Prop-firm fees are at risk, most participants do not reach a payout, and simulated funding does not necessarily represent live firm capital. This review is informational, not financial advice.
AquaFunded Overview
AquaFunded Screenshots
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AquaFunded Pros and Cons
Pros
- 90% profit split on every CFD model
- $1,000 penalty if a payout misses 24 hours
- Three futures types have no daily loss cap
- Aqua Elite adds $1,000-$3,000 a month
- Five of ten CFD models skip consistency
Cons
- The drawdown documents contradict themselves
- -2% floating loss closes the account for good
- The refund only lands on your fourth payout
- 9.4/10 headline is not a Trustpilot score
- 30 days without a trade breaches funding
AquaFunded Discount Code
Two codes are live at the time of writing.
- SUNSET takes 40% off all accounts. On CFD accounts it also carries a 150% refund and a free second account after your first payout. On futures it is 40% off alone. AquaFunded publishes no end date for it.
- WELCOME takes 50% off and adds $100 toward the first reward for new customers. It is limited to one use per trader, the $100 bonus applies only to accounts of $100,000 and above, and it is rejected on futures accounts.
Both apply across the CFD and futures lines. The BOGO offer is available on all accounts, but the free second account is released only after the first reward is paid, making it a reward for a completed payout cycle rather than a discount at checkout.
An AquaFunded promo code is usually running in some form, so paying an undiscounted price is unusual. The crypto subdomain was still advertising a June FATHERSDAY code in August, on a product line that has not launched, and that code no longer works at checkout. The site-wide banner is a second trap: it displays SUNSET but its copy button puts AQUA5 on the clipboard, which is a live code at the same 40%.
How AquaFunded Works
Choose a market and model, pass any phase targets and complete Sumsub KYC to receive the funded account. The first payout comes after 14 days, while the fee returns with the 4th payout.
Instant funding models skip the evaluation. Futures models run a single step to a dollar profit target.
Several model names appear in both product lines with different rules behind them. Instant Standard, Instant Pro and Flex all exist on the CFD side in percentages and on the futures side in dollars. The tables below label each accordingly.
CFD Model Specifications
2-Step Standard
| Phase | Profit target | Daily loss | Maximum drawdown | Minimum days | Time limit | Consistency rule |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phase 1Note 1 | 8% | 5% | 8% | 3 | None | None |
| Phase 2Note 2 | 5% | 5% | 8% | 3 | None | None |
| Funded AccountNote 3 | — | 5% | 8% | 3 | None | None |
- One of only two models the firm’s public rules page actually describes. The 8% floor is fixed to the initial balance and never moves, so every dollar of profit widens the usable buffer. No consistency rule. The daily limit resets at 00:00 UTC against the initial balance and counts floating positions as well as closed trades.
- Same limits as phase 1 with a lower target.
- 90% split, bi-weekly payouts from a $100 minimum, first payout 14 days after the first funded trade. The fee returns on the fourth payout, not the first.
Refunded on the fourth successful profit-split payout, not the first. Once account credentials have been emailed the policy states no refunds will be accepted under any circumstances. Advertised at 150% during the SUNSET promotion. · 90% base split, with 100% available as a checkout add-on at an extra 15%. Scaling lifts the balance 25% of initial for every 12% of profit inside a three-month window, repeatable to $4,000,000, then Aqua Elite tiers add a monthly salary.
2-Step Pro
| Phase | Profit target | Daily loss | Maximum drawdown | Minimum days | Time limit | Consistency rule |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phase 1Note 1 | 10% | 5% | 10% | 0 | None | 25% Payout |
| Phase 2Note 2 | 5% | 5% | 10% | 0 | None | 25% Payout |
| Funded AccountNote 3 | — | 5% | 10% | 5 | None | 25% Payout |
- One of the lowest-priced evaluations on the site, and the one where the documentation gap costs most. The floor trails. AquaFunded’s rules table says it measures against the highest balance, while the firm’s own worked example lifts it against the intraday peak: run a $100,000 account to +$6,000 and close at +$1,000 and the floor lands at $96,000, so the balance reads $101,000 while remaining room has shrunk from $10,000 to $5,000. The public rules page describes a fixed 8% floor and does not describe this model at all.
- Same trailing floor and limits as phase 1.
- Minimum trading days jump from none in evaluation to five once funded. The 25% consistency rule gates the withdrawal rather than the account.
