The cheapest prop firm challenge we found with a real, verified price is Atlas Funded, which lets traders start for $1 under a pay-after-you-pass model. Outside of pay-after-pass deals, the cheapest flat-fee challenges start around $5 to $13, from firms like FundedBit, WenCrypto, Master Funders, Maven Trading, and Hantec Trader.

We pulled every price on this page from our own reviews, not from firm marketing pages, and we paired each one with our independent score out of 10. That second number matters. A cheap challenge is not always a good one, and you can see that clearly once price and score sit side by side.

Quick comparison: cheapest prop firm challenges

15 firms, sorted by entry price. Scores are out of 10 and come from our own review process, which checks rules, pricing, platform support, payout terms, and trader feedback for each firm. See our full review methodology for how we score.

Pay-after-pass vs upfront fee: the $1 and $7 challenges explained

Atlas Funded and SFX Funded are not charging $1 or $7 for a normal challenge. They run a pay-after-you-pass model. You put down a small amount to start, trade the evaluation, and only pay the rest of the real fee once you actually pass. If you fail, you are only out the small deposit, not a full challenge fee.

This is different from a firm simply running a 90% discount code on a $50 challenge. A discounted challenge still costs you the full discounted amount whether you pass or fail. A pay-after-pass model shifts most of the financial risk onto the firm instead of the trader. It is worth checking which type you are looking at before you compare two firms on price alone.

Atlas Funded: $1 to start

Atlas Funded launched in 2024 and scores 7.4 out of 10 in our review. Accounts range from $5,000 to $400,000 across its One Step, Two Step, and Instant paths. The $1 gets your evaluation started. The real fee, which scales with account size, is only charged once you pass. If you fail, you lose the $1, not a full challenge fee.

SFX Funded: $7 to start

SFX Funded launched in 2023 and scores 7.0 out of 10. It runs three evaluation paths: a 1-step Rapid Challenge with a 3% profit target, an 8%/5% two-phase Ascend track, and a no-evaluation Instant Funding option. Its Pay-After-Pass tier is the $7 entry point on this list. As with Atlas Funded, the low number is a deposit, not the full price of the account.

The cheapest challenge is not always the best one

Look at Next Level Funded and Hantec Trader side by side. Next Level Funded charges $7.77 to start and scores 6.2 out of 10 in our review. Hantec Trader charges $13, almost double, and scores 7.8, the highest of any firm on this page. The price gap is small. The score gap is not.

A low score in our system usually comes down to specific, checkable things: unclear payout history, restrictive rules buried in the fine print, a smaller platform selection, or weaker trader feedback. Before you buy the cheapest option on this list, open its full review and read what actually pulled the score down or up.

A closer look at the highest-scoring cheap firms

Hantec Trader (7.8/10, from $13) is broker-backed by Hantec Markets, runs on MT4 and MT5, and permits news trading without blackout windows across six evaluation types. Being backed by an existing, regulated broker is a real trust signal that a lot of newer standalone firms cannot offer.

PipFarm (7.6/10, from $25) and Blue Guardian (7.6/10, from $10) both run three distinct challenge modes and support cTrader, giving traders more flexibility in how they clear an evaluation than a single-track firm.

WenCrypto (7.6/10, from $5) is the strongest-scoring pure crypto option here, running Single Pass and Double Pass evaluations with an 80% profit split.

What to check before you buy the cheapest challenge

Price is one line item. These five matter just as much, and a cheap challenge with the wrong answer on any of them can cost you more than a pricier one with the right setup.

• Account size for the price. A $25 challenge on a $5,000 account is not the same deal as a $25 challenge on a $50,000 account. Check the size you are actually getting.
• Drawdown type. Static drawdown is calculated from your starting balance and does not move. Trailing drawdown follows your highest balance and gets tighter as you profit. A cheap challenge with a harsh trailing drawdown can be harder to pass than a pricier one with a static limit.
• Platform support. If you trade with an EA, an indicator set, or a specific charting tool, confirm the firm’s platform list before you pay. Not every cheap firm supports MT4, MT5, or cTrader equally.
• Consistency rule. Some firms cap how much of your total profit can come from a single day. This affects how you should size trades during the evaluation, and it is easy to miss on a quick skim of a pricing page.
• Refund and reset policy. Find out whether the entry fee is refunded on your first payout, and what a reset costs if you fail partway through.

Our drawdown calculator and challenge calculator can help you check the second and third points against your own trading style before you commit to a firm.

How we found these prices

We pulled every figure on this page from our own published reviews, which are re-audited on a regular cycle against each firm’s live pricing page. We did not pull prices from affiliate networks, press releases, or the firms’ own “best deal” marketing claims. If a firm’s pricing page and its review ever disagree, the review is what we correct, since that is the version we stand behind.

We left sports betting and prediction market challenge platforms out of this list on purpose. Firms like GetBet Funded or FanFunded also sell entry-priced “challenges,” but they are a different product built around picks and odds, not CFD, futures, or crypto trading. Mixing the two would make this comparison less useful for someone actually shopping for a trading challenge.

Frequently asked questions

What is the cheapest prop firm challenge right now?

Atlas Funded, at $1 under its pay-after-you-pass model, is the cheapest entry point we have verified. Among firms that charge the full fee upfront, FundedBit, WenCrypto, and Master Funders all start at $5.

Are cheap prop firm challenges worth it?

It depends on the firm, not the price tag alone. Some of the highest-scoring firms in our review database also happen to have some of the lowest entry fees, like Hantec Trader and PipFarm. Others are cheap because the firm is newer, less tested, or has weaker terms. Check the review, not just the price.

What is a pay-after-pass prop firm challenge?

It is a model where you pay a small amount to start the evaluation and only pay the full challenge fee once you pass. Atlas Funded and SFX Funded both run this model. It lowers your financial risk if you fail the evaluation.

Do cheap challenges have worse rules than expensive ones?

Not necessarily. Price and rule quality are set independently by each firm. The comparison table above pairs price with our own review score specifically so you can check both before assuming one predicts the other.

How often do these prices change?

Often. Firms adjust base pricing, run limited-time promo codes, and restructure their account tiers throughout the year. We recheck prices when we re-audit a review, but the live number on the firm’s own site is always the final word.

For the full breakdown of every firm we cover, including ones outside this cheap-entry list, see our complete CFD and Forex prop firm rankings.