FundedNext is a UAE-based proprietary trading firm that sells simulated evaluation accounts on CFDs and futures. Traders who pass are paid a share of simulated profits. The firm launched in March 2022 and is operated by GrowthNext F.Z.E.
Overall, FundedNext offers a wide range of programs and flexible payout timing, but its rules penalize short holding times, event trading and automation on larger accounts. Payout terms vary widely across programs, and two rules shape the trading more than the profit target does: a 40% consistency rule during the challenge, and a 3% cap on total open risk once the account is funded.
Who operates FundedNext and what it sells
FundedNext runs separate CFD and futures product lines:
- CFD side: the Express Model, the Stellar 1-Step, Stellar 2-Step and Stellar Lite challenges, and an Instant account program that skips the evaluation.
- Futures side: the Rapid Pro, Rapid Daily, Legacy and Flex challenges.
FundedNext offers forty challenge configurations across both sides. CFD account sizes run from $6K to $200K, and the recent Stellar Lite update covers 5K to 200K accounts.
Platforms: MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, Match-Trader, cTrader, NinjaTrader, Tradovate and TradingView. Expert advisors run only on MT4 and MT5.
Payout methods: Rise, cryptocurrency and bank transfer.
Restricted countries: North Korea, Myanmar, Belarus, Iran, Russia and Vietnam. The firm allows VPNs, but connecting through an IP address in a restricted country is prohibited. Accessing the dashboard and the trading platform from different IP addresses without prior approval is also prohibited.
The CFD programs compared
| Program | Steps | Profit target | Daily loss | Max loss | Min trading days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Express Model | 1 | 25% | 5% | 10% trailing | 10 |
| Stellar 1-Step | 1 | 10% | 3% | 6% trailing | 2 |
| Stellar 2-Step | 2 | Phase 1: 8%, Phase 2: 5% | 5% | 10% static | 5 |
| Stellar Lite (updated) | 2 | 8% / 4% | 4% | 8% | Not specified |
| Instant | None | None | Not specified | 6% trailing | Not applicable |
The single-step programs ask for very different things.
- Express: a 25% gain inside a 10% trailing drawdown, a target-to-drawdown ratio of 2.5 to 1 against you.
- Stellar 1-Step: an easier 10% target, but 6% trailing room and a 3% daily limit are tight enough that an ordinary losing streak can end the account.
- Stellar 2-Step: a 13% combined target across two phases, with the widest drawdown room of the Stellar evaluations (5% daily, 10% maximum).
Costs: challenge fees, commissions and leverage
Challenge fees
Express and Stellar 1-Step are priced identically at each size, from $66 for $6K to $1,100 for $200K. The cost falls per unit of account size as the account grows:
- $6K account: $66, or $110 per $10K
- $200K account: $1,100, or $55 per $10K
The Stellar 2-Step starts slightly lower, at $59.99 for the $6K size.
The fee is refundable, but when it comes back depends on the program. Some configurations return it with the first Performance Reward (FundedNext’s term for a payout) and others with the third. An optional 150% Reward add-on, available on Stellar 1-Step and 2-Step, raises the refund to 150% of the fee.
Discount codes: FundedNext had no public discount code on its official site at the time of writing. The firm prohibits abuse of promotions, vouchers, discounts and referral programs.
Commissions
The commission is $5 per lot on Stellar 1-Step and 2-Step and $7 per lot on Stellar Lite and Instant.
Leverage
Leverage is lower on the instant and one-step accounts than on the two-step:
| Asset | Instant | 1-Step | 2-Step |
|---|---|---|---|
| FX | 1:30 | 1:30 | 1:100 |
| Indices | 1:5 | 1:10 | 1:25 |
| Commodities | 1:7.5 | 1:15 | 1:25 |
| Stocks | 1:2 | 1:2 | 1:2 |
| Crypto | 1:1 | 1:1 | 1:1 |
The 40% consistency rule raises your target if one day dominates
During the challenge, no single day’s profit may exceed 40% of the profit target. If one day does exceed it, you don’t fail. Instead, the target moves: the required total profit becomes your highest single-day profit divided by 0.40.
Hypothetical example, $100K Stellar 1-Step (10% target):
- The profit target is $10,000, so the daily threshold is $4,000.
- Your best day makes $5,000.
- The new required total is $5,000 ÷ 0.40 = $12,500.
In this case, a single strong session pushes the finish line out by 25%.
A separate 40% best-day consistency rule applies in the funded stage, but only when the trader chooses the On-Demand Performance Reward payout option.
