The five scoring pillars
| Pillar | Weight | What we measure |
|---|---|---|
| Payout reliability | 35% | Documented payout proof, average processing time, denial reports, payout-policy changes |
| Rule fairness | 25% | Drawdown type (static vs trailing), consistency rules, hidden restrictions, retroactive changes |
| Real cost | 15% | True cost to reach a funded account, including realistic retry rates — not just sticker price |
| Platform & execution | 15% | Platforms offered, spreads/commissions, slippage in our test trades, uptime |
| Stability & transparency | 10% | Company age, legal entity, leadership visibility, financial red flags |
How we gather data
- We purchase evaluations with our own funds and trade them.
- We request real payouts before scoring payout reliability.
- We re-verify pricing and rules monthly; each article displays its last-updated date.
- We log every rule change in our shutdown & rule-change tracker.
Affiliate disclosure
Some outbound links are affiliate links. They fund challenge purchases and never influence scores — several firms we link to have low ratings, and several top-rated firms pay us nothing. If a firm pressures us to alter a review, we disclose it publicly.