How you lose the account
Losing an account in these firms usually stems from three triggers: hitting the drawdown limits (daily or maximum), violating consistency rules, or engaging in prohibited strategies.
- Funded Trading Plus (FTP): You will lose access if you breach the 30-day inactivity rule (not opening/closing a trade). Hard breaches also occur if you use prohibited strategies like tick scalping, grid trading, or hedging across multiple accounts. In the 2-Step Classic program, there is a "Symbol Loss Limit" which acts as a hard breach if exceeded.
- Think Capital: Accounts are terminated for using HFT, latency arbitrage, or account management services. A specific risk here is the 4-minute window around high-impact news on accounts where news trading isn't explicitly allowed; violating this results in immediate termination and forfeiture of profits.
Maximum drawdown
The maximum drawdown is the ultimate barrier. Both firms use different calculation methods depending on the chosen program.
- Funded Trading Plus:
- 1-Step Express and Instant: 6% relative trailing drawdown. This follows your highest recorded balance until it "locks" at the initial starting balance.
- 2-Step Classic: 8% static drawdown. This is safer as it never moves from its original calculation point.
- Numerical Example: On a $100,000 Express account (6%), your floor starts at $94,000. If your balance grows to $102,000, your floor rises to $96,000. Once the account reaches $106,000, the floor locks at $100,000 and stays there.
- Think Capital:
- Lightning and Bolt: 6% trailing. Bolt specifically uses trailing equity, which is more aggressive as it accounts for open trades.
- Nexus and Dual Step: 7% to 8% static drawdown.
- Numerical Example: On a $100,000 Lightning account (6%), if your balance grows to $104,000, your drawdown limit moves to $98,000. Like FTP, it locks at the initial balance ($100,000) once the account has grown by 6%.
Daily drawdown
The daily drawdown is the most common reason for account failure.
- Funded Trading Plus: Ranges from 3% to 6% depending on the program. It is balance-based, calculated at the start of the trading day. This is a hard breach rule; hitting it means the account is gone.
- Think Capital: Fixed at 3% for most programs. It can be balance-based or equity-based (Bolt and Dual Step Intraday). Crucially, Think Capital uses a "Soft Breach" system: if you hit the limit, the account is disabled for the rest of the day but resumes the next day at 00:00 MT5 time.
- Numerical Example: On a $100,000 account with a 4% limit at FTP, losing $4,001 closes the account forever. At Think Capital, a 3% limit means losing $3,001 stops your trading for the day, but you keep the account.
Rules beyond drawdown
Risk is also managed through consistency and specific execution rules.
- Funded Trading Plus:
- Consistency: 2-Step Classic requires 35% consistency during evaluation and 50% when funded. Activation accounts require 25% consistency for payouts.
- Inactivity: Must trade at least once every 30 days.
- Stop Loss: Not required.
- Think Capital:
- Consistency: No consistency rule for most programs, except "Bolt," which has a 20% best day cap.
- Position Limits: Stacking is limited to a maximum of 2 positions simultaneously.
- Inactivity: 30-day rule applies.
- Stop Loss: Not required.
Risk that comes from the setup
The technology and trading environment can introduce "hidden" risks like slippage.
- Funded Trading Plus: Offers MT5, DXTrade, MatchTrader, and cTrader. Using multiple platforms allows traders to choose environments with potentially better execution. Weekend holding is allowed in almost all programs except "Instant," where trades are auto-closed on Fridays, creating a gap risk for the trader.
- Think Capital: Uses ThinkMarkets as a broker and offers ThinkTrader, MT5, and TradingView. The "Dynamic Leverage" on ThinkTrader adjusts based on position size, which can be a risk if a trader doesn't understand how their margin requirements will change as they scale. Weekend holding is prohibited on the "Bolt" program.
What is at stake and what you recover
This is the financial risk: the cost of the challenge and the terms of getting that money back.
- Funded Trading Plus: A $100,000 1-Step Express costs $549. You can get a refund of the evaluation fee only after reaching 10% profit on the simulated live account (not applicable to all programs). Payouts start at 80% and can scale to 100%.
- Think Capital: A $100,000 Lightning account costs $499. They offer a full refund of the challenge fee with the very first payout. Payouts are bi-weekly by default, but can be weekly if you pay a +25% price add-on.
- Missing Data Risk: FTP does not explicitly state the "Stop Out Level" or "Margin Call Level," which are critical for high-leverage or high-lot trading. Think Capital lists a 100% Margin Call Level but does not specify a Stop Out level for all platforms.
Frequently asked questions
Which firm is cheaper for a $100,000 1-step challenge, Funded Trading Plus or Think Capital?
Think Capital is cheaper for this specific size. Their "Lightning" 1-step $100k challenge costs $499, whereas the "1-Step Express" $100k challenge at Funded Trading Plus costs $549.
Does Funded Trading Plus or Think Capital offer a better refund policy?
Think Capital offers a more straightforward refund, returning the full challenge fee with the first payout. Funded Trading Plus only refunds the fee after the trader reaches a 10% profit target on the funded account, and this does not apply to their Master or Prestige programs.
Which firm is more restrictive regarding news trading, Funded Trading Plus or Think Capital?
Think Capital is more restrictive. In most of their programs (Lightning, Nexus, Dual Step Intraday), news trading is only allowed if you pay a +25% add-on; otherwise, trading within 2 minutes of a high-impact event results in account termination. Funded Trading Plus allows news trading across all its programs without additional fees or termination risks.
How does the daily drawdown breach differ between Funded Trading Plus and Think Capital?
The main difference is the consequence of the breach. At Funded Trading Plus, hitting the daily drawdown (4% to 6%) is a hard breach that results in the permanent loss of the account. At Think Capital, the 3% daily drawdown is a "soft breach," meaning the account is only disabled for the remainder of the day and can be traded again the next day.