Risk rules on funded accounts
The 3% maximum risk rule
On funded accounts (FundedNext calls them FundedNext Accounts, as opposed to Challenge Accounts), total risk exposure may never exceed 3% of the initial balance. That 3% counts three things at once:
- the distance to every open stop loss
- unrealized losses
- realized losses across trades
Hypothetical example: on a $100K funded account, three open trades each risking $1,000 to their stops put you at the full $3,000 limit. A fourth position would breach the rule.
Breaches are handled in stages:
- First violation: a formal warning, and profits from the violating trades are deducted.
- Second violation: profits are deducted again, and the account is permanently capped at 1% maximum cumulative risk.
- Later violations: profits from trades beyond the 1% limit are deducted, while losses still count.
Mandatory stop loss
Every trade must carry a stop loss. A trade opened and closed without one is treated as a risk violation, even if it made money.
Instant account drawdown
The Instant program uses a 6% trailing maximum loss that does not reset after a payout. Each withdrawal eats into the remaining buffer, so withdrawing the full available profit can breach the account.
Inactivity
On CFD accounts, at least one trade is required within every 60 consecutive days, or the account is deactivated; futures Challenge and funded accounts use a 30 consecutive calendar day window.
Restrictions on trading style
Several rules penalize short-horizon or event-driven trading.
Quick Strike trades
Any trade closed within 30 seconds is a Quick Strike trade. If such trades produce 30% or more of a cycle’s profit, it is a violation, and FundedNext issues a warning at 20%.
- Challenge Accounts: progression is suspended until the share falls back below 30%.
- Funded accounts: Quick Strike profits can be forfeited, and an account still at or above 30% at the end of the cycle may be terminated.
FundedNext also prohibits tick scalping and repeatedly entering and exiting trades within 5 ticks or without a reasonable holding time of 15 to 20 seconds.
News trading
News trading is allowed in both stages, but in the funded stage only 40% of profits count from trades executed within 5 minutes before or after a listed high-impact event on that instrument. Losses count in full. The window covers market orders, pending orders, and stop loss and take profit fills.
Hypothetical example: a $1,000 gain on a trade opened two minutes after a rate decision counts as $400, while a $1,000 loss counts as $1,000.
The same 40% attribution applies to Stellar Instant.
Expert advisors
On Stellar 1-Step, 2-Step and Lite, EAs are permitted only under these conditions:
- the account is on MT4 or MT5
- the account is below $50,000
- the EA add-on has been purchased
Accounts of $50,000 or more must be traded manually. Automated trading is not permitted on cTrader or Match-Trader in any case. Each EA must be customized to the trader’s own strategy (identical bots across users are prohibited), and a single EA strategy is capped at $300,000 in allocation.
Copy trading
On the Stellar challenges, you may copy trades between your own Challenge Accounts, up to $300,000 combined with one designated master account. Copying between funded accounts, or between funded and challenge accounts, is prohibited even when one person owns them all. Instant accounts may copy only among other Instant accounts.
VPS
A VPS is allowed below $50,000 for a usage fee and prohibited at $50,000 and above. Manual trading through a VPS is prohibited at any size.
Same strategy in both stages
The strategy you trade in the challenge must continue on the funded account. Switching between manual and automated trading, or substantially changing instruments, margin use or risk exposure, is prohibited.
Other prohibited practices
FundedNext prohibits many other practices. Among those most likely to catch an ordinary trader:
- grid trading
- one-sided directional bets
- over-leveraging and over-exposure
- hedging correlated instruments across accounts
- trading through extreme gaps or illiquid conditions
- unusually large or small lot sizes
Several entries are written in futures terms, such as executing trades within 2% of the CME price limit. Violations can lead to account review, suspension or denial of the payout.
Payouts
The headline policy is an 80% split on a 5-business-day frequency with 40-hour processing, but each program has its own schedule.
Stellar 1-Step
- Split: 80%, rising to 90% after qualifying for Scale-Up
- Cycle: every 5 business days
Stellar 2-Step
The trader chooses one of three payout modes:
| Mode | Schedule | Split |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | First payout after 21 days, then every 14 days | 80%, rising to 90% after Scale-Up |
| 3-Day Performance Reward | After 3 profitable days in a cycle, each at least 1% account profit | 60% |
| On-Demand | After at least 2% account growth, subject to the 40% best-day rule | 90% |
The optional Bi-Weekly Reward add-on shortens the first standard payout wait on Stellar 2-Step from 21 days to 14.
Instant
- Split: 70% in Tiers 1 and 2, 80% from Tier 3 onward
- Standard cycle: every 14 days, provided the account has grown at least 1%. Below 1%, the cycle extends until the condition is met.
