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Comparison · Futures

Platforms and execution: Blue Guardian Futures and The5ers Futures

The choice of a futures prop firm depends largely on the technical environment provided to the trader. While Blue Guardian Futures offers a diverse ecosystem of modern platforms, The5ers Futures focuses on a specialized proprietary experience, impacting how orders are filled and risk is managed.

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Where you trade

Blue Guardian Futures provides a flexible multi-platform setup. Traders can choose between Tradovate, ProjectX, Volsys, and DeepCharts. This allows for a choice between web-based accessibility and more robust desktop analytical tools.

The5ers Futures centralizes its operations on BlackArrow. This is a specialized platform designed for futures trading, offering advanced DOM (Depth of Market) features and professional charting, though it limits the trader to a single ecosystem.

Who executes your orders

In Blue Guardian Futures, all accounts start in a simulated (demo) environment. However, they have a defined path to a Live Account via invitation from their Risk Management team. They also offer a unique "Live Buyout" option where a trader can take 50% of their starting drawdown as a cash payout instead of moving to live execution.

The5ers Futures maintains all activity within a simulated trading environment. Order execution reflects simulated market conditions, and they do not currently offer a transition to live brokerage accounts, focusing instead on the performance-based payout model within their sim-environment.

Leverage and margin

The risk management at both firms is governed by the End-of-Day (EOD) Trailing Drawdown, which is more trader-friendly than intraday trailing as it only updates based on the closing balance of the day.

  • Blue Guardian Futures: Drawdown limits vary by plan (Standard, Reserve, Express, Direct), typically ranging from $1,000 to $5,000. A key technical feature is the "Soft Breach" on Daily Loss Limits (DLL): if you hit the limit, the account is temporarily disabled and trades are closed, but the account is not permanently failed.
  • The5ers Futures: Applies a flat 4% EOD trailing drawdown. Margin is managed through contract limits that scale: every 10% profit milestone adds 1 mini and 10 micro contracts to your allowed size.

Markets available

Traders have access to a wide range of CME, CBOT, NYMEX, and COMEX products in both firms, but the scope differs:

  • Blue Guardian Futures: Offers a broad list including Forex, Indices, Metals, Energies, Crypto, Agricultural, Treasuries, and Stocks.
  • The5ers Futures: Focuses on the core futures categories: Indices, Currencies, Metals, Agriculture, and Energies.

What the setup lets you do

The technical rules define the trading style:

  • Blue Guardian Futures: Allows news trading and hedging. It strictly prohibits Microscalping (holding trades for seconds) and any form of AI, bots, or automated trading. It enforces a 5:1 maximum risk-to-reward ratio on initial stop losses.
  • The5ers Futures: Allows news trading and scalping, but prohibits Hedging and Algorithmic/High-frequency trading. They offer a specific Swing account type that allows limited overnight exposure (1 mini/10 micros on smaller accounts), whereas the Day Trade accounts require all positions to be closed daily.

What the setup costs

Execution costs and payout conditions are the final layer of the trader's setup:

  • Execution Costs: The5ers Futures charges $5 per side for standard futures and $2.50 for micros. Blue Guardian Futures does not specify a separate commission fee in the provided data, but applies a 2% fee on all withdrawals via Riseworks.
  • Profit Split: Blue Guardian Futures offers a high 90% split. The5ers Futures provides an 80% split.
  • Payout Speed: Blue Guardian Futures processes payouts within 24 business hours, with a 10% bonus if they are late. The5ers Futures requires a 14-day cycle and processes approved withdrawals within 3 business days.
  • Fees: Both firms operate on a one-time fee model with no activation fees or monthly subscriptions.

Better setup for

  • Blue Guardian Futures is the better setup for manual price-action traders who want a high profit share (90%), fast payouts, and the choice of multiple platforms like Tradovate.
  • The5ers Futures is the better setup for specialized futures traders who prefer the BlackArrow platform and need the flexibility to hold positions overnight through their Swing accounts.

Frequently asked questions

Which firm offers a cheaper entry for a $50,000 account, Blue Guardian Futures or The5ers Futures?

Blue Guardian Futures is significantly cheaper for a $50,000 evaluation, with its Reserve plan priced at $100. In comparison, The5ers Futures prices its Day Trade 50K account at $100 and its Swing 50K account at $120. While the base price for the Day Trade account matches, Blue Guardian's Reserve plan offers more configuration options and a higher profit split for the same initial cost.

How do the consistency rules differ between Blue Guardian Futures and The5ers Futures?

Blue Guardian Futures applies a 40% consistency rule (where one day's profit cannot exceed 40% of the total profit) on funded Standard accounts and during evaluations for other plans. The5ers Futures uses a 40% per-position consistency rule during both evaluation and funded stages, calculated based on accumulated profitable trades without deducting losses.

