Alpha Capital Group vs City Traders Imperium: which prop firm is better in 2026?
On the 33 criteria we compare, City Traders Imperium comes out ahead (7 against 6). Alpha Capital Group remains the cheaper way in, so the choice is not automatic.
Alpha Capital Group
Forex / CFD
Alpha Capital Group is a UK forex prop firm registered in 2021, running eight programs that span a $27 two-phase challenge through to accounts funded at purchase. The rulebook is permissive — news, weekend and overnight holding allowed, four platforms — but the tradable universe stops at forex, indices and metals, and Trustpilot has suspended the rating over fake reviews.
Criteria won : 6 / 33
City Traders Imperium
Forex / CFD · Trustpilot 4.2/5
City Traders Imperium has funded forex traders since 2018 through four routes — 1-Step, 2-Step, Instant Funding and Direct Funding — with no time limit and entry from $29. The profit split starts at 80% and can reach 100%, but the 1-Step allows only 5% trailing drawdown and every trade must carry a stop loss.
Criteria won : 7 / 33
Pricing at equal account size
Cheapest evaluation for a 100 K account.
Alpha Capital Group
$397
City Traders Imperium
$449
Full comparison
| Criterion | Alpha Capital Group | City Traders Imperium |
|---|---|---|
| Trust | ||
| Score | 80/100 | 83/100 ✓ |
| Trustpilot | — | 4.2/5 |
| Founded | 2021 | 2018 ✓ |
| Headquarters | GB | GB |
| Pricing | ||
| Entry price | $27 ✓ | $29 |
| Price for a 100 K account | $397 ✓ | $449 |
| Refundable fee | — | — |
| Reset price | — | — |
| Account sizes | 200 K ✓ | 100 K |
| Rules | ||
| Steps | 1 | Instant funding ✓ |
| Profit target | 6 % | — |
| Max daily loss | 3 % | — |
| Max total drawdown | 4 % | 6 % ✓ |
| Drawdown type | Trailing (end of day) ✓ | Trailing intraday |
| Time limit | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Consistency rule | — | No |
| Min trading days | 1 ✓ | 5 |
| Payouts | ||
| Profit split | 80 % | 80 % |
| Max profit split | 90 % | 100 % ✓ |
| First payout | — | 7 days |
| Payout frequency | Bi-hebdomadaire ou a la demande (choisi a l'achat) ; traitement sous 2 jours ouvres | Mensuel au niveau 1, bi-mensuel au niveau 2, hebdomadaire au niveau 3 ; premier retrait possible apres 7 jours |
| Payout methods | rise and wise | — |
| Scaling plan | Yes | Yes |
| Max allocation | 400 K | 2 M ✓ |
| Trading | ||
| Platforms and instruments | mt5, ctrader, dxtrade, tradelocker ✓ | mt5, match-trader |
| Instruments | fx, indices, metals, energy | fx, indices, metals, energy, stocks ✓ |
| Leverage | Jusqu'a 1:30 sur Alpha One (FX), 1:9 metaux, 1:10 indices et petrole | 1:30 forex et indices sur le 2-Step, 1:20 sur l'Instant Funding, 1:10 indices et matieres premieres, 1:2 crypto |
| News trading | Yes | Yes |
| Weekend holding | Yes | Yes |
| Expert Advisors | — | Yes |
| Copy trading | Restricted | Restricted |
| Scalping | — | Yes |
| Hedging | — | — |
Choose Alpha Capital Group if…
- You need a platform City Traders Imperium does not offer: ctrader, dxtrade, tradelocker.
- Your budget is the binding constraint: the entry ticket starts at $27, below City Traders Imperium.
Choose City Traders Imperium if…
- You expect to stay funded long enough for the split to matter: 100 % against 90 % at Alpha Capital Group.
- You would rather skip the evaluation entirely and start on a funded account.
- You need a platform Alpha Capital Group does not offer: match-trader.
- You are aiming for size: allocation scales up to 2 M.
Our analysis
Tooling differences
Alpha Capital Group is the only one of the two to offer ctrader, dxtrade, tradelocker. City Traders Imperium covers match-trader, which its rival does not. Platform choice is not cosmetic: order execution, available order types and the reliability of your automation all depend on it, and switching mid-evaluation is rarely possible.
How much history each firm has
City Traders Imperium has been running since 2018, 3 years longer than Alpha Capital Group. Our trust pillar scores them 74/100 and 85/100, which weighs age, corporate transparency and public payout evidence. In an industry with no financial regulator overseeing these evaluations, longevity and a verifiable payout history are the closest thing to a guarantee.
The price question
Alpha Capital Group opens at $27 against $29 for City Traders Imperium, a moderate gap on the smallest account. At the reference size of 100 K the comparison is $397 for Alpha Capital Group against $449 for City Traders Imperium. The headline fee is rarely the real cost, though: what matters is the price of a reset after a failed attempt, whether the fee comes back on the first payout, and whether an activation fee appears when you move to a funded account. Compare those three lines in the table above before deciding on price alone.
How the loss limit behaves
Alpha Capital Group applies a trailing (end of day) drawdown capped at 4 %, with a 3 % daily limit. City Traders Imperium applies a trailing intraday drawdown capped at 6 %. This is the single most consequential difference between the two. A static drawdown is measured once, from the starting balance, and never moves; a trailing drawdown follows your equity upward, so a winning streak raises the floor you can no longer fall below. Intraday trailing is stricter still, because it tracks unrealised peaks reached inside the session — profit you never actually banked can permanently raise your loss threshold.
Getting paid
Alpha Capital Group keeps 90 % of profits, then pays Bi-hebdomadaire ou a la demande (choisi a l'achat) ; traitement sous 2 jours ouvres. City Traders Imperium keeps 100 % of profits, allows a first withdrawal after 7 days, then pays Mensuel au niveau 1, bi-mensuel au niveau 2, hebdomadaire au niveau 3 ; premier retrait possible apres 7 jours. Payout frequency deserves as much attention as the split itself: a slightly lower share paid every two weeks compounds faster than a headline percentage locked behind a monthly cycle and a long first-withdrawal delay.