Forex firms comparator

Algaroud Center, 2nd Floor, Office 101-05, Dubai, UAE

Building A1, IFZA Business Park, Dubai Silicon Oasis, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Sean Bainton

Jakub Zeliska

2021

2023

Liquidity Provider

200% Challenge fee refund after the 3rd fully approved payout on Challenge accounts (Ash, Thunderbolt and Phoenix). The trader must request it through support. A partially approved payout or a payout with a strategy violation permanently disqualifies that account. It does not apply to Instant Funding accounts.

• 1 Step Nano: up to weekly
• 2 Step Nano: bi-weekly
• Other products: 14 days

• Withdrawal review by Risk Team: 24-48h (account trading is frozen during review).
• Bank transfers: 2-5 business days after approval.
• Crypto: faster, depends on blockchain network.
• Other programs: minimum 1% profit required per payout (resets after each payout).
• Turbo accounts: minimum 5 trading days per payout (each ≥0.5% profit).
• Vanguard (Instant Funding): minimum 6 trading days per payout (each ≥0.5% profit).
• Horizon and Odyssey: first payout 14 days after the funded account starts, then every 14 days. At least 3% profit of the initial balance is required before each payout, including between payouts, together with the required valid trading days.

Payouts processed within 24 business hours (Mon 9 AM – Fri 5 PM Dubai time). If they miss this window you automatically receive a 100% profit split on that payout (no Blue Guardian cut). Delays caused by compliance checks, risk reviews or pending KYC do not qualify.

2 Step Nano: 2% of the initial balance per payout ($500 on $25K, $1,000 on $50K, $2,000 on $100K and $4,000 on $200K).

Payout cap progresses with each approved withdrawal on the same funded account:

• Payout #1: 1% of initial balance
• Payout #2: 2%
• Payout #3: 3%
• Payout #4: 4%
• Payout #5: 5%
• Payout #6: 6%
• Payout #7: account resets to initial balance with NO payout cap (unlimited from #8 onwards)
  Cap only increases after a FULLY approved withdrawal. Partial or declined payouts do not progress the cap.

$100 in crypto, $500 via Rise (bank transfer). On 1 Step Standard and Instant accounts, once you reach 6% profit and the trailing drawdown locks at breakeven, a 1% buffer must remain in the account.

• Bank Transfer (recommended): $19.90 + 2.49%.
• Cryptocurrency: $19.90 + 30% (higher due to limited UAE crypto liquidity).
• Returned payouts: $30 reprocessing fee (covers real bank/admin cost of reprocessing; not a penalty).

• Evaluation: 20:1
• Funded: 10:1

• Evaluation: 20:1
• Funded: 10:1

• Evaluation: 20:1
• Funded: 10:1

All accounts are swap‑free

Resets are offered as an alternative to full suspension after a rule violation. The account continues trading, but every future payout on that account is permanently capped at 50% of the approved amount.

Scaling Plan for Thunderbolt, Astral and Vanguard accounts:

• Apply every 4 consecutive months via help@upcomers.com.
• +35% increase on simulated initial balance per cycle.
• Maximum allocation scalable up to $4,000,000.
  Requirements per cycle:
• ≥15% cumulative account growth across the 4 months.
• ≥2 withdrawals completed in the 4-month period.
• Final cycle must end in profit.
  Separate "4M on request" individual contract available after 6+ consecutive profitable months.

• Instant, Guardian X, 1 Step Standard, 1 Step Nano, 2 Step Pro, Crypto: Trailing
• 1 Step Pro, 2 Step Standard, 2 Step Classic, 2 Step Nano, 3 Step: Static

Current CFD programs use three systems:

• Dynamic Risk Shield™: 6% on Ash and Thunderbolt, 7% on Vanguard, 5% on Oracle and 4% on Ember. It trails the equity high-water mark and locks at the initial balance where specified.
• Static maximum loss: 6% on Phoenix Classic, Ignite Classic and Ignite Turbo; 10% on Phoenix Legacy; 7% on Surge. The floor is fixed from the initial balance.
• Nonstop Dynamic Risk Shield™: 3% on Supernova and Hypernova; 2% on Ultranova. It trails continuously and never locks.
  Percentages and behavior are shown per phase in the challenge catalogue.
• Horizon and Odyssey: Dynamic Risk Shield™ follows the highest equity, only moves upward and stops at the initial balance, in evaluation and funded phases.

