BrightFunded vs SFX Funded - Prop Firm Comparison (August 2026)

Head-to-head comparison of BrightFunded and SFX Funded. Check max funding, profit splits, daily and overall drawdown rules, leverage, tradable assets, payout frequency, payment and payout methods, trading permissions and KYC restrictions before you buy a challenge. Data refreshed August 2026.

BrightFunded vs SFX Funded - Prop Firm Comparison (August 2026)

	BrightFunded BrightFunded (Bright Global FZCO) is a Dubai-based prop firm offering an unlimited-time, 2-phase evaluation (8% then 5% targets) with 5% daily and 10% max loss limits, trading on cTrader, DXtrade and MT5 with up to 1:100 FX leverage, and Funded... Visit BrightFunded	SFX Funded SFX Funded is a Dubai-based prop firm (SFX International FZCO) trading since 2023, with six routes to capital — Rapid 1-Step, 1-Step Pro, Ascend 2-Step, Ignite, Instant Funding and a $7 Pass First, Pay Later model — on Match-Trader and... Visit SFX Funded
Overview
Trustpilot Rating	0	0
Trustpilot Reviews	0	0
Headquarters	United Arab Emirates	United Arab Emirates
Age (Years)	N/A	3
Max Funding	$400,000	$500,000
Profit Split Start	80%	80%
Profit Split Max	100%	100%
Platforms	MT5 cTrader DXtrade	Match-Trader Platform5
Assets	FX Commodities Indices Crypto	Forex Indices Commodities Metals Crypto
Leverage
FX Leverage	100	30
Metals Leverage	40	10
Crypto Leverage	5	2
Risk & Drawdown Rules
Max Daily Loss	5	Maximum Daily Loss The daily loss limit varies by program: 3% on Rapid, Instant Funding and Pass First Pay Later, 4% on Ascend 2-Step, and none at all during the 1-Step Pro evaluation phase. How it is calculated: at the daily reset SFX takes the higher of your account balance or your account equity and subtracts the percentage to set that day's floor. Because the higher of the two is used, an account sitting in floating profit gets a higher...
Max Total Loss	10	Maximum Overall Loss SFX Funded's overall loss limit tops out at 8% on the Ascend 2-Step and tightens to as little as 4% on Rapid. The headline percentage is the less important half of the answer, because only one SFX program uses a static limit: Ascend 2-Step: 8% static, measured from the initial account balance Pass First, Pay Later: 7% trailing in evaluation, 6% trailing once funded 1-Step Pro: 6% trailing Instant Funding: 6% trailing Rapid 1-Step: 4% trailing Why...
Drawdown Type	Drawdown ModelBrightFunded’s drawdown approach uses an end-of-day (EOD) high-watermark logic for daily risk: the daily permitted loss is always 5% of the challenge size, and the next day’s breach level is set using the highest balance or equity recorded at the end of the prior day. The daily loss resets during the rollover window (roughly 23:30–23:59 CET).Across the evaluation phases, the account must also respect a 10% maximum loss limit; breaching either the daily or max-loss thresholds invalidates the account.	Drawdown Model Mixed — and this is the most consequential difference between SFX programs. Trailing (most programs): Rapid (4%), 1-Step Pro (6%), Instant Funding (6%) and Pass First Pay Later (7% eval / 6% funded) all use a trailing maximum drawdown anchored to your highest-ever account value. In SFX's own words the level "moves up whenever your account reaches a new high" and "never moves down, even if your account value decreases later." Static (one program): Ascend 2-Step uses an...
Payouts
Payout Frequency	Payout FrequencyOn Funded Star accounts, BrightFunded allows the first reward split request 30 days after the first trade. After the first payout, reward splits can be requested bi-weekly (every 14 days). Optional add-ons at checkout can enable weekly payouts (every 7 days) and/or an instant 90% profit split upgrade.	Payout Frequency SFX Funded runs a Payout on Demand model on its Ignite, Ascend and Rapid funded accounts. The first request can be made 3 trading days after your first trade, provided you have made at least 3% profit on the account size and your SFX Stability Index is inside your program's threshold. That first withdrawal is processed at a reduced 40% split; the standard 80%+ split applies from the second payout onward. After the first payout, requests are accepted...
Days to First Payout	30	3