Refunded on the fourth successful profit-split payout, not the first. Once account credentials have been emailed the policy states no refunds will be accepted under any circumstances. Advertised at 150% during the SUNSET promotion. · 90% base split, with 100% available as a checkout add-on at an extra 15%. Scaling lifts the balance 25% of initial for every 12% of profit inside a three-month window, repeatable to $4,000,000, then Aqua Elite tiers add a monthly salary.
2-Step Elite
| Phase | Profit target | Daily loss | Maximum drawdown | Minimum days | Time limit | Consistency rule |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phase 1Note 1 | 8% | 4% | 10% | — | None | None |
| Phase 2Note 2 | 5% | 4% | 10% | — | None | None |
| Funded AccountNote 3 | — | 4% | 10% | — | None | None |
- A static 10% floor and a tighter 4% daily limit. No consistency rule. Elite stops at $100,000.
- Same limits with a lower target.
- 90% split, no consistency gate on withdrawals.
Refunded on the fourth successful profit-split payout, not the first. Once account credentials have been emailed the policy states no refunds will be accepted under any circumstances. Advertised at 150% during the SUNSET promotion. · 90% base split, with 100% available as a checkout add-on at an extra 15%. Scaling lifts the balance 25% of initial for every 12% of profit inside a three-month window, repeatable to $4,000,000, then Aqua Elite tiers add a monthly salary.
Instant Pro (CFD)
| Phase | Profit target | Daily loss | Maximum drawdown | Minimum days | Time limit | Consistency rule |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Funded AccountNote 1 | — | 3% | 6% | 5 | None | 15% Payout |
- Instant funding, so no evaluation and no profit target. The only CFD model offered across every account size, $2,500 to $400,000. A combined open loss reaching -2% of the starting balance closes the account permanently, tightening to -1% on $300,000 and $400,000 accounts. First-party note: on the live account the platform shows a fixed dollar figure for both daily and maximum drawdown and does not make clear that the floor moves. The floor trails. AquaFunded’s rules table says it measures against the highest balance, while the firm’s own worked example lifts it against the intraday peak: run a $100,000 account to +$6,000 and close at +$1,000 and the floor lands at $96,000, so the balance reads $101,000 while remaining room has shrunk from $10,000 to $5,000. The public rules page describes a fixed 8% floor and does not describe this model at all.
Refunded on the fourth successful profit-split payout, not the first. Once account credentials have been emailed the policy states no refunds will be accepted under any circumstances. Advertised at 150% during the SUNSET promotion. · 90% base split, with 100% available as a checkout add-on at an extra 15%. Scaling lifts the balance 25% of initial for every 12% of profit inside a three-month window, repeatable to $4,000,000, then Aqua Elite tiers add a monthly salary.
Additional CFD Model Specifications
These five active CFD models have source-supported rules but no published fee ladder in the reviewed source set, so the table shows the rules without inferring prices.
| Program | Phase Structure | Evaluation Target | Daily Loss | Maximum Drawdown | Minimum Days | Consistency Rule |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1-Step Standard | Evaluation, then funded | 9% | 3% | 6% intraday trailing, based on real-time equity | 3 | None |
| 1-Step Pro | Evaluation, then funded | 6% | 3% | 6% intraday trailing, based on real-time equity | 3 | 25% at payout |
| 1-Step Flex | Evaluation, then funded | 10% | 3% | 10% static, based on initial balance | 3 | None |
| 3-Step | Three evaluations, then funded | 6% per evaluation phase | 4% | 8% static, based on initial balance | Not published | None |
| Instant Standard | Funded only | None | 3% | Not published | Not published | 20% at payout |
AquaMan has a 2% target, a 3% daily limit, a 6% trailing drawdown and a 15% consistency rule, but its tab on the live pricing calculator is hidden, so it is not currently available to buy.
