Elite Trader Funding

Elite Trader Funding is a futures-only prop firm (CME, CBOT, COMEX, NYMEX) offering six evaluation/funding paths: 1-Step, Static Drawdown, End of Day, Diamond Hands, Fast Track, and Direct to Funded (DTF, which skips the evaluation entirely for a one-time fee). This entry documents the 1-Step plan, ETF's most popular product: a single-phase evaluation with a live trailing (intraday, chases highest unrealized P&L) drawdown, no daily loss limit, and a 5 trading-day minimum (an add-on can waive the day minimum).

Confirmed 1-Step sizes: $50K ($2,000 drawdown / $3,000 target / 8-mini position cap), $100K ($3,000 drawdown / $6,000 target / 14-mini cap), and $250K ($6,500 drawdown / $15,000 target / 24-mini cap). Passing unlocks an Elite Sim-Funded account: up to 100% profit split, a safety net that permanently removes the drawdown once realized profit reaches drawdown + $100, and a Loss Limit Rule where crossing 20% account profit sets a new floor — give back more than 35% of profit from that point and ETF can pull the account from the Elite Sim program (this replaces what earlier documentation described as a flat consistency-rule percentage).

First-payout Active Trade Day (ATD) requirements dropped from 8 to 5 for accounts purchased on or after July 6, 2026 (ETF's own published cycle table and prose disagree slightly on cycle 3: 3 vs 5 ATDs — verify at purchase time). Each ATD needs $200+ realized profit (or $100 on some smaller/legacy account types) and at least 23% of your best trading day's P&L.

Evaluation resets are $47 and unlimited; funded (Elite) resets are capped at 10, DTF included. Reach $25,000 in cumulative Sim-Funded payouts and traders graduate to LIVE ELITE: real capital, 80/20 split, daily payouts on business days, a $250 minimum, and a 48-hour payout approval guarantee.

The other five plan families at a glance: Fast Track ($10K, $500 drawdown, $2,000 target, 3-day minimum, one free month of funded activation, no resets — the cheapest entry); Static Drawdown ($10K/$25K/$50K, fixed floor that never trails, no daily loss limit — friendliest for newer traders); End of Day ($50K/$100K, end-of-day trailing drawdown plus a hard-breach daily loss limit of $1,100–$2,200); Diamond Hands ($100K, the only ETF plan permitting overnight/weekend holds, EOD trailing + daily loss limit); Direct to Funded ($10K Mini Inferno / $50K / $100K, one-time payment, no evaluation phase — the priciest way in). ETF also runs periodic trade competitions and a rewards/points program that can lower repeat-evaluation cost.

Supported platforms: Tradovate, NinjaTrader, TradingView, Rithmic R|Trader, ATAS, Bookmap, EdgeProX, eSignal, Finamark, Investor/RT, MotiveWave, Quantower, and Sierra Chart, with Rithmic as the primary data feed (new accounts pay an added monthly Rithmic connection fee starting January 28, 2026 per a CME Group data-feed policy change). Evaluation and account fees are not published statically on the plan pages — ETF directs traders to its live evaluations page for current pricing and active promotions — so no fee figures are captured in this entry; confirm current pricing before purchase.