True Cost Calculator

The sticker price is rarely the real price. This tool models every fee on the path to your first payout — eval, resets, rebuys, activation, monthly PA fees, data — across the major futures and CFD prop firms, with current April 2026 rules.

MONTHLY EVALACTIVATION $99PA $85/MOPROMO ~80% TYPICAL

Your scenario

Attempts before passing3
12345678
Industry data: only ~7–14% pass on the first try, so 2–3 is typical, 4+ is common.
On fail, what % do you rebuy vs reset?50% rebuy
0% (always reset)100% (always rebuy)
Reset = $80 · Rebuy = $89 — reset is cheaper here
Promo / discount active?80% off
0%50%95%
Typical for Apex Trader Funding (4.0): ~80% off. Discounts apply to eval fees only — not activation, data, or PA fees.
Avg months per attempt1.5
0.524
Monthly subs renew until pass/fail. Most traders take 1–2 months per attempt.
Funded months before 1st payout1.0
01.53
PA fee $85/mo continues during this window. Apex requires 5 qualifying days; FTMO requires 14 calendar days minimum.

The real number

Sticker price
$59/mo
True all-in cost to first payout
$442
That’s 1.5× the sticker price.

Where the money goes

Successful attempt (1.5 mo × $59)$89
2 failed attempts (50% rebuy / 50% reset)$169
Activation fee (one-time, non-refundable)$99
PA monthly × 1 mo (during funded ramp)$85

Cost vs attempts

Gross total

Firm-Specific Wrinkles

Apex Trader Funding (4.0)
  • Promotions run 70–90% off eval fees regularly; activation is rarely discounted.
  • Activation: $79 intraday / $99 EOD one-time (modelled at $99) OR $85/mo PA.
  • Reset fee = current monthly subscription. No refund on pass.
  • After Mar 1 2026: $250K and $300K sizes retired; $75K added.

How To Use The True Cost Calculator

Start by selecting the firm you’re considering from the pill strip at the top, then pick your account size. The calculator pre-loads each firm’s actual fee structure — monthly vs one-time eval, activation charges, PA fees, data costs, and whether the challenge fee is refunded on your first payout. Every number comes from the firm’s own pricing page as of April 2026, so you’re comparing apples to apples.

Dial In Your Scenario

Next, dial in your scenario. The “attempts before passing” slider is the most important input: industry pass rates sit around 7–14% on the first try, which means most traders need 2–4 attempts before funding. For firms with both a reset and a full rebuy option, the rebuy-vs-reset slider lets you model how you’d actually behave after a blown account — always resetting (cheaper per attempt) versus always rebuying (sometimes cheaper during a promo). Toggle the promo discount to see how a typical sale changes the all-in number.

Read The Results

The right-hand panel shows the headline result: your true all-in cost to first payout, broken down into each fee category with proportional bars. The “cost vs attempts” chart sweeps 1–8 attempts so you can see how quickly costs compound. For firms like FTMO that refund the challenge fee, a dashed green line shows the net cost after that refund hits your first payout.

Take Action With The Number

Use the final number as the real price tag when evaluating any prop firm. Plug it into the Expected Value Calculator to see if the math pencils out, or into the Break-Even Calculator to find out how many months of funded trading you’ll need to recoup your investment. The sticker price on a firm’s landing page is a marketing number — true cost is the number that matters.

Use this number elsewhere in the suite

The true cost figure above is the input the rest of the suite is calibrated against. Plug it into:

Expected Value CalculatorSubtract this from your projected funded earnings to see if the math works.Break-Even CalculatorMonths of funded trading needed to recover this cost at your avg take-home.Reset vs New ChallengeWhen a Black Friday sale beats your reset fee.Payout TimelineHow long until you actually receive that first payout (and the refund).
Numbers reflect publicly listed firm pricing as of April 2026. Promotions change frequently — verify on the firm’s site before purchasing. This calculator is informational, not financial advice.