Scalping and Intraday Trading
Both firms are well-suited for high-frequency traders due to their static drawdown rules, which provide more breathing room than trailing models.
- Breakout: Allows scalping through its proprietary engine. Traders benefit from a 24/7 payout frequency, meaning profits can be secured immediately after a successful session. The commission is 0.04% for crypto and 0.02% for other assets.
- Vest Markets: Explicitly allows scalping and offers significantly higher leverage for this style, such as 50:1 on indices and 25:1 on stocks, compared to Breakout's more conservative 10:1 or 5:1 limits.
- Risk Management: In both firms, the daily drawdown is monitored against equity (including floating P&L). Touching the limit results in immediate account closure.
Swing Trading and Position Holding
Holding positions over long periods is permitted in both firms, but the technical execution differs, especially regarding weekend gaps.
- Breakout: Traders can hold positions overnight and during weekends without forced closures. However, a swap fee of 0.033% of the notional value is charged daily, divided into six parts every 4 hours.
- Vest Markets: Allows holding positions. Crypto trades 24/7, but other markets (Forex, Stocks, Indices) lock during weekends. Traders cannot manage or close these positions until the market reopens, which introduces gap risk.
- Drawdown Advantage: Because both firms use a static drawdown that does not "follow" the balance up, swing traders can let profits run without fear of the floor rising behind them.
News Trading
Trading during high-impact economic releases is a core strategy for many, and both firms offer flexibility here.
- Breakout: Fully allows news trading without specific restrictions on the execution window before or after the event.
- Vest Markets: Also permits news trading. However, traders must be cautious with their "Prohibited Strategies" rule, which forbids exploiting price or oracle manipulation, which can sometimes be a grey area during extreme volatility.
Automated Trading (EAs and Bots)
This is the area where the two firms differ the most, largely due to their reliance on proprietary platforms rather than MetaTrader.
- Breakout: Allows automated strategies but with heavy limitations. Off-the-shelf bots or third-party "pass-the-evaluation" services are strictly prohibited. Since it uses a proprietary terminal, the trader must be able to deploy their code within that specific environment.
- Vest Markets: Does not allow EA trading on funded accounts. API trading is unavailable, meaning external bots cannot be connected to the platform.
- Alternative: Traders who rely on automation must trade manually on Vest Markets or develop highly specific tools for Breakout's internal environment.
Copy Trading and Hedging
Both firms have strict policies to ensure that the trader is the one actually performing the work and managing the risk.
- Breakout: Prohibits copy trading between users or following external signals/analysts. Hedging is allowed within a single account only if the position already has substantial profit or loss. Hedging across different accounts is a violation.
- Vest Markets: Prohibits coordinating accounts or identities to abuse the program. This includes taking opposite positions (hedging) across different accounts or exploiting Vest’s own hedging activity.
- Consequences: For both firms, violating these rules leads to account closure and forfeiture of earned profits.
If you trade like this
- The Crypto Specialist: Choose Breakout. Being owned by Kraken and offering 24/7 on-demand payouts in USDC makes it the most robust choice for pure crypto traders.
- The Multi-Asset Scalper: Choose Vest Markets. If you need access to Stocks, ETFs, and Forex with high leverage (up to 50:1 on indices), Vest provides a much wider toolkit than Breakout.
- The High-Capital/Low-Cost Trader: Choose Vest Markets. Their $15 two-step evaluation and $10 Instant account options are unbeatable for those starting with very little capital.
- The Professional Swing Trader: Choose Breakout. The ability to hold through weekends without market locks and the backing of a major exchange provides more security for long-term positions.
Frequently asked questions
Which firm is cheaper to start a $10,000 evaluation, Breakout or Vest Markets?
Breakout is generally cheaper for a standard 1-step evaluation, with prices starting at $33 for a $5,000 account and approximately $40 for a $10,000 "Turbo" account. Vest Markets' pricing for a $10,000 1-step evaluation varies significantly depending on the risk parameters chosen, ranging from $50 (20% target) to $150 (No daily limit), although they do offer a 2-step evaluation for $35.
Which firm offers faster payouts, Breakout or Vest Markets?
Breakout offers the fastest payout system, as it is "on demand" and available 24/7 from the very first day the account is funded. Vest Markets also offers payouts on demand, but the process involves a "Claim Profit" step that credits a Primary Account within 24 hours before the USDC can be withdrawn to an external wallet.
Does Breakout or Vest Markets have more restrictions on using Trading Bots (EAs)?
Vest Markets is more restrictive because it completely prohibits API trading on funded accounts, effectively banning all external bots. Breakout allows automated strategies with limitations, prohibiting third-party or commercial bots, but it requires the trader to use their proprietary terminal instead of MetaTrader.
Which firm allows more diverse assets to be traded, Breakout or Vest Markets?
Vest Markets offers a much wider variety of assets, including Forex, Stocks, ETFs, Indices, Commodities, and Crypto. Breakout is more specialized, focusing exclusively on Crypto, Indices, and Commodities, without offering Forex or individual Stocks.
