Maverick Trading, T3 Trading Group, Funder Trading, and Black Eagle FG are the four prop firms that fund listed US options on real capital in 2026. Vanquish Trader and Options Funding run a separate sim-to-fund model on real option chains. Topstep and Elite Trader Funding prohibit options outright, despite appearing on most options prop firm roundups.
Fewer than ten options prop firms are worth an application, and the difference between them is not the profit split. It is whether your funded account holds real capital or a simulation. Below is what each firm publishes about itself, what it charges, what it gates behind the application form, and where the options challenge model that arrived in 2024 actually gets its money.
Disclosure: some links on this page are affiliate links, and I earn a commission if you buy an evaluation through them. Affiliate firms get the same treatment as everything else here, including the parts they would rather I left out. Nothing on this page is financial advice, and most traders who buy a prop firm evaluation never reach a payout.
Why Are Options Prop Firms So Rare?
Options prop firms are rare because of four structural problems, not laziness or market gaps. A forex prop firm can run on MetaTrader, enforce a drawdown rule, and manage risk with a single number: your account balance. Options firms cannot do that.
First, there is the risk architecture problem. Forex risk reduces to one metric. Options risk requires monitoring delta, gamma, theta, and vega in real time across every open position. A short options position can move against you faster than a stop-loss can fire, especially around earnings events or macro data drops. If a trader sells naked calls and the stock gaps 20% overnight, the loss is not capped by a daily drawdown rule.
Second, there is the data infrastructure problem. To support US equity options, a firm needs OPRA (Options Price Reporting Authority) market data, which covers over one million active contracts across 17 US exchanges. This is not a plug-and-play feed. During the April 2025 market selloff, peak OPRA burst traffic exceeded 23.7 million packets per second. Firms that want to consume this reliably need 40 or 100 gigabit networking and dedicated burst-handling architecture, according to Exegy’s 2026 OPRA infrastructure analysis. Compare this to a futures prop firm that leans on CME data feeds, which are expensive but standardised and well-supported by existing vendor infrastructure.
Third, there is the regulatory problem. Firms facilitating US equity options trading must navigate FINRA oversight, potential broker-dealer licensing, and OCC clearing requirements. That means legal teams, compliance budgets, and audits. A challenger launching a forex prop firm from an offshore jurisdiction faces none of this. An options firm targeting the US equity market does.
Fourth, there is the capital efficiency problem. Options margin requirements are significantly higher relative to notional value than forex margin at 1:30 leverage. A firm funding ten forex traders at $100K each uses far less capital per trader than funding ten options traders at comparable notional exposure. That limits how many traders any firm can back at once.
Three of those four problems disappear if the account is simulated, which is why the newest firms in this space are sim-to-fund. More on that below.
New to the prop firm model altogether? This guide covers how prop firms work and what separates the legit ones from the ones selling dreams.
The Four Types of Options Prop Firms
Not all options prop firms are the same, and the type of firm determines everything: whether you need a license, how much you put up, what platforms you use, whether your orders reach an exchange, and how your risk is managed. There are four distinct structures.
Broker-Dealer Desks (US)
FINRA/SIPC registered firms that clear through an OCC-registered clearing broker. They can offer genuine access to US-listed equity options with multi-leg routing, professional Greeks dashboards, and direct exchange connectivity. Traders typically need a Series 57 and SIE. T3 Trading Group falls into this category.
Remote Programs on Real Capital
Funded programs for options traders that bypass the broker-dealer structure, usually through a training-and-bond model or a track record review. Maverick Trading, Funder Trading and Black Eagle FG are the clearest examples. Less regulatory friction, more accessible, and more varied in what they actually offer.
Sim-to-Fund Options Programs
Evaluations and funded accounts that run in a simulated environment priced from real options data. Vanquish Trader and Options Funding both describe their accounts as simulated on their own sites. Cheap entry, fast payouts, real option chains, and no order ever reaches an options exchange. Newest category, formed in 2024.
