The Trading Pit have prop trading with Forex CFDs and Futures using MT4, MT5 platforms along with some we have not heard of. Profit share is 80%, good but less than the 95% some firms offer. See our thoughts on this prop firm.
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If you’re looking for a simple and easy to understand prop trading firm with the potential of earning up to $5 million in funding via scale-up, then The Trading Pit is an attractive choice.
The Trading Pit allows you to prop trade using CFDs or Futures with up to $5 million in funding (although you’ll need to work your way towards it via their scaling plans). Without scaling, funding can be up to $250,000 with a futures account or $100,000 with a CFD account, which we think is fairly low by industry standards.
In terms of the audition process, we like the simplicity and the fact that most of the rules are standardised across all four accounts on offer. To successfully complete the audition, you will find there is a time limit of 90 days along with a requirement to trade on a minimum of 3 days. While we don’t think these requirements are overly prohibitive, especially given you can request an extension of your audition (for a fee), it’s still something to be aware of.
In our view, one of The Trading Pit’s best selling points is that it caters to both CFD, forex and futures traders. In addition to a diverse product range, you have an interesting choice of trading platforms including MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 for CFD trading and Rithmic, Quantower, and some we have never come across for futures trading.
When it comes to the trading strategies you can use, there are a few limitations to be aware of. Copy trading, high-frequency trading, news trading or arbitrage strategies are not permitted with a CFD account. If you do wish to apply these strategies, you will need to consider using a Futures account.
Another aspect to point out is that each funded account is linked to its own scaling plan with predetermined profit targets. Each time you hit the profit target without breaching any of the rules, you receive a payout and then progress to the next level in the scaling plan.
The Trading Pit gives you 4 funding accounts to choose from with both the futures and CFD accounts. Profit splits with these accounts on the Lite and Standard accounts range from 50% to 70% which is on the low side. The split using the Executive and VIP accounts range from 60% – 80% which we think most traders will find preferable. We should also add that were impressed with the speed that payouts are processed which is weekly.
Overall, we think The Trading Pit has a decent offering with plenty of options to cater for both futures CFD and forex traders.
Given you have found your way to this page, you would know that The Trading Pit is a prop trading firm and we will cover all the features they offer as part of this review. As far as who they are, the main thing to know is that The Trading Pit is based in Germany under the trading name The Trading Pit Challenge GmbH. The group actually consists of 3 entities
The other thing we will note is where this prop firm sources their spreads. If trading CFDs and using MT4, The Trading Pit uses GBE Brokers as their technology partner (or clearing house). If using MT5 then the broker uses FXFlat as their technology partner (or clearing house).
While we can’t be exactly sure the advantage of using two different brokers as a technology partner, it does appear to be that FXFlat are well connected with stock exchanges across the globe and MT5 is best equipped for trading these products. The other thing we can tell you is that both brokers have their headquarters in Germany and are regulated by BaFin (and in the case of GBE broker CySEC as well)s, so we can confirm these brokers are reputable brokers.
With The Trading Pit, fees, charges and commissions vary depending on the account, broker and platform you select. For CFD accounts, there are two brokers to choose from; FXFlat and GBE Brokers.
The latter is for MetaTrader 4 while FXFlat is only compatible with MetaTrader 5. Essentially, if you’re primarily looking to trade equities, then FXFlat will probably be the option for you. If you’re primarily an FX trader, then you can do either, but MetaTrader 4 is the more popular option.
At the time of testing spreads on GBE Brokers for EUR/USD, GBP/USD and USD/JPY were 1.02, 2.57 and 2.05 pips respectively while for FXFlat, spreads start from 0.7 – 0.8 pips on majors like EUR/USD.
Commissions and charges
Depending on which account you select, the fees, charges and commissions vary. For CFDs, if you select FXFlat, commissions start from $3.5 on major pairs while for GBE Brokers, they range from $6 – 7 per lot.
