City Traders Imperium vs TradeDay: which prop firm is better in 2026?
Across pricing, rules and payout terms, City Traders Imperium takes the lead (10 against 5). TradeDay stays relevant for traders whose priorities differ from the average.
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 : 10 / 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 : 5 / 33
Pricing at equal account size
Cheapest evaluation for a 100 K account.
City Traders Imperium
$449
TradeDay
$240
Full comparison
| Criterion | City Traders Imperium | TradeDay |
|---|---|---|
| Trust | ||
| Score | 83/100 ✓ | 80/100 |
| Trustpilot | 4.2/5 | 4.6/5 ✓ |
| Founded | 2018 ✓ | 2020 |
| Headquarters | GB | US |
| Pricing | ||
| Entry price | $29 ✓ | $131 |
| Price for a 100 K account | $449 | $240 ✓ |
| Refundable fee | — | No |
| Reset price | — | — |
| Account sizes | 100 K | 150 K ✓ |
| Rules | ||
| Steps | Instant funding ✓ | 1 |
| Profit target | — | 6 % |
| Max daily loss | — | — |
| Max total drawdown | 6 % | — |
| Drawdown type | Trailing intraday | 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 | 7 days | 0 days ✓ |
| Payout frequency | Mensuel au niveau 1, bi-mensuel au niveau 2, hebdomadaire au niveau 3 ; premier retrait possible apres 7 jours | a la demande des le premier jour, minimum 250 $ par retrait |
| Payout methods | — | — |
| Scaling plan | Yes ✓ | No |
| Max allocation | 2 M ✓ | 150 K |
| Trading | ||
| Platforms and instruments | mt5, match-trader | tradovate, rithmic, ninjatrader, tradingview ✓ |
| Instruments | fx, indices, metals, energy, stocks ✓ | futures |
| Leverage | 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 ✓ | No |
| Expert Advisors | Yes | — |
| Copy trading | Restricted | — |
| Scalping | Yes | Yes |
| Hedging | — | — |
Choose City Traders Imperium if…
- You need a platform TradeDay does not offer: mt5, match-trader.
- You are aiming for size: allocation scales up to 2 M.
- Your budget is the binding constraint: the entry ticket starts at $29, below TradeDay.
- You expect to stay funded long enough for the split to matter: 100 % against 90 % at TradeDay.
Choose TradeDay if…
- You need a platform City Traders Imperium does not offer: tradovate, rithmic, ninjatrader, tradingview.
- Cash flow matters to you: the first withdrawal comes after 0 days rather than 7.
Our analysis
Track record
City Traders Imperium has been running since 2018, 2 years longer than TradeDay. On Trustpilot they sit at 4.2/5 and 4.6/5 respectively. Our trust pillar scores them 85/100 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.
What you pay to start
City Traders Imperium opens at $29 against $131 for TradeDay, a substantial gap on the smallest account. At the reference size of 100 K the comparison is $449 for City Traders Imperium 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.
Drawdown: the rule that decides
City Traders Imperium applies a trailing intraday drawdown capped at 6 %. TradeDay applies a trailing intraday drawdown. Both use the same model, so the difference plays out on the percentages rather than on the mechanism.
What reaches your account
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. 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.
Where you actually trade
City Traders Imperium is the only one of the two to offer mt5, match-trader. 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.