Institutional Market-Making Firms
Firms like Jane Street, Optiver, IMC, SIG, and Citadel Securities hire traders as employees and trade proprietary capital. These are not programs you apply to off a landing page. They run competitive hiring processes, pay salaries, and the capital involved is institutional in scale. Entirely different category.
The Non-Category: CFD Firms Marketing to Options Traders
A significant number of forex prop firms write content targeting “options traders” while offering only CFD instruments. You are not trading listed options, and you are not trading a simulation of listed options either. You are trading a contract for difference on an underlying, which behaves nothing like an option. This is the one group on this page that does not belong in the category at all.
On platform names: MT4, MT5 and cTrader do not support exchange-listed option contracts, so “options access” on those platforms means CFDs. The platform name alone no longer settles it, though. DXtrade markets options alongside CFDs and futures with Greeks, IV and Theo analytics, and RixTrade prices full option chains from real-time OPRA data. Ask what the contract is and who holds the account, not just what the platform is called.
Best Prop Firms for Options Trading in 2026
Four firms fund listed US equity options on real capital in 2026:
- Maverick Trading. Remote, stocks and options division, upfront bond plus membership fee.
- T3 Trading Group. SEC and FINRA registered broker-dealer, licensing track.
- Funder Trading. Challenge-style evaluation, US stocks and options.
- Black Eagle FG. Track record review, US equities and options.
Two more, Vanquish Trader and Options Funding, run options evaluations on simulated accounts and are covered in their own section further down. The table below shows what each of the four real-capital firms publishes on its own website, and where the number is not published at all.
| Firm | Type | Entry Cost | Max Capital | License Required | Remote | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maverick Trading | Remote/Hybrid | $199/mo desk fee plus a performance bond. Bond and membership amounts are not published on mavericktrading.com | Not published by the firm | No | Yes | Not named in the public FAQ |
| T3 Trading Group | Broker-Dealer (SEC/FINRA/SIPC) | Varies (first-loss capital may apply) | Varies by track | Yes (SIE + Series 57; sponsorship available) | Partial (US-based desk, some remote) | Sterling Trader Pro, DAS Trader |
| Funder Trading | Challenge/Remote (stocks + options) | From ~$150 | Up to $500K buying power | No | Yes (US-focused) | Proprietary dashboard |
| Black Eagle FG | Remote (track record review) | “No paid challenges” on one page; $150 to $500 one-phase evaluations on another. Both on blackeaglefg.com | $500K on one page; $250K on another | No | Yes (global) | cTrader, DXtrade, Match-Trader, MT5 |
How to read this table: the Maverick Trading and Black Eagle FG rows were checked against each firm’s own website in September 2026. Where a figure is missing, the firm does not publish it, and the numbers circulating on prop firm directories are not confirmed by either firm. The T3 Trading Group and Funder Trading rows are carried from earlier reporting and were not re-verified in this update. Rules, fees, and platform access change constantly in this industry. Confirm everything directly, in writing, before you pay.
Maverick Trading: How It Works
Maverick Trading has been operating since 1997, which matters. Most modern prop firms launched in the last five years. Maverick Trading is the longest-running options-focused remote prop firm, and it is not a startup running a challenge funnel.
The onboarding process has five steps: read the basic FAQ, complete a trader profile, watch an intro video, review the advanced FAQ, and schedule a recruiter call. There is no instant funding. The model is deliberate by design.
What Maverick Trading Publishes About Cost
- No trading license required to apply
- $199 per month desk fee for every Maverick trader
- A performance bond must be posted before live trading begins
- A portion or all of the desk fees credit toward additional Maverick services or toward the required performance bond
- Performance bonus payouts once a trader hits certain profit metrics
- Full-remote setup, no office requirement
- Commitment to Maverick Trading’s systematic options methodology
Maverick Trading’s own FAQ states that full details on these costs appear in the application videos. The bond amount, the membership fee, the profit split, the capital range, and the platform are not published anywhere on mavericktrading.com. The $5,000 bond and $7,000 membership figures you will find quoted across prop firm directories are not confirmed by Maverick Trading.
