TL;DR: Elite Trader Funding (ETF) is a futures-only prop firm run by Elite Trader Funding LLC, a Delaware company founded on February 14, 2022 by Kanwal Singh. On October 11, 2026 it sold six plan families: 1-Step (live trailing drawdown), Static, End of Day, Diamond Hands (overnight and weekend holds), Fast Track (a 10-day, 10K test) and Direct to Funded (no evaluation). List prices run from $57 for a one-time Fast Track to $997 for a 100K Direct to Funded account, and most evaluations bill every 30 days. A firm-published code, 20BACK, took 85% off the 1-Step, Static, End of Day and Diamond Hands plans until October 12, 2026 at 8:59 AM ET, so a 50K End of Day evaluation showed $52.05 instead of $347. After you pass you pay an activation fee ($87 a month, or a one-time fee from $177 to $307) unless you bought Direct to Funded. The funded stage, called Elite Sim-Funded, pays up to 100% of simulated profit in capped cycles that need 8 to 10 qualifying “Active Trade Days” each, and the firm can move you to a small real-money LIVE ELITE account with an 80/20 split at any time. Trustpilot shows 3.8 from 1,158 reviews, with 62% five-star and 24% one-star ratings. Most recent complaints are about being moved to live instead of paid, small live starting balances and accounts closed for inactivity.
Research status: Checked October 11, 2026. We read Elite Trader Funding’s own pages that day: the homepage, evaluations, plan pages for every product, Elite Sim-Funded, LIVE ELITE, payouts, about, rewards and purchase-guarantee pages, the terms of service (last updated October 8, 2026), the pricing data behind the plan picker on the evaluations page, and all 128 articles in the firm’s help centre. We also read Trustpilot, four Reddit threads, the Prop Firm Match listing page and the firm’s official Facebook post about its February 2026 sale. We did not buy an account. Prices, codes and anything shown only after purchase are printed as the firm publishes them, not verified by purchase.
Elite Trader Funding review verdict: is it legit?
Elite Trader Funding is a real, operating futures prop firm. It names its company (Elite Trader Funding LLC), publishes a Wilmington, Delaware mailing address, a support email and a dated set of terms, and keeps a large public help centre with a separate rule article for every plan. It has been selling evaluations since February 2022, which makes it one of the older futures evaluation firms still trading. The firm says it has paid out more than $13 million to more than 13,000 funded traders. Those are its own figures and are not audited, but Trustpilot and Reddit both contain first-hand reports from traders who say they were paid.
“Legit” and “a good fit” are different questions, though. ETF is open about the fact that its funded stage is simulated and that it wants to move consistent traders into live accounts. Its terms let it make that move “before, during, or after” a payout request. When it happens, your simulated balance does not become your live balance. You start with a fixed live balance of $1,250 to $2,500, and the rest of your simulated earnings go into a separate ledger the firm calls the Vault, which pays out slowly through 10% matches. That one policy drives most of the negative reviews, and it is the main thing to understand before you buy.
What ETF does well:
- A wide choice of drawdown styles: live trailing, end-of-day, static, an overnight-hold plan and a no-evaluation plan.
- No time limit on most evaluations, a flat $47 evaluation reset and frequent, steep sales published by the firm itself.
- Up to 100% of simulated profit, approval on business days, a written 48-hour approval guarantee and payment through Rise to a bank, crypto wallet or exchange.
- Very detailed written rules, including worked examples, contract limits and a per-instrument commission table.
What to weigh against it:
- Payouts come in small capped cycles, each needing 8 to 10 qualifying trading days, and the total is capped at $25,000 per trader before you are moved to live.
- The firm can move you to a live account instead of paying the next request, and live starting balances are small.
- Many rules can close an account without a loss: missing one trading week, holding past the close, going over the position limit, averaging into a losing trade, using an unapproved copier, a VPN or a household member’s account.
- Most plans add an activation fee after you pass, and a passed evaluation keeps billing until you activate it.
