๐Ÿ” Firm comparisons

Prop Firm Scalping & News-Trading Rules at a Glance: A Thorough Comparison of 18 Firms

Published: 4/26/2026Updated: 9/27/2026
#Scalping#News trading#Comparisons

โš ๏ธ ATFunded announced a service suspension on June 8, 2026 (no new challenge purchases). References to ATFunded in this article are a record of its rules before the suspension. For the background and refund/payout handling, see the summary article.

๐Ÿ“ข Advertising / affiliate disclosure: This article contains prop-memo.com affiliate links (marked ๐ŸŽ, for Fintokei / Funded7). Anyone who purchases a challenge through these links receives unlimited free use of Hosono P's semi-discretionary EA, "ELDRA," as a gift. See Hosono P's note article for details.

โš  Prop firm rules change frequently. Always confirm the latest, accurate rules on each firm's official site. (Last updated: May 12, 2026.)

A lot of people really do get disqualified over scalping and news

Two disqualification patterns stand out in the prop-memo.com database:

  1. A stop-loss/take-profit gets hit during a news release, triggering a news-trading violation and account suspension
  2. Falling under the scalping hold-time minimum, triggering a tick-scalping ban violation

Both of these are entirely avoidable if you just read the rules, and yet they keep happening. To help prevent them, this article thoroughly compares the scalping and news-trading rules across 18 firms.

3 typical disqualification patterns

Pattern 1: A hard breach from a position held into NFP

  • Open a long at 22:25 on Friday
  • 22:30 NFP release โ†’ price gaps 100 pips in an instant
  • Stop-loss triggers right after โ†’ FTMO rules it a "news-trading violation" โ†’ hard breach (account closed)

You never meant to target the news at all, but you still got caught by the ยฑ2-minute rule.

Pattern 2: A scalping EA making 10-second-or-shorter trades

  • An automated EA repeatedly scalps in 5โ€“15 second bursts
  • Fintokei: hits the 15-second minimum โ†’ warning โ†’ keep it up and the account is suspended
  • ATFunded: tick scalping is fully banned โ†’ instant disqualification

Pattern 3: 50% of a day's profit comes from scalping

  • On plans like Fintokei's SwiftTrader, most of the profit is built from sub-1-minute scalps
  • Ruled "excessively scalp-dependent", resulting in a delayed or denied payout

Scalping hold-time restrictions across 18 firms

Here's the "minimum hold time" for each firm.

FirmMinimum hold timeNotes
Fintokei ๐ŸŽ15 secondsBelow this: warning โ†’ suspension
Fundora20 secondsOn the strict side
FundedNext3 secondsThe most lenient in the industry
Funded7 ๐ŸŽNot specifiedWithin common sense
The5ersNot specifiedโ€”
FTMONot specifiedWithin common sense
FundingPipsNot specifiedZero account has separate rules
Alpha CapitalNot specifiedโ€”
E8 MarketsNot specifiedโ€”
TradingCultNot specifiedโ€”
ATFundedTick scalping fully bannedThe strictest of all
Hantec Trader-Applies if net profit from trades closed under 3 minutes is 30%+ of total profit (discretionary adjustment/removal of profit, or account suspension)
ThinkCapitalNot specifiedโ€”
PipFarmNot specifiedMainly cTrader
BlueberryFundedNot specifiedโ€”
FundedHiveNot specifiedโ€”
Lark FundingNot specifiedโ€”
FundedEliteNeeds confirmationโ€”

If scalping is your focus, the main options are FundedNext (3 seconds) or Fintokei (15 seconds). For manual scalping, Fintokei works fine in practice. If you want to run an HFT/tick EA, note that FundedNext's September 9, 2026 revision banned EAs entirely on accounts of $50,000 or more, so you're now limited to MT4/MT5 accounts of $25K or less (added September 9, 2026).

News-trading restrictions across 18 firms

Here's the restricted window around news releases and how severe the penalty is for a violation.