That is worth sitting with, because pricing that only appears after you enter the application flow is on the red flag list further down this page. It is not evidence of a bad firm. Maverick Trading has a longer operating history than almost anything else in this space. It does mean you cannot budget for the program before you have spoken to a recruiter, and you should ask for the bond amount, the membership fee, and the monthly total in writing on that first call.
The training period is real, not a marketing pitch. Maverick Trading teaches a specific systematic approach to options portfolio management. If you want to trade your own strategy from day one, this is not the right firm. If you are willing to learn a structured method and grow within it, the long-term capital access is among the highest in the remote options space.
T3 Trading Group: How It Works
T3 Trading Group operates as a registered broker-dealer, which puts it in a different category from most funded trader programs. That means more institutional infrastructure and more process, and also genuine exchange-listed options access with proper clearing.
T3 Trading Group requires a track record and is not taking beginners. The licensing track prefers or requires the SIE and Series 57, though the firm will sponsor serious candidates. For non-US residents there is a limited path, but T3 Trading Group is built around the US market structure.
T3 Trading Group at a Glance
- Demonstrated trading history required before application
- SIE and Series 57 required (sponsorship available for accepted traders)
- US-based desk in lower Manhattan; some remote trading accepted
- Full institutional infrastructure: multi-leg routing, professional data, compliance oversight
- Clearing through Clear Street and Marex Clearing Services
- Platforms: Sterling Trader Pro, DAS Trader, and others depending on program
- Heavier onboarding process than remote challenge-style firms
If you are US-based, licensed or willing to get licensed, and have a real track record, T3 Trading Group gives you access to options trading infrastructure at an institutional level. If you are a retail trader looking for a quick funded account, this is not it.
Black Eagle FG: Pricing, Profit Split, and Platform
Black Eagle FG runs a track record model rather than a paid evaluation. You submit verified live trading history, and if it checks out you trade firm capital without grinding a demo account first. That is the pitch, and it is a real structural difference from the challenge firms. The problem is that Black Eagle FG publishes two incompatible versions of it.
What each Black Eagle FG page says
Black Eagle FG’s proven-trader page, updated July 2026, states there are no paid challenges, asks for six to twelve months of verified live history, and quotes accounts from $25,000 to $500,000 with profit splits up to 80 to 90%. Black Eagle FG’s own Maverick comparison page, published February 2026, states that Black Eagle FG charges $150 to $500 for one-phase evaluations on accounts up to $250,000, with 8 to 10% profit targets, a 5% daily drawdown, a 10% maximum drawdown, and a ten-day minimum. Both pages sit on blackeaglefg.com.
Those are two different products. One is a track record review with no fee. The other is a paid one-phase challenge with a profit target. Before you send anyone your statements, get written confirmation of which model applies to you, what it costs, and what the account ceiling is.
The platform list does not match the options desk
Black Eagle FG’s proven-trader page names cTrader, DXtrade, Match-Trader, and MT5 as its platforms. Of those four, only DXtrade handles listed option contracts. Black Eagle FG’s options page separately describes Greek limits at portfolio and symbol level, which is the language of a working options desk. The options desk and the platform list published on the same domain do not line up.
Ask which platform routes your option orders, and ask before the track record review rather than after. Instrument relabelling is common enough in this industry to be worth checking every time, and I covered a clear example of it in the Tradeify247 breakdown where the stocks are not stocks.