Our read: ETF is a legitimate business with a clear, if strict, rulebook. It suits traders who read every rule, trade small and regularly, and are comfortable with the idea of moving to a small live account early. It does not suit traders who want to build a large simulated balance and withdraw it.
Who runs Elite Trader Funding (the LLC and Kanwal Singh)
- Company: Elite Trader Funding LLC, 2810 N. Church St, PMB 53832, Wilmington, Delaware 19802 (the address in the terms of service and on Trustpilot). A PMB is a private mailbox, so this is a mailing address rather than an office.
- Founded: February 14, 2022, according to the firm’s about page. Its Trustpilot profile was claimed the same month.
- Founder: Kanwal Singh. The about page says he spent close to two decades as a network and security engineer, including roles at Microsoft, Boeing and F5, before starting ETF. The team is described as spread across Asia, the Americas, Africa and Europe, with many staff hired from its own customers.
- Terms: last updated and effective October 8, 2026. They are governed by Delaware law, and disputes go to American Arbitration Association arbitration in King County, Washington. Claims under $100,000 are decided on documents only.
- Website: the brand uses elitetraderfunding.com, and the same site is also served on elitetraderfunding.app, which its pages mark as the main address. Support is support@elitetraderfunding.com and an AI chat on the site. The community is on Discord.
- Firm-reported numbers: $13M+ paid out, 13,000+ Elite Sim-Funded traders, 59,000+ customers and $5M+ “invested in live traders”. These are not independently audited.
ETF is not a regulated broker. Evaluations and Elite Sim-Funded accounts trade simulated money on live market data. Only LIVE ELITE accounts trade real capital, through the firm’s live broker.
Not to be confused with similarly named firms such as FuturesElite or FundedElite. They are separate companies with their own rules and payout policies. Traders often shorten Elite Trader Funding to “ETF”, which also has nothing to do with exchange-traded funds.
How the ETF prop firm works: evaluation, Elite Sim-Funded, LIVE ELITE
- Evaluation. You buy a plan, trade a simulated account and reach the profit target without touching the drawdown, over at least 5 trading days (3 on Fast Track). There is no time limit except on Fast Track, which must pass within 10 calendar days. Direct to Funded skips this stage.
- Elite Sim-Funded. Once you pass, the firm says it assigns a funded simulated account within 72 hours. You pay an activation fee, build a “safety net” of profit, then request payouts (the firm calls them rewards) in cycles. You keep up to 100% of simulated profit, up to $25,000 per trader across all your accounts.
- LIVE ELITE. At the $25,000 cap, or earlier at the firm’s discretion, you move to a real-money account with an 80/20 split, daily withdrawals and an end-of-day drawdown. Your simulated accounts are closed when you move.
The firm’s own about page puts it plainly: it treats the simulated funded stage as part of the evaluation and says “paying real money to honor simulated profits is not sustainable” long term. That is the business model in one sentence.
Pros and cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Six plan families, including static, end-of-day and overnight-hold options | Activation fee on most plans after you pass ($87 a month or $177 to $307 once) |
| Firm-published sales of 75% to 85% off, with codes in the checkout data | Payouts in small cycles, each needing 8 to 10 qualifying days |
| Up to 100% of simulated profit, approved on business days | $25,000 cap per trader, then a move to a small live account |
| Written 48-hour approval guarantee with a $1,000 penalty | The firm can move you to live instead of paying a request |
| No time limit on most evaluations and a flat $47 evaluation reset | One missed trading week closes the account and voids its payouts |
| News trading allowed; Diamond Hands and Direct to Funded can hold overnight | End of Day and Diamond Hands daily loss limits are hard breaches |
| Detailed help centre with examples, contract limits and commissions | All sales final except a narrow first-purchase guarantee |
Elite Trader Funding account types and sizes
The table lists every product in the firm’s plan picker data on October 11, 2026. “Max size” is minis or micros (1 mini counts as 10 micros, except on Direct to Funded, where each contract counts as one position).
