BrightFunded vs TradeDay: which prop firm is better in 2026?
On the 33 criteria we compare, BrightFunded comes out ahead (8 against 7). TradeDay stays relevant for traders whose priorities differ from the average.
BrightFunded
Forex / CFD · Crypto
Set up in 2023 by a Dutch team and operated out of Dubai, BrightFunded keeps its rulebook short: no consistency rule, no time limit, static drawdown on both 2-Step plans. The model leans instead on paid add-ons — fee refund, 90% split, waived minimum days — and the first payout only lands 30 days after the first trade.
Criteria won : 8 / 33
TradeDay
Futures · Trustpilot 4.6/5
TradeDay was founded in Chicago in 2020 by two former institutional market professionals, and that background shows in the rulebook: no daily loss limit, news trading and scalping allowed, and withdrawals available from day one. The May 2026 rework dropped static drawdown accounts in favour of two paths, Quick Pay and Fast Pass.
Criteria won : 7 / 33
Pricing at equal account size
Cheapest evaluation for a 100 K account.
BrightFunded
€477
TradeDay
$240
Full comparison
| Criterion | BrightFunded | TradeDay |
|---|---|---|
| Trust | ||
| Score | 76/100 | 80/100 ✓ |
| Trustpilot | — | 4.6/5 |
| Founded | 2023 | 2020 ✓ |
| Headquarters | AE | US |
| Pricing | ||
| Entry price | €47 ✓ | $131 |
| Price for a 100 K account | €477 | $240 ✓ |
| Refundable fee | No | No |
| Reset price | — | — |
| Account sizes | 200 K ✓ | 150 K |
| Rules | ||
| Steps | 2 | 1 ✓ |
| Profit target | 8 % | 6 % ✓ |
| Max daily loss | 4 % | — |
| Max total drawdown | 8 % | — |
| Drawdown type | Static ✓ | Trailing intraday |
| Time limit | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Consistency rule | No ✓ | 30 |
| Min trading days | 5 | 5 |
| Payouts | ||
| Profit split | 80 % | 80 % |
| Max profit split | 100 % ✓ | 90 % |
| First payout | 30 days | 0 days ✓ |
| Payout frequency | Premier paiement 30 jours apres le premier trade, puis toutes les 2 semaines ; add-ons hebdomadaire et bi-hebdomadaire disponibles | a la demande des le premier jour, minimum 250 $ par retrait |
| Payout methods | — | — |
| Scaling plan | Yes ✓ | No |
| Max allocation | 400 K ✓ | 150 K |
| Trading | ||
| Platforms and instruments | mt5, ctrader, dxtrade | tradovate, rithmic, ninjatrader, tradingview ✓ |
| Instruments | fx, indices, metals, energy, crypto ✓ | futures |
| Leverage | Forex 1:100, or et matieres premieres 1:40, indices 1:20, crypto 1:5 (identique en evaluation et en compte finance) | — |
| News trading | Yes | Yes |
| Weekend holding | — | No |
| Expert Advisors | — | — |
| Copy trading | Restricted | — |
| Scalping | — | Yes |
| Hedging | — | — |
Choose BrightFunded if…
- Your budget is the binding constraint: the entry ticket starts at €47, below TradeDay.
- You want a drawdown you can compute in your head: the limit is fixed on the starting balance and never moves as the account grows.
- You expect to stay funded long enough for the split to matter: 100 % against 90 % at TradeDay.
- Your results concentrate on a few strong sessions: no consistency rule caps a single day's share of total profit.
Choose TradeDay if…
- Cash flow matters to you: the first withdrawal comes after 0 days rather than 30.
- You want the shortest path to funding: 1 evaluation phase against 2 at BrightFunded.
- You need a platform BrightFunded does not offer: tradovate, rithmic, ninjatrader, tradingview.
Our analysis
Getting paid
BrightFunded keeps 100 % of profits, allows a first withdrawal after 30 days, then pays Premier paiement 30 jours apres le premier trade, puis toutes les 2 semaines ; add-ons hebdomadaire et bi-hebdomadaire disponibles. TradeDay keeps 90 % of profits, allows a first withdrawal after 0 days, then pays a la demande des le premier jour, minimum 250 $ par retrait. 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.
Tooling differences
BrightFunded is the only one of the two to offer mt5, ctrader, dxtrade. TradeDay covers tradovate, rithmic, ninjatrader, tradingview, 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
TradeDay has been running since 2020, 3 years longer than BrightFunded. Our trust pillar scores them 66/100 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
BrightFunded opens at €47 against $131 for TradeDay, a substantial gap on the smallest account. At the reference size of 100 K the comparison is €477 for BrightFunded against $240 for TradeDay. 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
BrightFunded applies a static drawdown capped at 8 %, with a 4 % daily limit. TradeDay applies a trailing intraday drawdown. 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.