There’s one thing Take Profit Trader keeps hammering home in every piece of marketing they put out: get paid on day one. No waiting windows, no minimum profitable days, no arbitrary “you must earn X before we trust you.” Just pass the test, activate your PRO account, and pull your profits whenever you want.
And honestly? That’s not just marketing fluff. Traders across Trustpilot, Reddit, and prop firm forums back it up. Multiple reviews mention waking up with funds already processed. The day-one withdrawal thing is real, and it genuinely matters.
But there’s nuance here, so let’s get into it.
What Take Profit Trader Actually Is
TPT launched in 2021 out of Orlando, Florida. Founded by James Sixsmith (former professional hockey player turned trader, which is a genuinely interesting backstory), the firm built its entire identity around solving one specific pain point: payout delays. With a 4.4-star rating on Trustpilot from 8,000+ reviews, they’ve clearly hit a nerve.
The structure is a 1-step evaluation model. They call it the “Test.” Pass once, get funded. No 2-step nonsense, no Phase 1 then Phase 2. You hit your profit target following their rules, you’re in.
Account sizes run from $25K all the way to $150K, and there are 5 tiers:
| Account | Monthly Fee | Profit Target | Max Drawdown | Max Contracts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $25K | $150 | $1,500 (6%) | $1,500 (6%) | 3 minis / 30 micros |
| $50K | $170 | $3,000 (6%) | $2,000 (4%) | 6 minis / 60 micros |
| $75K | $245 | $4,500 (6%) | $3,000 (4%) | 9 minis / 90 micros |
| $100K | $330 | $6,000 (6%) | $4,000 (4%) | 12 minis / 120 micros |
| $150K | $360 | $9,000 (6%) | $4,500 (3%) | 15 minis / 150 micros |
The 6% profit target across the board is one of TPT’s cleaner features. You don’t have to do different mental math for different account sizes. 6% is 6% on all of them. Relatively doable for a disciplined futures trader who isn’t swinging for home runs every session.
Also worth noting: as of January 2025, TPT removed the daily loss limit entirely. This is bigger than people realize. A lot of traders blow evaluations because one rough morning wipes out their daily limit before noon, even if the overall trend was recoverable. TPT said, effectively, “we don’t care about intraday, just don’t blow the account overall by end of day.” That’s genuinely trader-friendly thinking.
The Evaluation Rules (Here’s What Matters)
The EOD (end-of-day) trailing drawdown is TPT’s real differentiator at the evaluation stage. Your max loss threshold only trails higher at the close of the trading day, not intraday. So if you’re up $1,200 during a session but give back $800 before close, your drawdown floor doesn’t move during that whole sequence. It catches up at 5 PM EST when the market closes.
Compare that to firms using real-time trailing drawdowns. If you’re up $1,500 at 10 AM and give it all back by 11 AM, your trailing drawdown has already tightened by $1,500. The EOD method spares you from that. It’s forgiving in a practical, realistic way—not just on paper.
The 5-day minimum is annoying, not gonna lie. You can absolutely hit your 6% target in 2 or 3 days if you’re running hot. But you still have to come back and trade at least 5 days total before they’ll approve you. The 5-day rule exists for a reason (TPT wants proof of repeatability, not one lucky streak), but if you’re sitting on your profit target on day 3, you’re basically just trying not to give money back for the next 2 days. That’s a psychological challenge in itself.
The 50% consistency rule is where a lot of newer traders get tripped up. No single trading day can account for more than 50% of your total profits. Example: you’re on the $50K account, need $3,000. You have a monster day and make $1,800. That’s 60% of your target, which trips the rule. You can’t pass until your total profits hit $3,600, making your $1,800 day only 50% of the pile. You have to keep trading until that math works out. This rule doesn’t fail you—it just forces you to keep going. TopStep uses the same logic. It’s a reasonable filter, but it does occasionally turn a 5-day challenge into a 7-day one if you had a big early winner.
Worth mentioning: high-impact news trading is actually allowed during the Test phase. FOMC, NFP, CPI—traders can trade through those during evaluation. That changes in the PRO account (more on that below).
The PRO Account: Where the Day-One Payout Actually Works
Once you pass, you pay a $130 activation fee and your PRO account goes live. No monthly fees after that. Clean.
Here’s where the “day-one payout” thing requires some explanation though, because there’s a catch traders miss until they’re actually funded.
Your PRO account has a buffer zone. On a $50K account with a $2K max drawdown, that means your buffer sits at $52K. You cannot withdraw profits until your balance exceeds that buffer. So if you passed the Test at exactly your $3K profit target, your starting balance is $53K, and technically you can request a payout of up to $1K on day one.
That’s real money. But if you started at $50K and had barely scraped to $51,800 when you were approved—maybe you hit your profit target but gave some back—you might need a profitable day or two before you’re above the buffer. “Day one” payouts depend on where you landed when you passed.
The profit split in PRO accounts is 80/20. You keep 80%. That’s solid, not exceptional. Plenty of firms offer 90% upfront. But what you’re getting with TPT’s 80% is arguably more valuable: flexibility. No withdrawal restrictions, no waiting, no caps on how much you take.
