Head to head · 33 criteria compared Across pricing, rules and payout terms, City Traders Imperium takes the lead (9 against 4). Elite Trader Funding stays relevant for traders whose priorities differ from the average.
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: 9 / 33
At Elite Trader Funding the funded account stays simulated: the headline split is 100%, but payouts are capped at $25,000 per trader, after which moving to the LIVE ELITE program on an 80/20 split becomes mandatory. Six futures evaluation models, $47 resets, but activation fees of $177 to $307 and $87 a month once funded.
Criteria won: 4 / 33
Cheapest evaluation for a 100 K account.
City Traders Imperium
$449
Elite Trader Funding
$205
| Full comparison | City Traders Imperium | Elite Trader Funding |
|---|---|---|
| Trust | ||
| Score | 83/100 ✓ | 77/100 |
| Trustpilot | 4.2/5 ✓ | 3.8/5 |
| Founded | 2018 ✓ | 2022 |
| Headquarters | GB | US |
| Pricing | ||
| Entry price | $29 ✓ | $99 |
| Price for a 100 K account | $449 | $205 ✓ |
| Refundable fee | — | — |
| Reset price | — | $47 |
| Account sizes | 100 K | 250 K ✓ |
| Rules | ||
| Steps | Instant funding ✓ | 1 |
| Profit target | — | — |
| Max daily loss | — | — |
| Max total drawdown | 6 % | — |
| Drawdown type | Trailing intraday | Trailing intraday |
| Time limit | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Consistency rule | No | — |
| Min trading days | 5 | 5 |
| Payouts | ||
| Profit split | 80 % | 100 % ✓ |
| Max profit split | 100 % | 100 % |
| First payout | 7 days ✓ | 8 days |
| Payout frequency | Monthly at level 1, twice monthly at level 2, weekly at level 3; first withdrawal possible after 7 days | On demand, approved the same day |
| Payout methods | — | — |
| Scaling plan | Yes | — |
| Max allocation | 2 M ✓ | 250 K |
| Trading | ||
| Platforms and instruments | mt5, match-trader | ninjatrader, tradingview, rithmic, tradovate ✓ |
| Instruments | fx, indices, metals, energy, stocks ✓ | futures |
| Leverage | 1:30 forex and indices on the 2-Step, 1:20 on Instant Funding, 1:10 indices and commodities, 1:2 crypto | — |
| News trading | Yes | — |
| Weekend holding | Yes | Yes |
| Expert Advisors | Yes ✓ | No |
| Copy trading | Restricted | Restricted |
| Scalping | Yes | Yes |
| Hedging | — | — |
Choose City Traders Imperium if… Choose Elite Trader Funding if… City Traders Imperium applies a trailing intraday drawdown capped at 6 %. Elite Trader Funding applies a trailing intraday drawdown. Both use the same model, so the difference plays out on the percentages rather than on the mechanism.
City Traders Imperium keeps 100 % of profits, allows a first withdrawal after 7 days, then pays Monthly at level 1, twice monthly at level 2, weekly at level 3; first withdrawal possible after 7 days. Elite Trader Funding keeps 100 % of profits, allows a first withdrawal after 8 days, then pays On demand, approved the same day. 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.
City Traders Imperium is the only one of the two to offer mt5, match-trader. Elite Trader Funding covers ninjatrader, tradingview, rithmic, tradovate, 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.
City Traders Imperium has been running since 2018, 4 years longer than Elite Trader Funding. On Trustpilot they sit at 4.2/5 and 3.8/5 respectively. Our trust pillar scores them 85/100 and 67/100, 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.
City Traders Imperium opens at $29 against $99 for Elite Trader Funding, a substantial gap on the smallest account. At the reference size of 100 K the comparison is $449 for City Traders Imperium against $205 for Elite Trader Funding. 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.
No discount code is published without being checked on the firm’s own website. An unverified deal does not appear here.
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