FirmRestricted windowPenalty for violationPenalty type
Fintokei ๐ŸŽNo restrictionโ€”Lenient
Funded7 ๐ŸŽNo restrictionโ€”Lenient
FundoraNo restriction(No slippage compensation)Lenient
Lark FundingNo restrictionโ€”Lenient
FundingPipsLegacy accounts unrestricted (except Zero). New policy applies to evaluation accounts created on/after June 27, 2026Banned on Zero accountsNeeds confirmation
Alpha CapitalDepends on planยฑ5-minute restriction on some plansMedium
The5ersยฑ2 minutesAffected profit is deducted (soft)Soft
FTMOยฑ2 minutesRisk of account closure (hard)Hard
E8 Marketsยฑ5 minutes (E8 One's Performance stage only)Trading restrictionMedium
Hantec Traderยฑ3 minutes, Funded stage onlyNo restriction during evaluation. On Funded accounts, no opening or closing within ยฑ3 minutes of a major indicator (Forex Factory red-flag)Soft
ATFundedยฑ5 minutesBreach on the 3rd offense (tiered)Tiered
FundedEliteNeeds confirmation--
FundedNext-Needs confirmation-
ThinkCapital-Needs confirmation-
TradingCultยฑ5-minute bufferChanged from 1 to 5 minutes in 2026 (reports of retroactive application โ€” needs official confirmation)Medium
PipFarm-Needs confirmation-
BlueberryFunded-Needs confirmation-
FundedHive-Needs confirmation-

If you trade the news, Fintokei / Funded7 / Fundora are the reliable picks. Be especially careful with FTMO's Standard account (hard breach).

Hard breach vs. soft breach

Hard breach (account closure)

  • FTMO's news-trading violation falls into this category
  • A single violation means instant account suspension โ€” you start over from zero
  • The cost and time of re-purchasing is wasted

Soft breach (profit confiscated / position closed)

  • The5ers and Hantec's news violations (note: Hantec applies only to Funded accounts โ€” no news restriction during the evaluation phase)
  • The affected trade's profit is deducted, or the position is force-closed
  • The account continues โ€” you shake it off and keep going

Tiered (warning โ†’ escalating breach)

  • ATFunded's news violation
  • 1st offense: warning, profit deducted
  • 2nd offense: warning
  • 3rd offense: breach (account suspended)

If you choose a firm on the hard-breach side, you need to keep close track of the NFP, FOMC, and major economic indicator calendar.

Strategy for NFP/FOMC days

Strategy A: Go fully flat (most recommended)

Close all positions from 30 minutes before the release until 1 hour after. Even if the rule itself is only ยฑ2 minutes, sudden market moves can cause slippage or unexpected fills that risk a rule violation regardless. Take a 3x safety margin and go fully flat.

Strategy B: Enter after the release (advanced)

Enter 15โ€“30 minutes after the release. Because the initial whipsaw is risky in a scalping sense, wait for a range to form and target the breakout instead. This strategy also isn't recommended at hard-breach firms.

Strategy C: Position sizing for firms that allow news trading

Even at a firm that allows news trading (like Fintokei):

  • Scale down to 1/3 of your normal lot size
  • Set stops at 2x the normal distance
  • Avoid holding multiple positions at once

Major economic indicator calendar (reference)

Here are the indicators that move the market significantly on a monthly or irregular basis. Times shown are Japan Standard Time:

IndicatorFrequencyTime (JST)
US Non-Farm Payrolls (NFP)1st Friday of every month22:30 (summer) / 23:30 (winter)
FOMC statement8 times a year03:00โ€“04:00 the next day (decision) / from 03:30 (Powell press conference)
US CPIMid-month22:30 (summer) / 23:30 (winter)
ECB policy rate2nd Thursday of every month21:15 (summer) / 22:15 (winter)
BOJ monetary policy meeting8 times a yearAround 12:00

Check exact dates monthly on a calendar such as Forex Factory.

