Ever thought of trading from the comfort of your home but didn’t want to risk your hard-earned money?

Proprietary trading or prop trading as it’s called, has become an accessible option as it allows traders to grow quickly, access real capital, and receive generous profit splits all without putting up their personal funds. 

In 2025, prop firms completely transformed the game by providing traders all over the world with access to funded accounts, well-defined challenges, and transparent trading rules that require skill, strategy, and discipline. 

If you are looking for a starting point or you want to advance with a scaling plan, this simple guide will help you leap into the world of prop trading, along with helping you choose the right prop firm that aligns with your trading goals.

How to Get Started in Prop Trading Below are the steps to consider

Step 1: Know What Prop Trading Is?

In detail, proprietary trading or prop trading is when a firm invests its own capital into securities, stocks, currencies and bonds to make profits, for the company itself. 

Unlike traditional trading where firms manage traders funds, here the firm actively participates in the investment and attempts to make profit from trading.

Key Benefits:

• Gaining access to larger capital: Enjoy trading using significant amounts of money without risking your own finances.
• Profit sharing: Earn a percentage of the profits ranging from 70% to 90% and in some cases, up to 100% from certain firms.
• Professional development: Improves your skills as a trader in an organized setup.

Want to learn more about prop trading and how it works? 

Read this full guide on The Trusted Prop.

Step 2: Determine Your Trading Style

Pause for a second and think about yourself: What type of trader am I? 

Answering this question will help in choosing which prop firm to sign up with.  

Are you a day trader who prefers fast-paced trading with minimal time spent on each transaction, whether your trades takes minutes or hours?  

Or maybe you prefer to wait and let trades play out over a few days. That sounds more like swing trading.

Consider now what you prefer trading on, is it forex pairs EUR/USD,GBP/JPY? Or do you get excited about crypto, like Bitcoin, Solana, or Ethereum? Or you are more confident in trading stocks or futures?  

This is an important section. For example, if a crypto trader joins a firm that deals with futures trading, the experience will be far from enjoyable.

Now, focus on what works best for you: What trading style suits you? What kind of trading market feels right for you?

Finding the answers to those questions makes it easier to find the right prop firm and the rest will fall into place. It is quite simple. The more in sync your trading style and platform are, the smoother everything works.

Step 3: Pick a Prop Firm That Feels Right for You

Honestly not every prop firm is built the same.

Some are perfect for beginners, super friendly and forgiving. Others? More like bootcamp for trading pros strict rules, zero shortcuts.

So how do you pick the right prop firm for you?

Start by asking a few key questions:

1. How much capital will they give you to trade?
   $10K? $100K? More? Know what you're working with.
2. What does their evaluation model include?
   One-step? Two-step? Or do they offer instant funding with no test?
3. What’s the profit split?
   Will you keep 80% of your profits? Or even 90%?
4. What rules do they have?
   Look for things like max drawdown, minimum trading days, and whether you can trade during news events.
5. Do they offer refunds?
   Some prop firms refund your challenge fee if you pass. Others don’t. Read the fine print.

Heads to The Trusted Prop and choose the best Prop Firms according to your trading style.

Step 4: Take the Prop Firm Challenge

If you want to trade with a prop firm’s money, you’ve got to earn it first. That’s where the prop firm challenge comes in. It’s like a test but for traders.

This challenge is your opportunity to showcase your trading skills.  You prove you can trade smart, manage risk, and hit your targets. And if you pass?  You get access to a funded account with real money, real profits, and no need to use your own savings or bring any money in.  

What’s a Funded Account Anyway?

Consider a funded account a reward. You no longer use your money to trade instead the prop firm gives you theirs to trade with. 

This comes with rules, however, as you’ll need to follow their guidelines on risk, drawdowns, and trade management.

In funded accounts, you typically achieve them through two major phases:  

• Challenge Phase: You hit a profit target without breaking the firm’s risk rules.
• Verification Phase: You show that your good performance wasn’t just luck you followed the rules and stayed consistent.
• Funded Account: Pass both phases, and you’re in. Now you’re trading live capital from the firm.

What Does the Challenge Look Like?

Each prop firm has its own set of rules, but here’s what most challenges include:

• Profit Target: Achieve a specific percentage gain, often set between 8% to 10%.  
• Max Drawdown Allowed: Commonly capped at 5%.  
• Daily Loss Limit: Usually set at a 2% to 3%.  
• Minimum Trading Days: Trade for a minimum of 10 to 15 days.

Every prop firm has unique challenges set for traders to tackle and to test their trading skills, thus it is very important to have a proper understanding of each firms rules.

Overview of Fees and Profit Sharing

Before signing up with a prop firm, it is very important to understand the firm’s fee structure and how the profits will be shared.

Common Fees

• Challenge Fee: An entry fee for an evaluation, usually charged either $50 or $1,000 depending on the account size.
• Monthly subscription: Some firms have charged for platform access and other value added services. 
• Withdrawal fees: Fees applied when profits withdrawal. While most reputable firms do not charge withdrawal fees, some charge withdrawal fees.

