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Comparison · Forex

Platforms and execution: AquaFunded and Funded Trading Plus

Operating as a trader in the prop firm industry requires a balance between the software tools provided and the execution environment. AquaFunded and Funded Trading Plus represent two different approaches to this setup: one focused on a high-reward environment with strict risk management tools, and the other on accessibility and speed of withdrawal.

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Where you trade

The platform choice defines the trader's technical workflow. Both firms offer a robust multi-platform environment, moving away from a single-provider dependency.

  • AquaFunded provides access to Metatrader 5, MatchTrader, cTrader, and TradeLocker. This lineup is particularly strong for traders who prioritize mobile-friendly interfaces or modern charting tools like TradeLocker.
  • Funded Trading Plus offers Metatrader 5, MatchTrader, cTrader, and DXTrade. The inclusion of DXTrade is a strategic choice for those who prefer an institutional-grade web interface without the overhead of traditional desktop software.

Who executes your orders

Execution quality is determined by the technology provider.

  • AquaFunded manages its own execution environment across several platforms. While they do not specify a single external broker name, they focus on providing a "raw spread" experience for their users.
  • Funded Trading Plus utilizes Gooey Trade as their technology provider. This setup is designed to ensure stability and professional execution standards across their simulated live accounts, aiming for consistency between the evaluation and funded phases.

Leverage and margin

Risk management is technically enforced through leverage and hard-stop rules.

  • AquaFunded offers 30:1 leverage on Instant Standard accounts and 50:1 on most evaluation models (Pro, Flex, 2 Step). A technical highlight is the Wave Stop rule: if open trades reach a 2% loss of the balance, the system automatically closes all positions. This acts as a forced margin call to protect the account before a total breach.
  • Funded Trading Plus provides 1:30 leverage for 1-Step Express, Instant, and Activation accounts, while the 2-Step Classic goes up to 1:50. Their drawdown models vary: the 1-Step Express uses a 6% relative trailing drawdown that locks at the starting balance, while the 2-Step Classic offers an 8% static drawdown, which is technically more lenient for swing traders.

Markets available

The range of instruments dictates the strategies you can deploy.

  • AquaFunded focuses on the core trio: Forex, Indices, and Commodities. It is a setup optimized for the high-liquidity sessions of the major global markets.
  • Funded Trading Plus offers a broader technical scope by including Crypto alongside Forex, Indices, and Commodities. This makes it a superior choice for traders who need 24/7 market access or specific exposure to digital assets.

What the setup lets you do

Strategy freedom depends on the internal rules of each firm.

  • AquaFunded allows EAs, hedging, and scalping. However, they implement a Consistency Rule on most funded accounts (ranging from 15% to 50%), meaning no single trading day can represent too much of your total profit. News trading is allowed but capped at 0.5% profit per event for newer accounts.
  • Funded Trading Plus is more permissive with trading styles. They allow EAs and News Trading without the specific profit caps found in Aqua. While they have consistency checks for Activation Accounts (25%) and the 2-Step Classic (50%), their 1-Step Express and Instant programs have no consistency rules, offering more freedom for "lumpy" profit distributions.

What the setup costs

The total cost includes the entry fee and the execution drag (commissions).

  • AquaFunded charges a $5 commission per lot on Forex, Metals, and Energies, while Indices are commission-free. Their 100K 1-Step Flex challenge costs $749. Payouts are every 14 days, backed by a 24-hour payout guarantee or they pay you an extra $1,000.
  • Funded Trading Plus has a higher commission of $7 per lot on Forex, Metals, and Energies, with $0 on Indices and Crypto. However, their entry prices are significantly lower: a 100K 1-Step Express costs $549. They also offer Activation Accounts where you pay only $4 to start the challenge and pay the activation fee ($489 for 100K) only after passing. Payouts can be requested from Day 1 on Express and Instant accounts.

Better setup for

  • AquaFunded is the better setup for disciplined intraday traders who want lower execution commissions and the security of a guaranteed payout timeline, provided they can work within consistency limits.
  • Funded Trading Plus is the better setup for news traders and EA users who prefer lower upfront costs, faster access to their first payout, and the ability to trade cryptocurrencies.

Frequently asked questions

Which firm is cheaper for a $100,000 1-step evaluation, AquaFunded or Funded Trading Plus?

Funded Trading Plus is significantly cheaper for this specific size. Their 1-Step Express for $100,000 costs $549, whereas the AquaFunded 1-Step Flex for the same balance is priced at $749. Additionally, Funded Trading Plus offers an Activation Account for that size with an initial cost of only $4, though it requires a larger activation fee after passing the evaluation.

Does AquaFunded or Funded Trading Plus offer faster access to profits?

