How to use the prop firm payout calculator
- Enter the account size and the profit you made on the funded account. The profit is the amount the split applies to.
- Enter your profit split, your share as a percentage. The calculator opens at 80%.
- Enter the challenge or evaluation fee, and any other fees you pay each month, such as data or platform fees.
- Enter the months it took to reach the profit. They multiply the monthly fees and set the per-month figures.
- Say whether the fee is refunded with your first payout. If it is, the challenge fee is not counted as a cost.
The hero figure is what you take home after fees. The tiles show your payout, the firm's share, the fees counted, the profit you need before you are ahead of them, the payout as a share of the account and the net result per month. One chart splits the profit between you and the firm, and the other plots your take-home against the profit made, with a second line for a better split. Your inputs stay in the address bar, so you can copy the link to keep or share a calculation.
The prop firm payout formula
The calculation has two parts: the split, then the fees.
payout = profit × split
firm's share = profit − payout
fees counted = challenge fee (unless refunded) + monthly fees × months
take-home = payout − fees counted
break-even profit = fees counted ÷ split
payout of account = payout ÷ account size
The split is your share of the profit as a fraction, so 80% is 0.80. Fees counted are the money you paid to be in the programme. A challenge fee that comes back with your first payout is not a cost in the end, so it is left out. The break-even profit is the profit at which your payout has paid the fees back: any profit below it leaves you behind, and any profit above it leaves you ahead.
Worked example
You made $8,000 on a $100,000 funded account. Your split is 80%, the challenge fee was $540 and is not refunded, there are no monthly fees, and it took two months.
You are ahead of the fee once the account has made $675, and everything above that is yours at 80%. The same profit at a 90% split pays $7,200, takes home $6,660 and breaks even at $600. That is $800 more take-home than the 80% split at your profit. The second line on the chart shows that comparison. Those are the figures the calculator opens with.
What the profit split really means
A split such as 80/20 divides each dollar of profit: you receive 80 cents and the firm keeps 20. It applies to profit, not to the account, so the payout is a share of what you made, not a share of the account size. In the usual structure a loss on the account is the firm's loss and not a debt you owe, so the fees are the money you put at risk. Check your agreement for the terms.
Splits are not the same everywhere, and some firms offer a higher split after several payouts or for a higher fee. Compare splits on take-home, not on the headline number. A 90% split with higher fees can pay less than an 80% split with lower ones at the profit you actually make, and the chart on this page shows where the two lines cross.
Fees, refunds and the break-even profit
The break-even profit is fees divided by your split. The same $540 fee needs $675 of profit at 80% and $600 at 90%, so a better split lowers the bar slightly. Monthly fees raise it. With $50 a month over two months and a fee that is not refunded, the fees counted are $640, and you need $800 of profit to be ahead.
A refund changes the picture. If the $540 comes back with your first payout, the only cost left is the monthly fees: $100 in the same example, and the break-even profit falls to $125. Check how your firm words the refund. A refund that arrives only after several payouts, or only on a particular account, is later money, and the calculator's "refunded" switch assumes the first payout.
Count every attempt when you fill in the fee. If you paid for three evaluations before one account was funded, the fee that earned the payout is the sum of the three, not the last one. Enter the total in the fee field and the break-even and take-home figures show the real cost. This is the number most traders leave out when they compare a payout with a fee.
Payout as a share of the account
The payout as a share of the account puts different account sizes on one scale. $6,400 from a $100,000 account is 6.4%, and after the fee it is 5.86%. Divide by the months and you get the net result per month, which is the number to compare with other ways of using the same time. These figures describe one period that went well. They are not a forecast of the next, and a run of losing months pays nothing while the monthly fees continue.
Common prop firm payout mistakes
- Counting all profit as withdrawable. Rules such as minimum trading days, payout limits and a consistency rule can hold part of it back. Check the best-day share before you ask for a payout.
- Leaving out the fees of failed attempts. They are part of the cost of the one account that paid.
- Assuming the refund is immediate. Read when and how the firm returns the fee.
- Forgetting that a payout lowers the balance. The money leaves the account, which can bring the loss limit closer. See the prop firm drawdown calculator for how the limits move.
- Ignoring taxes and payment costs. Tax rules, bank fees and currency conversion come on top of the figures here.
- Treating one good month as the rate. Net per month from a single period is a record, not a forecast. The expectancy calculator shows how much luck a short run contains.
What the calculator does not know
It does not know your firm's rules. Payout caps, minimum payout amounts, waiting periods, minimum trading days, consistency rules and changes to the split are set by each firm, can change, and can reduce what is paid. It does not know your tax position, withdrawal fees or currency conversion costs, and it treats the profit you enter as fully withdrawable. It assumes one flat split and one set of fees. Use the result to compare options and to plan, and rely on your firm's own rules page and payout history for what you will actually receive. Read what a prop firm is first if the terms are new. Nothing here is investment advice, and past profit does not predict future profit.
Frequently asked questions
How do I calculate a prop firm payout?
Multiply the profit by your profit split. On $8,000 of profit at an 80% split the payout is $8,000 × 0.80 = $6,400. Then take off the fees you paid to find what you keep, which here is $5,860 after a $540 fee.
What does an 80/20 profit split mean?
You keep 80% of the profit and the firm keeps 20%. On $8,000 of profit that is $6,400 for you and $1,600 for the firm. The split applies to profit only, so it does not mean the firm takes a share of your account.
What is the break-even profit on a prop firm challenge?
It is the profit at which your payout equals the fees you paid. Divide the fees by your split: $540 ÷ 0.80 = $675 at an 80% split. Below that profit you are behind on the fee, and above it you are ahead.
Is the challenge fee refunded?
That depends on the firm and the account. Some firms return the fee with a first payout and others do not return it at all. The calculator has a switch for it, and the rules page of your firm says which applies.
Do monthly fees reduce my payout?
They reduce what you keep, not the payout itself. The calculator multiplies the monthly fee by the months you enter and subtracts it from the payout. Fifty dollars a month over two months takes $100 off the take-home.
How do I compare an 80% split with a 90% split?
Look at the take-home at the profit you expect, not at the headline split. On $8,000 of profit, 90% pays $800 more than 80%. The chart plots both lines so you can see the gap at any profit and the break-even for each.
What is a good profit split?
There is no single good figure, and a higher split is not always better once fees and rules are counted. Compare the take-home after fees at a realistic profit, then weigh the payout rules, the loss limits and the refund. Use your own results from a journal for the profit figure, not a best month.
Why is my payout lower than the profit times my split?
Other things can sit between the two: fees, a payout cap, a consistency rule or processing costs. The calculator shows the split and the fees you enter, and your firm's payout terms decide the rest. Check the rules page for anything not in the calculator.
Are prop firm payouts taxed?
Tax depends on where you live and how the payout is classed, and the calculator does not include it. Treat the net figure as a pre-tax number and ask a tax professional about your own position.
What percentage of the account is a good payout?
There is no benchmark that suits everyone, and a figure from one good period says little about the next. The calculator shows the payout as a share of the account size so you can compare accounts and periods, and a longer record tells you more than one month.