• Existing 1, 2 and 3 Step programs: 85%
• 1 Step Nano and 2 Step Nano: up to 100%
• Instant: 80%
• Instant Starter: 90%
• With add-on: 90%

Standard profit split: 90%. A trader can select 80% or 100% at checkout; changing the split also changes the Challenge price. The selected split remains linked to that account, and older accounts retain their original conditions.

Based on highest value between balance and equity

Resets daily at 00:00 UTC and is calculated under the rules of each program. Current limits:

• Ash Classic/Turbo and Thunderbolt Classic/Turbo: 3%
• Phoenix Classic, Ignite Classic/Turbo and Surge: 4%
• Phoenix Legacy: 5%
• Vanguard and Oracle: 4%
• Supernova and Hypernova: 2%
• Ember and Ultranova: no daily drawdown
• Horizon and Odyssey: daily limits by phase are shown in the challenge catalogue; Odyssey has a stricter daily limit when funded.

Same-type funded accounts can be merged up to $400,000 ($200,000 cap on Instant). Cross-merging different types (e.g. 2 Step Standard with 2 Step Pro) is NOT allowed. Both accounts must be at break-even (no profit, no loss) at merge time. Beyond the merge cap, the Scaling Plan can take total allocation up to $2,000,000. Guardian X and Instant accounts are NOT eligible for scaling.

No limit

Classic, Legacy and non-Turbo Limited Drop challenges have no time limit. Ash Turbo, Thunderbolt Turbo and Ignite Turbo have 30 calendar days and a maximum of 7 trading days. Timed Instant Funding sessions last 24 hours on Supernova, 4 hours on Hypernova and 1 hour on Ultranova.

1 Step Nano: no minimum during the evaluation; 5 days when funded.

No minimum trading days to pass the challenge in any Classic, Turbo or Limited Drop (Ignite/Surge) program. Turbo challenges require only 1 trading day with real activity. For those programs, minimums apply only at the payout stage: see 'minimumProfitableDays'.
Horizon requires 2 valid trading days in its evaluation. Odyssey requires 2 valid trading days in each evaluation phase. A valid day earns at least 0.5% of the initial balance.

• Instant, 2 Step Standard, Guardian X: 5 days with 0.5% profit or more
• 1 Step, 2 Step Classic, 3 Step, Crypto: 3 days with 0.5% profit or more
• 2 Step Classic: 4 days with 0.5% profit or more

Payout eligibility requirements (a valid day has at least 0.5% realized profit):

• Vanguard: 6 valid days
• Oracle, Ember, Phoenix Legacy, Ignite Classic, Surge, Ash Turbo, Thunderbolt Turbo and Ignite Turbo: 5 valid days
• Ash Classic, Thunderbolt Classic and Phoenix Classic: no valid-day minimum
• Supernova and Hypernova: at least 7 trades in the timed session
• Ultranova: at least 5 trades in the timed session
  The counter resets after each successful payout.
  Horizon and Odyssey funded accounts require 3 valid days up to $50,000, 4 above $50,000 up to $200,000, and 5 above $200,000 per payout. Each valid day earns at least 0.5% of the initial balance.

Not explicitly prohibited, but strongly discouraged. Use of VPN/VPS during KYC/AML verification is prohibited and can result in the account not being funded or being closed. If suspicious activity is detected, VPN usage will be used against the trader in the review.

Hedging is allowed within a single account. Hedging across multiple accounts (yours or others') is NOT allowed.

Hedging across multiple accounts is prohibited. Hedging within a single account is allowed under normal trading rules.

Minimum holding time of 2 minutes. Trades closed in under 2 minutes are flagged as tick scalping and count as a rule violation, whether closed manually or by automated systems. Average trade duration should stay above 1–2 minutes. Scalping itself is allowed as long as you stay above the 2-minute floor.

Multiple challenges and funded accounts combinable under a single user profile, as long as total funded capital does not exceed $1,500,000 across all Upcomers programs.

