Vault Funder was a South African forex prop firm that sold one-step and two-step evaluations on MetaTrader 5, with account sizes from $5K to $100K and fees from $60 to $550. Funded traders are offered a profit split of up to 90% with bi-weekly payouts. Its strengths are low entry fees, static drawdown on every challenge and no stated consistency rule. The trade-offs are a tight one-step risk limit, several unpublished terms and Trustpilot complaints about stuck challenges and denied payouts. Both evaluation models cost the same at each account size, but their risk limits differ a lot, and that difference matters more than anything else when choosing a Vault Funder challenge.
Who operates Vault Funder
The firm trades under the name Vault Funder through the legal entity Fintech Focused (Pty) Ltd, a private limited company registered in South Africa. It was founded in 2020, which gives it about six years in operation. Its former website, vaultfunder.trade, now forwards visitors to a page on vaultmarkets.trade announcing that Vault Funder has ceased operations.
Vault Funder sells evaluations: you pay a one-time fee, trade a simulated account under set rules, and receive a funded account with a profit share if you pass. The company registration identifies who you are contracting with. It is not a financial services licence. Vault Funder’s Regulatory Disclosure page does, however, list FSP number 51042 and refers to FSP licence conditions recorded by the FSCA, which we could not confirm because the register was offline.
Trading setup at a glance:
- Platform: MetaTrader 5
- Instruments: Forex
- Consistency rule: none stated
- Profit split: up to 90%
- Payout frequency: bi-weekly
Challenge models and costs
Vault Funder runs two evaluation programs, each at five account sizes. The fee is identical across both programs at the same size: $60 for $5K, $120 for $10K, $225 for $25K, $330 for $50K and $550 for $100K.
1-Step Challenge rules
The one-step program has a single evaluation phase:
- Profit target: 10%
- Daily loss limit: 4%
- Maximum loss: 6%, static
- Minimum trading days: 5
The profit target is larger than the total loss allowance, so the ratio of target to maximum drawdown is 1:0.6. You need to make 10% without ever being down 6% from the starting balance. That leaves little room for a losing streak early in the challenge, because the static floor does not move up as you gain.
2-Step Challenge and phase 2 rules
The two-step program splits the evaluation into two phases:
- Profit target: 10% in phase 1 and 5% in phase 2
- Daily loss limit: 5%
- Maximum loss: 10%, static
- Minimum trading days: 5 per phase
Phase 2 keeps the same daily loss limit, maximum loss and minimum day count as phase 1. Only the target is smaller. The ratio of target to drawdown is 1:1 in phase 1. Because the phase 2 target is half the size while the 10% allowance stays the same, phase 2 gives you twice as much drawdown room as the profit you need.
Fee relative to account size
The flat fee ladder means the cost per dollar of buying power falls as the account size rises. Dividing each fee by the account size gives the following:
| Account size | Fee | Fee per $10K of account | Fee as % of account |
|---|---|---|---|
| $5K | $60 | $120 | 1.2% |
| $10K | $120 | $120 | 1.2% |
| $25K | $225 | $90 | 0.9% |
| $50K | $330 | $66 | 0.66% |
| $100K | $550 | $55 | 0.55% |
These figures apply to both programs, because their prices are the same. The $5K and $10K tiers cost the same relative to size. Above that, each step up is cheaper per $10K, and the $100K account costs less than half as much per $10K as the two smallest tiers.
A lower ratio does not make the large account a better buy for everyone. The fee is the amount you can lose outright if you fail. At $550, a failed $100K attempt costs more than four failed $10K attempts at $120 each.
What the drawdown limits mean in dollars: the $50K example
Percentages are easier to manage once they are converted into dollar levels. The example below assumes a $50,000 starting balance and that the static maximum loss is measured from that starting balance, which is what “static” normally means.
$50K 1-Step Challenge
- Daily loss limit: 4% of $50,000 = $2,000 per day
- Maximum loss: 6% of $50,000 = $3,000, so the account floor is $47,000
- Profit target: 10% of $50,000 = $5,000, so you pass at $55,000
$50K 2-Step Challenge
- Daily loss limit: 5% of $50,000 = $2,500 per day
- Maximum loss: 10% of $50,000 = $5,000, so the account floor is $45,000
- Phase 1 target: 10% = $5,000 (pass at $55,000)
- Phase 2 target: 5% = $2,500 (pass at $52,500)
Under a static limit, the floor stays at $47,000 or $45,000 no matter how much profit you build. A trailing limit would follow your high-water mark upward. In the static setup, early profits act as a cushion above a fixed floor. A trader who reaches $53,000 on the 2-step account has $8,000 of room before the $45,000 floor.
Several terms need confirmation on the firm’s own rules page before you buy or trade near a limit. The rules do not say whether the daily loss limit is calculated on balance or on equity, or what time the day resets. That decides whether an open losing position can breach the limit before you close it. Leverage, payout methods, the starting profit split and any rules on news trading, weekend holding or restricted strategies are not published. The challenges are described as forex only, yet one Trustpilot reviewer refers to a “1 step 5k Synthetics challenge,” so confirm which markets your challenge covers.
Payouts and profit split
Funded accounts pay out on a bi-weekly cycle with a profit split of up to 90%. That 90% is the ceiling, and the starting split may be lower.
A hypothetical example, assuming the full 90% applies: if a funded $50K account makes $4,000 in profit during a payout cycle, the trader’s share is $3,600 and the firm keeps $400. At a lower starting split the trader’s share would be smaller. The cycle length also shapes cash flow: with bi-weekly payouts, profits made early in a cycle stay in the account, and remain exposed to the drawdown rules, until the next payout window.