Payout Processing Time	Payout ProcessingBrightFunded states that payouts are typically processed by the finance team within about 1 day after a request is submitted, with final receipt time depending on the payment rail and compliance checks.	Payout Processing SFX Funded states that withdrawal requests submitted through the dashboard are processed within 2 business days, and markets an average payout time of under 8 hours. It backs this with a Payout Guarantee: paid within 48 hours of risk-team approval, or SFX pays you $1,000. The 48-hour clock runs on business days only (Mon–Fri, Dubai time, 09:00–17:00, excluding UAE public holidays) and pauses over weekends, and it starts at approval rather than at submission — so the risk...
Payout Methods	Crypto (USDC – ERC-20) Bank Transfer	Bank Transfer Cryptocurrency (USDT TRC20)
Payments
Payment Methods	Credit/Debit Card Crypto	Credit/Debit Card Cryptocurrency Bank Transfer Mobile Money
Trading Permissions
News Trading	News trading is permitted, but traders remain responsible for respecting all drawdown rules; spreads and slippage can widen materially during high-impact releases. Tick-scalping and any attempts to exploit pricing/data-feed errors are prohibited.	Evaluation phases: news trading is allowed, on every program. SFX only warns about the volatility risk. Funded accounts: news trading is restricted. A 4-minute blackout window applies around every red-folder event on the Forex Factory calendar — from 2 minutes before to 2 minutes after the release. Inside that window SFX blocks market-order execution, pending limit-order activation, and stop-loss/take-profit triggers. Red-folder events marked "All Day" are exempt because they have no fixed release time. Penalties escalate and differ by program:...
Weekend Trades	BrightFunded allows holding positions over the weekend. Traders should account for gap risk and liquidity changes at the weekly reopen; a swap-free add-on can remove swap fees for overnight/weekend holds when purchased.	Weekend crypto trading is allowed on all account types. SFX Funded is unambiguous on this: "you can trade crypto during the weekend with SFX Funded. This applies to all account types." Positions may be held open over the weekend and new positions may be opened. This is a genuine advantage over firms such as FTMO, which require Normal-account positions to be closed before the weekend break. Note two practical caveats: crypto leverage at SFX is only 1:2, and there are no swap-free accounts, so weekend and overnight financing costs apply and count against your loss limits.
Copy Trading	Copy trading is allowed only between accounts owned by the same person (BrightFunded accounts, other evaluation firms, or personal brokerage accounts). Copying between different individuals, signal-group trading, or account management services are prohibited and can lead to profit deductions, resets, or closure.	Copy trading is not allowed at SFX Funded, in any form. The rule is one of the strictest in the industry: "the use of Copy Trading Software is not permitted." The ban covers automatic or manual copying of trades or strategies from other traders or signal providers, and applies to every account combination — evaluation to evaluation, funded to funded, funded to evaluation. Running identical trades simultaneously across your own multiple accounts is also caught by the rule, as is...
EA Allowed	Expert Advisors (EAs) are allowed, provided all activity remains compliant with BrightFunded’s daily/maximum loss rules and non-authorized-practices policies.	EAs are allowed only under unusually restrictive conditions — this is one of the strictest EA policies among mainstream prop firms. Permitted: EAs you developed yourself and own the source code to Trade managers and risk managers Calculators and utility tools Prohibited: Any third-party EA. "Using any other third-party Expert Advisor is not allowed." Any EA where you do not own the source code — and SFX requires you to hand over a copy of the source code for verification...
KYC & Restrictions
KYC Required	Yes	No
KYC Stage	KYC is required to activate a Funded Star account after passing Phase 2, and BrightFunded uses SumSub for identity verification (typically government-issued ID plus proof of address). Activation also includes a security check by the risk team before the trader contract is issued.	KYC is mandatory and is handled by Veriff, a third-party verification provider. SFX states that "all traders must submit and pass to gain full access to their funded account or become eligible to receive payouts." When it is triggered: On passing an evaluation — Rapid, 1-Step Pro, Ascend and Ignite traders complete KYC after the risk-team review and before the funded account is released. Before the first payout — Instant Funding traders, who skip the evaluation, verify before their first...
Restricted Countries	Cuba Iran North Korea Syria Vietnam	Cuba Iran North Korea Syria