Futures Model Specifications
Futures runs two model categories, Instant Funding and One Step, with five sub-categories between them. Limits here are denominated in dollars and contracts, not percentages.
| Metric | Instant Standard | Instant PRO | One Step Standard | One Step Flex | One Step Beginner |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sizes offered | $50k, $100k | $50k, $100k | $25k to $150k | $50k to $150k | $25k to $150k |
| Profit Target | None | None | $1,250 to $9,000 | $2,500 to $7,000 | $1,500 to $9,000 |
| Max Daily Loss | $1,250 to $2,500 | None | None | None | $600 to $3,750 |
| Max Loss | $2,000 to $3,000 | $2,000 to $3,000 | $1,000 to $5,000 | $1,500 to $3,500 | $1,000 to $5,000 |
| Max Position | 3 to 6 contracts | 3 to 6 contracts | 2 to 10 contracts | 2 to 6 contracts | 1 to 9 contracts |
| Drawdown Mode | EOD | Trailing | EOD | EOD | EOD |
| Rewards | On demand | On demand | On demand | On demand | Weekly |
| Profit Split | 100% | 100% | 90% | 80% | 100% |
Instant PRO is the only futures model that trails, while every other futures model settles end-of-day. One Step Beginner is the cheapest entry into futures and the only one that pays weekly instead of on demand.
AquaFunded Rules and Restrictions
AquaFunded’s account-survival rules are also where the firm’s own documentation is least reliable.
Maximum Drawdown
AquaFunded discloses no maximum total loss figure for CFD Instant Standard. Its help article gives only a 3% daily trailing limit, which leaves that account’s floor undefined in the firm’s own documentation.
This discrepancy is worth knowing before you buy. The firm’s public rules page states that maximum drawdown is “8% of your initial account balance,” fixed, with a worked example of $100,000 falling to $92,000. That describes 2-Step Standard and 3-Step accurately. It describes no other model. A trader who reads that page and buys 2-Step Pro, one of the lowest-priced evaluations on the site, believes their floor is fixed at 8%. It is trailing at 10%.
On a static 2-Step Standard account of $100,000, your floor sits at $92,000 permanently. Run the account to +$8,000 and give it all back, and the floor has not moved. Every dollar of profit widens your usable buffer.
On a trailing 2-Step Pro account of $100,000, your floor starts at $90,000. Open a position that runs to +$6,000 and close it at +$1,000. The floor lifts against the $6,000 peak instead of the $1,000 close, landing at $96,000. Your balance reads $101,000 and is up on the day, while your remaining room has shrunk from $10,000 to $5,000. This failure pattern is common among funded accounts.
How AquaFunded's 2-Step Pro Trailing Drawdown Moves
A profitable close can still leave less room when the loss floor follows the account's intraday peak.
Illustrative $100,000 2-Step Pro scenario using the documented 10% trailing limit.
The live Instant Pro account did not clearly show whether the floor was trailing. Its platform displayed a fixed dollar loss value for both the daily and maximum drawdown levels.
Maximum Daily Loss
The model-specific limits are shown in the native rules matrix. The daily limit counts floating positions as well as closed trades. Breaching it fails the account.
| Rule | Limit | Consequence | Applies To |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lowest published maximum drawdown | 6% | The single most important thing to check before buying, because the firm’s public rules page does not describe most of its accounts. That page states maximum drawdown is 8% of the initial balance, fixed, with a worked example of $100,000 falling to $92,000. That is accurate for 2-Step Standard and 3-Step and for no other model. Static models: 2-Step Standard 8%, 2-Step Elite 10%, 3-Step 8%, 1-Step Flex 10%, all measured from the initial balance. Trailing models: 1-Step Standard, 1-Step Pro, Instant Pro and AquaMan at 6%, and 2-Step Pro at 10%, all measured against the highest balance. CFD Instant Standard has no maximum total loss published anywhere, leaving that account’s floor undefined in the firm’s own documentation. | Program Dependent |
| Lowest CFD daily-loss limit | 3% | A hard breach that fails the account, and floating positions count toward it as well as closed trades. On CFD it resets at 00:00 UTC against the initial balance: 3% on all Instant and 1-Step models and AquaMan, 4% on 2-Step Elite and 3-Step, 5% on 2-Step Standard and 2-Step Pro. On futures it settles end of day against account equity: $1,250 to $2,500 on Instant Standard and $600 to $3,750 on One Step Beginner, while Instant PRO, One Step Standard and One Step Flex carry none at all. | Program Dependent |