- On-Demand: available after 5% growth, subject to end-of-day eligibility checks
Fees and minimums on every program
- Minimum withdrawal: $20 by eligible crypto methods, $50 through Rise.
- Processing fee: 3.5% on all payout methods.
- Lifetime Reward 95% add-on: raises the split to 95% on eligible payout configurations of Stellar 1-Step, 2-Step and Lite.
The futures line
Rapid Pro, Rapid Daily, Legacy and Flex were recently revised in size and price. Their maximum loss limits are fixed dollar amounts that scale with account size. The CME price limit rule, the overnight holding prohibition and the tick-based scalping limits weigh most on these programs.
Strengths and trade-offs
Strengths
- Range of programs: CFD one-step, two-step and instant options plus four futures programs, with prices shared across the main one-step models.
- Flexible payout timing on Stellar 2-Step: from 60% after three qualifying days to 90% on demand.
- Refunds and upgrades: a refundable fee, with add-ons for a 150% refund or a 95% split.
- Lower cost per dollar at larger sizes: half the price per $10K at $200K compared with $6K.
Trade-offs
- Tight limits on Stellar 1-Step: 3% daily and 6% trailing.
- A funded-stage risk regime whose escalating penalties end in a permanent 1% cap.
- Automation limits: no EAs or VPS at $50,000 and above.
- Discounted short-term profits under the Quick Strike and news-window rules.
- A 3.5% fee on every payout, on top of the profit split.
Terms to confirm before trading: The holding rules conflict. Weekend holding is described as not allowed and overnight holding beyond market close as prohibited, yet the Stellar CFD rules have described both as permitted. FundedNext does not state whether the commission is charged per side or per round trip, which doubles or halves the effective cost. On the futures programs, some maximum loss limits trail and others are calculated at end of day. If the 3.5% payout fee is charged on the amount withdrawn, a $1,000 payout loses $35.
How we checked FundedNext
We visited fundednext.com on 13 November 2026, connecting from Estonia, and ran the register search the same day from Tallinn, Estonia. Starting on the home page, we scrolled to the footer, followed the “Company” link, and opened the Terms of Service along with the CFD and futures challenge terms, the rules pages and the reward page. The footer names FundedNext Ltd (Reg. No. HY01023052), based on the Island of Mohéli in the Union of the Comoros, as the operator of the simulated trading environment. A services entity registered in the Ajman Free Zone under Reg. No. 28831 also appears there, next to the line “Not a Deposit | Not FDIC Insured | May Lose Value.” The Company page lists FSCA FSP No. 53187 and a Vanuatu Financial Services Commission licence printed as “700XXX”, with the digits masked. We saw no risk warning.
Prices were easy to find. The home page showed the Stellar 2-Step at $59.99 for the $6K account, with $34.99 displayed beside it, and at $549.99 for $100K and $1,099.99 for $200K. The CFD trading objectives page gives targets of 8% and 5%, a 5% daily loss limit, a static 10% maximum loss and 5 minimum trading days. Clicking “Start Challenge” led to a checkout page on fundednext.com that already listed prices. We stopped there and bought nothing.
For the regulatory claim, we tried the FSCA FAIS financial services provider search for FSP 53187 on 13 November 2026. We could not complete the check, because the FSCA site was down for routine maintenance that day.
On Trustpilot, read 13 November 2026, FundedNext scored 4.5/5 from 83,783 reviews. The Wayback Machine’s first capture of the domain is dated 2018-08-06, which may predate the current brand. We still cannot confirm that the FSCA and Vanuatu entries on the Company page are current. One register was offline, and the Vanuatu number is masked on the site itself.
Who FundedNext may suit
The rules favor a discretionary trader on MetaTrader or cTrader who holds trades longer than 30 seconds, sets a stop on every position and spreads gains across many days.
EA traders can work within the rules only below $50,000 on MT4 or MT5. Scalpers and news traders will find the profit-attribution rules costly once funded, and Instant traders must budget for the non-resetting trailing loss.
Alternatives
| Provider | Score | Fee | Split | Payouts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7.7/10 | $76 | 90% | 5 winning days | 150K Account: $250 minimum profit per day | Review | |
| 6.4/10 | $599 | 90/10 profit split | after every 5 winning days of $150+ | Review | |
| 5.1/10 | $239 | 80% | Bi-weekly | Review |
Sources
- fundednext.com/api_docs/package-comparison
- fundednext.com/cfd-challenge-terms
- helpfutures.fundednext.com/en/articles/17228899-what-are-the-available
- help.fundednext.com/en/articles/17253243-stellar-instant-account
- help.fundednext.com/en/articles/17253939-stellar-lite-account
- helpfutures.fundednext.com/en/collections/19764579-general-rules-guide