What's FundedElite's Expected Value? A 1-Year Simulation of 2-Step, Lite, and 1-Step Shows 1-Step Wins Once You Have an Edge [September 2026]

※ Rules and pricing were confirmed on September 27, 2026 against FundedElite's official site (the challenge configuration screen) and official FAQ. Because FundedElite is a fully custom platform where you choose your own conditions, this article picked three representative configurations to calculate. All prices are list price (before applying the new-user coupon NEW50). Max loss was calculated using the FAQ's standard 8% (see below for a note on the 14% shown on the configuration screen).

Conclusion

• Once you have even a small edge, 1-Step ranks #1 among the three plans. At 1% risk per trade and "medium" skill, it produced +$25,607 for the year.
• 2-Step and 2-Step Lite performed almost identically (+$20,648 / +$21,232 under the same conditions). Lite has a slightly tighter daily loss (4%), but its fee is about $175 cheaper, which is why Lite edges it out slightly.
• At zero skill (50% win rate), all three plans were negative at 0.5% and 1% risk per trade. In that case, 2-Step Lite has the smallest loss because its fee is the cheapest (−$167 at 1% risk).
• All three plans benefit from the fact that the 8% max loss is static and doesn't move after a withdrawal. 1-Step reaches Funded faster, so its advantage widens the more skill you have.
• FundedElite bans automated trading (EAs) outright. If you trade with an EA, you're out of scope for this whole comparison, regardless of the numbers below.

FundedElite's plans ($100K equivalent)

This article calculated the following three configurations. Profit split of 80%, a 14-day withdrawal cycle, and 1:30 leverage are all left at the configuration screen's defaults.

The daily loss baseline is the higher of "equity or balance at the end of the previous trading day," minus the daily loss % of the initial balance. For example, on a $100K account with a 5% daily loss, if equity ended the previous day at $102,750, that day's line is $97,750. The daily cutoff is every day at 21:00 UTC (6:00 AM JST, same in summer and winter).

Max loss is static — it never moves from the initial balance. The FAQ states it doesn't rise after a withdrawal.

On the max-loss setting. According to the FAQ, 2-Step and 1-Step let you choose max loss from 5/6/8/9/10%, with 8% as the standard, while Lite offers 6/8/10%. This article calculates at the standard 8%. Note that as of September 27, 2026, the configuration screen displayed what appears to be a time-limited offer: "Max Drawdown Limit 14% — included in the current offer." The offer's end date is not stated officially and remains unconfirmed.

On the free retry (Second Chance). For 2-Step and 1-Step, if you fail during the evaluation, you get one new account for free. However, conditions get worse: 2-Step's daily loss becomes 3% (with an 8% max loss shown on the configuration screen), 1-Step's max loss drops to 6%, and both have their split permanently fixed at 50% from then on, with no fee refund either. If you fail on a Funded account, there is no retry.

Simulation assumptions

Fixed

• 1 year (250 trading days), max 3 trades/day, 1:1 risk/reward
• Daily loss capped at 2.5% of initial balance (once a loss would push that day past 2.5%, no more trades that day)
• Per-trade risk, floating loss, and daily loss are all capped at 3%
• Position size fixed at r% of the initial balance, one position at a time
• Cost is 5% of risk per trade (+0.95R on a win, -1.05R on a loss)
• On failure, rebuy the same plan at list price; no scaling; first withdrawal 21 days (15 trading days) after Funded, then every 14 days (10 trading days); year-end profit left in the account isn't counted
• 20,000 runs per condition

Varied

• Plan
• Skill: 50% win rate (zero) / 52% (small) / 55% (medium) / 58% (strong)
• Risk per trade r (0.5% / 1.0% / 1.5%)
• Amount of profit left in the account at withdrawal (optimized per plan)

Not modeled

• The free retry (Second Chance). On 2-Step and 1-Step, you get one free retry after a failed evaluation, but the model simply rebuys at list price on failure. Because of this, the 2-Step and 1-Step numbers come in a bit worse than in reality (though since the retry's split is fixed at 50%, the upside from it isn't large).
• 1-Step's minimum profitable day definition. Officially it requires 3 days with 1%+ profit, but the model counts "0.5%+" the same as the other plans, so the 1-Step numbers come in slightly better than reality due to the days it takes to qualify.
• The Funded account's "per-symbol daily risk cap." At the Funded stage, the total risk placed on a single symbol in one day is capped at half the daily loss (2.5% for 2-Step, 2% for Lite, 1.5% for 1-Step). Winning trades count toward this too, and if you don't use a stop-loss, it's measured by the worst unrealized move while the position was open. If you're placing 1% risk three times a day on 1-Step, you'd need to spread it across different symbols.
• Minimum hold time of 3 minutes (30 seconds with an add-on), weekend trading/holding settings, account termination after 29 days of inactivity, withdrawal fees ($40 via Rise for $500+, 3% via crypto under $500), and risk interviews.

Expected-value formulas

Expected value per trade

With a 1:1 risk/reward and a cost of 5% of risk per trade (0.05R), a win nets +0.95R and a loss costs -1.05R. With win rate p:

Expected value per trade = p × 0.95R − (1 − p) × 1.05R = (2p − 1.05) × R

Expected value per year

Annual EV = average annual payout received + average fee refunded − average fee paid

• Payout received = amount withdrawn × split rate (80%)
• Fee refunded: the challenge fee is refunded at the third payout
• Fee paid = fee × number of times purchased in a year (rebuying every time you fail)

Losses are capped by "fee × times purchased," while payouts from a passed account have no ceiling. Because of this shape, plans with a slightly negative per-trade EV can still turn positive over a year. Since these three averages can't be derived analytically, we ran a full year of trading 20,000 times each, following the rules exactly, and averaged the results.