Black Eagle FG: Confirmed From the Firm’s Own Site
- Track record model: six to twelve months of verified live trading history, reviewed manually
- Not a beginner program
- Greek-based risk framework described at portfolio and symbol level
- Profit splits quoted up to 80 to 90%
- Consistency rules apply, alongside daily loss limits, max drawdown floors, and over-leverage restrictions
- Accounts quoted from $25,000, with a ceiling stated as $250,000 on one page and $500,000 on another
- Platforms named: cTrader, DXtrade, Match-Trader, MT5
- Global, excluding restricted countries
If you have a documented edge in options and do not want to pay to prove it again, Black Eagle FG is the most direct route to a funding conversation. Go into that conversation with the pricing contradiction and the platform question already written down.
Funder Trading: The Most Accessible Path on Real Capital
Funder Trading focuses specifically on US stocks and options. It does not require a trading license or a capital bond, which makes it the most accessible real-capital entry point for retail traders who want funded options exposure. Challenge fees start around $150 for smaller evaluation accounts, against Maverick Trading’s multi-thousand dollar commitment.
The evaluation follows familiar challenge-firm logic: hit a profit target, stay within drawdown limits, and qualify for a funded account. Buying power can reach up to $500K. Profit splits run 80-90%. Funder Trading also offers daily live trading rooms and one-on-one coaching, which is more hands-on than most challenge-style prop firms.
Check first: Funder Trading is US-focused by design. International traders should confirm eligibility and access terms directly before paying an evaluation fee.
Maverick Trading vs Black Eagle FG
Maverick Trading and Black Eagle FG sit at opposite ends of the cost structure. Maverick Trading charges upfront and trains you. Black Eagle FG charges nothing upfront and screens your history instead. What neither firm does is publish enough for a clean side-by-side, and that is the useful finding.
| Maverick Trading | Black Eagle FG | |
|---|---|---|
| Upfront cost | $199 monthly desk fee, plus a performance bond posted before live trading. Neither the membership fee nor the bond amount is published on mavericktrading.com | “No paid challenges” on the proven-trader page. $150 to $500 one-phase evaluations on the comparison page. Both figures come from blackeaglefg.com |
| What gets you in | Application, recruiter call, and a qualification program with simulators and tests before live capital | Six to twelve months of verified live trading history, reviewed manually |
| Capital | Not published by the firm | $25,000 to $500,000 on the proven-trader page. Up to $250,000 on the comparison page |
| Profit split | Not published by the firm | Up to 80 to 90% on the proven-trader page |
| Platforms named on the firm’s own site | Not named in the public FAQ | cTrader, DXtrade, Match-Trader, MT5 |
| Suits | Traders who want a taught method and can fund a bond before earning | Traders with a verifiable multi-month record who want capital without a course |
The decision is simpler than the table makes it look. If you have six to twelve months of clean verified statements, Black Eagle FG costs you nothing to try and you should resolve the pricing question by email in a day. If you do not have that history, Black Eagle FG will decline you, and Maverick Trading’s qualification program is the path that exists. Neither firm should get money or statements from you before it answers the platform question in writing.
Both firms, same question: a firm that will not put its fee structure, capital range, and options platform in one place is asking you to commit on trust. Ask for all three in one email and keep the reply.
Sim-to-Fund Options Prop Firms: Vanquish Trader and Options Funding
A sim-to-fund options prop firm runs the evaluation and the funded account in a simulated environment priced from real options market data, then pays traders out of firm revenue rather than from profits on a live options account. The option chains, the Greeks, and the multi-leg tickets are real. The account is not a brokerage account, and no order reaches an options exchange.
This category did not exist when the rest of this guide was first written. Vanquish Trading LLC was incorporated in Delaware in May 2024 and began operating that October. Options Funding runs on RixTrade, a platform that describes itself as a simulated options trading platform and states that evaluation and funded accounts are issued by partner funding firms. Strix Options Funding runs on the same platform. That is a platform provider selling infrastructure to multiple options prop firms, which is exactly how the futures sim-funded category scaled from 2021 onwards.
