What Apex Trader Funding does

Apex Trader Funding, founded in 2021 by Darrell Martin and headquartered in Austin, Texas, operates a futures trading evaluation platform that enables retail traders in 100+ countries to access simulated funded accounts ranging from $25,000 to $150,000 without risking personal capital. The core product consists of Evaluation Accounts (EOD Trail and Intraday Trail variants) purchased on a one-time basis, on which traders must hit profit targets while respecting trailing drawdown, EOD drawdown, and daily loss limit rules. Traders who pass can activate a Performance Account, earning up to a 100% profit split on simulated funded capital with 5-day payout cycles and built-in scaling. Since inception the company has paid out over $697 million to traders and reports average monthly payouts in the tens of millions by late 2025.

The underlying platform is a custom risk management and evaluation engine that integrates with Rithmic (core infrastructure), NinjaTrader, Tradovate, and WealthCharts as front-end trading platforms, and provides connection guides for ten-plus third-party analytics tools (Sierra Chart, BookMap, Jigsaw, MotiveWave, Quantower, Volfix, ATAS, EdgePro X, Finamark). Proprietary features include real-time intraday trailing drawdown thresholds that follow peak account balance, EOD drawdown enforcement with intraday monitoring, configurable daily loss limits, and a 50% consistency rule limiting any single profitable day to 50% of total accumulated profit. The technology stack supports both discretionary and automated/algorithmic traders, evidenced by customer use cases such as Renavie (Jenacie AI).

Apex runs a product-led, self-serve distribution model with no sales interaction. Revenue is generated primarily from one-time evaluation fees ($199-$850 list, discounted to $19.90-$85 via the SAVENOW coupon) and one-time Performance Account activation fees ($69 per account), supplemented by an affiliate program and Legacy account recurring billing still in effect for pre-March 2026 customers. Acquisition is driven by Trustpilot social proof (4.3 stars across ~20,000 reviews), YouTube and Facebook community presence, affiliate referrals, and aggressive coupon-driven promotions. The company is bootstrapped and founder-controlled, with no disclosed institutional investors, and in March 2026 executed a major product restructuring that introduced simplified new EOD and Intraday Scaling products while retiring prior accounts as Legacy.

Name

Apex Trader Funding

Legal name

Apex Trader Funding Inc.

Website

https://apextraderfunding.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Apex Trader Funding operates a futures prop firm evaluation platform serving retail traders in 100+ countries, offering one-time-fee simulated funded accounts from $25K to $150K with profit splits up to 100%.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Futures Proprietary Trading Evaluation

NAICS

Commodity Contracts Intermediation (523160), Securities and Commodity Contracts Intermediation and Brokerage (5231)

SIC

Commodity Contracts Brokers & Dealers (6221)

akta.pro primary industry

Listed Derivatives Execution Platforms (Futures/Options) (FSAFANAD)

Keywords

• Futures prop trading
• Funded trading accounts
• Trader evaluation programs
• Simulated futures trading
• Performance account funding

Headquarters

HQ city

Austin

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Evaluation Account Fees: One-time fees for evaluation accounts ranging from $199-$850 depending on account size and package (single or 5-pack). No recurring billing for new products.
2. Performance Account Activation Fees: One-time PA activation fee of $69 per account after passing evaluation. Not a subscription; does not renew.
3. Affiliate Program: Partnership program where affiliates can earn commissions for referring new traders.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Apex Trader Funding operates a futures prop trading evaluation platform that sells one-time-fee Evaluation Accounts ($25K to $150K simulated capital) where retail traders prove their edge under defined risk rules (Intraday or EOD Trailing Drawdown, Daily Loss Limit, Consistency Rule). Traders who pass activate a Performance Account (PA) with a $69 one-time fee, earn up to 100% profit splits, and request payouts every 5 trading days with built-in scaling. The platform integrates with Rithmic, NinjaTrader, Tradovate, and WealthCharts and supports trading across equity, currency, agricultural, energy, and metal futures.