Funded Trading Plus provides much faster access to withdrawals. On their 1-Step Express and Instant accounts, traders can request their first payout from Day 1. In contrast, AquaFunded typically requires 14 days after the first trade for the first payout, unless an add-on is purchased to reduce that time to 7 days.

Which firm has lower trading commissions per lot, AquaFunded or Funded Trading Plus?

AquaFunded offers a more competitive execution cost with a commission of $5 per lot on Forex, Metals, and Energies. Funded Trading Plus charges a higher rate of $7 per lot for the same asset classes. Both firms offer commission-free trading on Indices, and Funded Trading Plus also provides commission-free trading for Crypto.

Between AquaFunded and Funded Trading Plus, which one has more flexible news trading rules?

Funded Trading Plus is more flexible as it allows news trading without specific profit caps on its main programs. AquaFunded allows news trading but imposes a technical cap: profits generated within a 10-minute window around high-impact news are limited to 0.5% of the starting balance per payout cycle. Any profit exceeding this cap is removed by AquaFunded.

Field by field

AquaFunded and Funded Trading Plus, side by side

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

Head to head

54 differences

25%off · Exclusive
Headquarters

IFZA Business Park, DDP, Premises No. 35882-001, Dubai Silicon Oasis, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

London, United Kingdom

Country

United Arab Emirates

United Kingdom

Foundation

2023

2021

Banned Countries
Cuba, Iran, Syria, Pakistan, Vietnam, Kenya, Albania, Algeria, North Korea, Senegal
Cuba, North Korea, Syria, Iran, Myanmar, Ukraine (Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhya), Pakistan, Vietnam
Assets
Forex, Indices, Commodities
Forex, Commodities, Indices, Crypto
Brokers
No data

Gooey Trade (technology provider)

Refund
Yes

Full refund after 4th payout

Yes

Refund available within 14 days if no trades have been placed. Evaluation fee refund also available upon reaching 10% profit on the FT+ Trader simulated live account (not applicable to Master or Prestige programs).

Payout Fee

$35 flat fee via Rise (for payouts of $1,000 or more). Payouts below $1,000 are paid in crypto and only carry the network fee.

No data
Platforms
Metatrader 5, MatchTrader, TradeLocker, cTrader
Metatrader 5, DXTrade, MatchTrader, cTrader
Payout Methods
Transfer, Crypto, Rise
Crypto, Transfer
Payment Methods
Card, Crypto
Card, Crypto
Payout Frequency

First payout 14 days after the first trade. Every 14 days after that. First payout after 7 days with add-on (+15%).

  • Instant Pro: First Payout on Demand is available as a checkout add-on.
  • Instant Flex: first payout on demand, then every 14 days.
  • 1-Step Express: first withdrawal from day 1, then every 7 days. Minimum $50.
  • 2-Step Classic: first withdrawal 10 days after funded account creation, then every 10 days. Minimum 1% of initial balance.
  • Instant: first withdrawal from day 1, then every 7 days. Minimum $50.
  • Activation Accounts: every 10 trading days. Requires at least 3% simulated profit and 25% payout consistency. Minimum withdrawal $50.
Payout Guarantee

Get Paid in 24 Hours or get an extra $1,000. Rewards are only processed on business days, and so the 48 Hour Reward Guarantee timer is paused on weekends.

No data
Maximum Withdrawal

For traders with $200K accounts or larger, the first two reward requests are capped at a maximum withdrawal of $10,000 each. After the first two rewards, this restriction is removed, and there are no further withdrawal limits.

TryAqua: maximum lifetime withdrawal of $100.

No data
Minimum Withdrawal

$100

  • 1-Step Express / Instant: $50
  • 2-Step Classic: 1% of the initial balance
  • Activation Accounts: $50 after reaching the 3% payout-eligibility threshold
Demo Account
No data
MatchTrader
IDdemo+FTP@fundedtradingplus.comPasswordFTPNewPW2023!F$
DXTrade
IDLogin: 502906PasswordFTPNewPW2023!F$
cTrader
IDdemo@fundedtradingplus.comPasswordFTPNewPW2023!F$
Forex
  • Instant Standard: 30:1
  • Instant Pro, Instant Flex, 1 Step Standard, 1 Step Pro, 2 Step, 3 Step, Aqua Man: 50:1
  • 1 Step Flex: 100:1 during evaluation, 50:1 when funded
  • 1-Step Express, Instant and Activation Accounts: 1:30
  • 2-Step Classic: 1:50
Metals
  • Instant Standard, Instant Pro, Instant Flex, 1 Step Standard, 1 Step Pro, 2 Step, 3 Step, Aqua Man: 10:1
  • 1 Step Flex: 20:1 during evaluation, 10:1 when funded
  • Commodities (metals): 1:30
  • Gold & Silver: 1:20
Energies
  • Instant Standard, Instant Pro, Instant Flex, 1 Step Standard, 1 Step Pro, 2 Step, 3 Step, Aqua Man: 10:1
  • 1 Step Flex: 20:1 during evaluation, 10:1 when funded
5:1
Indices
  • Instant Standard, Instant Pro, Instant Flex, 1 Step Standard, 1 Step Pro, 2 Step, 3 Step, Aqua Man: 10:1
  • 1 Step Flex: 20:1 during evaluation, 10:1 when funded
20:1
Crypto
  • Instant Standard: 1:1
  • Instant Pro, Instant Flex, 2 Step, 1 Step, 3 Step, Aqua Man: 2:1
2:1
Forex
5 / lot
7 / lot
Metals
5 / lot
7 / lot
Energies
5 / lot
7 / lot
Indices
0
0
Commission-Free Option
No
No data
Crypto
No data
0
Swap Free
Yes