| Lowest consistency threshold | 15% | A withdrawal gate rather than a breach rule, and it applies to five of the ten CFD models: 15% on Instant Pro and AquaMan, 20% on Instant Standard, 25% on 1-Step Pro and 2-Step Pro. No single day’s profit may equal or exceed that share of total profit for the payout period. Exceeding it does not fail the account, it blocks the withdrawal until further trading pulls the day’s share back under the line. The firm’s own example: on a 15% rule, a $1,500 day needs $10,000 of period profit before a payout can be requested. | Program Dependent |
| Floating-loss closure | 2% | Combined open loss reaching -2% of the starting balance closes the account permanently with no further trading permitted, and it tightens to -1% on $300,000 and $400,000 accounts. It applies to Instant Funding Standard, Instant Funding Pro and AquaMan. The firm’s example is $1,000 of open loss on a $50,000 account. | Funded |
| Inactivity | 30 calendar days | One trade must be placed every 30 days or the funded account is breached. | Funded |
| News trading profit cap | 0.5% | No breach. Profit banked inside a five-minute window around a red-folder release counts only up to 0.5% of the starting balance per payout cycle, and the rest is trimmed at payout. | All Stages |
| Minimum profitable days | 3 trading days | The 1-Step models require three days of at least +0.5% each. Minimum trading days run from 0 to 5 across the range, with Instant Pro requiring 5 on the funded account and 2-Step Pro requiring none in evaluation but 5 once funded. | Program Dependent |
| First two large-account payout caps | $10,000 | No breach. On accounts of $200,000 and above the first two payout requests are capped at $10,000 each, after which requests are uncapped. | Funded |
Prohibited Strategies
- Platform or data-feed exploitation
- Tick scalping
- High-frequency trading
- Latency and hedge arbitrage
- Account sharing
- Cross-account hedging
Restricted Countries
- Albania
- Algeria
- Belarus
- Cuba
- Iran
- Kenya
- Myanmar
- North Korea
- Russia
- Senegal
- South Sudan
- Sudan
- Syria
- Venezuela
- Vietnam
Marketing vs. Contract
Marketing language is checked against the terms that govern the selected program.
Consistency Rule
The rule gates withdrawals instead of account survival. No single trading day’s profit may equal or exceed the threshold percentage of your total profit for that payout period. Exceeding it leaves the account open, but you cannot withdraw until continued trading pulls that day’s share back under the line. In the firm’s example, a $1,500 day under a 15% rule requires $10,000 of total period profit before you can request a payout.
Risk Caps and Account-Closing Rules
- Floating-loss closure. Combined open loss reaching -2% of starting balance closes the account permanently, with no further trading permitted. It applies to Instant Funding Standard, Instant Funding Pro and AquaMan, and tightens to -1% on $300k and $400k accounts. The firm’s example is $1,000 of open loss on a $50,000 account.
- Inactivity. Place at least one trade every 30 days or the funded account is breached.
- Minimum profitable days. 1-Step models require three days of at least +0.5% each.
- Futures position cap. The maximum is one to ten contracts, depending on model and account size.
News Trading and Weekend Holding
- News trading. It is allowed. Trade a red-folder release and any profit banked inside a five-minute window around it counts only up to 0.5% of starting balance per payout cycle. The rest is trimmed at payout rather than breaching the account.
- Weekend and overnight holding. Both are permitted without restriction, and swap fees apply.
- Expert Advisors. EAs are allowed for your own strategy.
- Trade copiers. Copying is allowed between your own accounts only.
- Prohibited methods. Platform or data-feed exploitation, tick scalping, HFT, latency and hedge arbitrage, account sharing and cross-account hedging are barred.
AquaFunded Pricing and Account Sizes
Evaluation fees are one-time, with no activation or monthly platform charge.
The verified CFD fee ladder covers the four models for which AquaFunded published a complete account-size grid in the reviewed source set. We have not inferred prices for 1-Step Standard, 1-Step Pro, 1-Step Flex, 3-Step or Instant Standard.
CFD Fee Ladder
| Account Size | 2-Step Standard | 2-Step Pro | 2-Step Elite | Instant Pro |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $2,500 | Not Offered | Not Offered | Not Offered | $60 |
| $5,000 | $36 | $29 | $33 | $102 |
| $10,000 | $89 | $63 | $63 | $155 |
| $25,000 | $139 | $104 | $146 | $310 |
| $50,000 | $299 | $215 | $277 | $465 |
| $100,000 | $469 | $429 | $457 | $750 |
| $150,000 | Not Offered | Not Offered | Not Offered | $980 |
| $200,000 | $947 | $822 | Not Offered | $1,250 |
| $250,000 | Not Offered | Not Offered | Not Offered | $1,540 |
| $300,000 | Not Offered | Not Offered | Not Offered | $2,099 |
| $400,000 | Not Offered | Not Offered | Not Offered | $2,699 |
Instant Pro is the only CFD model offered across every account size. The 2-Step models stop at $200,000, and 2-Step Elite stops at $100,000, so the $400,000 figure on the marketing is reachable through one product only.
