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Comparison · Futures

Alpha Futures and Finotive Futures at a glance

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The short answer

The choice depends entirely on your tools and billing preference: Finotive Futures allows EAs and uses one-time payments, while Alpha Futures prohibits EAs and charges monthly subscriptions during evaluation but offers faster same-day payouts.

Where they actually differ

  • Style (EAs): This is the biggest gap. Finotive allows EAs and personal automated strategies. Alpha strictly prohibits any form of EA or automated trading.
  • Price (Billing structure): Finotive uses a one-time purchase model for all accounts. Alpha’s evaluations (Zero, Standard, Advanced) require a monthly subscription until you pass, though their "Direct" plan is a one-time fee.
  • Risk (Daily Drawdown): On Alpha, hitting the daily limit is usually a hard breach (except on Zero where it locks the account for the day). On Finotive, the daily drawdown is a "soft breach": positions close and trading stops until the next day, but the account is not failed.
  • Payout (Speed and frequency): Alpha guarantees same-day payouts and allows up to 4 requests per month. Finotive processes payouts within 24–48 hours on demand once requirements are met.
  • Platforms: Finotive supports NinjaTrader and Tradovate natively. Alpha uses AlphaTrader and TradingView via ACG Markets.
  • Risk (News Trading): Alpha’s Advanced plan has zero news restrictions even when funded. Finotive restricts news trading (2 minutes before/after) on all funded and instant accounts.

Where they are basically the same

  • Price: For the $100K evaluation, both are competitively priced near $300 (Finotive $299 one-time vs Alpha $349/month or $239/month depending on the plan).
  • Risk: Both use EOD (End of Day) trailing drawdowns for their evaluation phases that lock at the starting balance.
  • Cobro (Payout Split): Both firms offer a standard 90% profit split.
  • Platforms: Both offer TradingView and Quantower integration.
  • Styles: Both prohibit tick/micro-scalping and high-frequency trading (HFT) intended to exploit the simulator.

Note: Alpha Futures does not provide data on payout fees or specific "other" payout requirements.

Pick this one if

Alpha Futures:

  • You are a manual trader who wants a proprietary journal (MyAlpha).
  • You want the fastest possible payout (same-day guarantee).
  • You want to trade news without restrictions (Advanced Plan).

Finotive Futures:

  • You use EAs or automated trading bots.
  • You prefer a "soft breach" daily drawdown that doesn't kill your account.
  • You want to avoid recurring monthly subscriptions during the evaluation.

Frequently asked questions

Which firm is cheaper for a $100K evaluation, Alpha Futures or Finotive Futures?

Finotive Futures is generally more cost-effective as it charges a $299 one-time fee for its 1-Step Challenge. Alpha Futures charges $239/month (Standard), $279/month (Zero), or $349/month (Advanced) during the evaluation phase, meaning if you take more than one month to pass, the cost quickly exceeds Finotive's price.

Can I use Expert Advisors (EAs) on Alpha Futures or Finotive Futures?

You can only use EAs on Finotive Futures, which allows bots and automated strategies as long as they don't exploit the simulated environment. Alpha Futures strictly prohibits the use of EAs and automated trading across all its account types.

Who has stricter news trading rules for funded traders, Alpha Futures or Finotive Futures?

It depends on the plan. Finotive Futures restricts all funded and instant accounts from trading 2 minutes before and after high-impact news. Alpha Futures has similar restrictions for most accounts, but its "Advanced Qualified" account has no news-trading restrictions at all, making it more flexible for news traders than Finotive.

Which firm pays out faster, Alpha Futures or Finotive Futures?

Alpha Futures is faster, offering a "Same Day" payout guarantee. Finotive Futures processes payout requests within a 24 to 48-hour window. While Finotive allows payouts on demand, Alpha allows up to 4 withdrawals per month, which is sufficient for most high-frequency earners.