Swap-free accounts are available. No overnight swap fees; positions can be held for as long as desired.

Yes
Add-ons
Yes
  • 100% profit split (+15%)
  • First payout after 7 days (+15%)
  • First Payout on Demand (Instant Pro)
  • 100% profit split and first payout after 7 days combined (+25%)
Yes

Profit split upgrade add-ons available at checkout (e.g., start with 90/10 split).

Instant
Yes
Yes
One Step
Yes
Yes
Account scaling
Yes

You can grow your account to a maximum of $4,000,000. In order to scale your capital and grow, you must make 12% within a 3-month period. If you achieve this, they will increase your account size by 25% of your initial balance.

This is complementary to the Aqua Elite Program.

Limited
  • 1-Step Express: 10% scaling target
  • 2-Step Classic: 20% scaling target; requires 50% consistency, one successful withdrawal and an account active for at least two months
  • Instant: 10% scaling target
  • Activation Accounts: no scaling plan

Eligible programs can scale up to a $2,500,000 starting balance, with a maximum of $5,000,000 after scaling. Requests are subject to risk review and require no open trades.

Two Steps
Yes
Yes
Max Drawdown
  • Instant Standard, Instant Pro, Instant Flex, 1 Step Standard, 1 Step Pro, 2 Step Pro, Aqua Man: Trailing, based on the highest value between equity and balance
  • TryAqua: Daily and maximum drawdowns are trailing
  • 1 Step Flex, 2 Step Elite, 3 Step: Static
  • 1-Step Express: 6% relative trailing maximum drawdown; locks at the initial balance
  • 2-Step Classic: 8% static drawdown
  • Instant: 6% relative trailing maximum drawdown; locks at the initial balance
  • Activation Accounts challenge: 6% static maximum drawdown
  • Activation Accounts funded: 6% trailing maximum drawdown; locks at the initial balance
Profit Split

90%. 100% with add-on (+15%)

  • 1-Step Express, 2-Step Classic and Instant: start at 80%; eligible accounts can scale to 90% at 20% profit and 100% at 30% profit. An optional add-on can start the account at 90%.
  • Activation Accounts: fixed 80% profit split; it does not increase over time.
Free Trial
No
No data
Daily Drawdown

Based on highest value between equity and balance

  • 1-Step Express: 4%, balance based
  • 2-Step Classic: 4%, balance based
  • Instant: 6%, balance based
  • Activation Accounts challenge: 4%, balance based
  • Activation Accounts funded: 3%, balance based
Three Steps
Yes
No
Max Allocation
400,000
  • 1-Step Express, 2-Step Classic and Instant: scaling up to a $2,500,000 starting balance, with a $5,000,000 maximum after scaling
  • Activation Accounts: maximum $250,000 combined activated capital
Merge Accounts
Yes

Instant accounts can't be merged

Yes

Only untraded simulated live accounts can be merged. Maximum merged account size is $200,000 (or $100,000 if the program doesn't offer $200K). Not applicable to 2-Step Classic.

Maximum Trading Days

No limit

No time limit on any program. Accounts must have at least 1 trade (open and close) every 30 days to remain active.

Minimum Trading Days
  • Instant Standard, Instant Pro: 5 days (non-consecutive), 0.5% profit each
  • Instant Flex: 7 days
  • TryAqua: 5 days, with at least 0.5% profit each
  • 1 Step Standard: 3 days, 0.5% profit each
  • 1 Step Pro, 2 Step Standard: 5 days, 0.5% profit each
  • 1 Step Flex: no minimum during evaluation; 3 days before the first funded payout, with at least 0.5% profit each
  • 2 Step Pro: 0 in evaluation, 5 in funded
  • 2 Step Elite: 3 per step, at least 0.5% profit per day, not necessarily consecutive
  • 3 Step: not specified
No data
Monthly Competition
No
No data
Account Reset
No data

Available for breached or failed evaluations at a discounted price. Not available for simulated live accounts.