| Plan (firm’s level) | Size | Profit target | Max drawdown | Daily loss limit | Max size | Min days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1-Step (Expert) | 50K | $3,000 | $2,000 live trailing | None | 8 minis / 80 micros | 5 |
| 1-Step | 100K | $6,000 | $3,000 live trailing | None | 14 / 140 | 5 |
| 1-Step | 150K | $9,000 | $5,000 live trailing | None | 18 / 180 | 5 |
| Static (Beginner) | 10K | $1,000 | $500 static | None | 1 / 10 | 5 |
| Static | 25K | $2,000 | $1,000 static | None | 2 / 20 | 5 |
| Static | 50K | $4,000 | $2,000 static | None | 4 / 40 | 5 |
| End of Day (Standard) | 50K | $3,000 | $2,000 end-of-day | $1,100 | 8 / 80 | 5 |
| End of Day | 100K | $6,000 | $3,500 end-of-day | $2,200 | 14 / 140 | 5 |
| Diamond Hands (Standard+) | 100K | $5,000 | $3,500 end-of-day | $1,500 | 2 / 20 | 5 |
| Fast Track (Intermediate) | 10K End of Day | $2,000 | $500 end-of-day | None | 1 / 10 | 3, within 10 days |
| Fast Track | 10K Static | $2,000 | $500 static | None | 1 / 10 | 3, within 10 days |
| Direct to Funded (Master) | 10K “Mini Inferno” | No evaluation | $1,500 end-of-day | None | 2 positions | None |
| Direct to Funded | 50K | No evaluation | $5,000 end-of-day | None | 5 positions | None |
| Direct to Funded | 100K | No evaluation | $5,000 static | None | 3 positions | None |
How the six plans differ
- 1-Step uses the hardest drawdown: it trails your highest unrealized profit, open trades included. Give back an open-profit spike and the floor has already moved up. No daily loss limit. A 250K size appears in older help articles but is no longer sold.
- Static has a fixed floor that never moves, so every dollar of profit becomes cushion. The firm calls it its friendliest plan for newer traders. It is also the most expensive per dollar of account size.
- End of Day trails only your end-of-day balance, so intraday swings do not raise the floor. But it adds a daily loss limit, and touching that limit fails the account. It is not a pause.
- Diamond Hands is the only evaluation that may hold positions overnight and over the weekend. It has a small 2-mini size limit on a 100K account.
- Fast Track is a one-time 10K test with a 40% consistency rule. It must pass in 10 calendar days, cannot be reset, and the funded account is free for the first month.
- Direct to Funded (DTF) skips the test. You pay once, start in Elite Sim-Funded right away, may swing trade and pay no activation fee. In exchange you face stricter payout-day rules (see Active Trade Days).
Elite Trader Funding pricing and the current sale
Prices below are the list prices in the firm’s plan picker data, read October 11, 2026. “Monthly” plans renew every 30 days until you pass or cancel. Fast Track and Direct to Funded are one-time payments. The “with code” column applies the discount the same data attached to each product.
| Plan and size | List price | Billing | Code in checkout data | Price with code |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1-Step 50K | $207 | Monthly | 20BACK, 85% off | $31.05 |
| 1-Step 100K | $257 | Monthly | 20BACK, 85% off | $38.55 |
| 1-Step 150K | $347 | Monthly | 20BACK, 85% off | $52.05 |
| Static 10K | $147 | Monthly | 20BACK, 85% off | $22.05 |
| Static 25K | $277 | Monthly | 20BACK, 85% off | $41.55 |
| Static 50K | $497 | Monthly | 20BACK, 85% off | $74.55 |
| End of Day 50K | $347 | Monthly | 20BACK, 85% off | $52.05 |
| End of Day 100K | $487 | Monthly | 20BACK, 85% off | $73.05 |
| Diamond Hands 100K | $397 | Monthly | 20BACK, 85% off | $59.55 |
| Fast Track 10K End of Day | $57 | One-time | None | $57 |
| Fast Track 10K Static | $77 | One-time | None | $77 |
| Direct to Funded 10K (Mini Inferno) | $357 | One-time | None | $357 |
| Direct to Funded 50K | $747 | One-time | DTF75, 75% off | $186.75 |
| Direct to Funded 100K | $997 | One-time | DTF75, 75% off | $249.25 |
The current codes and when they end
- 20BACK: 85% off the 1-Step, Static, End of Day and Diamond Hands evaluations. The checkout data gives a start of October 6, 2026, 9:00 AM ET and an end of October 12, 2026, 8:59 AM ET.
