Head to head · 33 criteria compared Across pricing, rules and payout terms, The5ers takes the lead (8 against 6). City Traders Imperium remains the cheaper way in, 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
Founded in Israel in 2016, The5ers is one of the oldest forex prop firms still operating. Its strongest asset is the rulebook: static drawdown across every program, no time limit and no consistency rule. The tradable universe stays narrow, though — forex, indices, metals and futures, with no crypto and no equities.
Criteria won: 8 / 33
Cheapest evaluation for a 100 K account.
City Traders Imperium
$449
The5ers
$545
| Full comparison | City Traders Imperium | The5ers |
|---|---|---|
| Trust | ||
| Score | 83/100 | 86/100 ✓ |
| Trustpilot | 4.2/5 | 4.7/5 ✓ |
| Founded | 2018 | 2016 ✓ |
| Headquarters | GB | IL |
| Pricing | ||
| Entry price | $29 ✓ | $39 |
| Price for a 100 K account | $449 ✓ | $545 |
| Refundable fee | — | Yes |
| Reset price | — | — |
| Account sizes | 100 K | 250 K ✓ |
| Rules | ||
| Steps | Instant funding ✓ | 2 |
| Profit target | — | 10 % |
| 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 | 3 ✓ |
| Payouts | ||
| Profit split | 80 % | 80 % |
| Max profit split | 100 % | 100 % |
| First payout | 7 days ✓ | 14 days |
| Payout frequency | Monthly at level 1, twice monthly at level 2, weekly at level 3; first withdrawal possible after 7 days | First withdrawal 14 days after the funded account is granted, then every two weeks; minimum withdrawal $150 |
| Payout methods | — | crypto and rise |
| Scaling plan | Yes | Yes |
| Max allocation | 2 M ✓ | 500 K |
| Trading | ||
| Platforms and instruments | mt5, match-trader | mt5, ctrader, tradingview ✓ |
| Instruments | fx, indices, metals, energy, stocks ✓ | fx, indices, metals, futures |
| Leverage | 1:30 forex and indices on the 2-Step, 1:20 on Instant Funding, 1:10 indices and commodities, 1:2 crypto | 1:100 on High Stakes; 1:30 on Hyper Growth and Pro Growth |
| News trading | Yes | — |
| Weekend holding | Yes | — |
| Expert Advisors | Yes | — |
| Copy trading | Restricted | Restricted |
| Scalping | Yes | — |
| Hedging | — | — |
Choose City Traders Imperium if… Choose The5ers if… City Traders Imperium applies a trailing intraday drawdown capped at 6 %. The5ers 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. The5ers keeps 100 % of profits, allows a first withdrawal after 14 days, then pays First withdrawal 14 days after the funded account is granted, then every two weeks; minimum withdrawal $150. 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 match-trader. The5ers covers ctrader, 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.
The5ers has been running since 2016, 2 years longer than City Traders Imperium. On Trustpilot they sit at 4.2/5 and 4.7/5 respectively. Our trust pillar scores them 85/100 and 96/100, 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 $39 for The5ers, a moderate gap on the smallest account. At the reference size of 100 K the comparison is $449 for City Traders Imperium against $545 for The5ers. 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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