For futures accounts, once you’ve passed the audition and started with a funded account, the CME or EUREX exchanges will charge a fee which The Trading Pit will pass on to you every month. Fees include:
Any good prop trading firm has an evaluation or audition stage that you need to pass to show you have the capability to trade successfully and The Trading Pit is no exception. Like with most (if not all) prop firms, The Trading Pit have its own specific set of rules and requirements and fortunately, the website does a good job of explaining what these are.
If you are able to meet these rules and requirements, then you get to progress to ‘Trading Partner’ status. This status means you can use a ‘funded’ demo account on a scaling plan where you get paid for the profit you generate.
For the Lite and Standard accounts, you need to hit a profit target of 10% while avoiding a 5% daily loss and a 10% account loss. For the Executive and VIP accounts, the profit target is 8% while the daily loss and max loss limits remain unchanged.
For the futures accounts, you need to reach a $1,000 profit for the Lite, $5,000 for Standard, and $3,000 in both phase 1 and phase 2 of the Executive and VIP accounts.
The daily loss limit is $250 for Lite and strangely enough, there’s no daily loss limit for the Standard. When it comes to the Executive, the daily loss limits are $2,500 and $1,000 in phases 1 and 2 respectively. For the VIP account, it’s $2,500 and $1,500.
The key difference is that a trailing drawdown will calculate your loss limit based on the highest value your account has reached, also called a ‘high watermark’. Conversely, If you’re trading with a static drawdown, then your loss limit remains fixed and does not change despite fluctuations in your account value.
Weekend, high-frequency and copy trading
While there are no additional limitations for futures accounts, if you’re trading with a CFD account you can’t employ news trading strategies. Specifically, you’re not allowed to open or close trades 2 minutes before or after significant news events. While this isn’t considered a hard breach, it will likely trigger intervention from The Trading Pit.
Additionally, for CFD accounts there’s also no high-frequency or copy trading allowed, and while you can employ scalping strategies, you need to have trades open for more than 1 minute.
Maximum contract limits
For Futures accounts, there are certain limits to the number of contracts you can open for each challenge which we have outlined below. It’s important to remember that as your account balance fluctuates, so will the contract limit.
Lite Challenge: 10 Micro contracts.
Standard and Executive Challenge: 5 standard/mini contracts or 50 micros. You can also combine standard/mini and micro contracts. For example, 3 standard contracts and 20 micros.
VIP Challenge: 10 standard/mini contracts or 100 micros. You can also combine standard/mini & micro contracts. For example, 7 standard contracts and 30 micros.
It’s important to point out that with The Trading Pit, if you successfully pass the challenge then you get a ‘funded’ account but it’s still effectively a demo account. While you will get paid for any of the profit you make (assuming you hit the required profit targets), you’re not trading with real money.
For CFDs, The Trading Pit offers you four different funding levels ranging from $10,000 up to $100,000 while for futures, these range from $10,000 up to $250,000. Funded accounts with these amounts should cover the needs of most traders however there are some that can go up to $1,000,000 (see our Level Up Trading Review). We have covered some of these in our best funded trading accounts review.
With both CFD and futures accounts, depending on the funding level you select the profit split ratio will vary.
the above shows the CFD options while the below shows the challenges for Futres trading. Trading futures generally has a lower audition cost.
Scale-up
With all futures and CFD accounts, once you pass the audition you will enter into a scaling plan where you will need to follow all the same standard rules and requirements. Once you hit your profit target without breaching any rules, you’ll receive a payout, and then progress to the next stage.
Account Resets
One particular aspect we like is that all 4 account types offer you the ability to either reset or extend your account during the challenge phase.
The reset option becomes available if you have breached one of the rules and costs a fraction of the audition price, starting at $49 for the Lite and $299 for the VIP. There are no limits to how many times you can use the reset, but it’s important to note that only your balance resets and not the number of days left in your challenge period.
Account Extend
If you want to extend your audition, then you can purchase an additional 90 days, but only if you haven’t breached any of the rules. This option automatically becomes available when you have 3 days left of your initial 90 days.
