The5ers Futures Complete Guide: A One-Time Fee Fully Refunded on Your 3rd Payout, But Algo Trading Is Fully Banned [September 2026]

※ This article is based on directly reading The5ers's official pages in a real browser on September 22, 2026. All times are in JST, based on the period when the US is on daylight saving time. Anything we couldn't confirm is marked "unconfirmed" or "third-party info." Always re-check the official site before buying.

📢 Ad / affiliate disclosure: We do not hold an affiliate link for The5ers Futures. Every link in this article is a regular link to the official site.

TL;DR: good for discretionary swing traders, EA traders can skip this one

• Algorithmic trading is fully banned. The official FAQ states, verbatim: "No. These practices are strictly forbidden. Any trader found using them will be banned from our programs." (referring to high-frequency trading, algorithmic trading, and hedging). That's the end of the road for EA traders
• It's a one-time fee, and the full fee is refunded on your 3rd payout. The $50K Day Trade plan costs $100
• There's a Swing plan that allows overnight holds — rare among futures props
• Drawdown is EOD, and the max loss is 4% on both evaluation and funded stages. You won't get blown out by intraday floating losses
• The 40% consistency rule remains in place on both evaluation and funded stages. But breaching it doesn't forfeit profit — it's a hold, where trading continues until the ratio comes back down
• The split is fixed at 80/20. It doesn't increase as you take more payouts
• Scales every 10% up to a maximum of $500,000
• Japan is not on the restricted-country list. The UI is in English, though
• Third-party info lists the supported platform as BlackArrow (we haven't been able to verify this ourselves)

What is The5ers Futures

The5ers has been operating as an FX/CFD prop firm since 2016, run by the UK entity FIVE PERCENT ONLINE LTD. That same The5ers has now launched a futures product. Its homepage now lists "Futures" with a New badge.

The product comes in two flavors: Day Trade and Swing. Swing's pricing is labeled "Summer Plan Price," which suggests it may be a promotional rate.

This is a completely separate product from the FX side's High Stakes, Growth, and Bootcamp — different terms, different pricing structure, different split. Don't buy this expecting FX-side conventions.

Automated trading is fully banned

This is the first thing to check. The product page's "Trading Style Restrictions" states that high-frequency trading, algorithmic trading, and hedging are not supported, and any trader found using them will be removed from the program. The FAQ on the same page is even more direct.

Is high-frequency trading, algorithmic trading, or hedging allowed? No. These practices are strictly forbidden. Any trader found using them will be banned from our programs.

Given the wording is "strictly forbidden" and "banned" rather than merely "not supported," there's no gray area here.

The terms of service back this up. Article 11 requires written notice and written approval before using automated trading software, and it bans the use of automated trading software owned or developed by anyone other than the trader themselves.

Note that The5ers's FX/CFD side operates on a "an EA is fine if you own the source code" policy. The futures side is separate and bans it unconditionally. Don't conflate the two.

Pricing and rules (measured September 22, 2026)

Day Trade plan

Swing plan (overnight holds allowed)

The rules are the same as Day Trade, except the position you're allowed to carry overnight is capped at 1 Mini / 10 Micro. Weekend holds are not allowed on either plan.

Terms common to both plans

• One-time fee. No monthly charge, no activation fee
• The fee is fully refunded on your 3rd payout
• Drawdown is EOD. Max loss is 4% on both evaluation and funded
• Daily loss only applies at 2.5% on $100K and $150K. $25K and $50K have no daily-loss restriction
• No minimum trading days, no deadline. You can even pass in a single day (though you still need to respect the consistency rule)
• The split is fixed at 80/20, and stays 80/20 for every subsequent payout too. It never increases
• Payouts run on a 14-day cycle. According to the official blog, it's also acceptable to lock in profit on day one and simply stop trading after that
• Trading through news events is allowed
• All positions must be closed 10 minutes before market close (5:50am JST the next morning, or 6:50am during US winter time)
• The number of accounts you can hold at once varies by size. 5 for $25K and $50K, 2 for $100K, 1 for $150K

How to read the consistency rule

The5ers's 40% is labeled "Consistency Rule – Per Position," meaning no single trade may account for more than 40% of your total profit. What's distinctive is that it's measured per-position, not per-day.

The formula is:

Largest trade's profit ÷ total profit × 100

There are two key points.

First, it remains in effect not just during evaluation but also once funded. Most other firms apply this only during evaluation and drop it once funded, but at The5ers it keeps applying every time you request a payout. A strategy that makes most of its profit from one big win stays constrained even after going funded.