The mechanics work because three of the four structural problems above disappear when nothing settles. No OCC clearing, no broker-dealer licensing, no options margin on firm capital. What remains is the data cost, and both platforms pay for real OPRA chains.
Vanquish Trader
Vanquish Trader describes itself as a sim-to-fund prop firm offering simulated funding for options and advanced options traders. Accounts run up to $150,000 with a 100% profit split, on DXtrade across web, iOS and Android. The advanced options accounts support full multi-leg structures.
Vanquish Trader: Confirmed From the Firm’s Own Site
- Sim-to-fund: evaluation and funded accounts are both simulated
- Accounts up to $150,000
- 100% profit split
- Options and advanced options, with full multi-leg functionality on advanced accounts
- Platform: DXtrade, on web, iOS and Android
- SPX, XSP and VIX are restricted to long single-leg calls and puts. No spreads, no selling to open
- One-step evaluations with no time limit
- Vanquish Trading LLC, Delaware, incorporated May 2024, operating from October 2024
The SPX, XSP and VIX restriction is the rule to read twice. If your edge is selling index credit spreads on SPX, the instrument you came for is available long-only, which removes the strategy. Vanquish Trader publishes this openly, which is more than most firms do with their strategy limits, but it will decide the firm for a large share of index premium sellers.
Options Funding
Options Funding is a funding program for options traders on the RixTrade platform. Its own FAQ states that you pass a simulated evaluation to qualify for payouts and potentially a live account, that the funded account is funded by the firm, and that you put up no trading capital. Accounts start at $25,000 and scale as you hit targets, with copy trading across up to ten accounts.
Options Funding: Confirmed From the Firm’s Own Site
- Simulated evaluation account first, then a firm-funded account. No trading capital from the trader on the standard paths
- Accounts from $25,000, scaling on target completion
- Copy trading across up to ten accounts
- Platform: RixTrade, with full option chains priced from real-time OPRA data
- Multi-leg support: verticals, condors, butterflies, calendars, and naked positions, with buying power computed per position
- Monthly evaluation subscription refunded in full on reaching Live
- Three paths: Trader Incubator (standard evaluation), Instant Trader Funding (no evaluation), Pro Trader Funding
The refunded subscription is a genuinely trader-friendly detail and it is rare in this industry. The Pro Trader Funding path is the one to approach carefully. It asks the trader to make an initial capital contribution of $250,000, $500,000 or $1,000,000 in exchange for buying power scaled to $5M, $10M or $20M and a flat 80% split. That is a first-loss capital arrangement at institutional scale, and it belongs in front of a securities lawyer rather than in a checkout flow. Nobody should send a quarter of a million dollars to a firm founded in 2026 without independent legal review of the agreement and confirmation of where the money is held.
Options Funding evaluations and current pricing (affiliate link)
What to weigh before paying either firm
Sim-to-fund is not a scam and it is not the same product as a funded options account at a broker-dealer. It is cheaper, faster, and available to traders that Maverick Trading and Black Eagle FG would decline. The trade-off is counterparty risk: your payout depends on the firm’s revenue and its willingness to pay, not on settled profits sitting in a clearing account. That is the same structure that funds every futures sim-funded firm, and the failure mode is the same too. SurgeTrader appeared on options prop firm lists for years and ceased operations in May 2024 after losing its trading platform license.
Review volume matters more than review score in a young category. As of September 2026, Vanquish Trader shows a 4.2 Trustpilot rating across 78 reviews after roughly two years of operation. Options Funding shows 3.5 across 9 reviews, which is too thin to say anything about payout reliability either way. Start at the smallest account size, request a payout early, and scale only after the money arrives.
What the Risk Framework Actually Looks Like Inside an Options Prop Firm
This is where most generic guides stop, and it is where traders actually get tripped up. Options firms do not just set a daily loss limit and call it risk management. The risk architecture is fundamentally different from forex or futures prop.
