Activation Fee
A separate fee some firms charge to activate the funded account after the evaluation is passed — an extra cost on top of the challenge fee.
Definition
An activation fee is a charge some firms require before the funded account becomes live, after the trader has passed the evaluation. The fee ranges from $100 to $300+ depending on account size and is separate from the original challenge fee. Activation fees are common in the futures prop firm space (less common in forex) and are sometimes refunded with the first payout, similar to challenge-fee refund policies. The fee is a gating mechanism: traders who pass the evaluation but never pay the activation fee never get a funded account.
Example
Why It Matters
Activation fees can nearly double the effective cost of getting to a funded account, and they are often not surfaced in the challenge's marketing price. Traders comparing firms on headline challenge fee miss this cost entirely. Futures-focused firms like Apex Trader Funding are notable for activation fee structures; forex-focused firms more commonly roll activation into the original fee.