A free alternative to a funded account challenge: fair rules, $2,000 in cash prizes
Most free funded account offers are a trial, a giveaway or a discount on a paid evaluation. FundedFast runs something different: a free monthly trading competition with a $2,000 cash prize pool for the top 20. There is no profit target to hit and no impossible rule to trip over. You trade a $100,000 virtual account under fair, prop-firm-style limits and show what kind of trader you are against the traders who joined with you.
Key dates, cash prizes and the rules are on the free trading competition page.
By John McLaren
Quick answer
There is no reliable way to get a funded account for free: the firms that give accounts away do it as prizes or short trials. The FundedFast competition is a free alternative. Entry costs nothing and needs no card or deposit. You trade a $100,000 virtual account for a month with a stop-loss on every trade, at most $500 at risk per trade and a daily loss lock at -$750. You are ranked against the other entrants on how steadily you trade, and the top 20 share $2,000 in cash, from $500 for first to $50 for 20th, paid after an identity check. You do not receive a funded account or a profit split: you are paid for your place on the leaderboard. Sign-ups for the first championship opened on Wednesday 4 November 2026 at 12:00 UTC and close on Wednesday 18 November at 21:00 UTC; the competition runs from Thursday 5 November to Friday 4 December.
Be the first to know when the competition opens
Leave your email and we will write to you when the next championship opens for entries. Joining stays your choice: an email from us never enters you.
No profit target, no impossible rules: you compete against other traders
A funded account is capital a prop firm lets you trade after you pass its evaluation, which you normally pay for. To pass, you hit a profit target inside drawdown limits, and the account stays open only while you keep to its rules, so one bad day can still end it. A free trading competition works the other way round. Nobody pays to enter, everyone trades the same $100,000 virtual account for the same month, and there is no target to reach: the only question is how you trade compared with the traders next to you. In our competition the top 20 share the cash prize pool for that ranking. There is no second evaluation to pass and no account to keep within the rules afterwards: the prize is the result itself. What you give up is the funded account: you cannot keep trading the account you won with, and a prize is a one-off payment, not a stream of payouts.
The rules in full: fair limits, like a prop firm's
Every entrant starts with the same $100,000 virtual balance and trades real market prices on forex pairs, gold, silver, Bitcoin, Ether and a few other large coins. Every trade needs a stop-loss, a single trade can risk at most $500 at its stop, and all open positions and pending orders together can risk at most $500. If your day reaches -$750, open and closed trades together, your positions close and you trade again the next trading day: it is a pause, not a disqualification. Only if your equity falls to $90,000 does your account stop for the rest of the round. Leverage is 1:30 on major forex pairs, 1:20 on minor pairs and gold, 1:10 on silver and 1:5 on Bitcoin and Ether. You trade in the web or mobile app only, with no expert advisors or copy tools; there is no swap, and profit on a trade closed within 60 seconds of opening is voided, with narrow exceptions set out in the rules. The trading day runs from 21:00 to 21:00 UTC. These are the launch rules of the competition; the official rules published before each championship opens are binding.
Free funded account with payout? How the $2,000 prize pool works
What most people mean by a free funded account with payout is being paid for good trading without paying a fee first. That is what the competition does. Each month the top 20 on the final leaderboard share $2,000 in cash: $500 for 1st, $250 for 2nd, $175 for 3rd, $125 for 4th, $100 for 5th, $70 each for 6th to 10th and $50 each for 11th to 20th. The leaderboard rewards steady trading, not one lucky day: your score is your average day's result divided by how much your days swing, times the square root of the days you traded, and a single day counts in full only up to +$750. To be ranked, you trade on at least 60% of the month's trading days. Each person can win one cash prize per round. Results stay provisional for 72 hours for a fair-play review, then prizes are paid. Before payment the winner completes an identity check with our verification provider, which holds any documents: FundedFast stores only the result.
Free funded account competition: how to join
When sign-ups for a championship open, you join from the FundedFast competition app with your email address. Joining is free, and it is always your choice: nobody is entered automatically, so you join again each month you want to take part. Each person can hold one entry per championship, and joining closes at the end of the round's tenth trading day. Some countries cannot take part, and the official rules list them. Sign-ups for the first championship opened on Wednesday 4 November 2026 at 12:00 UTC and close on Wednesday 18 November at 21:00 UTC; the competition runs from Thursday 5 November to Friday 4 December. Leave your email on this page and we will write to you once when the next championship opens for entries.
When this is not the right fit
This is not the right route if you want capital to keep trading: the competition pays cash for a ranking, not a funded account with ongoing payouts. For that you still need to pass an evaluation, and our guide to the cheapest prop firm challenges compares the entry prices. It is not a source of steady income either: only the top 20 are paid, and one month is a short time to judge any strategy.
Keep exploring
Trading fundamentals
Short, plain-English explainers written for traders working toward a funded account.
Frequently asked
Can I get a free funded account?
Not in a way you can count on. Firms that give funded accounts away do it as prizes for a few winners or as short trials, and the usual route is a paid evaluation. The FundedFast competition is a free alternative: entry costs nothing, and the top 20 traders share a $2,000 cash prize pool instead of being given an account.
Is the FundedFast competition really free?
Yes. There is no entry fee, and you need no card, no deposit and no payment details to join. You trade a virtual account, so no money of yours is at risk at any point.
Do the winners get a funded account?
No. The top 20 share $2,000 in cash each month, from $500 for first to $50 for 20th, paid after an identity check. You are paid for your place on the final leaderboard, not given an account to keep trading.
What rules does the competition use?
Fair limits like a prop firm's, with no profit target: a $100,000 virtual balance, a stop-loss on every trade, at most $500 at risk per trade and across open positions, a daily loss lock at -$750 that pauses the day, and an end to your round only if equity falls to $90,000. The ranking rewards steady days over one big win. The official rules published before each championship opens are binding.
How often does it run, and when is the next one?
Once a month. Sign-ups for the first championship opened on Wednesday 4 November 2026 at 12:00 UTC and close on Wednesday 18 November at 21:00 UTC; the competition runs from Thursday 5 November to Friday 4 December. Leave your email on this page and we will tell you when the next championship opens.
Who can take part?
Anyone who joins with a valid email address, one entry per person per championship, except residents of the countries the official rules exclude. You are never entered automatically, so you join each month you want to compete.