Maximum Accounts
No data

Activation Accounts: up to 10 activations per month and a maximum of 5 activated accounts at the same time, subject to the $250,000 combined limit. There is no limit on challenges purchased or passed.

Funded Phase Pricing Model
No data

Activation fee due only after passing, with no payment deadline:

  • 25K: $179
  • 50K: $299
  • 100K: $489
  • 200K: $969
Minimum Profitable Days
No data

No minimum trading days requirement on any program. Account must be active within any 30-day calendar period (at least one trade opened and closed) or it will be hard-breached for inactivity.

Evaluation Phase Pricing Model
No data

Activation Accounts cost $4 to start on every available account size. If the challenge is not passed, no further fee is charged.

Expert Advisor (EA)
Yes
Yes

EAs, Algos and Bots are allowed. Must not be used for copy trading or hedging across accounts. EAs may be requested for review upon evaluation pass. FT+ does not provide support for third-party EAs.

Hedging
Yes
Limited

Hedging is allowed on the same account (opposing positions on the same instrument). Hedging across multiple accounts is strictly prohibited.

Requires Stop Loss
No
No
Scalping
Yes
Yes
Stacking / Layering (DCA)
Yes
No data
Martingale
Yes
No data
Maximum Risk Limit
Yes

If your floating PnL (profit and loss) drops below -2% of the account balance, the account will be permanently closed.

Only applies to Instant Funding Standard, Pro, Flex, AquaMan and TryAqua.

Yes
  • Symbol Loss Limit (2-Step Classic): Maximum loss per single symbol per day, based on balance at 16:59 EST. Hard breach rule.
  • Margin utilization review triggers at milestones (evaluation passes, scaling requests, withdrawals). Not a hard limit but triggers manual risk team review.
Copy Trading
Yes
  • Copy trading between AquaFunded accounts
  • Copy trading from Funded-to Evaluation accounts and vice versa
  • Copy trading between AquaFunded account and external accounts.
No
News Trading
Limited

Two policies depending on the account creation date:

Accounts opened after 2026-04-27

  • News trading is allowed.
  • Profits generated within 5 minutes before and 5 minutes after a red folder (high-impact) news event or FOMC are capped at 0.5% of the starting balance per payout cycle.
  • Anything above the cap is removed without further penalty.

Accounts opened before 2026-04-27

  • Trades opened or closed within 5 minutes before or 5 minutes after a red folder news event or FOMC on funded accounts are not allowed.
  • Any profits generated during these windows are removed.
Yes
Inactivity Rule

30 days

30 days. At least 1 trade (open and close) required every 30 days. Warning email sent 7 days before breach.

Consistency Rule
Yes

Applies on funded accounts. A single trading day cannot equal or exceed a given percentage of total profits during the payout period. If it does, payouts are blocked until the ratio normalises; the account is not closed.

  • Instant Standard: 20%
  • Instant Pro: 20% for accounts purchased on or after 8 September 2026 (limited-time offer); 15% for accounts purchased before that date
  • Instant Flex: no consistency rule
  • Aqua Man: 15%
  • TryAqua: 15%
  • 1 Step Pro: 25%
  • 2 Step Pro: 50%
  • 1 Step Flex: no consistency rule
  • 1 Step Standard, 2 Step Standard, 2 Step Elite, 3 Step: no specific consistency rule documented
Limited
  • 1-Step Express: no consistency rule
  • 2-Step Classic: 35% during evaluation and 50% when funded; also applies a 3% Symbol Loss Limit
  • Instant: no consistency rule
  • Activation Accounts challenge: no consistency rule
  • Activation Accounts funded: 25%, checked only when requesting a payout; it does not breach the account
Hold Weekend
Yes
Limited
  • 1-Step Express: allowed
  • 2-Step Classic: allowed
  • Instant: not allowed; trades are automatically closed at 4:30 PM EST on Friday
  • Activation Accounts: allowed during both challenge and funded phases
Prohibited Strategies
  • Use of platform or data freezing due to a Demo Server error.
  • Use of a delayed data feed
  • Trading on delayed charts
  • Tick scalping
  • High frequency trading
  • Arbitrage bots
  • Reverse arbitrage
  • Latency arbitrage
  • Hedge arbitrage or any emulators are prohibited.
  • Arbitrage
  • Grid trading
  • Tick scalping
  • Abuse of demo trading conditions
  • Account management / passing services
  • Hedging across multiple accounts
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