Product overview

Apex Trader Funding operates a futures trading evaluation platform with a tiered account structure. The core offering consists of Evaluation Accounts (available in EOD and Intraday Drawdown variants) where traders pay one-time fees to prove trading proficiency under defined risk rules, followed by funded Performance Accounts offering profit splits. The platform supports multiple trading platforms (Rithmic, NinjaTrader, Tradovate, WealthCharts) and enables trading across equity, currency, agricultural, energy, and metal futures markets. New products launched March 2026 simplified rules and removed consistency requirements from evaluations while introducing built-in scaling for performance accounts.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Intraday Trail Evaluation Account Evaluation account with a real-time Intraday Trailing Drawdown that adjusts to peak balance, profit targets, and a Daily Loss Limit; traders can pass in as little as one trading day and, upon passing, activate a Performance Account. Offered in $25K, $50K, $100K, and $150K sizes, available as a single account or 5-pack.
• EOD Trail Evaluation Account End-of-Day Drawdown Evaluation account where the trailing drawdown is calculated at market close and intraday monitoring is applied once established; offered in $25K, $50K, $100K, and $150K tiers, with 30-day evaluation windows and no resets.
• Performance Account (PA) Funded simulated account activated by traders who pass an Evaluation, with a one-time $69 activation fee per account, up to 100% profit split (no split in Sim Funded), 5-trading-day payout cycles, built-in scaling of contract sizes as balance grows, Daily Loss Limit, and 50% Consistency Rule.
• Apex Live Trading Program Invitation-only live market proprietary trading program for top-performing Performance Account traders who demonstrate strong risk management and long-term consistency; selected traders receive capital allocation and performance-based compensation.

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration13 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• RithmiccoreTechnology or IntegrationRithmic provides the trading platform and connection infrastructure for Apex evaluation and performance accounts. Apex offers Rithmic as one of three primary vendor/platform options alongside Tradovate and WealthCharts. Traders receive free real-time data through Rithmic connections.
• NinjaTradercoreTechnology or IntegrationNinjaTrader is offered as a trading platform option connected via Rithmic. Free Ninja License is included with evaluation and performance accounts. Apex provides detailed setup guides and troubleshooting documentation for NinjaTrader integration.
• TradovatecoreTechnology or IntegrationTradovate is offered as one of the primary platform/vendor options for Apex accounts. Canadians cannot purchase LIVE accounts with Tradovate but can access services through Apex simulated accounts. Detailed setup and connection guides provided.
• Affiliate PartnersminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAffiliate program allows partners to earn commissions by referring new traders to Apex Trader Funding. Part of broader marketing and growth strategy.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• FundedNext: FundedNext operates a similar prop firm evaluation model with funded trading accounts, profit splits, and scaling plans. They compete with Apex on pricing, payout reliability, and platform integrations, and target the same retail trader demographic globally.
• TopStep: TopStep is the most direct competitor to Apex Trader Funding, offering futures trading evaluation accounts and funded performance accounts through a similar simulated trading model. Both firms target retail futures traders with profit splits and evaluation programs, and compete head-to-head on payout reliability, rules transparency, and platform integrations.
• FTMO: FTMO is the largest prop trading evaluation firm globally, offering funded accounts in futures, FX, and other instruments. While FTMO is broader than Apex (which is futures-only), they overlap directly on the futures evaluation business and compete for the same pool of ambitious retail traders.
• Funded Trading Plus: Funded Trading Plus offers futures and forex prop firm evaluations with funded account programs targeting retail traders. They compete with Apex on evaluation structure, payout policies, and platform options including NinjaTrader integration.
• E8 Funding: E8 Funding offers prop firm evaluation accounts with funding for multiple asset classes including futures. They target retail traders with similar evaluation-to-funded account pathways and compete with Apex on evaluation pricing and payout terms.
• MyFundedFutures: MyFundedFutures is a fast-growing direct competitor specializing in futures prop funding with evaluation accounts and funded performance accounts. It targets the same retail futures trader audience as Apex with comparable one-time-fee evaluation models and aggressive promotional pricing.
• The5ers: The5ers provides funded trading accounts through an evaluation model with instant funding options and profit splits. They overlap with Apex in the futures evaluation space and compete for retail traders seeking funded account access without risking personal capital.
• Earn2Trade: Earn2Trade is a futures-specific prop evaluation firm offering funded accounts through the Gauntlet Mini and Gauntlet 50 evaluation programs. They directly compete with Apex in the futures evaluation niche with similar trader education and funded account models.

Others

• Tradovate: Tradovate is a futures trading platform and technology partner that Apex integrates with to deliver trading access. While not a direct competitor (Tradovate is a platform provider, not a prop firm), they are an ecosystem partner whose pricing and policy changes directly affect Apex's product economics.

Emerging players

• Traders Launchpad: An emerging futures-focused prop evaluation firm with funded account programs targeting retail traders. They are a smaller, newer entrant in the same niche as Apex, competing for the same evaluation-account-purchasing customer base.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@ApexTraderFunding/videos
• Facebookfacebook.com/apextraderfunding
• Xx.com/ApexTradeFund
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/apex-trader-funding

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Apex Trader Funding