- DTF75: 75% off the 50K and 100K Direct to Funded accounts, from October 5, 2026, 9:00 AM ET to October 12, 2026, 8:59 AM ET.
- Fast Track and the 10K Mini Inferno had no discount attached.
Both codes come from the firm’s own pricing data, not from a coupon site. Coupon sites list other ETF codes that we could not confirm with the firm, so we do not reprint them. Two points the data does not settle: whether the 85% applies to the 30-day renewals or only the first month, and whether it can be combined with add-ons. Check the order summary before you pay. If you read this after October 12, 2026, these codes have expired; the live price on the evaluations page is the one that counts.
Activation fee, the 3D add-on and other fees
Passing an evaluation does not start your funded account for free. ETF charges an Elite Sim-Funded activation fee, and its help centre says that applies even to accounts won in community contests. You choose one of three ways to pay:
| Plan | Monthly option | One-time activation |
|---|---|---|
| 1-Step 50K | $87 a month | $177 |
| 1-Step 100K and 150K | $87 a month | $247 |
| Static (all sizes) | $87 a month | $177 |
| End of Day 50K | $87 a month | $177 |
| End of Day 100K | $87 a month | $257 |
| Diamond Hands 100K | $87 a month | $307 |
| Fast Track | First month free, then $87 a month | Not available |
| Direct to Funded | None | None (no activation fee) |
- 3D add-on (Double Down Deal): adding “3D” at checkout cuts the first month of the $87 monthly plan to $47. If you prepay two months at the discounted rate you get three months covered, so you pay nothing for activation until month four. It is lost if you cancel, and Fast Track is excluded. This is the “3D add on” and the “$47 activation” you see in ETF’s marketing.
- Billing after you pass: for evaluations that passed on or after October 1, 2024, the evaluation subscription keeps billing until you activate. Activate quickly, or cancel, so you do not pay for an account you are not using.
- Credit bonus: when you activate, the firm adds the first-month price you paid for the evaluation to your funded starting balance. Direct to Funded is excluded.
- Data and platform costs: platform subscriptions are your cost. From January 28, 2026, new accounts using a Rithmic data feed pay a separate $45 a month per account; the firm says the Tradovate bundle has no extra fee. Traders who declare professional status pay $128 per exchange.
- Other add-ons: One Day to Pass (skips the 5-day minimum once you hit the target; buy it at checkout), TradeShield (turns a daily-loss-limit hit into a lockout until the next session instead of a failure) and PriceSlash (a 90% off coupon for your next evaluation of the same type, valid 90 days). Their prices were not published on the pages we read; they show at checkout.
- Points: the rewards program gives 2 points per dollar spent on evaluations and resets, and points can pay for some products and resets.
Elite Trader Funding reset prices
Evaluation resets: a failed evaluation resets automatically at your next monthly renewal while the subscription is active. To restart at once, pay a flat $47 for any plan and size. Fast Track cannot be reset at all. A reset does not change your renewal date.
