Best Prop Firms 2025: 3 Must-Have Features for Real Traders

There’s no shortage of prop firms online promising you the dream: big buying power, tight spreads, and “funding” if you pass their challenge. But here’s the thing, most of them aren’t built for actual traders. They’re built for churn. And if you’re not paying attention to the right features, you’ll end up wasting time, effort, and probably a bit of money.

So here’s what actually matters when choosing a prop firm, and why a few key updates in the space are changing the game for smart traders.

1. Profit Split: If You’re Doing the Work, You Should Get Paid for It

You’re doing the hard work. You’re managing risk, showing consistency, and grinding through the charts. So why would you settle for a firm that takes 20% of your cut?

The 90% Profit Share model is a game-changer. Some top firms are now offering this as an add-on – and it’s a no-brainer if you know what you’re doing. That 10% difference? It adds up. On a $10K month, that’s an extra $1,000 in your pocket, not theirs. And if you’re scaling properly, that compounding effect matters.

Tip:

When comparing top prop firms in 2025, make sure you’re searching for highest profit share prop firms, 90% payout prop firms, or best payout for funded traders (because that’s where you’ll spot the firms that value traders, not turnover.)

2. Daily Drawdown

Here’s a little trick: some firms use equity-based daily drawdown calculations. Translation? You’re punished for unrealised losses. Not closed trades. Not real risk. Just the normal fluctuation of trading.

Balance-based drawdown is the fair way to track performance (and a few firms are finally waking up to this). It means you can hold trades overnight without the risk of blowing your account because price wiggled a bit during New York lunch.

If you’re a swing trader or just someone who doesn’t want to trade 24/7, this change alone should be on your must-have list.

3. News Trading: Finally, Some Sanity

Ever passed a challenge only to get restricted right before a major news event? Yeah. Same. Some firms ban trading around economic news to reduce risk on their end, but what they’re really doing is limiting your edge.

New policies now allow News Holding – meaning you can hold positions through key economic events in the Challenge phase (yes, the bit that matters most). Not only does that allow you to stick to your strategy, it shows trust in the trader.

Why FunderPro?

Now, I’m not here to shove a name down your throat, but if a prop firm offers:

✅ 90% profit share

✅ Balance-based drawdown on Swing accounts

✅ Permission to hold trades through economic news

…then it’s not hard to see which firm is starting to separate itself from the pack. A firm like FunderPro (for example) understands what real traders actually need. They’re not just running challenges to fail people, they’re funding traders to scale.

And that, my friend, is the difference between trading with a firm that gets it and wasting another 30 days on something that doesn’t. As a bonus for my readers, you get 10% off when you use the code ‘OWEN‘ at checkout,

Final Word

There’s a lot of noise out there. But if you focus on firms that respect your craft, offer fair trading conditions, and reward performance – not just pass rates – you’ll have a massive edge over the traders still hopping from firm to firm.

Do your due diligence. Ask better questions. Choose firms that back you like you back your trades.

And whatever you do, don’t settle for 80% when you could have 90.