Entry price
Starting a career with these firms involves different financial commitments depending on the chosen path:
- Standard Evaluations: For a $50K account, Phoenix Trader Funding (Classic) costs $128 per month, whereas Hola Prime Futures charges $159 per month.
- One-time payments: Phoenix Trader Funding offers the Daily plan for $329 (one-time fee) or the Spark plan for as little as $44. Hola Prime Futures does not offer one-time payment evaluations; all its Prime challenges are monthly subscriptions.
- Instant Funding: Hola Prime Futures allows you to skip the evaluation with its Direct Account, costing $548 for $50K or $998 for $150K. Phoenix Trader Funding does not have an instant funding option.
- Activation Fees: Phoenix Trader Funding only charges an activation fee on its Spark plan ($29); the others are $0. Hola Prime Futures includes the setup in the purchase price.
What you pay while trading
The cost of clicking "buy" or "sell" varies drastically, which can eat into your profits if you are an active scalper:
- Commissions: Phoenix Trader Funding is much more economical with its TFeed at $1.09 per side for ES/NQ. In contrast, Hola Prime Futures charges $2.88 per side on NinjaTrader/Tradovate. This means trading with Hola Prime Futures is nearly 165% more expensive per contract.
- Platform Fees: Phoenix Trader Funding offers a free ATAS license with dxFeed and includes its Thor copier. Hola Prime Futures supports WealthCharts but lists higher commissions there (up to $4.36 per contract).
- Data Costs: In the simulation phase, both include Level 1 data. However, once you reach a Live account, Hola Prime Futures requires professional data fees of $130 to $520 per month. Phoenix Trader Funding charges $135 per month per exchange for professional data in its Live stage.
What mistakes cost you
Failing a rule isn't just a psychological blow; it has a clear price tag:
- Resets: If you fail an evaluation at Phoenix Trader Funding, a reset costs between $29 and $269 depending on the plan. At Hola Prime Futures, you must buy a new subscription if you fail the challenge, as funded accounts cannot be reset.
- Drawdown Impact: Hola Prime Futures uses an End-of-Day trailing drawdown, which is "cheaper" for the trader because it doesn't penalize intraday unrealized peaks. Phoenix Trader Funding also uses End-of-Day for most plans, but its Spark funded account switches to real-time trailing, making mistakes much more expensive as the floor rises with every tick of profit.
- Hard Breaches: Both firms close the account for touching the drawdown. However, Hola Prime Futures has a mandatory stop-loss rule in funded accounts; failing to set one is treated as "unlimited risk" and can lead to account closure.
What it costs to get paid
Getting your money out also involves expenses and time-based opportunity costs:
- Payout Fees: Hola Prime Futures charges a 2.5% fee on every withdrawal (with a $25 minimum for wires). Phoenix Trader Funding covers the processor fees for withdrawals above $500, making it cheaper to collect large sums.
- Consistency Delays: Hola Prime Futures enforces a 40% consistency rule in challenges and 35% in funded accounts. If you have one "lucky" day, you must trade much more to balance the account before you can withdraw. Phoenix Trader Funding has a 50% rule in evaluations, but no consistency rule for Classic/Daily funded accounts, allowing for a faster path to the first payout.
- Profit Split: Both firms offer a 90% split on their main plans, but Phoenix Trader Funding drops to 80% on the Daily plan and starts at 50% on the Merit plan.
Where each one hides its cost
The "hidden" costs are often found in the fine print of the transition to live capital:
- Hola Prime Futures hides a significant hurdle in its Live account transition: it is by invitation only. You might have to withdraw $50,000 across ten payouts before being invited. During that time, you continue to pay the 2.5% payout fee.
- Phoenix Trader Funding hides its cost in the dxFeed option, which adds $20 per month to the subscription and doubles the commissions per contract compared to TFeed. Additionally, for Classic and Daily plans, they keep a "mandatory buffer" equal to the max drawdown in the account, which you can never withdraw.
Cheapest for whom
Phoenix Trader Funding is the cheapest option for the active scalper and the budget-conscious trader. With commissions under $1.10 and no payout fees over $500, the long-term cost of doing business is significantly lower.
Hola Prime Futures is the better "value" for the well-capitalized trader who wants to skip evaluations. Although the commissions and payout fees are higher, the ability to buy a Direct Account for $548 saves the "cost" of weeks or months spent passing a challenge.
Frequently asked questions
Which is cheaper to start, Hola Prime Futures or Phoenix Trader Funding?
Phoenix Trader Funding is cheaper for starting an evaluation, offering the Spark plan for $44 and a $50K Classic account for $128. Hola Prime Futures starts its evaluations at $99 for a $25K account and $159 for a $50K account. However, Hola Prime Futures is the only one offering an instant funded account (Direct) starting at $348, which might be cheaper for those who value their time over a challenge fee.
Which firm has lower commissions for active trading, Hola Prime Futures or Phoenix Trader Funding?
Phoenix Trader Funding is significantly cheaper for active traders, with commissions of $1.09 per side on its TFeed. Hola Prime Futures charges $2.88 per side on NinjaTrader and Tradovate. This means that for every 100 round-trip trades, you would pay approximately $218 at Phoenix versus $576 at Hola Prime, a difference of $358 that comes directly out of your net profit.
Which firm is more expensive to fail, Hola Prime Futures or Phoenix Trader Funding?
Hola Prime Futures is generally more expensive to fail because it does not allow resets on funded accounts; you must buy a new subscription. In contrast, Phoenix Trader Funding allows resets on almost all plans (Classic, Daily, Spark) with prices starting at $29. Furthermore, Phoenix provides one free reset per month upon subscription renewal for the Classic plan, a feature Hola Prime does not offer.
Which firm charges more for withdrawing profits, Hola Prime Futures or Phoenix Trader Funding?
Hola Prime Futures is more expensive for withdrawals, as it charges a 2.5% fee on every payout, with a minimum of $25 for bank wires. Phoenix Trader Funding covers the processor fees for any withdrawal over $500 on its Merit Live plan and does not have a percentage-based fee for standard withdrawals, allowing the trader to keep more of their profit split.
