Press & data
Data re-verified July 20, 2026 · Free to cite with attribution
PropFirm Beacon is an independent research desk that has traded funded accounts with futures and forex proprietary trading firms since 2019. We read 34 rulebooks in full every quarter, log every rule change with its before-and-after wording, and only count a payout claim when a dated receipt or dashboard export backs it. Everything below is free to quote, screenshot or republish in a table, provided you credit PropFirm Beacon and link to the source page listed with each figure.
Each figure is generated from the live dataset behind the linked page, so it stays accurate as we re-verify. Quote the number, cite the page.
of 34 firms clear our top payout-evidence tier — dated receipts inside the last 90 days, not testimonials
Source: Payout Transparency Index →of 12 logged industry rule changes were applied retroactively to accounts traders had already paid for
Source: Rule change log →logged rule changes moved terms against the trader rather than toward them
Source: Rule change log →average trust score across the tracked field, weighted to payout evidence over marketing claims
Source: Scoring methodology →firms ban or condition expert advisors and automated execution, usually via HFT and latency clauses buried in the terms
Source: EA and algo rules →These are the threads where our dataset says something the firms' own marketing does not. Each one is backed by a public page you can link.
The failure mode traders complain about is rarely an outright refusal to pay. It is a rulebook edit — consistency thresholds, drawdown calculation, news windows — applied to accounts that were bought under the old terms. Our rule-change log dates each edit, records the before and after wording, and flags whether it hit live accounts. That gives a reporter a documented pattern instead of an anecdote.
See the dated rule-change log →An 80/90% split headline ignores evaluation fees, reset spend, activation charges and monthly platform data. Modelled across realistic pass rates, the effective split on a first funded payout routinely lands 20 to 40 points below the advertised figure. Our calculator exposes the arithmetic per firm and is free to screenshot or cite.
Run the payout calculator →Most coverage treats a firm as either paying or not paying. In practice the useful distinction is what kind of evidence exists: dated receipts, dashboard exports, third-party threads, or nothing but testimonials on the firm's own site. We rank the field on evidence quality, which is the metric that actually predicts trouble.
See the transparency index →Traders file non-payment cases with evidence; we contact the firm and publish the reply or the silence. That correspondence trail is available to reporters working a specific firm story, including cases that resolved after contact.
See the complaint desk →High-volume misspellings of major prop firm brands attract lookalike domains and credential-harvesting pages. It is an underreported vector precisely because the search traffic sits on typos rather than the real brand name.
Example: the Tradify typo cluster →We are a two-person research desk that has traded funded accounts with futures and forex prop firms since 2019. Every number on this site is read off the firm's own rulebook, dashboard or payout receipt — never off an affiliate brochure.
We give comment on payout mechanics, drawdown calculation, evaluation pricing, the tax treatment of funded-account income, and consumer risk in the sector. We do not comment on whether a specific firm is a "scam" without documentation, and we disclose affiliate relationships on request for any firm named in a quote.
We write for trading, personal-finance and fintech publications where the audience overlaps. What we offer, in rough order of how often editors take it up:
We do not buy or sell links, and we do not place content through link networks. If a piece runs, it runs because your readers need the data.
Our figures, tables and rankings may be reproduced free of charge for editorial use. We ask for a visible credit and a followed link to the specific source page — not the homepage — so readers can check the underlying data and see when it was last verified. Suggested credit line:
Source: PropFirm Beacon, Payout Transparency Index (July 20, 2026) https://propfirmbeacon.com/payout-transparency-index
Bulk or commercial reuse of the full dataset — including reselling it or embedding it in a paid product — needs written permission. Ask and we will usually say yes.
The site earns affiliate commission on some outbound links to prop firms. That revenue never touches scoring: weights are fixed and published on our methodology page, firms cannot pay for placement or a higher rating, and several firms we earn nothing from outrank partners we do. Firms are given no advance sight of a review and no right of reply before publication, only the same complaint channel every reader has. Where a rating drops, we log the reason with a date.
Press enquiries, data requests, fact-check requests and quote requests: press@propfirmbeacon.com. We answer deadline-flagged requests inside one working day. Tell us the outlet, the angle and the deadline, and we will send the data cut rather than a pitch.
Also useful: 24 head-to-head firm comparisons, 12 logged rule changes and 34 scored firms are all public — no registration, no paywall, no API key.