In USD/JPY terms, a round-trip cost of 1.5 pips lines up with a 30-pip stop/target, and 2 pips with 40 pips, for "cost equal to 5% of risk." On a $100K account at 1% risk per trade, that's 5 lots at a 30-pip stop. The full calculation and a table of lot sizes are in the 4-firm comparison article.

0.5% risk per trade

Average annual take-home minus fees ($100K equivalent).

The probability of ending up in profit at medium skill was 71% (2-Step), 72% (Lite), and 83% (1-Step).

1.0% risk per trade

The probability of ending up in profit was 23% / 28% / 35% at zero skill, and 91% / 92% / 96% at medium skill.

1.5% risk per trade

At 1.5% risk per trade, a single loss puts the next loss over the 2.5% daily cap, so trading stops for the day at that point.

Why the gap exists

All three plans benefit from the 8% max loss being static and not moving after a withdrawal. Even as a withdrawal shrinks the balance, the line stays at 92% of the initial balance. On a passed account, leaving a bit of profit in place at withdrawal time reduces the odds of failing (the amount left is optimized per plan in this calculation).

1-Step comes out on top because it's a shorter path to Funded than 2-Step. 2-Step requires clearing a combined 8% + 5% = 13% across two stages, with failure risk at both stages. 1-Step just needs to clear 10% once.

The gap between 2-Step and Lite is small because, under this article's approach (capping at 2.5% a day), the difference between a 5% and 4% daily loss barely matters. For traders who sometimes take a large single-day loss, 2-Step's extra daily-loss room starts to mean something.

Which to buy

EAs are banned. The official FAQ's "EAs (Expert Advisors)" section states that EAs may be used to assist with risk management, lot-size calculation, or analysis, but the EA itself may not place trades on its own — fully or partially automated strategies (martingale, grid, off-the-shelf gold-scalping bots, etc.) are not allowed. If an undeclared EA is discovered, the challenge is terminated.

On reputation. As of July 2026, Trustpilot had temporarily suspended FundedElite's rating due to guideline violations (fake review removal — see the FundedElite reputation article for details). This time around (September 27, 2026), we couldn't access Trustpilot's page due to a verification wall, so its current status couldn't be confirmed.

FAQ

Q. Is FundedElite's expected value positive?

Under this article's assumptions (capping at 2.5% a day, 1% risk per trade), medium skill (55% win rate) produced +$20,648 to +$25,607 for the year. At zero skill, all three plans were negative at 1% risk per trade (−$167 to −$1,554), with only a 23–35% chance of ending in profit. Choosing between plans doesn't create an edge that isn't already there.

Q. Is max loss 8% or 14%?

The FAQ's standard is 8% (selectable), and this article calculates at 8%. As of September 27, 2026, the configuration screen displayed what appears to be a time-limited 14% as the "current offer." Its expiration date is unconfirmed, so check the configuration screen's display before purchasing.

Q. Is FundedElite's fee refunded?

If you pass the evaluation on your first try, the fee is refunded together with your third payout. Accounts that passed using the free retry (Second Chance) are not eligible for a refund. If a reset happened due to a rules violation, the refund right is also forfeited. Note that a soft breach (such as violating the minimum hold time) resets the payout count back to the first payout. The purchase price of the challenge itself is non-refundable once login credentials are issued.

Q. When can I withdraw from FundedElite?

The first withdrawal can be requested 21 days after reaching a Funded account. After that, it's every interval you chose at purchase (3, 7, 14, or 21 days). This article calculates using the default 14-day interval. A minimum of 3 trading days is required even on a Funded account. Payouts of $500+ go through Rise (a $40 fee); under $500 go through crypto (a 3% fee). You may be asked for a risk interview (video call) before or after a withdrawal, and if you don't complete it within 5 business days, the withdrawal is denied.

Q. Does the max-loss line rise after a withdrawal?

No. The FAQ "How are Daily and Total Drawdown calculated?" states that the static max loss is based on the initial balance and doesn't change during the challenge or on a Funded account. Withdrawing reduces the balance, so each withdrawal shrinks the distance to the line. This article optimizes the amount of profit left in the account at withdrawal time, per plan.

Q. Would using the free retry make this even better?

Slightly. However, the retry account comes with tighter daily and max loss, a split permanently fixed at 50%, and no fee refund. Since this article's calculation doesn't use the retry, the 2-Step and 1-Step numbers come in a bit worse than reality. That said, the ranking (1-Step in first place once you have an edge) is unlikely to change.

Q. I want to run this with my own assumptions

We've published the simulation engine and this article's config file. Running python sim-prop-ev.py fundedelite.json 20000 reproduces the same tables. You can rewrite the price, target, max loss, and split to calculate your own configuration (requires Python and numba).

Related

• 🏢 FundedElite guide / pricing comparison
• 📊 FTMO vs. The5ers vs. Fintokei vs. Hantec: expected value compared
• 📝 FundedElite's reputation
• 🤖 Prop firm EA rules comparison

Sources: FundedElite's "challenge configuration screen," official FAQ "2-Step Challenge + FREE RETRY," "1-Step Challenge + FREE RETRY," "LITE-2 step CHALLENGE," "Second Chance and how it works," "How are Daily and Total Drawdown calculated?," "Do I get my fee back?," "Payouts process and profit split," "Strategy Risk Limits," "EAs (Expert Advisors)," "What time is the dashboard clock based on?." All confirmed September 27, 2026.