Second, breaching it doesn't forfeit your profit. While you're over the threshold, you just keep trading until the ratio comes back down — a hold, rather than a forfeiture. Since your profit isn't taken away, it's gentler than a forfeiture-style rule.

How scaling works

The account scales every time your profit reaches 10%.

• Your balance grows by 5%
• Your position cap grows by 1 Mini / 10 Micro
• Up to a maximum of $500,000

In the official example, a $50K account that reaches $5,000 in profit gets a new balance of $52,500, plus your own 80/20 cut on top of that. The position cap becomes 5 Mini / 50 Micro.

Supported platform

We couldn't find this stated on the official site. The product page, FAQ, terms of service, and asset-specs page all lack a platform name. The purchase hub's contents aren't visible without logging in.

Third-party info lists it as BlackArrow. We haven't been able to verify this ourselves, so treat it as provisional information. We'd recommend confirming with support before buying.

Can you use it from Japan

Yes. Japan is not listed in the terms of service's Forbidden Territory section (updated August 16, 2026). The list covers roughly 31 countries, including Afghanistan, Belarus, Cuba, Iran, Iraq, North Korea, Russia, and Syria.

That said, the UI is in English. A Japanese-language futures page exists in the CMS, but its public URL returns a 404, and the content that was there was outdated pricing anyway.

Reputation

• Trustpilot 4.7 / 38,068 reviews. No rating suspension (this covers the whole company, not futures specifically)
• Operated by the UK entity FIVE PERCENT ONLINE LTD, based in London
• We couldn't confirm when the futures product launched, since we couldn't find an official announcement page. Based on the FAQ's revision date, we'd estimate mid-2026

Pros and cautions

Pros

• One-time fee, refunded in full on your 3rd payout. Net cost is zero if you succeed
• A Swing plan allows overnight holds — rare among futures props
• EOD drawdown, so you won't get blown out by intraday floating losses
• No daily-loss restriction on $25K and $50K
• Scales up to $500K
• The consistency rule is a hold, not a forfeiture
• Trading through news is allowed

Cautions

• Algorithmic trading is fully banned. EAs, bots, and automated trading of any kind are all disallowed
• The 40% consistency rule remains in effect even once funded
• The split is fixed at 80/20. It doesn't increase as you take more payouts
• The supported platform isn't stated officially
• The futures product is new, and we couldn't even officially confirm when it launched

Who this fits

Discretionary swing traders. You can hold positions overnight, news trading is allowed, it scales up to $500K, and the fee comes back on your 3rd payout. EOD drawdown means you won't get blown out by intraday moves. Since it's a one-time fee, it also suits anyone who wants to take their time passing.

It's not for anyone who wants to run an EA or bot. Choose a firm that explicitly permits automated trading, like FTMO Futures.

FAQ

Q. Can you really not use an EA?

No, you can't. The official FAQ states: "No. These practices are strictly forbidden. Any trader found using them will be banned from our programs." This covers three things: high-frequency trading, algorithmic trading, and hedging. Article 11 of the terms of service also bans automated trading software owned or developed by anyone other than the trader.

Q. But I thought EAs were allowed on the FX side?

The5ers's FX/CFD side runs on an "an EA is fine if you own the source code" policy. The futures side has its own separate rule and bans it unconditionally. Even under the same brand, the terms differ by product, so don't mix them up.

Q. When does the fee come back?

It's refunded in full on your 3rd payout. If you never reach that point, it's never refunded.

Q. If I trip the consistency rule, is my profit forfeited?

No. The formula is "largest trade's profit ÷ total profit × 100," and while you're over the 40% threshold, you just keep trading until the ratio comes back down — a hold, not a forfeiture.

Q. Should I buy Day Trade or Swing?

If you want to hold positions overnight, get Swing. At $50K it's only $20 more, but the position you can carry overnight is capped at 1 Mini / 10 Micro. If you're strictly intraday, Day Trade is plenty.

Q. What platform does it support?

Third-party info lists it as BlackArrow, but it's not stated anywhere on the official site, and we haven't been able to verify it ourselves. Treat it as provisional and confirm with support before buying.

Q. Can you buy this from Japan?

Yes. Japan isn't listed in the terms of service's Forbidden Territory section (updated August 16, 2026, roughly 31 countries). The UI is in English, though.

Reference links (official)

• The5ers Futures product page (pricing, rules, Trading Style Restrictions, FAQ)
• The5ers prohibited trading practices
• The5ers terms and conditions (the Forbidden Territory and automated-trading-software clauses)
• The5ers futures FAQ (explains the consistency rule)

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