Futures firms comparator

Am Langenwall 1, 18439 Stralsund, Germany

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

Lennard Wenderholm

Jakub Zeliska

Germany

United Arab Emirates

2023

Lvlup charges no payout fee.

Bank transfer: USD 19.90 + 2.49%. Crypto: USD 19.90 + 30%; reduced to USD 19.90 + 2.49% when more than 50% of the trader's purchases were paid in crypto.

Both the evaluation and the funded account are simulated, unless a separate agreement says otherwise.

Futures accounts are simulated (sim-funded).

• Lvlup: every 14 days. The days in the cycle do not need to be profitable.
• Starter: after every 5 profitable days. 5 payouts at most; the fifth closes the account.

Thunderbolt, Horizon and Vanguard: on demand once the conditions are met. Apex: 14 days after the account starts, then every 14 days. Profit required per payout: Thunderbolt 1%, Horizon 3%, Vanguard and Apex 6%.

Approved payouts are processed within 48 hours at most, usually 24 to 48h.

• Lvlup: 10% of the starting balance per payout.
• Starter: 4% on 25K and 50K, 2.5% on 100K and 2% on 150K, never more than 50% of the profit generated.

Thunderbolt and Horizon (payouts 1-3 / 4+): 25K 500/1,000; 50K 800/1,750; 100K 1,250/2,500; 150K to 400K 1,750/3,000 USD. Vanguard and Apex (payouts 1/2/3/4/5+): 25K 500/750/750/750/1,000; 50K 750/1,000/1,000/1,500/1,500; 100K 1,200/2,000/2,000/2,000/3,000; 150K 1,500/2,500/2,500/2,500/3,500 USD. Vanguard 200K to 400K: 3,000/3,000/3,000/3,500/3,500 USD.

• Starter: $500 on every size.
• Lvlup: no published minimum.

USD 100.

• KYC with Sumsub before the funded account. The payout method must belong to the verified holder.
• Lvlup: the 40% consistency rule must be met when you request the payout.
• Starter: the account is locked from the request until the payout is approved.
• The full requested amount comes off the balance and the drawdown is not reset.

Realized profit and all positions closed; at least 1% profit since the previous payout. 20% Best Day Rule. Before the first payout, Vanguard requires 5 profitable days with at least 0.5% profit each.

A failed account cannot be reset or reactivated: you have to buy a new evaluation.

Resets are available when offered by Upcomers. A rule-violation reset permanently limits future payouts on that account to 50%.

Payout Protector (+25% of the price): if a funded account fails while in profit, they review the case and may pay what was eligible. It does not prevent the breach or keep the account open, and it must be added at purchase.

Vanguard and Apex offer instant funding with no evaluation. Apex has no Best Day Rule.

Thunderbolt and Horizon are one-step evaluations with a 6% target. Horizon has no consistency rule.

End-of-day trailing: it follows the highest closing balance and updates once the day ends; intraday moves do not shift it. On Lvlup it stops trailing once the account is up 6% and locks at the starting balance; Starter does not publish that lock. Touching it closes the account.

End-of-day (EOD) trailing, recalculated at 5:00 PM ET from the highest closing balance and locked at the initial balance: 4% on Thunderbolt and Horizon, 3% to 4% on Vanguard depending on size, 3% on Apex.

80% on Lvlup and 100% on Starter.

Thunderbolt and Vanguard: 80% base split; 90% (checkout default) or 100% can be selected for a higher price. Horizon and Apex: fixed 80%.

No daily loss limit.

Thunderbolt and Horizon: 3% in evaluation and 2% when funded. Vanguard and Apex: depends on account size, with no daily limit on $25K. Resets at 5:00 PM ET.

$1,000,000 per trader, adding up every active account, evaluation and funded.

No fixed number of accounts: the limit is the total capital.

No fixed account-count limit; total funded capital cannot exceed USD 1,500,000 across all Upcomers programs.

• Lvlup: no expiry, but you must trade at least once every 30 days.
• Starter: 30 days from the first trade; it does not renew.

No time limit to pass Classic; all futures accounts close after 14 calendar days without closing a trade.

5 in the evaluation. Any day with at least one executed trade counts.

Thunderbolt can be passed in 1 day. Horizon requires 2 trading days with at least 0.5% profit each. Vanguard and Apex have no evaluation.