Field by field

Alpha Futures and Finotive Futures, side by side

Rules, plans, platforms, leverage, commissions and payouts of both, with the option to see only what differs.

Head to head

46 differences

Headquarters

1 Allied Business Centre, Coldharbour Lane, Harpenden, England, AL5 4UT

Innovation One Building, Level 2, DIFC, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

CEO

Andrew Blaylock & George Kohler

Oliver Newland

Country

United Kingdom

United Arab Emirates

Foundation

2023

2026

Banned Countries
Afghanistan, Albania, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso (Upper Volta), Burma/Myanmar, Chad, China, Côte d'Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, East Timor, Guinea-Bissau, Ethiopia, Haiti, Iran, Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Kenya, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Lesotho, Libya, Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, Montenegro, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, North Korea, North Macedonia, Northern Cyprus, Palestinian Territory, Pakistan, Philippines, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Senegal, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Slovenia, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Darfur, Syria, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Turkey, Ukraine, Venezuela, Vietnam, Yemen, Zimbabwe
Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria
Assets
Equity Indexes, Currencies, Metals, Commodities, Crypto, Rates
Futures
Brokers
ACG Markets
NinjaTrader, Volumetrica
Platforms
AlphaTrader, TradingView, WealthCharts, Quantower, Deepcharts
NinjaTrader, Tradovate, Tradingview, DeepCharts, ATAS, Quantower
Payout Methods
ACH, Wire Transfer, SWIFT, Wise, Rise
Transfer, Crypto, Revolut
Live Account
Yes

Qualified traders may be selected to trade real capital through the Alpha Futures Live Program or Alpha Prime. Live accounts offer daily uncapped withdrawals, no consistency rule and no news-trading restrictions.

Limited

Traders may enter the live-account review pool after payout 5, significant lifetime payouts, exceptional simulated-funded performance or a previous live transition. Selection is always at Finotive Futures' discretion.

Payment Methods
Card, Crypto
Card, Crypto, PayPal, Transfer
Payout Frequency
  • Zero, Standard and Advanced: Up to 4 times per month after 5 winning trading days of $200 or more
  • Direct: Up to 4 times per month after meeting its Withdrawal Profit Target and 20% consistency rule

On demand once all requirements are met.

Payout Guarantee

Same day

Payout requests are processed within 24 to 48 hours.

Maximum Withdrawal
  • Advanced: $15,000 per account
  • Zero 25K: $1,000
  • Zero 50K: $1,500
  • Zero 100K: $2,500
  • Standard 50K: $3,000
  • Standard 100K: $4,000
  • Standard 150K: $5,000
  • Direct 25K: $1,000
  • Direct 50K: $2,000
  • Direct 100K: $2,500
  • Direct 150K: $3,000

1-Step Funded

  • $25K: $1,000 first payout; $1,500 thereafter
  • $50K: $2,000 first payout; $2,500 thereafter
  • $100K: $2,500 first payout; $3,000 thereafter
  • $150K: $3,000 first payout; $3,500 thereafter

Instant

  • $25K: $1,000
  • $50K: $2,000
  • $100K: $3,000
  • $150K: $4,000
Minimum Withdrawal
  • Zero: $200
  • Standard: $500
  • Advanced: $1,000
  • Direct: $500

$500 before the 90% reward split.

Other Payout Requirements
No data

All positions must be closed and KYC and compliance checks must be complete before requesting a payout.

Account Reset

Evaluation Resets

Evaluation reset prices are shown in each challenge. Paying the next monthly subscription also resets an Evaluation.

 

Qualified Resets

Available after a breach on Zero and Standard Qualified accounts.

