True cost to get funded

A challenge fee is only part of the cost. This works out what you should expect to pay, on average, to reach a funded account once retakes and other fees are counted, and how much profit you need to make that back. Nothing you type leaves your browser.

Fill from a firm (optional) Fills only the firm's lowest listed price (its cheapest account, in USD) and its highest stated profit split, from our verified firm data. Change them to match the account you want.

Challenge fee ($) What you pay for the first attempt.

Your chance of passing one attempt (%) Your own estimate; we do not publish pass rates. Base it on your record: if you passed 1 of your last 4 attempts, 25% is a fair start. Must be above 0.

Retake or reset fee ($) What each further attempt costs. Enter 0 for a free retake.

Activation fee after passing ($) A one-off fee some firms charge to activate the funded account.

Monthly fee ($) For subscription-style evaluations or data fees.

Months you expect to pay it Your own estimate.

Your profit split (%) Your share of profits on the funded account. Needed for the break-even figure.

The challenge fee is refunded with the first payout

Tick only if your firm's own terms say so. We assume the refund equals the challenge fee above.

How the maths works

Say each attempt is independent and you pass it with the same chance p. Then the number of attempts until your first pass follows a geometric distribution, and its average is 1 ÷ p. Every attempt after the first is a retake.

Expected attempts   = 1 ÷ p
Expected retakes    = 1 ÷ p − 1
Expected total cost = challenge fee + (1 ÷ p − 1) × retake fee
                      + activation fee + monthly fee × months
Net cost            = expected total cost − refund
                      (refund only if the fee is returned with your first payout)
Break-even profit   = net cost ÷ your profit split

Worked example

A $300 challenge, $300 retakes, a 25% pass chance, no other fees and an 80% split. Expected attempts = 1 ÷ 0.25 = 4. Expected cost = $300 + 3 × $300 = $1,200. To earn that back you need $1,200 ÷ 0.8 = $1,500 of profit on the funded account. If the $300 fee is refunded with your first payout, the net cost is $900 and the break-even profit is $1,125.

An average is not a budget

Four attempts is the average at 25%, not the most it can take. The chance you still have not passed after k attempts is (1 − p)^k: at 25% that is about 32% after 4 attempts. The calculator shows your chance of having passed after 1, 2, 3, 5 and 10 attempts, and how many attempts give you a 90% chance.

What it leaves out

It counts fees only. It does not include the time it takes, tax, or payout rules such as minimum payout amounts.
It assumes every attempt has the same pass chance. In practice your chance may change as you learn, or between account types.
A firm's lowest listed price is for its cheapest account, which may be smaller than the one you want.

Questions

How is the expected number of attempts worked out?

If each attempt is independent and has the same chance p of passing, the number of attempts until your first pass follows a geometric distribution. Its average is 1 ÷ p. At a 25% pass chance that is 4 attempts on average, so 3 retakes.

Is the expected cost the most I could pay?

No. It is an average. You could pass first time or need many more attempts. At a 25% pass chance there is still about a 32% chance you have not passed after 4 attempts. The calculator also shows how many attempts give you a 90% chance of having passed.

Where do the firm prices come from?

The optional firm list fills in only two values from our verified firm data, recorded from each firm's own website: its lowest listed account price in US dollars and its highest stated profit split. Discount-code and offer prices are not used. Everything else, including your pass chance, is your own input.

Is anything I type stored or sent?

No. The calculation runs in your browser. Nothing you enter is sent to us or saved.