We checked the pricing of the Extend fee and it appears to be priced exactly the same as sitting the audition again, so we’re not entirely sure what the benefit is.
| Lite | Standard | Executive | VIP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Audition fee | 99 | 179 | 399 | 999 |
| Reset | 49 | 85 | 120 | 299 |
| Extend | 99 | 179 | 399 | 999 |
Profit Split
As mentioned, there are 4 accounts to choose from with both futures and CFDs, and profit splits range from 50% – 70% on Lite and Standard accounts while Executive and VIP accounts range from 60% – 80%.
Each Challenge is linked to its own Scaling Plan. After you pass one of our Futures Challenges, you will be given a Profit Target and Drawdown along with your new account. Once you reach a Profit Target, you will receive a payout and access to a next-level account with more capital and more flexible drawdown limits.
The Trading Pit has various payment methods for you to choose from including credit/debit cards, eWallet providers and cryptocurrency. While you can’t pay with a bank transfer, there are plenty of options to get you started.
Payouts
When it comes to payouts, an interesting aspect to The Trading Pit’s offering is that you can request crypto payments. Additionally, payouts are processed on a weekly basis which is pretty good considering some prop firms process on a monthly basis.
Our Verdict on Funding Methods
We’re fans of the weekly payout processing which means you get your profits faster. Additionally, the option to get paid in crypto is also a unique aspect that we think is worth calling out. When it comes to paying for a funding challenge, the options available all seem standard enough, and as such, we scored The Trading Pit well for this section.
The Trading Pit offers you various trading platform options to choose from, ensuring that no matter what markets you trade or strategy you have, you will have a platform that caters to your needs.
MetaTrader 4 & 5
If you’re planning on taking a CFD challenge then you can select either MetaTrader 4 or 5.
Both platforms are supported by a large number of brokerage firms, but MT4 is primarily used for forex and CFD trading while MT5 connects with equity, options and futures markets.
While MT4 is the industry gold standard and enjoys a higher adoption rate, MT5 provides more advanced functionality with a greater range of order types, indicators and timeframes.
Rithmic
If you’re selecting a futures account then Rithmic is the default data provider. If you’re a high-frequency trader then you might already be familiar with the platform. It offers extremely low latency, enabling fast execution of trades with high throughput performance. Additionally, you can build and design your own trading programs with the native R | API +.
For both the challenge and funded account, The Trading Pit covers the costs associated with the data feed.
Additional platforms
If you select the futures options, then you will have access to various other platforms which come free of charge including real-time L2 data fees ($55 value), Squawkbox ($99 value), Quantower ($100 value), ATAS ($69 value), Bookmap ($79 value).
ATAS
If you specialise in order flow analysis, cluster analysis or volume market profile, then you’re likely already familiar with the ATAS platform. The platform offers sophisticated order flow analysis and depth of market metrics which can provide you with a clear understanding of the balance/imbalance between buyers and sellers.
The platform is compatible with futures, equities and cryptocurrency, enabling you to trade the assets and markets you know best, while also leveraging various advanced strategies.
Bookmap
This platform only integrates with futures markets and is designed to give you complete visibility over market liquidity and order flow. From volume tools to heatmaps, depth of market and imbalance indicators, if you’re a futures trader then Bookmap is a great tool that is available for use.
It’s important to note however that the license fee for Bookmap will only be covered by The Trading Pit if you’re signed up with an Executive or VIP account.
Quantower
No matter if you primarily trade crypto, forex, CFDs or stocks, Quantower is compatible with almost all markets, enabling you to access a vast range of assets to trade. It’s a sophisticated multi-asset platform that connects with various exchanges including FXCM, Binance Futures, ByBit, Rithmic, Oanda and many more.
Volumetrica
This platform is designed for volume traders and provides an array of features including book liquidity heatmaps, volume bubbles and profile analysis, depth of market, and more.
Our Verdict on Trading Platforms
The Trading Pit provides an extensive range of trading platforms for you to take advantage of. If you primarily trade forex or CFDs, then you have access to both MetaTrader platforms available.
If you mainly trade futures, then there are plenty of platforms to use, although NinjaTrader isn’t available, which might be a bit of a turn-off. Regardless, the other platforms cater for a range of different trading strategies including order flow and volume analysis, positioning The Trading Pit as an attractive prop firm.
