1. Operational Infrastructure and Account Diversity
FXIFY and FundingPips represent two distinct approaches to the proprietary trading industry. While FXIFY operates out of the United Kingdom, FundingPips is headquartered in the United Arab Emirates. This geographic difference influences their regulatory environment and the specific payment methods they support.
- Program Variety: FXIFY offers a more complex array of programs, including One Phase, Two Phase (Classic and Standard), Three Phase, Instant Funding, and their unique Lightning Plan. FundingPips simplifies this with 1 Step, 2 Step, 2 Step Pro, and the Zero model.
- Asset Classes: FXIFY provides a broader range of tradable assets by including Stocks, which are absent in the FundingPips catalog. Both firms offer Forex, Indices, Commodities, and Crypto.
- Platform Ecosystem: FXIFY is superior for traders who prefer variety, offering Metatrader 4, Metatrader 5, DXTrade, and TradingView. FundingPips focuses on Metatrader 5, MatchTrader, and cTrader.
- Unique Features: FXIFY includes an Educational Course that rewards completion with a $1,000 account, whereas FundingPips emphasizes a highly structured 5-Level Scaling Plan that eventually leads to a "Hot Seat" elite status.
2. Leverage and Trading Conditions
There is a significant disparity in how these firms approach risk through leverage. This is perhaps the most critical factor for traders who rely on high margin for their strategies.
- Forex Leverage: FundingPips is considerably more aggressive, offering up to 100:1 on its 2 Step accounts. In contrast, FXIFY caps Forex leverage at 30:1. This means FundingPips allows for much larger position sizes relative to account balance.
- Other Assets: FXIFY’s leverage remains conservative across the board (e.g., 2:1 for Crypto), whereas FundingPips offers slightly higher flexibility in Metals (30:1) and Indices (20:1).
- Commission Structures: FXIFY uses a standard $6 per lot commission on most assets but offers an "All-In" account option which is commission-free in exchange for wider spreads. FundingPips charges $5 to $7 per lot for Forex/Metals depending on the account type, and 0% commission on Indices.
3. Drawdown Dynamics and Risk Management
The way drawdown is calculated is the "hidden" difficulty of any prop firm.
- Static vs. Trailing Drawdown:
- FXIFY: Uses Static Drawdown for its 2 Phase Classic and 3 Phase accounts, which is generally more favorable for traders. However, its 1 Phase, 2 Phase Standard, and Instant programs use Trailing Drawdown (equity-based), which is significantly harder to manage as the floor rises with your profit.
- FundingPips: Uses Static Drawdown for its 1 and 2 Step evaluations, providing a fixed floor. Only the Zero account utilizes Trailing Drawdown.
- Daily Drawdown Calculation: FundingPips uses an EOD (End of Day) High-Watermark based on the highest balance or equity recorded. This can be restrictive for traders who hold trades overnight. FXIFY’s daily drawdown is balance-based, which typically offers more breathing room for intraday fluctuations.
4. Payout Systems and Profit Sharing
The transition from "evaluation" to "payout" is handled differently by both entities.
- Profit Split: FXIFY starts at 80% (except for the Educational account) and can be boosted to 90% via add-ons. FundingPips has a variable model ranging from 60% to 100%. The 100% split is only available at the highest scaling level (Level 4 - Hot Seat), making it an earned privilege rather than a purchasable feature.
- Payout Frequency: FundingPips offers "On Demand" payouts for 1 and 2 Step accounts, whereas FXIFY requires a 30-day wait after the first payout (reducible to 14 days with an add-on).
- Refund Policy: Both firms offer a full refund of the evaluation fee with the first payout, but FXIFY limits this to specific programs.
5. Trading Restrictions and Strategy Rules
This is where the two firms diverge most sharply regarding "automated" vs. "manual" trading.
- Expert Advisors (EAs): FXIFY allows EAs on most accounts (except Lightning and Instant). FundingPips strictly prohibits EAs, mandating that all trading must be manual. This makes FXIFY the only choice for algorithmic traders.
- News Trading: Both firms have restrictions during news events for their "fast" or "funded" stages. FXIFY restricts news trading on Lightning and Instant plans (5 mins before/after). FundingPips has a complex rule for funded traders: profits from news trades are not counted unless the position was opened 5 hours prior to the event.
- Consistency Rules: FundingPips implements a 35% consistency rule on its On-Demand payouts (no single day can account for more than 35% of total profit). FXIFY only applies a 30% consistency rule to its Lightning Plan.
- Copy Trading: FXIFY allows it but requires an HTML statement of the master account as proof of ownership before starting. FundingPips allows copy trading from the trader's own accounts without such specific pre-approval documentation mentioned.
6. Summary: Which Firm to Choose?
Choosing between these two depends heavily on your trading style and technical needs.
Choose FXIFY if:
- You use Expert Advisors (EAs) or automated trading bots.
- You prefer trading through TradingView or MT4.
- You want access to Stocks alongside Forex and Indices.
- You are willing to pay for Add-ons (like "Performance Protect") to customize your risk parameters.
- You prefer a United Kingdom-based entity.
Choose FundingPips if:
- You are a Manual Trader who values higher leverage (up to 100:1).
- You want a Static Drawdown for your evaluation phase (available on 1 and 2 step).
- You are looking for the lowest possible entry price for 2-step evaluations (e.g., $100k for $529).
- Your goal is to reach a 100% profit split through a long-term scaling plan.
- You prefer modern platforms like cTrader or MatchTrader.
