How Much Do You Actually Keep From a Prop Firm Payout?
Work out what a payout really leaves in your pocket after profit split, buffers and fees, using clearly labelled hypothetical numbers.
Start with the profit split
Your take-home is your withdrawable profit times your split. Hypothetical: $2,000 withdrawable at a 90% split is $1,800 to you. Check your firm's actual split, since some change it after a set amount.
Subtract what you paid to get there
Add up evaluation fees, resets and any activation fee. Hypothetical: $30 evaluation plus $85 activation is $115. Net from that first $1,800 payout is $1,685. This is the number that tells you if the account paid off.
Understand the buffer
Some firms require you to keep a cushion above your drawdown before you can withdraw, or cap how much you can take out. Withdrawing everything above the floor leaves you one bad day from losing the account. Read your firm's minimum balance and maximum payout rules.
Plan a sustainable withdrawal
Hypothetical: with $3,000 profit above your starting balance and a $2,000 drawdown, withdrawing $1,000 and leaving $2,000 of cushion keeps the account far safer than taking all $3,000 if the rules allow it.
Track it monthly
Log every payout and fee. Over a few months you'll see your real return, not just your best day. The EVX payout log does this for you.
Free: 2026 Futures Prop Firm Cheat Sheet
Every partner's rules, fees, payouts and codes on 4 pages.
Ready to pick a firm?
Tap a code to copy it and open the partner site.