Plan 25K 50K 100K 150K
Zero $399 $499 $799 —
Standard — $599 $799 $999
  • 1-Step evaluation: a discounted reset can be purchased within 14 calendar days of a breach.
  • 1-Step Funded: up to 2 resets before the first payout, within 14 days of the breach; each costs 5 times the evaluation fee.
  • Instant: no standard reset; the same size can be repurchased at a reduced price within 3 calendar days of a breach.
Add-ons
Yes
  • Level 2 (Depth of Market) Data for all exchanges: $41/month per user
  • EUREX DOM data: $23 per month
  • Standard 50K, 100K and 150K: add-on that removes the consistency rule once Qualified, from $70/month. The Evaluation keeps the 50% rule.
No data
Instant
Yes
Yes
One Step
Yes
Yes
Account scaling
No data
Yes
Max Drawdown
  • EOD trailing on every plan
  • Locks at the starting balance
  • Does not reset after a performance fee
  • 1-Step: EOD trailing, based on the highest end-of-day balance; it locks at the initial balance once the Profit Buffer is reached.
  • Instant: intraday trailing, following the highest balance or open equity.
  • Reaching the maximum drawdown is a hard breach.
Free Trial
No
No data
Daily Drawdown
  • Advanced: none
  • Zero: applies in Evaluation and Qualified; hitting it locks the account until the next trading day
  • Standard: none in Evaluation; applies once Qualified
  • Direct: applies from day one

Calculated from the end-of-day balance. A breach is soft: positions are closed and trading stops for that day; the account is not failed. The new daily limit on 25K 1-Step evaluations applies only to new purchases; existing accounts retain their original rules.

Max Allocation
  • Zero, Standard and Direct: up to 5 Qualified accounts
  • Advanced: up to 3 Qualified accounts; an active Advanced Qualified account limits the user to 3 total
1,000,000
Mandatory buffer
No
Limited

Applies only to 1-Step Funded accounts and must remain in the account: $1,000 on $25K, $2,000 on $50K, $3,000 on $100K and $4,500 on $150K. Each payout also requires new profit equal to 1% of the initial balance above the buffer. Instant accounts use a recurring payout milestone instead: $1,450, $3,000, $5,000 and $8,000 respectively.

Merge Accounts
No
No data
Maximum Trading Days
No data

No time limit for the 1-Step evaluation. Accounts close after 15 consecutive calendar days without a trade.

Minimum Trading Days
  • Zero (Evaluation): 1 day
  • Standard (Evaluation): 2 days
  • Advanced (Evaluation): 3 days
  • Zero, Standard and Advanced Qualified: 5 winning days of $200 or more before each performance fee
  • Direct: no minimum trading days; withdrawals require its profit target and 20% consistency rule

The 1-Step evaluation can be passed in one trading day.

Funded Phase Pricing Model

No activation fee on any plan. Direct is paid once; Zero, Standard and Advanced charge monthly only during Evaluation.

No activation fee or recurring subscription.

Minimum Profitable Days

Zero, Standard and Advanced require 5 winning days with at least $200 profit each before every performance fee request. Direct requires its Withdrawal Profit Target and 20% consistency rule.

  • 1-Step evaluation: none
  • 1-Step Funded: 3 per payout cycle
  • Instant: 5 per payout cycle

A profitable day requires at least 0.25% of the initial account balance in realised profit.

Position size scaling
Yes

The scaling plan limits maximum position size according to accumulated profit. Zero 25K has no scaling plan; Advanced and Direct have no scaling plan.

 

Zero Qualified

Profit 50K minis 50K micros 100K minis 100K micros
Less than $1,500 1 10 2 20
$1,500-$2,000 2 20 3 30
$2,000-$3,000 3 30 4 40
$3,000-$4,500 — — 5 50
$4,500+ — — 6 60

 

Standard Qualified

Profit 50K minis 50K micros 100K minis 100K micros 150K minis 150K micros
Less than $1,500 2 20 3 30 3 30
$1,500-$2,000 3 30 4 40 4 40
$2,000-$3,000 5 50 5 50 5 50
$3,000-$4,500 5 50 10 100 10 100
$4,500+ 5 50 10 100 15 150
No data
Evaluation Phase Pricing Model

Zero, Standard and Advanced use a monthly Evaluation fee. Direct is one-time.