Another thing that trips people up in PRO accounts: the drawdown structure shifts. During the Test phase you had EOD trailing drawdown. Once you’re in a PRO account… it becomes real-time intraday trailing. This catches traders who passed in a relaxed EOD environment and then find themselves dealing with a tighter, less forgiving drawdown on their funded account. This is one of the more consistent complaints from the community. You’ll see Trustpilot and Reddit threads from traders who felt blindsided by how aggressive the funded drawdown felt compared to evaluation. Worth knowing going in.
PRO resets cost $100 flat if you breach the account and want to restart. PRO resets get considerably more expensive though—reportedly $649 for a $50K PRO if you breach and want to try again without losing the account. That’s not a typo. Some traders cycle through multiple PRO resets without ever building above the buffer, and costs stack up fast.
News Trading in PRO Accounts
This is where TPT gets strict. FOMC announcements, NFP releases, and CPI days require you to be completely flat—no positions, no open orders—1 minute before and 1 minute after the event. Some instruments (crude oil) have their own separate prohibited events like crude oil inventory reports. TPT sends reminder emails on event days, which is nice. But if you’re an NFP trader by habit, you need to rewire your approach.
The PRO+ Account: Worth Chasing, Hard to Get
PRO+ is where TPT gets interesting. You upgrade from PRO to PRO+, and the rules change substantially:
- 90/10 profit split (you keep 90%)
- EOD drawdown returns (instead of real-time trailing)
- No buffer zone—every dollar of profit is withdrawable same day
- Live market execution through Tradovate
To qualify, you need to generate $5,000 in profit on a PRO account, or hit a single-day profit of $10K. The upgrade isn’t automatic—TPT sends you an invitation, and the review process takes 4-6 business days during which trading pauses.
The honest take from tracking community feedback: most PRO traders don’t make it to PRO+. Based on forum discussions and trader reports, it’s probably less than 10% of funded traders who hit that $5K threshold in sim before burning the account. The intraday trailing drawdown in PRO accounts gets them. This doesn’t mean TPT is doing anything deceptive—PRO+ is a legit upgrade path—but if you’re expecting to casually graduate through the tiers, recalibrate.
Platform Access
TPT supports two data feeds and 15+ platforms, which is one of their strong suits.
- CQG data feed: NinjaTrader, TradingView, Tradovate
- Rithmic data feed: R|Trader, Quantower, Sierra Chart, Bookmap, ATAS, MultiCharts, MotiveWave, and more
NinjaTrader is the go-to for serious futures traders, and it works seamlessly during the Test phase for free. Just be aware: once you’re funded, NinjaTrader requires a paid license ($600-$1,200 depending on the version). That’s a NinjaTrader thing, not a TPT thing, but budget for it.
Tradovate is the natural choice if you want to avoid the NinjaTrader cost, and community feedback on Tradovate data quality through TPT is generally positive. No lag complaints, no fill issues mentioned in the reviews I’ve tracked.
What the Community Actually Says
Trustpilot leans heavily positive, with 8,300+ reviews and scores hovering around 4.4 stars. The consistent positives:
- Payouts are fast. Multiple traders report same-day or next-morning payouts once above the buffer
- Support is responsive, though not instant—generally 1-2 hour wait during trading hours according to multiple reports
- The dashboard is clean and informative
- Rules during the Test phase are clear and documented well
The criticisms that appear repeatedly are worth taking seriously:
- The switch from EOD drawdown (Test) to real-time intraday trailing (PRO) catches traders off guard. This is the number one complaint pattern in negative reviews
- A smaller set of reviews mentions accounts being failed for trades that happened during technical issues, with support not reversing decisions. This happens at every firm, but it’s in the pattern here
- PRO reset fees are high if you breach a funded account
- The $50 withdrawal fee on amounts under $250 is annoying for traders who like to pull small profits frequently
Who Should Actually Use TPT
Strong fit:
- Day traders on ES, NQ, MES, or MNQ who close all positions before 5 PM EST
- Traders who prioritize payout speed over maximum profit split
- Anyone who wants a straightforward 1-step evaluation without 2-stage gatekeeping
- Traders who are disciplined about consistency (don’t rely on big one-day swings)
Not a great fit:
- Swing traders. TPT requires you to be out before close every session, no exceptions
- Traders who actively play NFP, FOMC, or CPI setups when funded (you’ll be sitting on your hands during the key moments)
- High-frequency traders running hundreds of trades in seconds (TPT explicitly bans this strategy)
- Anyone expecting PRO and PRO+ to feel identical from a drawdown standpoint (they don’t)
Quick Take
TPT does one thing genuinely better than almost every other futures prop firm: it gets you your money fast. The day-one payout is real, the process is transparent, the Test rules are clean. The 20% pass rate (among the highest in the industry, comparing favorably to Topstep’s 12.4%) suggests the evaluation is hard but not arbitrary.
The frustrating parts are real too. The intraday trailing drawdown on PRO accounts catches traders who passed in a more relaxed EOD environment and then find themselves in a different game. The path to PRO+ is harder than it sounds in the marketing. And if you’re a swing trader, this firm just doesn’t work—full stop.
Start on the $50K account if you’re seriously considering this. The 1:1.5 profit-to-drawdown ratio makes more sense than the $25K account’s 1:1, and the $170/month fee is easier to justify. Use the NOFEE40 promo code to get 40% off and skip the PRO activation fee—that’s a legitimate ongoing discount, not a time-limited flash sale.