What is a funded trading account, and how do you get one?

Most traders have skill before they have capital. A prop firm sells a way across that gap: you pay a one-time fee for an evaluation on a simulated account, prove you can hit a profit target without touching the loss limits, and the firm then puts you on a funded account. From then on, your profit is split, 80% to you, and a losing streak costs you the account, not your savings.

At VaultX the evaluation is called a challenge and comes in 6 routes: 1 Step, 1 Step Pro, 2 Step, 2 Step Prime, 2 Step Pro and 3 Step. Sizes run from $2,500 to $100,000. The full numbers are on the rules page; the short version is below.

It is not a loan, and it is not your money at risk. You never owe the firm a loss. It is also not a job: nobody pays you a salary, and nobody tells you what to trade. The firm's protection is the rulebook, and the rulebook is the whole relationship, which is why the rest of this guide is about rules.

The evaluation account is simulated. Live prices, no real orders. VaultX says so plainly, and so does every honest firm. Once you are funded, VaultX mirrors your trades to a brokerage account it holds (it calls this stage VaultX Live), so payouts come from trading results rather than from the next trader's fee.

1. Pick a route and a size. 3 Step, 2 Step and 1 Step evaluations, $2,500 to $100,000. Fees start at $30 for the smallest 2 or 3 Step account and $45 for the smallest 1 Step account.
2. Trade the evaluation on MetaTrader 5. Hit each phase's target on closed trades while staying inside the daily loss and maximum loss limits. There is no time limit on any route.
3. Log the profitable days. Most routes ask for 5 profitable days; 3 Step asks for 2 / 2 / 3 profitable days.
4. Verify your identity. A government ID and a liveness selfie, checked in about 24 hours.
5. Clear the review. A person reads the evaluation record for prohibited practices and account ownership, normally the same day.
6. Trade the funded account. It starts at 10% of the evaluation size on VaultX Live and can scale up to eight times. Payouts: multiple daily, 80% to you.

Every firm's rulebook reduces to four numbers. Learn them for your route before you place a trade.

• Profit target: the gain that closes a phase. 12% on 1 Step; 10% → 5% on 2 Step; 4% → 5% → 8% on 3 Step.
• Daily loss limit: the most you may lose in a day. 3% to 5% across routes.
• Maximum loss: the most you may lose overall, static from the starting balance. 6% to 10% across routes.
• Profitable days: the minimum number of green days before a phase can close.

On the funded account there is no daily limit at VaultX; the maximum loss is 35% to 80% of the funded size, depending on the route. Our guide to prop firm rules goes through each one with examples.

The fee is the only money you put in. For a $20,000 evaluation that is $200 on a 2 or 3 Step route and $300 on 1 Step, before the route discounts shown at checkout. Fail, and that fee is gone; pass, and the first payout usually covers it several times over. Compare that with funding your own account to the same size, which we do in funded account vs your own account.

• Every rule has a number next to it, and the same number appears on the pricing page, the FAQ and the terms.
• Static maximum loss rather than trailing, so your own profits do not shrink your room.
• No time limit, so you are never forced into a trade on day 29.
• Payout terms stated in days, with a minimum you can actually reach.
• A clear statement of what is simulated and what is live.

If a firm hides any of these, the fee is the product. Read our 12-point checklist for choosing a prop firm before you pay anyone.