One-time purchase fee. No subscription or automatic rebilling, and no activation fee after passing.

Maximum Accounts
No data

Unlimited evaluation accounts. Total funded allocation across 1-Step and Instant accounts is capped at $1,000,000.

Expert Advisor (EA)
No
Yes

Bots, EAs and personal automated strategies are allowed if they do not exploit latency, feed errors or the simulated environment.

VPN
No
Limited

Connections must remain stable and verifiable. VPNs, proxies or location masking are prohibited when they impair identity, location or account-control checks.

Hedging
No
Limited

Hedging within one account is allowed, including mini versus micro positions. Opposing or correlated hedges across separate accounts or prop firms are prohibited.

Requires Stop Loss
No
No
Scalping
Limited

Tick or micro scalping is prohibited when trades repeatedly last less than 2 minutes and move less than 10 ticks. There is no universal minimum holding time.

Limited

Microscalping is allowed, but no more than 50% of total profit may come from trades held for less than 30 seconds.

Stacking / Layering (DCA)
Limited

Reasonable DCA is allowed. Excessive order stacking or order-book spamming intended to exploit simulated fills is prohibited.

No data
Martingale
No data
Limited

Allowed when used responsibly within contract and drawdown limits. Aggressive exposure may be reviewed as gambling behaviour.

Maximum Risk Limit
No
No data
Copy Trading
Limited

Permitted only when one user copies trades across accounts held in that same person's name. Automated, group and reverse trading remain prohibited.

Limited

Allowed only between accounts personally owned and controlled by the same trader, including their accounts at other prop firms. Third-party signals, accounts and copy services are prohibited.

News Trading
Limited
  • All Evaluation accounts: no news-trading restrictions
  • Advanced Qualified: no news-trading restrictions
  • Direct, Standard and Zero Qualified: no orders within 2 minutes before or 2 minutes after high-impact news
Limited

Allowed without restrictions during the 1-Step evaluation. On 1-Step Funded and Instant accounts, orders cannot be opened, closed or triggered from 2 minutes before until 2 minutes after high-impact news.

Inactivity Rule

10 trading days

15 consecutive calendar days without a trade is a hard breach and permanently closes the account.

Consistency Rule
Yes
  • Zero: no Evaluation consistency rule; 40% on Qualified accounts
  • Standard: 50% in Evaluation; 40% on Qualified accounts (removed on Qualified with the Standard add-on)
  • Advanced: 40% in Evaluation; none on Qualified accounts
  • Direct: 20% between performance fee requests
Limited

No consistency rule during the 1-Step evaluation. At payout, one day may represent at most 40% of cycle profit on 1-Step Funded accounts and 20% on Instant accounts.

Hold Weekend
No
No

Positions cannot be carried through the Friday close into the Sunday reopen.

Prohibited Strategies
  • All or Nothing Approach
  • Order Book Spamming
  • Tick or Micro Scalping
  • Exploiting Absence of Slippage / Favorable Fills
  • Multiple Limit Orders at Same Price
  • Gambling Tendencies / Account Rolling (Account Stacking)
  • Reverse Trading / Hedging
  • Trading Illiquid or Gapped Markets for Isolated Fills
  • Non-Compliance with CME Group Rules
  • Group Trading (Collaborative Trading)

Hedging across accounts or platforms; latency, feed, spread or exchange arbitrage; account or device sharing; coordinated/group trading; copying third parties; spoofing, layering and market or order-queue manipulation; volume inflation or artificial trades; HFT and algorithmic exploitation; non-viable simulated-fill strategies; gambling/account rolling; news straddling; and gap or illiquid-market exploitation.

Overnight positions
No
No

All open positions are automatically closed at 15:55 CT, five minutes before the daily close.

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