Sim-Funded Account
A funded account traded in a simulated environment — your orders don't hit the exchange, but your payouts are real money.
A sim-funded account is a funded account whose orders are filled in a simulated environment rather than routed to the exchange. Your platform, your data, your P&L and — crucially — your payouts all behave like the real thing. The difference is behind the curtain: the firm mirrors, hedges, or simply absorbs your activity on its own book, and pays your profit split out of its own funds.
This is the standard model in US futures prop, and it’s worth understanding rather than fearing. It exists because it’s cheaper and faster for the firm to onboard thousands of traders without opening thousands of exchange accounts — which is exactly why an evaluation costs $150 instead of a $25,000 margin deposit.
What sim-funded means for you in practice:
| Sim-funded | Live account | |
|---|---|---|
| Orders reach the exchange | No | Yes |
| Your P&L is real money to you | Yes (via payout) | Yes |
| Slippage/fills | Simulated pricing | Real market fills |
| Firm’s exposure | On its own book | At the exchange |
The money is real. A trader who nets $4,000 in a sim-funded month and takes home $3,600 has $3,600 in their bank account, no asterisk.
The one thing sim-funded does mean is that your payout depends on the firm actually paying — so the firm’s financial health and payout track record matter enormously. That’s not a reason to avoid the model; it’s a reason to choose your firm carefully. Look for a long, verifiable history of paying traders on time.
Some firms move consistently profitable traders onto live routing after a track record is established. Read Sim-Funded vs Live Accounts for the full comparison, and check payout evidence firm by firm in our directory.