Maximum loss per trade in the funded phase (all positions on the same instrument and direction count as one trade):

• Ash Classic, Thunderbolt Classic and Phoenix Classic: 3%
• Phoenix Legacy, Vanguard and Oracle: 2%
• Ash Turbo, Thunderbolt Turbo, Ignite Classic, Ignite Turbo, Surge and Ember: 1.5%
• Supernova and Hypernova: 1%
• Ultranova: 0.5%
  Exceeding the applicable limit is a hard breach.

Manual copy trading is allowed ONLY between accounts legally owned by the same person (e.g. between your own Evaluation and Funded accounts, or between your Blue Guardian account and external accounts in your name). NOT allowed:

• Copying trades from other traders' accounts.
• Third-party copiers that involve accounts not legally yours.
• Having a third party manage your trades.

Instant Funding users may also use third-party copiers, provided all accounts belong to the same user.

News trading is allowed on Challenge, Guardian X and Instant Starter.

It is NOT allowed on Instant Standard and Funded accounts. On those, do not open or close trades within 5 minutes before or 5 minutes after a red folder (high-impact) release. Profits made during that window or significantly influenced by the news will be removed, even without an account violation. Same 5-minute window applies around FOMC speeches, statements and news events on Funded accounts.

Note: Instant Standard accounts purchased after November 13, 2025 cannot do news trading at all.

30 days

35 consecutive calendar days without a trade closes the account automatically. Warning email sent 7 days before expiration.

Consistency rule applies to: 1 Step Nano evaluation and funded (50%), 2 Step Nano funded (50%), 2 Step Pro funded (25%), Guardian X and Instant Standard funded (20%), Instant Starter funded (15%), $300K and $400K Instant funded (15%).

Does NOT apply to: 2 Step Nano evaluation, 1 Step Standard, 1 Step Pro, 2 Step Standard, 2 Step Classic, 3 Step funded accounts, nor to any other challenge phase.

Calculation: a single trading day cannot equal or exceed the threshold of total profits in the payout cycle. If exceeded, the payout button is blocked until the highest day drops below the threshold. Violating it does NOT terminate the account.

Consistency is checked at payout and does not breach the account:

• 20% Best Day Rule: current Classic and Turbo challenges, Ignite, Surge, Vanguard, Oracle and Ember
• 30% Best Day Rule: Phoenix Legacy
• Best Trade Rule in timed Instant Funding: 15% on Supernova and Hypernova; 20% on Ultranova
  The Best Day cycle resets after each successful payout. The timed Best Trade Rule is final when the session ends.
• Horizon and Odyssey: no consistency or Best Day Rule in evaluation or funded accounts.

• Platform or data freezing exploits (using a Demo Server error).
• Use of delayed data feed or trading on delayed charts.
• Tick scalping (trades closed under 2 minutes), high-frequency trading, arbitrage bots.
• Reverse arbitrage, latency arbitrage, hedge arbitrage and any emulators.
• Hedging between accounts (within one account is fine).
• Password changes (the password sent by email is the only one accepted).
• Gambling: any trading where margin usage exceeds 80% on running trades.
• Shared devices, VPS or accounts: each trader must use only their personal device. Shared usage across accounts results in payout disqualification, suspension or termination.
• Bypassing copy-trading or signal-trading rules using VPN/VPS.
• Account inactivity: at least 1 trade every 30 days (otherwise breach).

• Expert Advisors (EAs), bots, emulators or automated trading of any kind (even partial automation of entries, exits, SL/TP management or trade copying). Indicators used for analysis are allowed.
• Tick scalping (trades held under 2 minutes on Oracle/Supernova/Hypernova) and high-frequency trading (HFT).
• Martingale, grid trading, one-sided bets, reverse trading and group hedging.
• News straddling (bracket orders placed around economic releases).
• Signal services and copy trading from external sources.
• Team/group trading or executing identical trades across accounts to bypass the $1.5M cap.
• Sharing passwords, account access or identity (KYC).
• Exploiting platform bugs, delays or pricing errors.
• Opening multiple user profiles (One Person, One Account policy).
• Splitting trades intentionally to bypass the 20% Best Day Rule.