On the surface, a perpetual futures prop firm works like the futures prop firms we all know. You buy an evaluation, pass it, get a simulated funded account and request payouts. But what you’re trading underneath is different, and so are the rules most likely to breach you. Here’s what changes.
You are not trading NQ
At a futures prop firm, NQ is the CME contract. It expires, and it’s the same contract at every firm. The platform changes from firm to firm. The contract doesn’t.
At a perps firm you trade a perpetual. It never expires and it trades around the clock. NAS100 tracks the Nasdaq and SP500 tracks the S&P, so they feel like NQ and ES, but they’re separate products. Vest even names its products NQ and ES. They’re similar to the CME contracts, but they’re still Vest’s own products. Each perp has its own venue, its own price and its own rules. A matching name or index doesn’t make it the same contract.
Futures firms have also been at this longer, so rules, platforms and contract sizing look much the same from firm to firm. Perps firms are newer and each one does things its own way, so the fine print matters more.
Where the price comes from
Neither side sends your order to a real exchange. A futures eval fills you off live CME data. A perps eval fills you off a live perp feed. MyFundedPerps states plainly that evaluations and funded accounts are both simulated. A real price is not the same as a real fill. MyFundedPerps FAQ
The difference is whose price you’re watching. MyFundedPerps pulls prices from outside venues such as Hyperliquid, depending on the market. Vest owns its own exchange, and its data feed comes from that exchange. MyFundedPerps trading guide · Vest contract specs
That means the chart on your perps platform won’t always match your futures chart, or the chart on another perps platform. A level that holds on one venue can get taken out on another. Know which price you’re trading.
Where the size actually is
If you want NQ or ES exposure on perps, look at the open interest for that market on the venue you plan to trade. Each chart below shows one venue on its own scale.
The market MyFundedPerps prices from is large, with $53.73B in open positions across all of its markets. Most of that is crypto: BTC at $7.76B and ETH at $5.48B. Next to those, SP500 at $337M and NAS100 at $335M look small. That’s only because everything else on that market is so big. Both still carry a good amount of open interest.
Trading at Vest is heavily concentrated in NQ and ES. NQ had $80.07M in open interest and ES had $26.20M. After those two it drops off fast, with BTC at $2.47M and ETH at $2.01M.
Both venues have real size in the index markets, but they get there differently. At Vest, most of the open interest is in NQ and ES. MyFundedPerps’ source market is much larger overall, so its index markets can be a small share of it and still carry plenty of open positions.
Open interest is the value of positions that are open. It isn’t volume, it doesn’t show how many traders are there, and it doesn’t tell you how much size you can get filled at your price. Low numbers are a reason to check the spread and depth before sizing up. They don’t mean every fill will be bad.
Snapshots taken October 16, 2026, about 10:50 a.m. CT. MyFundedPerps figures are the source venue’s market, not MyFundedPerps customer positions. Vest figures are Vest’s own market.
Drawdown: trailing vs. static
Most futures evals use a trailing drawdown. The floor follows your highest equity until it locks, usually at your starting balance plus the drawdown amount. If you make $1,900, the floor rises $1,900 too, so your cushion stays the same size until the lock.
Many perps plans use a static drawdown. On a $25,000 account with a $1,500 drawdown, the floor starts at $23,500 and stays there. Grow the account to $30,000 and the floor is still $23,500. That’s the main reason perps plans look easier on paper, and on this one rule, they are.
Daily loss limit: soft vs. hard
The daily loss limit sits on top of the drawdown. What matters is what happens when you hit it.
Most futures plans have a soft daily loss limit. If you hit it, you’re done for the day, but the account survives and you can trade again tomorrow.
Most perps plans have a hard daily loss limit. If you hit it, the account is breached.
Some plans on both sides have no daily limit at all. The rule is set by plan, so read the rules for the exact plan you buy.
What a trade costs
Futures commissions are a flat dollar amount per contract, per side. Buying two NQ costs two commissions, and selling them costs two more, whatever price NQ is trading at.
Perps charge a percentage of the full trade size on every fill. MyFundedPerps charges 0.03% on crypto, so opening a $10,000 position costs $3 and closing it costs another $3. Other firms charge roughly 0.01% to 0.045% per fill, and index markets are usually cheaper than crypto. You can see each firm’s per-market fees in the compare view on the perps price list. MyFundedPerps fees
Then there’s the cost of holding. MyFundedPerps charges a fixed swap. Vest charges funding every hour at a rate that changes. When funding is positive, longs pay shorts. When it’s negative, shorts pay longs. Vest funding docs
Funding is charged on the full position size, not on your margin. Vest’s own example: a $1.25M NQ position at 0.0025% an hour costs $31.25 an hour. At 50x leverage, that position needs $25,000 of margin. If you lower the leverage but keep the position the same size, funding costs exactly the same. Leverage decides how much margin you tie up, not what the trade costs.
Side by side
| Futures prop | Perps prop | |
|---|---|---|
| Contract | CME futures, expire | Perpetual, no expiry, 24/7 |
| Markets | NQ, ES, CL, GC | BTC, ETH, NAS100, SP500 |
| Price | CME data | Firm’s own venue or an outside venue |
| Fills | Simulated | Simulated |
| Drawdown | Trailing, usually locks | Static is common |
| Daily limit | Soft is common, some plans none | Hard is common, some plans none |
| Trade cost | Dollars per contract, per side | Percent of trade size, per fill |
| Holding cost | Overnight usually not allowed | Hourly funding or a fixed swap |
Which one first
If you’re new, a sim account is fine as long as you treat it like real money. I like having a little skin in the game, so I’d start with one small $25K futures eval from Lucid, Tradeify or My Funded Futures. All three are solid firms and offer affordable, beginner-friendly $25K plans.
Trade small. The account size is not your loss budget. Learn the platform, respect the daily limit and collect a couple of payouts.
Then look at perps. You get more markets, longer hours and, on some plans, a drawdown that doesn’t trail you. If you’re not making money in futures, perps won’t fix that, and jumping from one shiny new product to the next won’t either.
If you want to try perps, there are low-cost plans available. Vest has $10 plans and MyFundedPerps has $30 plans. Learn the platforms before you sink much into an account.
Most important: track your spend. Know where you’re at and know your P&L.