Futures Fee Ladder
| Account Size | Instant Standard | Instant PRO | One Step Standard | One Step Flex | One Step Beginner |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $25,000 | Not Offered | Not Offered | $116 | Not Offered | $83 |
| $50,000 | $410 | $381 | $150 | $133 | $108 |
| $100,000 | $510 | $448 | $250 | $216 | $208 |
| $150,000 | Not Offered | Not Offered | $433 | $400 | $308 |
Futures entry is cheapest through One Step Beginner and most expensive through Instant Standard, which at $50,000 costs $410 against Beginner’s $108, close to four times as much for skipping the evaluation.
All prices in both tables are before promotional codes. SUNSET reduces them by 40%.
cTrader carries a flat $15 platform charge. Checkout also offers a swap-free or Islamic account for +10%, a 100% profit split for +15% above the 90% base, the first payout on demand for +15%, and the first payout in 7 days instead of 14. Crypto payouts carry network and exchange fees. Choosing Rise costs a flat $35, taken out of the payment itself.
Every price card reads “100% Refundable.” The refund policy returns the fee on your fourth successful profit-split payout, meaning four completed cycles, each gated by the consistency rule where applicable. Once credentials are emailed, the policy states that “no refunds under any circumstances will be accepted.” During SUNSET the refund is advertised at 150%.
An Instant Pro $2,500 account was purchased on August 7, 2026. The $60 base price fell by 40% with SUNSET to $36.00, or $36.13 paid in USDC. A phone number was mandatory at checkout.
AquaFunded Payouts and Profit Split
AquaFunded’s standard CFD split is 90%. Futures models pay 80%, 90% or 100%, depending on the sub-category, and CFD traders can pay 15% more at checkout to raise the split to 100%.
The first payout clock starts with your first funded trade and runs for 14 days. Each later 14-day cycle starts with the first trade placed after the previous withdrawal. The minimum payout is $100.
Once a payout is approved, AquaFunded guarantees processing within 24 business hours or adds $1,000. Its business-hours window runs from 9am Monday to 5pm Friday, Dubai time, so the guarantee clock pauses at weekends.
Payouts below $5,000 are sent in cryptocurrency. Rise becomes an option once a payout reaches $1,000 and costs a flat $35. On accounts of $200,000 or more, the first two requests are capped at $10,000 each, after which payouts are uncapped.
A request requires the balance to sit above its initial value, all positions to be closed and no rule violations.
Payout Evidence
AquaFunded claims the 24-business-hour guarantee, the $1,000 penalty and the payout conditions shown above. CryptoSlate did not independently verify a payout or an auditable payout ledger.
Scaling Plan
Twelve percent profit within a three-month period increases the balance by 25% of initial, repeatable to $4,000,000. Beyond that, Aqua Elite adds Bronze at +25%. Silver adds +50%, $1,000 per month and a $500,000 allocation, while Gold adds +75%, $3,000 per month and an $800,000 allocation. Gold requires nine profitable months and nine payouts from a single account, alongside $75,000 withdrawn and zero violations.
Platforms and Trading Conditions
CFD accounts run on Match Trade, TradeLocker, MetaTrader 5 or cTrader. The first two are available to US traders. cTrader adds $15 at checkout, and the others are priced identically.
Advertised leverage differs from funded-account leverage. Evaluation phases carry 1:100 on forex, 1:20 on indices and commodities, and 1:2 on crypto. On funded and instant accounts, leverage drops to 1:50 on forex and 1:10 on indices and commodities. This halves the headline 1:100 figure. Instant Standard funded accounts are capped at 1:1 on crypto.
Execution is simulated. The firm states that it “does not accept client deposits” and cites CFTC Rule 4.41 regarding hypothetical results, so no funded order reaches a market. A publicised ThinkMarkets collaboration is described by the firm as ensuring liquidity and platform access. This arrangement is standard for the sector and it is disclosed. It still sits against homepage copy inviting traders to “trade with our capital.”
Crypto is not yet a product. crypto.aquafunded.com reads “Number One Crypto Prop Firm, Coming Soon,” while still rendering a full pricing calculator and a promotional code that expired in June. Crypto remains tradeable as an asset class inside CFD accounts at 1:2 leverage.
