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Next: estimate the pass rate first
The fee maths depends on how often an attempt passes. Enter your own odds to see how often the limits end a simulated challenge.
What is included
- The calculator, with your own numbers
- The formula written out
- A worked example you can reproduce
- Where grid, martingale and DCA bots break the maths
Who it is for
- People running or testing a trading bot
- Anyone sizing a position or checking costs
- Readers learning how the numbers work
- Not advice, and not for placing trades
Key facts
- Challenge fees are paid on every attempt, including the ones that fail. The cost of a pass is the fee divided by the pass rate.
- A pass is not a payout. Funded accounts have their own limits, so only some passes reach a first payout. The cost per payout is the cost per pass divided by that share.
- The result per first payout is your share of the profit minus those fees. It can be negative even when every pass is a good one.
- Fees, refunds, splits and payout rules differ by firm and change. Some firms refund the fee on a payout. This tool does not assume a refund, so deduct one yourself if your rules give it.
- Every figure here is an input you type. Use rates you can support, such as your own simulated pass rate, not a hope.
- Example numbers on this page are made up.
How the prop firm fee calculator works
A challenge costs a fee each time you start one. Some attempts pass and some do not, and the fees on the failed ones are part of the cost of the passes. If one attempt in three passes, a pass costs three fees on average, not one. The calculator turns your fee and your pass rate into that cost, then carries it forward to the first payout.
Fees per pass = fee x attempts per pass
Fees per first payout = fees per pass x 100 / payout rate (percent)
Result = profit before payout x split - fees per first payout
A worked example
Take a made-up fee of $150 and a 30 percent pass rate. Attempts per pass are 100 / 30 = 3.33, so fees per pass are $500. If 40 percent of passes reach a first payout, fees per first payout are $500 x 100 / 40 = $1,250. With $1,000 of profit before the payout and an 80 percent split, your share is $800. The result is $800 - $1,250 = -$450. Every number is made up. The point is the shape: the fees on the attempts that did not work are a large part of the cost.
Now change only the pass rate. At 10 percent the fees per first payout are $3,750, at 20 percent $1,875, at 50 percent $750 and at 80 percent $469. The pass rate at which this example just covers its fees is 46.9 percent: fee x 100 x 100 / (payout rate x your share).
Where to get the pass rate
It is the hardest input and the one that decides the answer. A pass rate quoted by a seller is not evidence of yours. Estimate it from your own odds with the prop firm challenge simulator, and remember that it assumes independent trades and fixed odds, which a real bot may not have. Then be careful about which backtest the odds came from, since overfitting inflates win rates.
What the calculator leaves out
- Refunds. If a fee is refunded at a payout, subtract it from the fees per first payout.
- Later payouts. It counts one payout. A funded account that keeps paying changes the result, and so does one that is closed after the first.
- Extra costs. Data feeds, platform fees and reset fees are not in it unless you add them to the fee.
- Tax and timing. Taxes vary by country and are not covered here.
Use it to see the structure of the cost, not to forecast income. A payout also depends on the drawdown rules of the funded account, which can end it early.
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FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the cost of a prop firm pass?
The fee divided by the pass rate, because failed attempts also cost a fee. At a $150 fee and a 30 percent pass rate, a pass costs about $500 in fees on average.
Why is a pass not the same as a payout?
A funded account has its own limits and rules. Only some passes reach a first payout, so the cost per payout is higher than the cost per pass.
Does the calculator include fee refunds?
No. Some firms refund the fee at a payout and some do not. If yours does, subtract the refund from the fees per first payout.
Where should the pass rate come from?
From your own odds run through a challenge simulation, or from your own history of attempts. A rate quoted by a seller is not your rate.
Can the result be negative even when I pass?
Yes. If the fees it took to reach a payout are larger than your share of the profit, the payout does not cover them.
Are the numbers on this page real?
Example numbers are made up to show how the maths works, and the page says so. A figure only counts as exact when the page says it was calculated on a stated date. Nothing you enter in a calculator leaves your browser.
Can I use this to decide whether to run a bot?
It can show whether a bot's numbers hold together and how much an account can lose. It cannot say what the market will do, and it is not advice. Use it to ask better questions, then read the terms of your own broker or exchange.
Is this financial advice?
No. It is a calculator and general education. It does not consider your situation, and its answers are only as good as the numbers you enter.
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