Given the diversity and the fact that The Trading Pit covers the data feed costs for the futures accounts, we scored The Trading Pit well for this section.
The Trading Pit offers a wide range of tradable instruments including forex, indices, stocks, crypto, and commodities. If you select a CFD account, then you have the option of choosing either the MT4 or MT5 platforms. If you’re primarily trading CFDs or forex, then chances are you will opt for MT4 which means your account will be connected with GBE Brokers.
If you’re trading stocks, bonds or options, then you will need to choose the MT5 platform, in which case FXFlat will be your broker.
For futures markets, The Trading Pit is connected with Rithmic’s data feed, which provides pricing from various exchanges including CME and Eurex.
For CFD accounts, leverage is capped at 1:30 while for futures, specific contract limits apply.
While we think The Trading Pit is one of the better prop trading firms for futures trading, another firm to look at for futures trading is TopStep.
The Trading Pit team can be contacted via live chat support, email or by phone. They also have community managers available to contact in their Discord community, so there are plenty of ways to get the information you’re looking for.
When using the live chat bot, you don’t get to speak to someone immediately and you need to go through several qualification steps before you can speak to someone, or if they’re not available lodge a ticket.
Our Verdict on Customer Service
It’s good that you can contact the team via phone, email or live chat, but they aren’t always available right away like some other prop firms. Overall, we scored The Trading Pit modestly for this section.
Obviously, before you start trading you will want to know what prop trading is, so it helps if the prop firm can provide some education material related to the topic.
Overall, we think the educational material is hit and miss with The Trading Pit. There are some fairly basic e-books which unpack risk management and trading psychology, and while they also offer podcasts and video tutorials, neither seem to get published anymore.
The last video that we can see was published in June 2023, although they do hold live webinars every now and again which provides some degree of market insights, but it’s not overly extensive.
They also have various other educational tools including an economic calendar and an open interest heat map. What’s more, they also integrate with StereoTrader which is a customisable software platform for use with MT4 and MT5. It offers advanced backtesting features, enhanced order types, and isolated trading strategies.
Our Verdict on Tools and Education
If we’re being honest, we think the educational materials offered by The Trading Pit are pretty basic. While they touch on some pertinent topics like trading psychology and risk management, it’s fairly generic overall. We also think their economic calendar and heatmap are a bit average, but we do think the integration with StereoTrader adds value and as such, we scored them modestly for this section.
The Trading Pit seems to be fairly new and a smallish operation judging by the size of their social media following and online trading communities. Despite this, they have an ‘Excellent’ rating on Trustpilot with most comments overwhelmingly positive.
As far as their community goes, their Telegram has approximately 500 members while their Discord has about 1800. We checked both out and there isn’t a lot of engagement going on, with just a few messages posted each day in the general chat.
Across their social media accounts they also have modest followings; X (formerly Twitter) has 1900 followers, TikTok has 200, Instagram 3,400 and Facebook 60,000, although engagement is quite low across all.
Our Verdict On Trust and Community
While The Trading Pit doesn’t have a large social media presence or active community, they are a verified organisation with Trustpilot and retain an ‘Excellent’ rating. As a result, we took a neutral view and scored them moderately well.
Getting set up with The Trading Pit is very easy to do and we have outlined the steps you need to take below.
Overall, we think The Trading Pit overall product is simple yet effective, providing a good selection of account types across both CFD and futures markets.
The firm’s profit target and maximum drawdown limits are reasonable, and a maximum 80% profit split for some accounts is undeniably attractive.
While there are time limits imposed on the challenge, we like that you can reset your account if you’ve breached a rule, although you do need to pay a small fee for this.
Additionally, with $5 million in funding available via their scale-up system, an extensive range of markets to trade, and multiple trading platforms available, The Trading Pit is certainly worthy of consideration.
The biggest issue for us is the fact that their $100,000 funding account costs $999 which is very expensive. Their saving grace however is that their 1-step $150,000 account costs just $169 (they don’t have a $100,000 futures account) which is quite cheap.
Despite this and the time limitations, all in all, we think The Trading Pit has a good offering, and we scored them 7.85 as a result.