Futures accounts run on Tradovate or DeepCharts.
Is AquaFunded Legit and Safe?
Yes. The source review concludes that AquaFunded is an operating firm with an unregulated, fully simulated product provided through an offshore service entity.
What the Marketing Says, and What the Fine Print Says
The gap between AquaFunded’s front page and its own documentation is wide enough, and consistent enough, to be the single most useful thing a prospective trader can understand about the firm.
| The marketing | The firm’s own documentation | Where |
|---|---|---|
| “100% Refundable” on every price card | The fee returns on your fourth successful payout, and not at all after credentials are emailed. | /refund-policy |
| “Rated 9.4/10 from 5k+ verified reviews” | An internal figure, not a rating issued by a review platform. On Trustpilot, the aquafunded.com profile currently shows no rating at all | Homepage against Trustpilot |
| Max drawdown is “8% of your initial account balance,” fixed | Six of the ten CFD models trail against your highest balance | /forex-rules against the model articles |
| “100% profit split” | 90% is the base. 100% costs an extra 15% at checkout | Checkout |
| “24-hour reward guarantee” | 24 business hours, on a 9am Monday to 5pm Friday clock that pauses at weekends | Help center |
| “Trade with our capital” | The firm “does not accept client deposits” and cites CFTC Rule 4.41 on hypothetical results | Terms |
None of these are hidden. Each sits in a document the firm publishes. The point is that the version a trader meets first, and sizes their risk against, is consistently the more generous one.
- Corporate structure. Two entities carry the business. Aqua Funded FZCO, in Dubai Silicon Oasis, is the marketing entity and states it “does not carry out any regulated activities.” AquaFunded LTD, a St. Lucia corporation registered as 2004-00597, provides the simulated trading services. The Dubai address handles the marketing, while the St. Lucia entity holds the relationship.
- Regulation. No financial license is claimed or held. This is normal for the prop sector but material given the simulated model.
- Operating history. The firm was founded in 2023.
- Value of the payout promise. The firm attaches a financial penalty to its own guarantee, paying an extra $1,000 when an approved reward misses 24 business hours. It publishes the payout conditions, rails and caps in its help center instead of leaving them to support tickets. Both are better signals than a testimonial wall, and both are checkable before you buy.
- Trustpilot. The firm’s two profiles show very different things. The profile for aquafutures.io carries 464 reviews and a 3.9 rating. The profile for aquafunded.com, the CFD business reviewed here, carries around 1,200 reviews and no rating at all. In its place Trustpilot displays its own notice: “This company’s rating is unavailable due to a breach of our guidelines. We’ve removed a number of fake reviews for this company.” Trustpilot does not state who submitted those reviews, and neither do we. The larger of the two profiles therefore carries no usable score.
- The 9.4/10 claim. Every page displays “Rated 9.4/10 from 5k+ verified reviews.” This is an internal figure on a ten-point scale, presented in the visual language of a review platform.
- Restricted jurisdictions. Prohibited jurisdictions are Cuba, Iran, Syria, Vietnam, Kenya, Albania, Algeria, North Korea, Senegal, Myanmar, Russia, Belarus, Sudan, South Sudan, Venezuela, and the Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Conditional access is limited to instant funding and a $50,000 maximum in Thailand, Brazil, Bulgaria, Japan, Jordan, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines. US traders are accepted.
AquaFunded Alternatives
The rules that end accounts are rarely the headline ones. Per-trade loss caps, restricted instruments, position limits on low-cap assets, news-event clauses, and inactivity clocks all sit further into the terms, and several are enforced by manual review instead of by the platform. Give those the same attention across these firms that you give the profit target.
Anyone comparing AquaFunded against the field will find its closest alternatives ranked here by score.
A limit the software will not stop you breaking is still a limit. Where a firm reviews a rule manually, a breach can surface weeks later and void a challenge you have already passed. Read the prohibited list at any firm you shortlist before you place a first order on it.
Final Verdict
AquaFunded is a Dubai-branded firm running funded CFD and futures accounts across ten CFD models and five futures sub-categories. It offers a 90% base split, a 24-business-hour payout guarantee backed by a $1,000 penalty and scaling to $4,000,000. The source review concludes that it pays and publishes the terms on which it pays. Its public rules page does not describe the account you bought, however, and the loss floor moves on the low-entry-price model most traders choose even though the page says it is fixed.
