Refundable prop firm fees: when you actually get your money back
'Refundable fee' rarely means what traders assume. Some firms return it on the first payout, some on the third or fourth, some only if you never place a trade — and some never.
"100% refundable fee" is one of the most common badges on a prop-firm pricing page, and one of the most misunderstood. It rarely means a refund you can request — usually it means a rebate paid back through the payout system, on a schedule the firm sets.
This is a neutral explainer using the firms we track. Confirm the current policy for your product before buying.
Three different things get called a "refund"
- A rebate on passing — the fee returns as part of a payout once you reach the funded stage. This is what most badges mean.
- A cancellation refund — your money back because you changed your mind. Almost always requires that you placed no trades, inside a short window.
- An activation fee — the opposite: an extra charge levied when you pass, common at futures firms.
Rebates on passing: the schedule is the fine print
The refund is often real, but the trigger varies a lot:
- FTMO — the 2-Step fee is refunded with your first Reward withdrawal. The 1-Step route is not refunded.
- Funded Trading Plus — refunded once you pass on the 1-Step and 2-Step routes; the Instant product is non-refundable.
- The5ers — returns 70%, not 100%, with the first payout, once you have made at least $150 profit and held the account 14 days.
- Maven Trading — full refund, issued on your third withdrawal.
- Top One Trader — the 2-Step PRO v2 fee is refunded on the fourth payout; its Pay-After-Pass route refunds on the first. Other plans are non-refundable.
- FundedNext — the plan decides which reward pays it back: 2-Step with the first, Lite with the third, Instant not at all. It also has to be selected manually at withdrawal.
- City Traders Imperium — refundable on passing the evaluation phase.
Note that "refundable" and "refunded on your first payout" are not the same claim — and every one of these is gated behind reaching a payout at all, under the same rules covered in our payout models explainer.
Some firms rebate differently, or not at all
Upcomers offers no refund; instead it credits a bonus of 200% of the challenge fee to the payout balance after the third successful payout, by manual request. Alpha Capital Group states fees are non-refundable under all circumstances, including when you pass. FundingPips does not advertise a refund on its public product pages.
A missing refund is not a red flag by itself. A cheaper non-refundable challenge can beat an expensive "refundable" one you never collect on.
The cancellation refund is narrower than it looks
Want your money back because you changed your mind? The window is short, and you must not have traded:
- E8 Markets — only if no trade has ever been placed and the account is under 30 days old.
- BrightFunded — no trades executed, requested within 30 days. Fees are final once any order is placed.
- Crypto Fund Trader — a 14-day window, again only if no positions were opened.
Place one trade and, at most firms, that door closes permanently.
Futures firms charge you more when you pass
At futures firms the direction reverses. The monthly evaluation fee is non-refundable, and passing triggers an activation fee:
- Apex Trader Funding — a one-time activation fee on passing, around $139 on a $100K account.
- Take Profit Trader — roughly $130 on passing the Test, sometimes waived by promotion.
- Topstep — a one-time activation fee on funding, or a "no activation fee" route with a higher monthly instead.
Budget for that second charge — it belongs in the one-time fee versus monthly subscription maths.
Key takeaways
- "Refundable" usually means a rebate paid through a payout, not a refund you can request.
- The trigger ranges from the first payout to the third or fourth — read which.
- Refunds are not always 100%; one firm in our dataset returns 70%, with conditions.
- Cancellation refunds almost always require that you placed no trades, inside 14–30 days.
- Futures firms typically add an activation fee on passing rather than refunding anything.
How to check before you buy
Compare the exact plan, not the brand, in the account comparison tool, then read the refundable-fee row in the firm's dossier. Unfamiliar terms are in the rule glossary; if you trade with automation, check the firm's stance in our AI and automation guide first.
The useful mental model: treat the fee as spent at checkout. If it comes back, that is a bonus on a payout you already had to earn.
