Elite Trader Funding: futures plans, rules and payouts

Challenges from

$167

$50K account

Profit split

100%

best on offer

Programs

1-step

3 challenges

Accounts up to

$250K

Trailing drawdown

Overview

Elite Trader Funding, usually shortened to ETF, has been selling futures evaluations since February 2022. It has more plan styles than most firms, so it suits traders who know exactly how they want their drawdown to behave and are happy to compare a few options first.

How the evaluation works

Every plan is one phase, billed monthly until you pass, with a five-day minimum (three on Fast Track).

1-Step: a 6% target with a live trailing drawdown that follows open profit. It's 4% on the 50K and 2.6% on the 250K, with no daily loss limit.
End of Day: a 6% target, a drawdown that only moves at the close, and a hard daily loss limit.
Static: a 10K to 50K account with a fixed floor that never trails, and a target of 8% to 10%.
Diamond Hands, Fast Track and Direct to Funded: a 100K swing account, a cheap 10K entry, and a one-time-payment account with no evaluation at all.

Rules worth knowing

News trading is allowed. On most plans you must close everything a minute before the market closes. Only Diamond Hands and Direct to Funded let you hold overnight. Hedging across accounts is banned, and EAs or bots need written approval, while copiers are limited to an approved list. Funded accounts need one trade a week. Once you're up 20%, giving back more than 35% of your profit ends the account.

Getting paid

You keep up to 100% of simulated profit until you've withdrawn $25,000 in total, then you move to LIVE ELITE on an 80/20 split. Each payout cycle needs 8 Active Trade Days the first time and 10 after that, and you have to clear a safety net first. Rewards go out through Rise on Mondays and Wednesdays.

At a glance

Platforms: TradingView, NinjaTrader, Tradovate, Rithmic, Quantower
Payouts: Rise
Founded: 2022
Based in: United States

Good

Six plans covering live trailing, end-of-day and static drawdown
News trading allowed
Up to 100% of simulated profits until the $25,000 sim cap
One-time-payment Direct to Funded option

Watch for

Monthly evaluation fee plus a funded activation fee on most plans
Payout cycles need 8 to 10 Active Trade Days
Lifetime $25,000 cap on simulated payouts before LIVE ELITE

Challenges

Every account Elite Trader Funding sells. Sort by any column.

Program						Drawdown			Payouts
1-Step1-step	$50K	$167	6%	—	4%	Trailing	100%	5 days	Twice weekly (Mon, Wed)
1-Step1-step	$100K	$207	6%	—	3%	Trailing	100%	5 days	Twice weekly (Mon, Wed)
1-Step1-step	$250K	$517	6%	—	2.6%	Trailing	100%	5 days	Twice weekly (Mon, Wed)

Trading rules

What the funded account lets you do. Restricted means allowed with conditions; check the firm's terms.

News tradingAllowed

Expert advisors / botsRestricted

Copy tradingRestricted

Weekend holdingRestricted

Overnight holdingRestricted

HedgingNot allowed

Not available to residents of AF, CD, CF, CG, CU, GN, HT, IQ, IR, KP, LY, ML, MM, RU, SD, SO, SS, SY, UA, VE, YE.

Payouts

How you get paid

Methods: Rise
Frequency: Twice weekly (Mon, Wed)
First payout: —

Profit split by program

1-Step: up to 100%

What traders say

Scores from the sites traders use, and our summary of what they're saying, checked 6 October 2026.

Trustpilot3.8/ 51,157 reviews · checked 6 October 2026 ↗Forex Peace ArmyRead the threadschecked 6 October 2026 ↗Prop Firm MatchRead the threadschecked 6 October 2026 ↗RedditRead the threadschecked 6 October 2026 ↗

Elite Trader Funding has a mixed record. It sits at about 3.8 on Trustpilot from roughly 1,150 reviews, which is respectable but below the better known futures firms, and review sites have quoted figures between 3.8 and 4.1 through 2026. Prop Firm Match has delisted the firm entirely, saying it saw an unusual spike in reviews, and the firm disputes that account. Happy reviewers talk about fair evaluations and quick support. Unhappy ones, especially on Reddit, talk about payouts refused on rules they say they never broke.

What traders like

Fair evaluations and plenty of choice. Many reviewers like the range of plans and say the evaluation rules are clear.
Responsive support. Support gets frequent praise for fast email replies, and a few say the firm credited them when it made a mistake.
Payouts for many. Several Trustpilot reviewers say they were paid more than once, some within 48 hours.
Cheap entry. Frequent large discounts come up often.

Common complaints

Payout denials. The biggest theme in low reviews. Traders say payouts were refused over copy trading tools, multiple users on one account, or rules they say were not in the agreement.
Pushed to the live program. Several reviewers say that instead of paying a sim payout, the firm moved them to its live account track, which they describe as a bait and switch.
Fees and caps. Some point to activation fees, a monthly funded fee, a consistency rule and a lifetime cap on sim payouts.
Reddit is harsher. Threads on r/PropFirmTester since 2025 are mostly warnings, with traders saying they are owed thousands.

Recently

August to September 2026: recent low Trustpilot reviews describe payout denials, including one over a copy trading tool the trader says the firm had approved, and others over being moved to the live program instead of paid. The firm replies to these publicly, citing its policies.