Head to head · 33 criteria compared Across pricing, rules and payout terms, FundedNext takes the lead (7 against 6). City Traders Imperium remains the cheaper way in and it pays out a larger share of profits, so the choice is not automatic.
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: 6 / 33
On the forex and CFD side, FundedNext runs just two routes: Stellar 1-Step (10% target, 6% max loss) and Stellar 2-Step (8% then 5%, 10% max loss). Both use static drawdown, carry no deadline and come with refundable fees. Pricing is on the high side, and the headline 95% split needs a paid option — the contractual base is 80%.
Criteria won: 7 / 33
Cheapest evaluation for a 100 K account.
City Traders Imperium
$449
FundedNext
$549.99
| Full comparison | City Traders Imperium | FundedNext |
|---|---|---|
| Trust | ||
| Score | 83/100 | 85/100 ✓ |
| Trustpilot | 4.2/5 | 4.5/5 ✓ |
| Founded | 2018 ✓ | 2022 |
| Headquarters | GB | AE |
| Pricing | ||
| Entry price | $29 ✓ | $59.99 |
| Price for a 100 K account | $449 ✓ | $549.99 |
| Refundable fee | — | Yes |
| Reset price | — | — |
| Account sizes | 100 K | 200 K ✓ |
| Rules | ||
| Steps | Instant funding ✓ | 2 |
| Profit target | — | 8 % |
| Max daily loss | — | 5 % |
| Max total drawdown | 6 % | 10 % ✓ |
| Drawdown type | Trailing intraday | Static ✓ |
| Time limit | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Consistency rule | No | No |
| Min trading days | 5 | 5 |
| Payouts | ||
| Profit split | 80 % | 80 % |
| Max profit split | 100 % ✓ | 95 % |
| First payout | 7 days | 5 days ✓ |
| Payout frequency | Monthly at level 1, twice monthly at level 2, weekly at level 3; first withdrawal possible after 7 days | Stellar 1-Step: first withdrawal after 5 business days then every 5 business days. Stellar 2-Step: first withdrawal at 21 days then every 14 days |
| Payout methods | — | — |
| Scaling plan | Yes | Yes |
| Max allocation | 2 M ✓ | 300 K |
| Trading | ||
| Platforms and instruments | mt5, match-trader | mt4, mt5, ctrader, match-trader ✓ |
| Instruments | fx, indices, metals, energy, stocks | fx, indices, metals, energy, crypto |
| Leverage | 1:30 forex and indices on the 2-Step, 1:20 on Instant Funding, 1:10 indices and commodities, 1:2 crypto | 1:30 forex on Stellar 1-Step (verified on the official site); 1:100 forex advertised on Stellar 2-Step |
| News trading | Yes | — |
| Weekend holding | Yes | — |
| Expert Advisors | Yes | Yes |
| Copy trading | Restricted | Restricted |
| Scalping | Yes | — |
| Hedging | — | — |
Choose City Traders Imperium if… Choose FundedNext if… City Traders Imperium opens at $29 against $59.99 for FundedNext, a substantial gap on the smallest account. At the reference size of 100 K the comparison is $449 for City Traders Imperium against $549.99 for FundedNext. 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.
City Traders Imperium applies a trailing intraday drawdown capped at 6 %. FundedNext applies a static drawdown capped at 10 %, with a 5 % daily limit. 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.
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. FundedNext keeps 95 % of profits, allows a first withdrawal after 5 days, then pays Stellar 1-Step: first withdrawal after 5 business days then every 5 business days. Stellar 2-Step: first withdrawal at 21 days then every 14 days. 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.
FundedNext covers mt4, ctrader, 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 FundedNext. On Trustpilot they sit at 4.2/5 and 4.5/5 respectively. Our trust pillar scores them 85/100 and 81/100, 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.
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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