Prop Firm Evaluation Methodology
Last updated: 8 November 2026
1. What the score is
Every CleaRank prop firm review carries a CLEAR™ score out of 5. It answers one question: how good a deal is this firm for a trader who pays for its evaluation, and how likely is the firm to pay out when the trader succeeds? We review 41 prop firms today; their scores run from 3.6 to 4.6, with a median of 4.3. The score is not a recommendation and it is not a prediction that you will pass a challenge. Most traders do not.
2. Six categories, one average
Each review scores the firm from 0 to 5, to one decimal place, in six categories: Reputation, Account Types and Fees, Trading Conditions, Platforms, Payout Process and Customer Support. The six category scores are shown in the score panel at the top of every review, and each category has its own section in the review explaining the score, with what we liked and what we did not.
The overall CLEAR™ score is the plain average of the six category scores, rounded to one decimal place (halves round up). All six categories count equally. For example, category scores of 4.8, 4.5, 4.4, 4.7, 4.6 and 4.6 average 4.6, which is the overall score. You can check the arithmetic on any review.
3. What each category covers
Reputation
How long the firm has operated, how much it says it has paid traders, who owns or backs it (a regulated broker, an exchange), its record of payout disputes, rule changes and closures, and what traders report on review sites and forums. Most reviews also include a website audit of the firm’s search footprint (domain rating, referring domains, organic traffic and top country), because a firm with little real traffic and a burst of paid reviews is a warning sign.
Account Types and Fees
The evaluation models on offer (instant, one-step, two-step and more), the price of each account size and the price of a 100K account, profit targets, daily and maximum drawdown and how they are measured (static, trailing or end-of-day), time limits, minimum trading days, consistency rules, whether the fee is refunded with the first payout, the profit split and scaling plans.
Trading Conditions
The markets and instruments you can trade, leverage, spreads and commissions, and the rules that decide whether a strategy is allowed: news trading, overnight and weekend holding, expert advisers and algorithmic trading, and copy trading.
Platforms
Which platforms you can trade on (for example MetaTrader 5, cTrader, TradingView, DXtrade, Match-Trader, TradeLocker, Tradovate or NinjaTrader), how stable and complete they are, and the quality of the firm’s own dashboard and mobile access.
Payout Process
When you can request the first payout and how often after that, how quickly approved payouts arrive, the payout methods offered, minimum amounts and fees, and the firm’s record of paying on time.
Customer Support
The support channels (live chat, email, Discord, phone), their hours and languages, response quality, and the help centre or knowledge base.
4. The scores today
Category scores across all 41 reviews, as published on the reviews:
Category | Range | Average |
|---|---|---|
Reputation | 3.2 to 4.8 | 4.28 |
Account Types and Fees | 3.9 to 4.7 | 4.39 |
Trading Conditions | 3.8 to 4.8 | 4.29 |
Platforms | 3.9 to 4.8 | 4.38 |
Payout Process | 3.5 to 4.8 | 4.36 |
Customer Support | 3.4 to 4.8 | 4.13 |
Brokers we find unsafe are not reviewed here: they are covered in our Broker Alerts, with a failed CLEAR™ score and the evidence behind it.
5. Sources and fact-checking
Reviews are built from the firm’s own published rules, prices and FAQ, its legal terms, public statements about payouts, regulator and court records where they exist, trader reviews and complaints, and public website data (Ahrefs) for the website audit. Each review names its author and a fact-checker, and shows the date its facts were last checked at the top of the page. Prop firms change their rules often: always check the firm’s current terms before you buy a challenge.
6. No affiliate links
CleaRank uses no affiliate links and takes no payment from any prop firm, so no firm can pay for its score or its place on our prop firm list. Links to firms go to their official websites with no tracking code. See our affiliate disclosure and the CLEAR™ Editorial Code.
7. Risk
A prop-firm challenge is a paid evaluation, and most traders who buy one do not pass it. A failed challenge forfeits its fee, funded accounts are usually simulated, and payouts are subject to the firm’s rules. Only spend money on a challenge that you can afford to lose. Read our full risk disclaimer. For brokers, see the broker evaluation methodology.