Which firm provides a higher profit share and lower withdrawal fees, Blue Guardian Futures or The5ers Futures?

Blue Guardian Futures provides a superior financial arrangement with a 90% profit split and a 2% withdrawal processing fee. The5ers Futures offers an 80% profit split and charges a 3.5% fee for withdrawals made via Rise, crypto, or bank transfer (though fees can be avoided by converting payouts to Hub Credits).

Can I trade news and hold positions overnight in both Blue Guardian Futures and The5ers Futures?

Both firms allow news trading on all plans. However, regarding overnight positions, Blue Guardian Futures does not allow holding over the weekend or overnight. The5ers Futures allows limited overnight exposure (e.g., 1 mini on a 50K account) specifically on their Swing plan, while their Day Trade plan requires daily closing.

Field by field

Blue Guardian Futures and The5ers 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

25%off · Exclusive
10%off · Exclusive
Headquarters

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

14 Haroshet st, Raanaa, Israel

CEO

Sean Bainton

Saul Lokier

Country

United Arab Emirates

Israel

Foundation

2021

2016

Banned Countries
Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Angola, Bahamas, Barbados, Belarus, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Botswana, Bulgaria, Burma (Myanmar), Burundi, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cameroon, Central African Republic, China, Côte d'Ivoire, Crimea, Croatia, Cuba, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Ghana, Haiti, Hong Kong, Iceland, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jamaica, Kenya, Kosovo, Laos, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Macedonia, Mali, Mauritius, Mongolia, Montenegro, Mozambique, Namibia, Nicaragua, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Senegal, Serbia, Slovenia, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, Venezuela, Vietnam, Yemen
Afghanistan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Burundi, Central African Republic, Cuba, Congo Republic, Crimea, Democratic Republic of Congo, Donetsk, Eritrea, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Iraq, Iran, Israel, Kherson, Laos, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Luhansk, Myanmar, North Korea, Palestinian Territory, Papua New Guinea, Russia, South Sudan, Sudan, Somalia, Syria, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Yemen, Zaporizhzhia
Assets
No data
Indices, Currencies, Metals, Agriculture, Energies
Refund
No
No data
Payout Fee

2% processing fee on all withdrawals (Riseworks).

3.5% for Rise, cryptocurrencies and bank transfers. No fee when the payout is converted into Hub Credits.

Platforms
Tradovate, ProjectX, Volsys, DeepCharts
BlackArrow
Demo Account
Unknown
No data
Payout Methods
Transfer, Crypto
Rise, Crypto, Transfer
Live Account
Yes

After completing the evaluation and trading consistently on a Simulated Funded Account, the Risk Management team may invite traders to Live. There is no fixed timeline; each trader is evaluated individually. From 28/09/2026, all eligible funded accounts merge into one Live Account at transition. Their starting Live drawdowns add together: five $50K accounts provide $10,000 of combined drawdown. The $15,000 cap applies to new purchases after 28/09/2026. Contract limits scale with the combined drawdown, up to 10 minis / 100 micros. At each live profit milestone of 0.5x, 1x and 1.5x the starting drawdown, 25% of that drawdown is deposited into the Live balance as a bonus. The bonus becomes withdrawable after five winning days with the account in profit. Instead of trading Live, the trader may choose a one-time Live Buyout of 50% of the combined starting drawdown at transition. It is available once per trader, with a 28-day cooldown afterward. Live accounts use end-of-day drawdown with no daily loss limit. CME professional data, trade commissions and platform fees are deducted from the balance. Contract limits may increase with consistent performance.

No

The5ers states that all activity is conducted in a simulated trading environment.

Payment Methods
Card, Crypto, ApplePay, GooglePay
Card, PayPal, Crypto
Payout Frequency
  • Standard: every 3 days, from 3 days after the first trade
  • Reserve: instant payout once eligible (5 winning days)
  • Express: daily payouts
  • Direct: instant payout from day one

Withdrawal eligibility is confirmed by the end-of-day (EOD) dashboard update. Once the withdrawal button is enabled, a request can be submitted at any time without waiting for the next EOD update.

First payout after 14 days; subsequent payouts every 14 days after the last approved withdrawal.

Payout Guarantee

Payouts processed within 24 business hours. If Blue Guardian misses that window through a delay on their end, you receive an extra 10% profit share on that payout. Does not apply on weekends or bank holidays, nor to delays from compliance or risk reviews, Rise onboarding or a pending trader response.

Approved withdrawals are normally processed within 3 business days.

Minimum Withdrawal

$500 across all account types.

A payout can be requested after reaching at least 4% profit over the initial account balance.