Greeks Monitoring, Not Just P&L
A professional options desk monitors net delta, short gamma, vega, and theta at both the position and portfolio level, not just account balance. Before the session opens, a funded options trader checks these numbers. Intraday, they operate within Greek thresholds, not just drawdown caps. This means a position can be perfectly within your account’s loss limit while still triggering a risk call because your short gamma exposure is too high heading into a major data release.
Overnight and Earnings Restrictions
Most serious options prop firms restrict or prohibit holding short premium positions through earnings events. The overnight gap risk on a short naked call in a stock reporting quarterly earnings is not something a firm will absorb on your behalf. Defined-risk structures like credit spreads, iron condors, and debit spreads are typically the permitted set for overnight holds. Clarify this before you build a strategy around earnings plays.
Assignment Risk and OCC Deadlines
At retail brokers, assignment risk is largely your problem. At a prop firm on real capital, it is a firm-level risk event. Firms follow strict OCC exercise and assignment protocols. Short in-the-money calls around ex-dividend dates can trigger early assignment, and if that happens inside a prop firm account, positions may be force-closed. Know your firm’s policy on this before holding short options through dividend dates. On a simulated account, assignment is whatever the platform models it to be, so ask how the simulation handles it.
Liquidation Logic
When a prop account breaches a risk limit intraday, liquidation is often automated and not always clean. In a multi-leg spread, the riskiest leg may be closed first while the other stays open, which can convert a defined-risk position into an undefined one. Understanding exactly how your firm’s liquidation system works matters more in options than in any other asset class.
The Cost Reality: Why Your Edge Lives in the Fee Math
Options trading profitability is margin-thin compared to how it looks on paper. Before you commit to any program, run the full cost stack.
Full Cost Stack for an Options Prop Trader
- Per-contract commissions: $0.20 to $0.60 at broker-dealer desks, versus $0.65 retail. Small difference per trade, meaningful at volume.
- Exchange and OCC clearing fees: a few cents per contract, but they vary by exchange and route.
- OPRA professional data: $150 to $400 per month for institutional-grade options data. Prop firm traders typically classify as professional users under CME and exchange definitions, meaning retail data rates do not apply.
- Platform fees: firm-specific, often bundled or charged separately.
- Profit split: the firm’s cut of every profitable trade, typically 10-30%.
Model all-in round-trip costs before assuming your strategy is profitable in a prop environment. A theta-decay strategy that makes 2% per month looks different when you subtract commissions, data fees, and profit splits from gross PnL. On sim-to-fund accounts the stack is simpler, usually an evaluation fee or monthly subscription, but the reset fees are where the real cost accumulates.
Options Prop Firms vs. Forex and Futures: A Direct Comparison
| Feature | Options Prop Firms | Forex Prop Firms | Futures Prop Firms |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of legit firms | Under 10 | Hundreds | Dozens |
| Entry cost | $150 to five figures on real capital; evaluation fees on sim-to-fund | $50 to $500 | $100 to $500 |
| Time to funded | Days on sim-to-fund; weeks to months on real capital | Days to weeks | Days to weeks |
| Max funded capital | $250K to $500K published on real capital; $150K on sim-to-fund | Up to $4M (some firms) | Up to $300K (typical) |
| Risk measurement | Greeks + P&L + notional exposure | Simple drawdown on balance | Simple drawdown on balance |
| License requirement | Sometimes (Series 57) | No | No |
| Platform flexibility | Low to moderate | High (MT4/MT5 universal) | Moderate (NinjaTrader, Rithmic) |
| Pricing transparency | Low on real capital, high on sim-to-fund | High. Published checkout pricing | High. Published checkout pricing |
| Regulatory complexity | High (FINRA/SEC for US equity options) | Low (most offshore) | Moderate (CFTC for US futures) |
If you are a futures trader weighing this up, see the full futures prop firm breakdown for a direct comparison across evaluation structures and platforms.
Can You Trade Options at FTMO, Topstep, or Elite Trader Funding?
