Methodology
How we score firms
Every firm on Daemon Capital carries a Daemon score out of 5. This page is the whole method, so you can argue with it. The score is our weighted read of the rules a firm publishes and how they play out in a real account, not a number a firm can buy. We do not sell the order, and a firm we earn nothing from is scored on the same rubric as one we do.
Last reviewed 2026-06-24. We re-score a firm whenever its rules or pricing change.
How we test
- 1
We fund real accounts and trade them. We buy evaluations with our own money and run an automated system on them, built and backtested with AI, that we stream live, starting with Topstep and rolling out to more firms. The track record is public, not a marketing claim.
- 2
We read the rulebook line by line. Drawdown type, payout gates, consistency rules, the fine print that quietly fails accounts. That is where the score is won and lost.
- 3
We score on a fixed rubric. The same six weighted criteria for every firm, set before we look, so no firm gets graded on a curve built to flatter it.
- 4
We re-score when the rules move. Coupons change and firms revise their rules. When that happens, the score and the rank change with it.
What the score weighs
Six things decide a firm for an algo trader, and they do not matter equally. Two carry the most weight and share the top spot: whether the firm will run a bot at all, and the drawdown rule that ends more accounts than anything else. Here is each criterion, what it measures, and how much of the score it is worth.
How forgiving the drawdown is: end-of-day with no intraday limit scores highest, a trailing drawdown that ratchets up scores lowest.
Whether the firm will run a bot, and where. Full automation on a funded account scores highest. Allowed only on the eval, or supervised and semi-auto, scores in the middle. Banned outright scores lowest.
Speed and cleanliness of getting paid: day-one or fixed-schedule payouts with no consistency-rule landmine score highest.
Real entry cost once the live discount is applied, with reset risk factored in. Cheaper scores higher.
Profit share, weighting any 100-percent-first tier alongside the ongoing rate.
What the rest of the rules allow: news trading and overnight or weekend holding.
Who does the scoring
Algorithmic futures trader
Sean runs automated strategies on futures prop firms and has passed, blown, and re-bought more evals than he cares to admit. He reads the rulebooks so you do not have to.
- Builds and runs automated strategies on futures prop firms
- Has passed, failed, and re-bought evaluations across multiple firms
- Tracks real eval cost after resets and activation, not the headline price
How we stay independent
Some links here are affiliate links, and on most firms the commission recurs while you keep trading. That is how the site is paid for. It is also the thing every comparison site has to be honest about, so here it is plainly: the rubric is fixed, it is applied the same way to every firm, and a firm we earn nothing from is scored and ranked exactly like one we do. No firm pays for a higher score or a better spot. When you see one ranked below a smaller rival, that is the rubric doing its job.
A score is a read on the rules, not a recommendation to trade. Trading futures carries a substantial risk of loss, no result is typical or guaranteed, and a high score means a firm's rules are fair and clear, not that you will pass its evaluation or get paid.
Every firm, by score
| # | Firm | Daemon score | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lucid Trading | 4.3 / 5 | Best for automation |
| 2 | Bulenox | 4.2 / 5 | Most predictable payouts |
| 3 | Tradeify | 4.1 / 5 | Best instant funding |
| 4 | TakeProfitTrader | 4.0 / 5 | Best for manual traders |
| 5 | Goat Funded Futures | 3.8 / 5 | Cheapest eval |
| 6 | Alpha Futures | 3.8 / 5 | Best for day trading |
| 7 | Phidias | 3.7 / 5 | Best for overnight |
| 8 | MyFundedFutures | 3.6 / 5 | Fastest payouts |
| 9 | Topstep | 3.5 / 5 | Best for beginners |
| 10 | Apex Trader Funding | 3.3 / 5 | Biggest profit split |
| 11 | Earn2Trade | 3.0 / 5 | Best for learning |