A prop firm challenge is an evaluation that most participants do not pass on a given attempt. Firm-published figures for 2025 range from 8.89% at Earn2Trade to 36.22% at Take Profit Trader, depending on the product, rules and calculation method. No independent audit covers the entire prop firm industry, so these figures are useful benchmarks rather than one universal pass rate.
Prop Firm Challenge Pass Rates at a Glance
| Prop firm | Published period | What the percentage measures | Reported rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Earn2Trade | January to December 2025 | Trader Career Path and Gauntlet Mini examinations passed | 8.89% |
| Topstep | January to December 2025 | Trading Combines successfully completed | 16.8% |
| Topstep | January to December 2025 | Individual participants who reached the funded level in at least one attempt | 51.8% |
| Take Profit Trader | January to December 2025 | Trading tests passed and traders reaching the PRO account | 36.22% |
These figures measure different things. Earn2Trade reports examinations, Topstep reports both attempts and individual participants, and Take Profit Trader reports trading tests. They should not be treated as interchangeable.
What Percentage of People Pass a Prop Firm Challenge?
There is no reliable industry-wide percentage. The available firm-level figures show that pass rates can be below 10% for some products, around 15% to 20% for others, and above 30% when a firm uses a different product or denominator.
The main distinction is between:
- Every challenge or account attempt
- Completed examinations
- Unique traders
- Traders who passed at least once
- Traders who reached a funded account
- Traders who received a payout
A trader who fails three times and passes on the fourth appears as four attempts but one successful participant. That difference explains why an attempt-based rate can look much lower than a trader-based rate.
Why Are Prop Firm Pass Rates So Different?
1. Attempts Are Not the Same as People
A pass rate based on attempts counts each entry separately. A trader who takes four evaluations contributes four attempts, even if they are the same person.
Topstep reported that 16.8% of Trading Combines initiated in 2025 were completed successfully. It also reported that 51.8% of individual participants reached the funded level in at least one Combine. The first figure is attempt-based. The second is participant-based.
Neither number is necessarily more accurate. They answer different questions.
2. Challenge Rules Vary
Most evaluations combine a profit target with restrictions such as:
- A maximum loss limit
- A daily loss limit
- A consistency requirement
- Minimum trading days
- One or more evaluation phases
Topstep, for example, requires traders to reach a profit target while staying above its Maximum Loss Limit and meeting a consistency target.
A two-phase challenge can have a lower completion rate than a one-phase evaluation because the trader must meet more than one target without breaking the account rules.
3. Repeat Attempts Change the Calculation
Some traders purchase more than one evaluation. They may fail several times before passing, while another trader may pass on the first attempt.
That means the statement "10% of traders pass" is only meaningful if the firm confirms that it is counting unique traders. If the figure actually refers to accounts or attempts, it describes a different result.
4. Firms Do Not Report the Same Data
Prop firms may count:
- All evaluations started
- Only completed evaluations
- Resets as new attempts
- Unique users
- Traders who passed at least once
- Traders who reached a funded account
Take Profit Trader reported that 36.22% of all trading tests were passed during 2025. Its earlier published figure measured the percentage of currently registered users who had passed. Those calculations are not equivalent.
Is Passing the Challenge the Same as Receiving a Payout?
No. Passing an evaluation is only one stage of the process.
A trader may:
- Start an evaluation.
- Pass the evaluation.
- Reach a funded-level account.
- Follow the funded-account rules.
- Become eligible for a payout.
- Receive a payout and continue trading successfully.
Topstep reported that 33.3% of individual participants at its funded level received a payout in 2025. It also reported that only 0.71% of individual participants trading in an Express Funded Account were called up to a Live Funded Account.
A challenge pass rate therefore does not tell you how many traders ultimately receive money or continue trading successfully.
What Is a Realistic Expectation for a New Trader?
For someone without a tested strategy and strict risk controls, a firm's published average should not be treated as a personal probability of success.
A sensible expectation is:
- Most first attempts will fail.
- Some evaluation providers report pass rates below 10%.
- A rate near 15% to 20% is consistent with the more transparent figures from Earn2Trade and Topstep.
- Take Profit Trader's 36.22% figure cannot be applied to every prop firm because the product and calculation method differ.
- Passing once does not show that a trader can withdraw profits consistently.
Common causes of failure include excessive position sizing, revenge trading, trading through losses and trying to reach the profit target too quickly. Many traders breach a risk rule before they have enough time to demonstrate a repeatable strategy.
How Should You Compare a Prop Firm's Pass-Rate Claim?
Before buying an evaluation, check whether the firm states:
- The reporting period
- Whether the figure covers accounts, attempts or unique traders
- Whether failed resets are included
- Whether only completed evaluations are counted
- Whether the figure refers to passing the challenge or receiving a payout
- Whether the data covers one product or the full company
- Whether the figures were independently audited
A statement such as "30% of traders pass" is difficult to assess without this information.
Bottom Line
Treat a prop firm pass rate as a measurement of one stage, not as a forecast of income. The published 2025 figures differ because firms count different products, events and groups of traders.
For a new trader, the safer assumption is that passing will be difficult. Reaching a funded account is not the same as receiving a payout, and meeting the profit target matters less if the account later breaches its risk rules.