• Lvlup: activation fee after passing, due within 30 days. It is lower if the evaluation was monthly. No monthly fee once funded.
• Starter: no activation fee.

Thunderbolt and Horizon are sold with no activation fee or as Standard, with a lower entry price plus an activation fee after passing. Vanguard and Apex have no activation fee. No recurring platform or data subscription stated by Upcomers.

Lvlup Elite: 1 point per dollar paid out by Lvlup and 200 per passed Lvlup account; verified payouts and passes at other futures firms count too. 10,000 points unlock 12 months in a club with events and trips, where each point is worth $1. It cannot be bought.

• Lvlup: none; payouts follow 14-day cycles.
• Starter: 5 profitable days before each payout.

Days with at least 0.5% profit before each payout: Thunderbolt 3 (none on accounts bought before 29 October 2026), Horizon 5 and Apex 5. Vanguard has no day minimum; it requires 6% profit since the last payout.

• Lvlup: monthly or one-time payment, your choice. The monthly fee runs while the evaluation is open and stops when you pass, fail or cancel.
• Starter: one-time payment only.
• On Volumetrica, Lvlup monthly ($129, $225, $369 and $476) and Starter ($161, $226, $291 and $356) cost more. Lvlup one-time costs the same on both platforms.

One-time payment based on program, size and profit split. Challenge prices are listed at the 80% base split, before any promotional code.

+35% every 4 months, up to USD 4,000,000, with 15% cumulative growth, at least 2 payouts and a positive final cycle.

Thunderbolt Classic includes an optional Trial Phase; Vanguard has no evaluation.

The contract limit depends on account size and does not drop after funding.

Your own bots are allowed, for the holder's own trading. High-frequency bots and bots that copy trades between different traders are forbidden.

Bots and automation are allowed when the strategy is unique and responsible; no HFT, tick scalping, arbitrage, feed abuse or mass-shared strategies.

Allowed within the same account. Forbidden across accounts, yours or another firm's.

Allowed within the same account; coordinating opposite positions across accounts or people to bypass rules is prohibited.

No minimum trade duration, but no HFT and no sub-60-second trades at the contract limit.

Normal scalping is allowed; tick scalping and latency exploitation are prohibited.

Contract limit by account size, counting all open exposure together (1 mini = 10 micros). Risking an outsized share of the account on a single move is forbidden.

Hard maximum loss of 1.5% of account size per open trade. Positions in the same instrument and direction count as one trade.

Only between your own accounts, within contract and capital limits. Copying other traders or following signal groups is forbidden.

Allowed between your own accounts; prohibited between different people.

Allowed in evaluation and funded, with no 3-minute restriction. The general terms of Prop Account, the company running the evaluations, do forbid opening positions 3 minutes before and after a news event.

At least one trade every 30 days; the timer cannot be paused. On Lvlup it also applies once funded.

Automatic closure after 14 calendar days without closing a trade; the clock starts at purchase and resets with every closed trade.

40%: your best day cannot exceed 40% of total profit. On Lvlup it applies in the evaluation and at every payout request; on Starter, only in the evaluation. Exceeding it does not fail the account: you keep trading until it drops below 40%.

Best Day Rule checked at payout; it does not breach the account. Thunderbolt: 35% (20% on accounts bought before 29 October 2026). Vanguard: 20%. Horizon and Apex: no consistency rule.

Open positions close automatically at 4:50 PM ET every trading day, Friday included.

• Exploiting price errors, delays or latency
• High-frequency trading (HFT)
• Hedging or arbitrage across accounts, other firms included
• Front-running and insider information
• Group trading, signals or copying other traders
• Having a third party trade or pass the evaluation for you
• All-in or excessive risk on a single move
• Passing with one strategy and switching it once funded
• Trading at or near the contract limit for under 60 seconds (Prop Account terms)

HFT, tick scalping, arbitrage or latency abuse, feed/price abuse, mass-shared strategies, martingale, account rolling and any practice designed to exploit the simulated environment.

Everything closed by 15:55 CST on normal days; trading resumes at 17:00 CST. Hours change on holidays and closing in time is the trader's job.

Open positions close automatically at 4:50 PM ET, before the daily break.

Upcomers' general VPN/VPS and identity-verification rules apply.