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Comparison · Futures

Blue Guardian Futures vs The Trading Pit Futures at a glance

Updated on

The short answer

The choice depends on your technical needs: The Trading Pit is the superior option for EA users and those requiring professional platforms like NinjaTrader or TradingView. Blue Guardian is better for manual traders seeking a higher profit split (90%) or instant access to capital through their "Direct" accounts.

Where they actually differ

  • Trading Styles: The Trading Pit allows EAs and copy trading (up to 5 accounts). Blue Guardian prohibits both, focusing strictly on manual trading and manual risk management.
  • Platforms: The Trading Pit offers a massive suite of 11+ platforms including NinjaTrader, TradingView, and ATAS. Blue Guardian is limited to four options (Tradovate, ProjectX, Volsys, DeepCharts).
  • Profit Split: Blue Guardian offers a flat 90% profit share. The Trading Pit starts at 80% and increases as you progress through their "level ladder" system.
  • Payout Requirements: The Trading Pit has a lower minimum withdrawal ($100 vs $500), but requires 5 winning days of at least $200 profit each before the first payout. Blue Guardian has no minimum profitable days for its Standard/Express plans, though its Reserve plan requires 5 winning days.
  • Funding Type: Blue Guardian offers "Direct" accounts for instant simulated funding without an evaluation. The Trading Pit requires passing a challenge for all its Prime programs.
  • Withdrawal Fees: Blue Guardian charges a 2% processing fee on all withdrawals via Riseworks. The Trading Pit has no payout fees.
  • Asset Variety: Blue Guardian offers a wider range of simulated instruments (Forex, Crypto, Stocks) alongside Futures. The Trading Pit is strictly focused on Futures contracts.

Where they are basically the same

  • Risk Rules: Both firms use an End-of-Day (EOD) Trailing Drawdown that stops trailing once it reaches the starting balance.
  • Price: Entry-level 50K evaluation accounts are nearly identical in price ($99 at The Trading Pit vs $100 at Blue Guardian).
  • News Trading: Both firms allow trading during high-impact news events on all account types.
  • Payout Speed: Both offer a 24-business-hour processing guarantee for withdrawals.
  • Restrictions: Neither allows holding positions over the weekend or overnight.

Pick this one if

Blue Guardian Futures:

  • You want the highest profit split available (90%).
  • You want to skip the evaluation phase (Direct accounts).
  • You are a manual trader who doesn't use EAs.

The Trading Pit Futures:

  • You trade using EAs or automated systems.
  • You require NinjaTrader or TradingView.
  • You want a lower minimum withdrawal threshold ($100).

Frequently asked questions

Which firm is cheaper for a 50K account, Blue Guardian or The Trading Pit?

The price is virtually identical for a standard evaluation. The Trading Pit's 50K Prime Challenge costs $99, while Blue Guardian’s 50K Reserve account costs $100. However, Blue Guardian offers a more expensive "Direct" 50K account for $494 that bypasses the evaluation entirely.

Does Blue Guardian or The Trading Pit offer better platform support?

The Trading Pit offers significantly better platform support with 11 different options, including industry leaders like NinjaTrader, TradingView, ATAS, and Quantower. Blue Guardian is much more restricted, offering only Tradovate, ProjectX, Volsys, and DeepCharts.

Can I use EAs and Copy Trading on Blue Guardian or The Trading Pit?

You can only use EAs and Copy Trading on The Trading Pit, which allows automated systems and copying between up to 5 of your own accounts. Blue Guardian strictly prohibits both EAs and copy trading, considering them violations of their terms.

Who has a higher profit split, Blue Guardian or The Trading Pit?

Blue Guardian offers a higher initial profit split of 90% across all its funded accounts. The Trading Pit starts with an 80% profit share, although this can increase as the trader reaches higher levels in their scaling "ladder" system.

Field by field

Blue Guardian Futures and The Trading Pit Futures, side by side

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

Head to head

49 differences

25%off · Exclusive
Headquarters

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

Heiligkreuz 6, 9490, Vaduz, Liechtenstein

CEO

Sean Bainton

Daniela Egli

Country

United Arab Emirates

Liechtenstein

Foundation

2021

2022

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, Albania, Antarctica, Belarus, Burkina Faso, Chad, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Cuba, Djibouti, East Timor, Guinea-Bissau, Iran, Iraq, Lao PDR, Lesotho, Libya, Malawi, North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea), Palestinian Territory, Russia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Yemen
Assets
No data
Equity Indexes, Currencies, Agricultural, Energy, Metals, Interest Rates, Crypto
Refund
No
No data
Payout Fee

2% processing fee on all withdrawals (Riseworks).

