What you are signing up for
A prop firm evaluation is a test on a demo account where you must reach a profit target—a specific amount of gain required to pass—without hitting the loss limits. If you succeed, the firm gives you access to a funded account to trade their capital and keep a portion of the profits.
Funding Traders offers a very low entry point for beginners, with a $5,000 account starting at $39. They also provide a "Free Try Out," which is a $1,000 practice account that allows you to experience their platform for free before spending money. Lark Funding is more expensive for starters; their smallest account is $10,000 and costs $105 for the 3-Step program or $200 for the 1-Step Career path.
How hard each one is
The difficulty depends on the drawdown, which is the maximum amount your account balance can drop before you are disqualified.
- Funding Traders: They use both static drawdown (a fixed loss limit that never moves) and trailing drawdown (a limit that follows your highest balance upward, making it harder as you win). Their 2-Step "Pro" accounts are beginner-friendly because the 6% or 10% loss limit is static and does not move.
- Lark Funding: Their 3-Step evaluation is unique because it has no daily loss limit—a rule that usually fails traders if they lose too much in a single day. You only have to worry about the 5% total static drawdown. However, their "Instant" accounts use trailing drawdown, which can be tricky for newcomers.
Lark Funding also features "Pass Assist," which automatically passes your evaluation the moment your floating profit (the profit of trades still open) hits the target, so you don't have to worry about closing the trade at the perfect second.
How long it takes
For a beginner, patience is the biggest hurdle.
- Funding Traders requires a minimum of 2 trading days for their 1-Step program and 8 days for the 2-Step. This means even if you hit the goal in one hour, you must open small trades on subsequent days to meet the requirement.
- Lark Funding has no minimum trading days. If you are a skilled trader and hit your target on the first day, you can move to the funded stage immediately.
Both firms offer "unlimited" maximum trading days, meaning you can take months to reach the goal as long as you don't break any loss rules.
Where beginners fail
Most beginners fail due to "hidden" rules like news trading or consistency.
Funding Traders has a consistency rule for their Pro accounts: your best trading day cannot represent more than 50% of your total profit. This prevents "gambling" on a single lucky trade. They also restrict news trading in funded accounts, meaning you cannot make more than 30% of your profit during high-impact economic events.
Lark Funding is more flexible with news, but they require a "Stop Loss" (an automatic order to close a trade at a certain loss level) on every trade unless you pay an extra fee at checkout. Beginners often forget to set this and lose their accounts instantly. Both firms will close your account if you are inactive for 30 days.
What happens if you make it
Once you are funded, you get a profit split, which is the percentage of the gains you keep for yourself.
Funding Traders pays 80% by default, but you can buy an "add-on" (an optional extra feature) to increase this to 100%. They pay every 21 days, but they have a "Payout Guarantee": if they don't process your request in 2 business days, they give you an extra $1,000.
Lark Funding offers 80% to 90% splits. Their payouts are faster, usually processed in under 6 hours via Rise (a payment platform for bank transfers). However, Lark charges a $40 fee for withdrawals through Rise, while Funding Traders has a minimum withdrawal of $50 for Crypto or $200 for Rise.
If it is your first time
If you are a total beginner, Funding Traders is the better choice. Their $1,000 "Free Try Out" and their $39 entry-level accounts allow you to learn the mechanics of prop trading with almost zero financial risk. Their "Pro" accounts with static drawdown are also much more forgiving for someone still learning to manage risk. Lark Funding is excellent for those who want to pass quickly without daily limits, but its higher costs and mandatory stop-loss rules require a more disciplined approach.
Frequently asked questions
Which firm is cheaper to start a first evaluation, Funding Traders or Lark Funding?
Funding Traders is significantly cheaper for beginners. You can start a $5,000 evaluation for just $39. In contrast, the cheapest entry for Lark Funding is $105 for a $10,000 account. Furthermore, Funding Traders offers a $1,000 "Try Out" account for free, whereas Lark Funding has no free version of their challenges.
Does Funding Traders or Lark Funding offer better protection against losing the account?
Lark Funding offers better protection for beginners through its 3-Step evaluation, which has no daily loss limit, meaning you only fail if you lose 5% of the total account. Funding Traders always enforces a daily loss limit of 3% to 5%. However, Funding Traders offers a "Revive" feature that allows you to continue a failed Phase 1 account if it was in profit, while Lark offers a "Smart Restart" (a free second chance) only if you stayed above -5% drawdown and followed strict risk rules.
Which platform offers more variety for trading, Funding Traders or Lark Funding?
Lark Funding offers more modern and diverse platforms, including cTrader, DXTrade, and MatchTrader, which are popular for their user-friendly web interfaces. Funding Traders focuses on MetaTrader 5 (the industry standard) and TradeLocker. If you prefer the traditional MetaTrader experience, Funding Traders is the choice, but if you want modern browser-based platforms, Lark Funding has the advantage.
Who pays out faster and has better withdrawal conditions, Funding Traders or Lark Funding?
Lark Funding is faster, with most payouts processed in less than 6 hours, compared to the 2 business days targeted by Funding Traders. However, Lark Funding charges a $40 fee per withdrawal on their primary method (Rise). Funding Traders does not mention a specific withdrawal fee and offers a "Payout Guarantee" where they pay you $1,000 if they are late, which provides a unique safety net for the trader.