Public rules conflict with model terms · Simulated service with no regulation · Scaling ceiling of $4,000,000
Prop-firm fees are at risk, most participants do not reach a payout, and simulated funding does not necessarily represent live firm capital. This review is informational, not financial advice.
Evaluation trading carries a substantial risk of losing the fees paid. Most participants never reach a payout. Simulated accounts are not deposits of real trading capital, and nothing on this page is financial advice. Product terms, prices, codes and account rules can change without notice. CryptoSlate may earn a commission through links on this page and may receive complimentary evaluation accounts for testing. Neither affects our scores.
Scoring methodology
The overall score is calculated from seven fixed categories whose weights remain consistent across prop-firm reviews.
| Category | Weight | Assessment | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Payout Reliability and Evidence | 25% | A guarantee backed by a $1,000 penalty and payout terms published in full, against no independent payout evidence and a Trustpilot rating that is currently unavailable | 6.5 out of 10 |
| Rules Fairness and Transparency | 20% | The rules page contradicts the per-model contracts, six of ten models trail unsignposted, a help article misstates its own model, and Instant Standard has no published max loss. | 5.5 out of 10 |
| Cost and Value | 15% | Low entry prices and constant promotions, undercut by a refund that arrives only at the fourth payout and paid add-ons for profit split and payout speed | 6.5 out of 10 |
| Trading Conditions | 15% | Six platforms, EAs and news trading permitted, unrestricted weekend holding. Leverage halves on funding and crypto is capped at 1:2 | 7.5 out of 10 |
| Profit Split and Scaling | 10% | A 90% base split beats most of the market, with scaling to $4M and Elite tiers paying a monthly salary | 8.5 out of 10 |
| Firm Transparency and Stability | 10% | Unregulated, simulated, provided by a St. Lucia entity, with an internal 9.4/10 shown in the visual language of a review platform while the Trustpilot rating is unavailable | 4.5 out of 10 |
| Support and Reputation | 5% | Support is responsive and complaints are answered publicly, but reputation cannot be read while the main profile carries no rating | 5.5 out of 10 |
| Weighted total | 6.4 out of 10 | ||
CryptoSlate scores prop firms across seven weighted pillars under its published ranking methodology.
FAQ
AquaFunded FAQs
Is AquaFunded legit?
Yes. The source review concludes that AquaFunded is an operating firm with a fully simulated product. It is unregulated, and AquaFunded LTD, a St. Lucia corporation, provides the simulated trading service. The Dubai entity carries the branding.
Is the AquaFunded drawdown static or trailing?
Both, depending on the model. 2-Step Standard, 2-Step Elite, 3-Step and 1-Step Flex use a static maximum drawdown fixed to your initial balance. Instant Pro, Instant Standard, 1-Step Standard, 1-Step Pro, AquaMan and 2-Step Pro all trail against your highest balance. On the futures side every model settles end-of-day except Instant PRO, which trails. The firm’s general rules page describes only the static case, so check your specific model’s help article before trading.
What is the AquaFunded consistency rule?
It gates withdrawals while leaving the account open. On the five CFD models where it applies, no single trading day’s profit may equal or exceed a set percentage of your total profit for that payout period. The threshold is 15%, 20% or 25%, depending on the model. Exceeding it leaves the account open but delays the payout until further trading reduces that day’s share.
How long does an AquaFunded payout take?
The clock starts on your first funded trade and runs 14 days, then repeats 14 days after the first trade following each withdrawal. Once approved, processing is guaranteed within 24 business hours or the firm adds $1,000. The clock pauses on weekends.
Is there an AquaFunded discount code?
Yes. SUNSET gives 40% off all accounts, and on CFD accounts adds a 150% refund and a free second account after your first payout. WELCOME gives 50% off plus $100 toward your first reward for new customers, limited to CFD accounts and to bonuses on accounts of $100,000 and above.
Are AquaFunded fees refundable?
Yes, but on a delay. The evaluation fee is refunded on your fourth successful profit-split payout, not your first. Once account credentials have been emailed, the policy states that no refunds will be accepted under any circumstances.
Does AquaFunded accept US traders?
Yes. US residents are accepted, and both Match Trade and TradeLocker are available to them. Identity verification runs through Sumsub before funding.
What is the minimum payout on AquaFunded?
$100. Payouts below $5,000 are sent in cryptocurrency, and Rise becomes an option once a payout reaches $1,000, at a flat $35.