Top 5 firms for scalping and news trading

Ranked overall by this article's criteria (lenient scalping restrictions + news trading allowed):

1. Fintokei ๐ŸŽ

  • Scalping: 15-second minimum (fine in practice)
  • News: fully allowed
  • Profit split: up to 100%
  • Overall: most recommended

2. Funded7 ๐ŸŽ

  • Scalping: no stated restriction
  • News: fully allowed
  • Japanese-language UI
  • Overall: on par with Fintokei

3. Fundora

  • Scalping: 20-second minimum (slightly strict)
  • News: fully allowed (but no slippage compensation)
  • Domestic Japanese bank withdrawal
  • Overall: the top pick if you want JPY-denominated

4. Lark Funding

  • News: fully allowed
  • EA trading allowed
  • Has an unusual 17:00 EST reset โ€” check the implementation details

5. FundingPips

  • News trading allowed on all plans except Zero (note: evaluation accounts created on or after June 27, 2026 are subject to a new news-trading/profit-concentration policy โ€” check the latest terms)
  • Cheapest in the industry
  • English-language UI only

Conversely, avoid FTMO Standard (hard breach on news) and ATFunded (ยฑ5 minutes) if you can. Making either of these your primary firm means accepting the stress of managing the indicator calendar.

Related tools on prop-memo.com

If scalping and news trading are your priority, go with Fintokei ๐ŸŽ or Funded7 ๐ŸŽ without hesitation. Spending your time on trading instead of fighting the rules is 100x more rational.

Written by

Hosono P | the prop firm strategist

I buy challenges with my own money and record everything through to the payout. Recorded payouts: ยฅ6.1M in total from Fintokei, Fundora and Funded7, plus $4,776 from The5ers (as of September 2026). Author of the semi-discretionary EA "ELDRA".

Profile and payout recordX @hosono_p

Share on X

๐Ÿ“šRelated articles

๐Ÿ”

FTMO Futures vs Topstep: FTMO Wins on Expected Value, Topstep Wins on Monthly Cost. If You're Running a Bot, VPS Access Is the Deciding Factor [September 2026]

We re-confirmed the rules on both the futures prop leader Topstep and FTMO Futures, which entered the market in September 2026, on September 23, 2026, and compared them. The monthly fee is less than half at Topstep, but running the same lot size through evaluation to payout for a year gives FTMO Futures Pro the higher expected value ($50K, zero edge: +$4,836 vs. +$2,519). Covers activation fees, the fact that you can only withdraw 50% of the balance, an optional daily loss limit, resets that shift your billing date, VPS eligibility, and running a bot on a live account.

Firm comparisons9/22/2026
๐Ÿ”

E8 Pro vs E8 One: Which Should You Buy? Comparing "Static 8% + 2%/day cap" vs "Dynamic 6% + 40% Consistency" at the Same $366, for Both Smoothed and Spiky P&L [September 2026]

E8 Markets' E8 Pro (static DD 8%, daily 2.5%, daily profit cap 2%, payouts are 50% of profit and the fail line moves to the starting balance) and E8 One (dynamic DD 6% locked at the starting balance, daily 4%, target 9%, 40% consistency rule in Performance stage) both cost $488 at $100K โ€” $366 with code E8. The answer depends on the shape of your P&L. Traders firing multiple times a day to smooth out returns come out ahead with Pro in Monte Carlo (4.5x vs 1.4x at zero edge). Traders who trade once a day and earn most of their profit from a handful of big days come out 2โ€“7x ahead with One in real-data tests (+ยฅ3.09M/+ยฅ5.85M vs +ยฅ630K/+ยฅ1.37M per year). The reason: Pro's "2% daily profit cap" shaves 8โ€“27% off big-day profits, and the buffer disappears on the first payout. Also covers which configuration to pick (8% for Pro, 6% for One).