Funded (Elite Sim-Funded) resets: a failed funded account can be reset up to ten times, before its subscription renews. Accounts from evaluations bought before September 17, 2025 cannot be reset. Published prices:
| Account | Elite reset price |
|---|---|
| 1-Step 50K / 100K / 150K / 250K | $147 / $187 / $257 / $437 |
| Static 10K / 25K / 50K | $117 / $217 / $407 |
| End of Day 50K / 100K / 150K | $317 / $437 / $557 |
| Diamond Hands 100K | $357 |
| Fast Track 10K (End of Day or Static) | $87 |
| Direct to Funded 10K / 50K / 100K | $200 / $297 / $447 |
The help centre also mentions a one-time, limited-time discounted reset that appears as a countdown after an account fails. The homepage comparison table says “unlimited resets (limited time)” for funded accounts, while the reset article caps them at ten (see conflicts). If a failed account is not worth resetting, cancel its subscription by hand, because billing continues on a failed account.
What it really costs: worked examples
These examples add up what you would pay to reach a funded account, using the published prices on October 11, 2026. They assume you pass in the first 30 days. Each extra month adds another renewal, and the checkout data does not say whether the 20BACK discount applies to renewals.
| Route | Evaluation | Activation | Total to start funded |
|---|---|---|---|
| 50K End of Day, sale price, one-time activation | $52.05 | $177 | $229.05 |
| 50K End of Day, sale price, 3D first month | $52.05 | $47, then $87 a month | $99.05 for month one |
| 50K End of Day, list price, one-time activation | $347 | $177 | $524 |
| 100K 1-Step, list price, one-time activation | $257 | $247 | $504 |
| 100K End of Day, list price, one-time activation | $487 | $257 | $744 |
| 100K Diamond Hands, list price, one-time activation | $397 | $307 | $704 |
| 100K Direct to Funded, with DTF75 | $249.25 | None | $249.25 |
| 10K Fast Track End of Day | $57 | Free month one, then $87 a month | $57 for month one |
So “how much does a $100,000 funded account cost” at ETF ranges from about $249 (Direct to Funded during a sale) to $744 (End of Day at list price with one-time activation), before data fees and any resets. On the monthly activation plan, an account you keep for six months costs $522 in activation alone ($87 × 6), which is more than every one-time fee. If you expect to keep a funded account longer than two to three months, the one-time fee is usually cheaper.
Past sales, the POGO deal and discount codes
Steep sales are a regular part of ETF’s pricing, and the firm publishes them itself:
- October 2026: 20BACK (85% off the main evaluations) and DTF75 (75% off the 50K and 100K Direct to Funded), both ending October 12, 2026 at 8:59 AM ET, as shown above.
- February 2026, 4th anniversary “POGO” sale: the firm’s official Facebook page posted on February 11, 2026 that its anniversary sale gave 77% off non-Fast Track evaluations with code 4YRSTRONG, plus “POGO”, which it defines as Pass One, Get One. That code belongs to that past sale; we found no sign it still works.
- A Trustpilot reviewer calls the 50K Static account a product that “goes on sale all the time”, and a 2025 Reddit commenter mentions heavily discounted evaluations at the start of a month. Those are trader observations, not firm announcements.
We do not predict sale dates. The documented pattern is that large percentage-off codes appear often and run for days, not weeks. If you are not in a hurry, it rarely makes sense to pay list price for a monthly evaluation. The firm also offers “double and triple points” promotions from time to time on its rewards program.
Drawdown types, daily loss limit and the safety net
Worked example: 50K End of Day
| Day | What happens | Balance at close | Max-loss floor | Daily loss limit next day |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Start | New account | $50,000 | $48,000 | Down to $48,900 |
| Day 1 | Closes +$1,000 | $51,000 | $49,000 | Down to $49,900 |
| Day 2 | Open trade dips to $49,950, then recovers to close +$200 | $51,200 | $49,200 | Down to $50,100 |
| Day 3 | Intraday loss of $1,100 from the prior close | Failed | n/a | n/a |
The floor trails your highest end-of-day balance, and the daily loss limit is measured from the prior day’s close. Open losses count intraday, so touching either line at any moment fails an End of Day or Diamond Hands account. In the funded stage, once you have earned realized profit equal to the max drawdown plus $100 ($2,100 on a 50K), the daily loss limit is removed and the floor locks for good at the starting balance plus $100 ($50,100).
