly eats swing trades.
- Slippage — a fraction of a pip in calm markets, the whole invoice around news.
The full math — including the monthly friction bill — is in the cost-per-trade guide →
What the marketing really means
| The claim | What to actually read |
|---|---|
| “Up to 90% profit split” | 90% of nothing is nothing. The split is the least differentiated number in the industry — the payout gates decide what you keep. |
| “$200K funded account” | Position-sizing power, not capital. Your real account is the drawdown — often a few % of the sticker. |
| “From 0.0 pips” | The commission and average slippage are the rest of the bill. Compare all-in cost on what you actually trade. |
| “Up to 1:500 leverage” | A credit limit, not a target. Your risk is effective leverage — position value ÷ equity. |
Depth, if you want it
Read the providers in depth
Educational content only — not financial advice. Business models are described in general terms; verify any specific firm's current terms on its official site.