FTMO, Topstep, and Elite Trader Funding do not permit options trading. Topstep’s own trader rules list stocks, options, forex, spot cryptocurrency, and CFDs as prohibited instruments, and Topstep’s help centre states the program is futures only. Elite Trader Funding restricts trading to US futures instruments.
The claim worth checking is the workaround. Several roundups tell options traders to route around the equity options shortage by trading options on futures at Topstep or Elite Trader Funding. That route does not exist at either firm. Topstep prohibits options as an instrument category, and Topstep’s help centre confirms the program is futures only. Elite Trader Funding’s help centre states that trading is limited to US futures instruments, and options appear nowhere in the permitted set.
Elite Trader Funding’s own blog makes the case that most options strategies can be replicated on futures with tighter capital efficiency and no theta decay. That is an argument for trading futures instead of options. It is not a claim that Elite Trader Funding funds options, and the roundups citing it as one have misread it.
One gap to close yourself: Elite Trader Funding’s wording covers “US futures instruments” without addressing options on futures contracts specifically. If options on ES or NQ are your strategy, email support and get the answer in writing before you buy an evaluation.
FTMO runs on MetaTrader and cTrader. Neither platform supports multi-leg options order entry or options-specific risk management. Some firms use the language of options in their marketing while offering CFD equivalents, and a CFD position tracking an options payoff is a different instrument under different risk dynamics.
Red Flags to Watch Before You Pay
The options prop firm space is small enough that legitimate firms are easy to identify. The red flags are just as easy to spot.
Walk Away If You See These
- MT4, MT5 or cTrader listed as the trading platform for “options access”
- No mention of Greeks monitoring, only drawdown rules
- Vague or hidden pricing that only appears after you apply
- Two different fee structures published on the same firm’s website
- A capital contribution requested from you in exchange for scaled buying power, with no written first-loss agreement and no statement of where your money is held
- Silence on whether the funded account is real capital or simulated
- Mandatory upsells inside the onboarding flow (extra courses, software, subscriptions)
- No explanation of assignment risk handling or overnight position restrictions
- No clear payout timeline or profit split terms in writing
- Claims of live US stock options access with no broker-dealer affiliation
Some firms also bury payout-killing rules deep in their terms. This breakdown on consistency rules covers how some firms use rule design to reduce what they actually pay out.
What to Confirm Before You Commit to Any Options Prop Firm
Before paying for any evaluation or bond, get answers to these questions directly from the firm. Do not rely on the landing page, and do not rely on this one either.
- Is the funded account real firm capital or a simulated account, and who holds it?
- Which instruments can I trade: single-stock options, index options (SPX, NDX), ETF options, futures options?
- Are any of those instruments restricted to long-only or single-leg orders?
- Are multi-leg strategies supported: verticals, iron condors, calendars, diagonals, butterflies?
- What platform am I trading on, and does it support single-ticket multi-leg order entry?
- What are the Greek limits at both the position and portfolio level?
- What happens to my positions if I breach a risk limit intraday?
- Can I hold short premium through earnings? What is the policy on overnight exposure?
- How is assignment handled, and on a simulated account, how is it modelled?
- What is the full commission and fee stack, including OPRA or data charges and reset fees?
- What is the profit split, payout schedule, and minimum withdrawal threshold?
- What is the total cost to reach live trading, including bond, membership, and monthly fees?
Who Options Prop Firms Are Actually For
Options prop firms are not for traders looking to replicate the forex challenge experience. They are built for a different kind of trader, and the filtering is intentional.
The profile of a trader who succeeds here: someone who already understands Greeks, manages risk at the portfolio level, is comfortable with theta strategies or directional spreads, and can operate within defined risk constraints without needing a simple drawdown number to manage exposure. Whether you are starting out or want to understand how prop firms filter and fund traders, the prop firms 101 guide is a good baseline before you engage with any firm in this space.
