Time limits
While both firms have eliminated the pressure of a maximum deadline to pass their evaluations, they still impose constraints on how fast you can move and how long you can stay away.
- Atlas Funded: You cannot pass an evaluation in less than 3 trading days for most programs. Once funded, you are restricted by a 30-day inactivity rule; failing to open a trade within this window results in account closure.
- Orion Funded: You are barred from completing the Standard, Swing, or Select evaluations in less than 4 trading days. Like its competitor, Orion limits your freedom to step away from the markets, as accounts can be closed due to prolonged inactivity.
Weekends and news
Trading freedom is significantly curtailed around high-impact events and market closes, depending on the plan you choose.
- Atlas Funded: On funded accounts, you are forbidden from profiting from news volatility. Any profits generated 5 minutes before or after high-impact news are deducted. Furthermore, entries attempted within this window are automatically blocked.
- Orion Funded: Restrictions vary by plan. You cannot trade news (2-minute window) on Nova, Standard, or Select funded accounts. On Zero accounts, you aren't banned from news, but you are penalized with a reduced 50% profit split for trades executed within 5 minutes of the event. Only the Swing plan removes the weekend and news timing restrictions.
Where you can trade from
Geography and identity management act as a hard border for participants.
- Atlas Funded: This firm is more permissive as it does not list specific banned countries in the provided data. However, it limits your technical freedom by restricting VPNs: you cannot use them to conceal your identity or location, and you must notify them if trading from a location inconsistent with your registration.
- Orion Funded: You are completely barred from participating if you reside in the United Arab Emirates, North Korea, Iran, Vietnam, Syria, or several other jurisdictions (23 countries in total). This is a significant restriction compared to Atlas.
What the platform limits
The technical environment restricts both the tools you can use and the strategies you can execute.
- Neither firm allows MetaTrader 4, forcing users into newer or alternative platforms.
- Atlas Funded: You cannot trade Stocks. On funded accounts, you are restricted by a 3-minute rule: any profit from a trade held for less than 3 minutes is confiscated. You are also prohibited from copy trading external sources or other traders; you can only copy between your own Atlas accounts.
- Orion Funded: You cannot use TradeLocker. You are forbidden from using EAs that are not based on your own original strategy. Strategies like HFT, tick scalping, or latency arbitrage are strictly prohibited. Copy trading is also limited to your own internal accounts.
What the rules cost you
The financial structure of these firms limits your "buying power" for attempts and your access to earned capital.
- Atlas Funded: A "refund" isn't cash; it is returned as Atlas Balance, meaning you cannot withdraw it to your bank—it only serves to buy more services. Risk is tightly capped: the Access plan uses trailing equity drawdown, the most restrictive type, which follows your floating profits and shrinks your margin. Payouts are delayed by a minimum of 14 days (or 28 for Access).
- Orion Funded: You cannot receive a fee refund until your fourth payout, significantly increasing the "sunk cost" of the evaluation. On Zero and Nova accounts, the trailing drawdown limits your recovery room as you grow the balance. Payouts are also locked behind a 14-day waiting period, and you are forbidden from having open positions when requesting a withdrawal.
Restrictions that add up
The combined effect of these rules creates a narrow operational corridor. At Atlas Funded, the 3-minute scalping ban paired with the 5-minute news window means a trader cannot react to quick market shifts without risking profit confiscation. At Orion Funded, the delayed refund (4th payout) combined with the 20% "Best Day" consistency rule on Zero/Nova accounts prevents traders from withdrawing large windfall profits quickly. Both firms use inactivity rules to ensure you remain a "subscriber" to their data and platforms, preventing a "set and forget" approach to funded capital.
Frequently asked questions
Which firm is more restrictive regarding news trading, Atlas Funded or Orion Funded?
Atlas Funded is generally more restrictive across all its funded programs, as it applies a 5-minute window before and after news where profits are deducted. Orion Funded offers more flexibility depending on the plan: while Standard and Nova have a 2-minute restriction, the Swing plan has no news restrictions at all, and the Zero plan allows it in exchange for a lower profit split.
Can I use MetaTrader 4 with either Atlas Funded or Orion Funded?
No, neither firm allows the use of MetaTrader 4. Atlas Funded limits you to MetaTrader 5, TradeLocker, and MatchTrader, while Orion Funded restricts your choices to MetaTrader 5 and Match-Trader.
Which firm has more geographical restrictions, Atlas Funded or Orion Funded?
Orion Funded is much more restrictive, as it explicitly bans residents from 23 countries, including the UAE, Vietnam, Iran, and North Korea. Atlas Funded does not list specific banned countries, though it does impose limitations on VPN usage to prevent location concealment.
Which firm makes it harder to get a refund of the evaluation fee, Atlas Funded or Orion Funded?
Orion Funded makes it harder because you must wait until your fourth consecutive payout to receive the refund. Atlas Funded credits the refund as "Atlas Balance" (not withdrawable cash) on the first payout for Access accounts or the third payout for other challenges, which limits your ability to actually recover the money outside of their ecosystem.