Maximum Withdrawal
No data

25K: $1,250. 50K: payouts 1–4 are capped at $1,500 / $2,000 / $2,500 / $3,000; later payouts remain capped at $3,000. 100K and 150K: 3% of the current balance.

Other Payout Requirements
No data

The funded account must be at least 14 days old and have reached at least 4% profit. The 14-day cycle restarts after scaling.

Commission
No data

Standard futures: $5 per side. Micro futures: $2.50 per side.

Account Reset
Yes

Evaluation accounts can be reset at 30% off the original price. After failing the evaluation, the trader has 7 days to decide whether to reset. Funded accounts cannot be reset.

No data
Add-ons
Yes

Reserve challenges are configurable at checkout. Traders can choose a Daily Loss Limit or no Daily Loss Limit, combined with a 40% consistency rule (3-day pass) or a 50% consistency rule (2-day pass). The price varies depending on the selected combination.

Express challenges offer an optional 50% evaluation consistency add-on instead of the standard 40% rule, allowing traders to qualify after as few as 2 green days.

No data
Instant
Yes
No
One Step
Yes
Yes
Account scaling
Yes

Scaling applies to funded Reserve and Express accounts only. Standard and Direct keep flat contract limits from start to finish.

On Reserve and Express you get full contract size during the evaluation, and funded limits start lower and grow with the account balance. Updated at end of day (EOD) on the closing balance; if the EOD balance drops below a trigger, the tier can go back down.

Starting funded limits

  • $25,000: 1 mini / 10 micros
  • $50,000: 2 minis / 20 micros
  • $100,000: 3 minis / 30 micros
  • $150,000: 3 minis / 30 micros

Scaling triggers ($25K / $50K / $100K / $150K)

  • +$1,500: 2/20 · 3/30 · 4/40 · 4/40
  • +$2,000: — · 4/40 · 5/50 · 5/50
  • +$3,000: — · — · 8/80 · 8/80
  • +$4,500: — · — · — · 12/120

Flat limits (Standard and Direct)

  • $25,000: 1 mini / 10 micros
  • $50,000: 4 minis / 40 micros
  • $100,000: 8 minis / 80 micros
  • $150,000: 12 minis / 120 micros

1 mini = 10 micros; contracts can be mixed within the limit.

Yes

At every approved 10% profit milestone, buying power increases by 5%, up to $500,000.

Two Steps
No
No data
Max Drawdown

Trailing end-of-day (EOD) on all plans. Values per plan and size:

  • Standard $25K / $50K / $100K / $150K: $1,500 / $2,000 / $3,500 / $5,000
  • Reserve $25K / $50K / $100K / $150K: $1,000 / $2,000 / $3,000 / $4,500
  • Express $25K / $50K / $100K / $150K: $1,000 / $2,000 / $2,500 / $3,500
  • Direct $25K / $50K / $100K / $150K: $1,500 / $2,000 / $3,500 / $4,500

Once the trailing drawdown reaches the starting balance, it locks and stops trailing.

On Direct the drawdown becomes static after the account exceeds the initial trail balance or after the first payout request. After any approved payout the drawdown floor locks at starting balance + $100 on every plan.

4% EOD trailing drawdown, calculated from the highest midnight balance or equity. After a payout, it resets to 4% below the new balance.

Profit Split

90% on all funded accounts and plans.

A payout delayed beyond the 24-business-hour guarantee adds an extra 10% profit share on that payout.

80% for the trader across all funded accounts.

Daily Drawdown

Soft breach on every plan: open trades are closed automatically and the account is disabled for the rest of the day, then reinstated the next trading day.

  • Standard $25K: none. $50K / $100K / $150K: $1,000 / $2,000 / $3,000
  • Reserve: configurable at checkout. Traders can choose no daily loss limit or a soft DLL of $600 / $1,200 / $1,700 / $3,000 on $25K / $50K / $100K / $150K. The price varies depending on the selected option
  • Express challenge $25K: none. $50K / $100K / $150K: $1,000 / $1,250 / $1,750
  • Express funded $25K / $50K / $100K / $150K: $500 / $1,000 / $1,250 / $1,750
  • Direct $25K / $50K / $100K / $150K: $1,000 / $1,250 / $2,500 / $3,000
No data
Three Steps
No
No data
Max Allocation
150,000
500,000
Mandatory buffer
Limited

Standard — Funded Buffer

  • $25,000 → $1,600
  • $50,000 → $2,100
  • $100,000 → $3,600
  • $150,000 → $5,100

Payouts are only available from profits earned above the buffer, and the buffer must stay intact when submitting a request.