Profit Splits

Profit-sharing arrangements vary, with common splits including:

• 70/30 Split: Trader keeps 70% and the firm 30%.
• 80/20 Split: Trader keeps 80%, firm 20%.
• 90/10 Split: Trader keeps 90%, firm 10%.
• 100% Profit Retention: Offered by some firms, especially during initial phases, marketing promotions.

Always review the prop firm's terms to understand the specifics of their profit split and any conditions attached.

Step 5: Pass the Challenge and Start Trading with Real Money

This is the moment you’ve been working toward.

Once you pass the prop firm challenge by hitting your profit goals and staying within the rules you unlock the big prize that is a live funded account.

What does that mean?

It means you are no longer trading on a demo account. You are trading with the prop firms money. 

And here’s the best part you get to keep a big amount of the profits.

Step 6: Stick to the Trading Rules After Funding

Each prop firm enforces specific trading rules to manage risk and ensure consistent performance. Common rules include:

• Maximum Drawdown: Limits on the total allowable loss from peak equity.
• Daily Loss Limit: Caps on losses incurred in a single trading day.
• Leverage Restrictions: Limits on the amount of leverage used in trades.
• News Trading Restrictions: Prohibitions on trading during major news events to avoid volatility.
• Consistency Requirements: Expectations for steady performance over time.

Step 7: Scaling Plans and Growth Opportunities

Many prop firms offer scaling plans to reward consistent performance, allowing traders to manage larger accounts over time.

Typical Scaling Criteria:

• Consistent Profitability: Achieving set profit targets over consecutive periods.
• Risk Management: Demonstrating disciplined risk control and adherence to trading rules.
• Trade Volume: Maintaining a certain level of trading activity.

Scaling plans can significantly enhance your earning potential and provide a clear pathway for career growth within the firm.

Step 8: Information On How to Withdraw Your Profits

Congratulations on making some profits! 

Let's discuss how you can get that money into your hands.
Every prop firm has its own payout policy, and it's important to know what you’re signing up for.

Here is the outlines of what to pay attention to:

First Payout Rules.

There is a most likely chance that a majority of firms do not provide withdrawals immediately and as such there are waiting periods of about a month after completion of a challenge before the first withdrawal can be made.

Payout Limits.

Certain firms limit the first few withdrawals, capping them to a certain figure. An example would be the first two withdrawals being two smaller transactions.

Time Between Payouts.

Payouts will frequently follow a set schedule like once a month or bi-monthly and how often these schedules are paid out is dependent on the firm.

Step 9: Keep learning and join a Trading Community

If you want to stay ahead, keep sharpening your skills. Read blogs, watch videos, and learn from real traders. 
And don’t trade alone.

The best traders lean on others for support, advice, and even just motivation. Ask questions, share your wins, learn from your losses.

Join our community: The Trusted Prop 

Bonus: Compare the Best Prop Firms in 2025 with The Trusted Prop Tool

By using The Trusted Prop comparison tool, it helps you to compare prop firms side by side.

What can you compare?

• Challenge Models: 1-phase, 2-phase, or instant funding, know what you’re signing up for.
• Fees: See if the fees are refundable, how much you pay upfront, and if there are any hidden costs.
• Profit Splits: Some firms offer 70%, others 90 %+. You can see it all.
• Scaling Plans: Want to grow your account to $ 1 M+? We’ll show you who allows that.
• Trading Rules: Which strategies are allowed? Can you hold over the weekend? Is EA or bot trading okay?
• Supported Platforms: MT4, MT5, cTrader, Match-Trader, DXTrade, TradingView we tell you who supports what.
• Payout Speed: How quickly can you get your money? Days or weeks? Now you’ll know.
• Support Ratings: Real feedback from real traders, no fluff.
• Discount Codes: Verified coupon codes that can save you up to 25% on challenges.

If you are a serious trader don’t pick a prop firm blindly. Use The Trusted Prop comparison Tool to compare what matters, and start smart.

Why Choose The Trusted Prop?

There is an abundance of websites speaking about prop trading. But why should you spend your time on The Trusted Prop?

Here’s what you get with us:

No Hype, Just Honest Reviews

Our team analyzes every prop firm and gives their insight on the pros, cons, rules, and real trader opinions and provide traders with the best prop firms review.

Discount Codes That Are Actually Valid

Heads to The Trusted Prop Best Deals Page to actually save when signing up for a challenge, ensuring you get valid discounts.

Side by Side Comparison

Unsure about which prop firm to select? Using The Trusted Prop comparison tool helps you to filter the prop firm.

Conclusion

Although there seems to be a long pathway ahead of you, once you know the steps, we make it easier for you with every step.

With plenty of options available, our insights and The Trusted Prop tools help in getting optimum growth. 

The Trusted Prop is with the user in every step from tracking the payments to getting the right firm.
Do you want to begin?

Heads to The Trusted Prop.