Pick the category before you pick the firm. T3 Trading Group offers institutional-grade infrastructure to licensed traders. Black Eagle FG will fund a verified record without a fee. Maverick Trading will teach you a method if you can fund the bond. Funder Trading is the cheapest real-capital route. Vanquish Trader and Options Funding will put you on real option chains in days, on an account that settles nothing. None of them are shortcuts, and the firms that survive this niche are built around risk management first. They expect the same from the traders they fund.
Looking for the full prop firm landscape?
If options prop firms feel too narrow for your strategy, the futures and forex prop firm world is much larger. The evaluation structures, platforms, and risk rules are very different from what you read here.
Compare futures prop firms →FAQs About Options Prop Firms
Are there prop firms for options trading?
Four firms fund listed US equity options on real capital in 2026: Maverick Trading, T3 Trading Group, Funder Trading, and Black Eagle FG. A separate sim-to-fund category, including Vanquish Trader and Options Funding, runs real option chains on simulated accounts and pays traders from firm revenue. Topstep and Elite Trader Funding permit US futures only and prohibit options as an instrument category.
What is a sim-to-fund options prop firm?
A sim-to-fund options prop firm runs evaluations and funded accounts in a simulated environment priced from real options market data, then pays traders out of firm revenue rather than from trading profits on a live options account. Vanquish Trader and Options Funding both describe their accounts as simulated on their own websites. The option chains and Greeks are real. The account is not a brokerage account, and no order reaches an options exchange.
What should a trader look for when comparing options prop firms?
Compare six things: whether the funded account is real capital or simulated, which option contracts the firm permits, whether multi-leg orders route as one ticket, the Greek limits at position and portfolio level, the full fee stack including OPRA data and professional-user classification, and the liquidation logic when a risk limit breaches intraday. Profit split matters least, because a high split on a platform that cannot route a spread is worth nothing.
Are there challenge-style prop firms for US stock options?
Challenge-style options programs exist as of 2024, but they run on simulated accounts rather than live options accounts. Vanquish Trader and Options Funding both operate one-step or subscription evaluations on options-native platforms. Challenge programs that place live orders on US equity options remain nearly nonexistent, because the regulatory, clearing, and infrastructure requirements for listed options are hard to replicate. Funder Trading is the closest thing on the real-capital side.
Do I need a Series 57 to trade at an options prop firm?
It depends on the firm’s structure. Broker-dealer desks like T3 Trading Group typically require or prefer the SIE and Series 57 for traders handling US equity options. Remote hybrid programs like Maverick Trading and Funder Trading do not require licensing, and sim-to-fund programs do not either, because no order reaches an exchange. Confirm the firm’s regulatory structure directly.
What is the PDT rule and does it apply to options prop traders?
The Pattern Day Trader rule requires accounts under $25,000 to limit same-day round-trip trades in margin accounts. For prop firm traders, the specific application depends on how the firm structures its accounts. Firms that clear through a broker-dealer typically apply PDT rules unless the funded account qualifies for a higher threshold. Simulated accounts sit outside the rule entirely.
Can I trade options strategies like iron condors or credit spreads at a prop firm?
Some firms permit it, others restrict multi-leg strategies to defined-risk structures only and prohibit naked selling. Maverick Trading teaches systematic strategies that include spread positions. T3 Trading Group supports multi-leg order entry with proper infrastructure. Vanquish Trader supports multi-leg on its advanced options accounts but restricts SPX, XSP and VIX to long single-leg calls and puts. Always ask about the specific strategies you plan to trade.
Why don’t FTMO or Topstep offer options?
FTMO’s platform stack of MetaTrader and cTrader does not support exchange-listed options contracts. Topstep’s own trader rules list options among its prohibited instruments, and Topstep’s help centre states the program is futures only. Adding listed options would require an entirely different technical and regulatory buildout at both firms. The platforms themselves are the primary constraint.