Express

  • $25,000 → $1,100
  • $50,000 → $2,100
  • $100,000 → $3,600
  • $150,000 → $5,100

Payouts are only available from profits earned above the buffer.

Reserve

  • No buffer to reach before a payout, but after any withdrawal the drawdown floor locks at starting balance + $100.

Direct

  • No profit buffer requirement.
No
Minimum Trading Days
  • No minimum trading days on evaluation. Standard can be passed in as little as one trading day
  • Express with the optional 50% consistency add-on can qualify after 2 green days
  • Funded: one trade every 7 days to keep the account active

The evaluation can be passed in one trading day while respecting the consistency rule.

Funded Phase Pricing Model

No activation

No monthly fee. The current program catalogue shows no activation fee.

Minimum Profitable Days
  • Standard: no minimum. First payout 3 days after the first trade
  • Reserve: 5 winning days before each payout, with a minimum of $100 / $150 / $200 / $250 profit per day on $25K / $50K / $100K / $150K. Winning days reset after every payout
  • Express: no minimum
  • Direct: no minimum
No data
Position size scaling
No
Yes

Every approved 10% profit milestone adds 1 mini and 10 micro contracts.

Evaluation Phase Pricing Model

One-time fee

One-time evaluation fee with no monthly subscription.

Maximum Trading Days
No data

No time limit. At least one trade must be placed every 14 days.

Expert Advisor (EA)
No
No

Algorithmic and high-frequency trading are prohibited.

VPN
Yes
Yes
Hedging
Yes
No
Requires Stop Loss
No
No
Scalping
Yes

Microscalping (trades held seconds with minimal profit margins) is prohibited. Automated scalping systems that exceed 200 trades per day are not allowed. Exploiting tight brackets or the simulated market's absence of slippage is forbidden.

Yes
Stacking / Layering (DCA)
Yes
Yes
Martingale
Yes
Yes
Maximum Risk Limit
Yes

Max risk-to-reward ratio: 5:1. For every $100 of profit target, your initial stop loss cannot exceed $500. Mental stops are accepted but excessive risk-taking can lead to warnings or payout disqualification. Adjusting stops to add risk goes against policy; only move stops forward to trail and protect profits.

Additional risk guardrails:

  • Trade within 2% of any CME price limit is prohibited.
  • Trading without clear risk management, excessive sizing, inconsistent contract sizes or "all-in" strategies may be considered gambling and lead to account review.
  • Holding a position into the daily 16:10 EST auto-close is fine; the auto-close itself doesn't breach the account.
No data
Copy Trading
No
Limited

Only between the trader's own 25K and 50K accounts, with a combined maximum allocation of $75,000.

News Trading
Yes

Allowed on both challenge and funded accounts, on every plan. Traders can open, manage and close positions during high-impact news. Blue Guardian warns that slippage and spread widening may occur.

Yes
Inactivity Rule

At least one trade every 7 days on funded accounts.

Yes

At least one trade must be placed every 14 days.

Consistency Rule
Yes

A single trading day cannot equal or exceed:

  • Standard: 40%, on the funded account only
  • Reserve: configurable as 40% (3-day pass) or 50% (2-day pass), on the evaluation only
  • Express: 40% on the evaluation by default; an optional 50% evaluation consistency add-on allows qualification after as few as 2 green days
  • Direct: 20% on the first payout, 25% on the second, 30% from the third onwards

Calculation: Highest Net Profit Day / Total Account PnL. On evaluation accounts, passing is delayed until the ratio complies with the selected threshold. On funded accounts, payouts are blocked until the ratio drops below the applicable threshold. Violating the rule does NOT terminate the account.

Yes

40% per-position consistency rule during evaluation and funded stages. It is calculated using accumulated profitable trades; losing trades are not deducted.

Hold Weekend
No
No
Prohibited Strategies
  • Automated scalping systems exceeding 200 trades per day.
  • AI, bots and fully automated trading mechanisms (all account types).
  • Hands-off, continuous day-and-night trading or complete automation.
  • Placing multiple limit orders at the same price to manipulate fills.
  • Strategies aimed at exploiting isolated fills in low-liquidity or gapped markets.
  • Using tight brackets or absence of slippage in the simulated market for favorable fills.
  • Trading during tier 1 economic data releases.
  • Coordinated trading across unconnected accounts (identical or opposing strategies).
  • Microscalping (trades held seconds with minimal margins).
  • Trading within 2% of a CME price limit.
  • Trading without a stop loss, relying on the trailing threshold to close trades.

High-frequency trading, algorithmic trading and hedging.

Overnight positions
No
Limited

Day Trade does not allow overnight positions. Swing allows limited overnight exposure: 1 mini/10 micros on 25K and 50K, 2/20 on 100K and 3/30 on 150K.

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