Worked example: 50K 1-Step (live trailing)
Start at $50,000 with a $2,000 drawdown, so the floor is $48,000. A trade runs to +$1,500 unrealized and the floor moves to $49,500 at once, even though the trade is still open. Give back $1,000 and you are at $49,000, still safe, but the floor stays at $49,500. Give back the whole $1,500 and you are at $50,000, only $500 above the floor. This is why the firm labels 1-Step “Expert”.
Static and the safety net
On Static, the floor never moves: a 50K starts at $48,000 and stays there. You still need $2,100 of realized profit (the drawdown plus $100) before you can request a payout. The help centre’s safety-net table lists the exact minimum balance and payout threshold for every size; for example, a 50K End of Day has a $50,100 minimum balance and a $52,100 safety-net level, and a 100K End of Day $100,100 and $103,600. You cannot withdraw the safety net itself.
The 20% / 35% loss limit in the funded stage
Once a funded account is up 20%, a new rule overrides the drawdown: you may not give back more than 35% of those gains, intraday or over the account’s life. The firm’s example is a 150K account that grows to $180,000; dropping to $169,500 hits the limit exactly. Breaking it removes the account from Elite Sim-Funded and disqualifies you from LIVE ELITE. The firm checks it during routine audits and at every payout request.
Active Trade Days and the consistency rule, with a calculator
ETF has two rules that traders both call “the consistency rule”:
- Active Trade Days (ATDs). Every payout cycle needs a set number of qualifying days: 8 for the first cycle and 10 for each later one on the 1-Step, Static, End of Day and Diamond Hands plans. For evaluations bought on or after October 2, 2026 at 2:00 PM PT, a day counts only if it makes at least $250 realized profit and at least 30% of your best day ($125 instead of $250 on 10K and 25K Static). Older accounts use $200 and 23% ($100 on some small accounts). Losing days and small days still count toward your balance, just not toward the ATD total.
- A best-day cap. Fast Track uses a classic consistency rule: to pass, your best day cannot exceed 40% of total profit, and at payout the cap is 30%.
ATD calculator (standard plans, new rule)
| Your best day so far | 30% of best day | Minimum for a day to count |
|---|---|---|
| $500 | $150 | $250 (the dollar floor is higher) |
| $800 | $240 | $250 |
| $1,000 | $300 | $300 |
| $2,000 | $600 | $600 |
| $3,000 | $900 | $900 |
The formula is: minimum qualifying day = the larger of $250 and 0.30 × best day. A new best day raises the bar for every later day, and the best day does not reset after a payout. A single $3,000 day therefore means every following day must clear $900 to count, which is the trap to avoid.
Fast Track 40% calculator
Minimum total profit to pass = best day ÷ 0.40. With a $2,000 target, your best day can be at most $800. If one day makes $1,000, you need $2,500 in total profit ($1,000 ÷ 0.40) before you pass, all within 10 calendar days.
Direct to Funded ATD rules
| DTF size | ATDs per cycle | Minimum per ATD | Share of best day | Safety net |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10K Mini Inferno | 5 | $150 | 50% | $1,600 |
| 50K | 15 | $600 | 62% | $5,100 |
| 100K | 20 | $500 | 50% | $5,100 |
The 50K Direct to Funded rule is the strictest in the lineup: 15 days per cycle, each at least $600 and at least 62% of your best day. A trader whose best day is $1,500 needs every qualifying day to reach $930.
Trading rules: hours, news, overnight, DCA, bots and VPNs
- Trading hours: ETF follows the CME session (the terms define a trading session as 6:00 PM ET to 5:00 PM ET the next day). All positions must be closed one minute before the instrument’s market close, and times vary by product. Sunday evening and Monday count as one trading day. The firm runs routine maintenance every weekday from 4:00 to 5:00 PM CST, when platforms may be unavailable.
- Overnight and weekends: only Diamond Hands an