Firm comparisons9/20/2026
๐Ÿ”

Web3 Prop Firms Special [September 2026] | Sorting 22 Firms โ€” from On-Chain Settlement to Exchange-Backed and Prediction-Market Types โ€” by 'Is This Actually On-Chain?'

New prop firms settling on Hyperliquid or Arbitrum surged in 2026. We checked 22 firms on September 20, 2026, against their official rulebooks, terms of service, and Trustpilot โ€” from the on-chain settlement type (Propr, Hypernova, HyperPNL, Carrot, DojiFunded), the chain-recorded type (Vanta, Hyper Stack, Solana Funded), the on-chain payout type (Investabl, FundedHive, AI Prop), Kraken-owned Breakout / Kraken Prop / Kraken Funded, the crypto-native type (SizeProp, HyroTrader, Crypto Fund Trader, Bitfunded, TradeXProp, Upscale), to the prediction-market type using Polymarket (Funding Predicts, PropMarket). Even firms calling themselves 'on-chain' run every evaluation phase as a simulation, and each firm's terms state that whether real orders get routed to the market after funding is entirely 'at the operator's discretion.' We cover whether you can buy from Japan, what to do once you receive USDC, and where the fees hit.

Firm comparisons9/20/2026
๐Ÿ”

Is E8 Pro Good for Account Rotation? It Looks Like the Ideal 'No Consistency Rule, Daily Payouts' Setup - Until the 50% Buffer Kicks In

Which plan is best suited to account rotation - running one account at a time toward a small target, then moving to the next once you hit it? E8 Pro has no consistency rule, no minimum trading days, daily payouts, and a 1% minimum profit - conditions that line up almost as if they were built for rotation. Even the infamous "2% daily profit cap" simply doesn't come into play when you're rotating toward small targets. But there's a trap in the payout mechanism: even after requesting a payout, you only receive half of your profit. On top of that, the static drawdown permanently shifts to your starting balance on your first payout. We compared E8 Pro against Breakout Prop and The5ers across six angles. Verified against official help articles on September 17, 2026.

Firm comparisons9/17/2026
๐Ÿ”

Breakout Prop vs. Fintokei: Which Should You Buy? 'Narrow Room, No Rules' vs. 'Wide Room, Many Rules'

A head-to-head comparison of Breakout Prop, the Kraken-backed crypto prop firm, against Fintokei, the firm that runs end-to-end in Japanese. The fee as a percentage of account size is nearly identical (Breakout Pro 0.545% vs. Fintokei Sapphire 0.549%), but the substance is opposite. Breakout has just two rules โ€” daily loss and max drawdown โ€” with no consistency rule, no minimum trading days, and no per-trade risk cap, but its max drawdown is a narrow 3โ€“6%. Fintokei has a wide 10% max drawdown, but a cap on floating loss at 3% of balance applies to the sum of all open positions. Looking at target รท max drawdown, how easy it is to pass differs by 1.7x to 3.3x. Measured on both official sites on September 16, 2026.

Firm comparisons9/16/2026
๐Ÿ”

Only Two Prop Firms Can Actually Run Grid/Trailing-Repeat EAs: "Not Banned" and "Usable" Are Different Things

If you want to run a grid or trailing-repeat ("trailing stop and repeat" / ใƒˆใƒฉใƒชใƒ”) type EA on a prop account, checking only whether the ban list mentions it doesn't tell you anything. What actually kills the account is the "floating-loss cap" and whether drawdown is measured on equity or on balance. City Traders Imperium's 1-Step is the unique combination of balance-based DD, no daily DD, off-the-shelf EAs allowed, and grid explicitly permitted. Fintokei doesn't list grid among its 9 banned practices, but off-the-shelf EAs aren't allowed and a combined 3% cap across all open positions becomes the real limit on how many grid levels you can run. A comparison table across 10 firms, plus the formula for working backward from the floating-loss cap to figure out how many levels you can stack. Confirmed against each firm's official help center on September 16, 2026.

Firm comparisons9/16/2026