What traders report on Trustpilot
Vault Funder holds a 4.6 Trustpilot rating from 350 reviews, distributed as follows:
- 5 stars: 274 (about 78%)
- 4 stars: 58 (about 17%)
- 3 stars: 7
- 2 stars: 1
- 1 star: 10 (about 3%)
Around 95% of reviews are four or five stars. People who leave reviews are not a representative sample of all buyers, so the ratings show reviewer opinion and say nothing about how many customers passed, got paid or had problems.
The written reviews cover both ends of the range:
- Positive reviews describe the evaluation as straightforward, mention responsive support and educational material, and praise the trader community. One reviewer says the firm’s director trades live on YouTube every day and talks with members.
- Negative reviews raise more specific concerns. One trader describes a 5K one-step challenge where the MT5 account no longer matched the web terminal, and the challenge stayed on “pending” after the trader met the day requirement and reached the target. Another accuses the firm of looking for account issues to deny payouts despite advertising zero denied payouts, and says the firm’s Instagram page had disappeared.
These are individual, unverified accounts. Still, the complaints concern the two points where a prop firm’s reliability matters most: whether passed challenges are processed, and whether payout requests are honored. If you buy an evaluation, keep screenshots of your account statistics at each milestone and save your support correspondence.
Strengths and trade-offs
Where Vault Funder is competitive
- Low entry price. The $5K tier costs $60, so you can try the rules at small cost.
- Same price for both models. At each size you choose between one phase and two phases on risk structure alone, not cost.
- Static drawdown on every challenge. The floor is fixed relative to the starting balance, which is easier to plan around than a trailing limit.
- No stated consistency rule. Neither program caps how much of your profit can come from a single day.
- Bi-weekly payouts and a split of up to 90%.
- MetaTrader 5, a widely used platform with broad broker and indicator support.
Where it asks more of you
- Tight one-step risk. A 6% total allowance against a 10% target leaves little margin for error.
- Two-step takes longer. It gives more room (5% daily, 10% total) but needs at least ten trading days across two phases.
- Narrow product range. The lineup is forex on one platform, with no futures or instant funding programs.
Because the prices are the same, the choice between the two programs is a choice between speed and room for error. For most strategies with normal drawdowns, the wider limits of the two-step change the odds of passing more than the extra phase costs in time.
Risks to weigh before buying
- Operational status. Questions about whether Vault Funder is still operating or closing come up, and one review cites a vanished Instagram account. When we opened the site on 13 November 2026, it forwarded to a page titled “Vault Funder has ceased operations,” so the firm should no longer be treated as an active evaluation provider. Recent reviews and the firm’s support response time are better live signals.
- Payout disputes. The negative reviews focus on denied or delayed payouts and stuck challenges, and there is no published payout total to weigh against them.
- Simulated accounts. As at other evaluation firms, you are paid a share of profit from a firm-run account. The fee is not a deposit, and the arrangement does not carry the protections of a regulated brokerage account.
How we checked Vault Funder
We connected from Tallinn, Estonia, on 13 November 2026 and typed in vaultfunder.trade. It did not stay there. The address forwarded us to a page on vaultmarkets.trade whose title read “Vault Funder has ceased operations.” That page says the brand was operated by Fintech Focused (Pty) Ltd. We scrolled to the footer and clicked “Regulatory Disclosure” under “LEGAL & REGULATORY”. The disclosure lists FSP number 51042 and company registration number 2020/233367/07. It describes the authorised activities as “Advice and intermediary services, subject to the FSP licence conditions recorded by the FSCA.” We did not see a risk warning anywhere. The domain was registered on 2023-07-11 through GoDaddy.com, LLC.
We also opened the Simulated Trading Evaluation Agreement and the Terms and Conditions. Both are PDF files. Neither gave us fee or rule figures we could confirm, so the prices and limits described elsewhere in this review are not backed by our own check. Because the firm has closed, we found no working checkout to test. We did not buy anything or open an account.
On the same day we tried the FSCA FAIS financial services provider search to look up FSP 51042. The FSCA site was down for routine maintenance, so we could not complete the check. We did not test the company registration number against any register.
On Trustpilot, which we read on 13 November 2026, Vault Funder holds 4.6/5 from 350 reviews. About 78% are five-star and 3% are one-star. The company has claimed the profile but had replied to none of the eight newest reviews. The earliest Wayback Machine capture of the domain is dated 2023-08-24. Since the FSCA register was offline, we cannot say whether FSP 51042 belongs to Fintech Focused (Pty) Ltd. We also cannot say whether accounts that were open at closure are still being settled.
Who it may suit
Vault Funder fits forex traders on MetaTrader 5 who want a low-cost evaluation and prefer static drawdown with no consistency rule. The two-step program suits traders whose normal drawdowns would breach a 6% total limit. The one-step program suits traders with tight risk control who want funding after a minimum of five days.
It is a weaker fit for traders who want futures, instant funding, published payout totals, or a firm with a large, documented payout record. Those traders can compare Vault Funder with firms such as The5ers and Goat Funded Trader.
Alternatives
| Provider | Score | Fee | Split | Payouts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5.4/10 | $595 | 80% | Payout on demand, then every 7 Days | Review | |
| 5.8/10 | $445 | 30% / 90% | — | Review | |
| 6.0/10 | $629 | 80% | every 14 calendar days | Review |
FAQ
Does Vault Funder offer a discount code?
No public discount code for Vault Funder was found when the firm was last checked on November 8, 2026. The fees, $60 to $550 depending on account size, are one-time prices.