No payout fee

Platforms
Tradovate, ProjectX, Volsys, DeepCharts
ATAS, Quantower, Volsys, RTrader Pro, Tradovate, NinjaTrader, TradingView, Sierra Chart, MotiveWave, Jigsaw, Volfix
Demo Account
Unknown
No data
Payout Methods
Transfer, Crypto
Transfer, Crypto, Rise
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
Payment Methods
Card, Crypto, ApplePay, GooglePay
Card, Crypto, Bank Transfer
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.

No data
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.

Within 24 hours on business days

Minimum Withdrawal

$500 across all account types.

$100

Brokers
No data
Rithmic, dxFeed, Tradovate
Maximum Withdrawal
No data

Up to 50% of the current profit buffer per reward, capped at $2,500 ($50K), $3,500 ($100K) or $5,000 ($150K).

  • Futures Instant: by reward number, up to $2,000 / $2,500 / $3,000 on $50K and $2,500 / $3,000 / $3,500 on $100K (rewards 1-3, 4-5 and 6+).
Other Payout Requirements
No data

Futures Prime: 5 profitable days of at least $150 each (not consecutive), one request every 7 days, and a balance at least $0.01 above the last post-payout balance.

  • Futures Instant: one request every 5 days for amounts above $500, after meeting the cycle's minimum profit goal ($3,000 on $50K, $6,000 on $100K), which resets after each payout.
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.

Available for Futures Challenges with at least one trading day remaining; unavailable on Earning accounts.

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.

Yes

Optional Level 2 market data is available. Challenge Extend costs $99 / $189 / $289 by account size.

Instant
Yes
Yes
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

Buying power scales from end-of-day profit and is adjusted daily at 16:00 CT.

After passing the Challenge the account moves through a level ladder. Each level has its own profit target and drawdown limit; reaching the target unlocks a payout and promotes the account to the next level, with more capital, more drawdown flexibility and a higher profit share. Smaller accounts run through around 10 levels.

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.

Trailing on end-of-day balance. It stops at the starting balance and never moves down.

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%

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

Daily Pause is recalculated from the previous day's closing balance at 16:15 CT. It closes positions and pauses trading until the next day.

Three Steps
No
No data
Max Allocation
150,000
750,000
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

3 unique trading days to pass.

Funded Phase Pricing Model

No activation

No activation fee for new Futures Prime accounts purchased from 26 March 2026.

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

The contract limit grows with each level of the ladder. An account that starts at 10 micros can reach 50 micros; larger accounts scale up to 50 standard contracts.

Evaluation Phase Pricing Model

One-time fee

One-time fee; no subscription.

Free Trial
No data
No
Merge Accounts
No data
No
Maximum Trading Days
No data

30 days (includes weekends and holidays)

Points Reward Program
No data

Respect Points Program (Affiliate)
10% commission on each referred trader turns into points for the original trader. Points accumulate per challenge purchased via your affiliate link.

Expert Advisor (EA)
No
Yes
VPN
Yes
Limited

VPN is allowed for individual traders, provided it is not used to mask shared access or coordinated activity between accounts. Multiple accounts accessed from the same IP / network is prohibited.

Hedging
Yes
Limited

Hedging within the same account is allowed for risk-management purposes, provided no Hedging Arbitrage is involved. Hedging between two accounts (BUY on one + SELL on the other) is prohibited.

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
No
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
Copy Trading
No
Limited

Copy trading is allowed up to 5 accounts (manual or automated). If you copy the same strategy to more than 5 accounts, we reserve the right to deny upgrades of additional accounts. You may only copy from external accounts that are yours (not from other traders). Copying between your Futures Challenges and Futures Earning accounts is prohibited.

  • Futures Instant: allowed between 2 accounts.
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.

21 consecutive days without placing a single trade → the account is considered inactive and breached. Holding an overnight position or having an unexecuted pending order does NOT count as activity. The countdown starts when the account is purchased/created.

  • Futures Instant: 14 days without trading.
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% Consistency Rule (Futures Prime Challenge only). Single-day profit may not exceed 40% of the profit target. Any excess is added to the new profit target. The rule does not apply to Earning accounts.

  • Futures Instant: the biggest profitable day may not exceed 20% of total profit before a payout.
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, latency, reverse, hedge-arbitrage or arbitrage trading
  • Grid, martingale, gambling or account rolling
  • Gap trading before extended market closures
  • Copying between Challenge and Earning accounts
  • Emulators, unauthorized feeds or exploiting fills
Overnight positions
No
No
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