Source: https://whitepips.com/blog/what-the-fee-buys Summary: It is one-off, it comes back only on Prime, and it is not the price of an account. A short piece on reading the cost honestly. Last updated: 2026-10-28 # What the evaluation fee is actually buying It is one-off, it comes back only on Prime, and it is not the price of an account. A short piece on reading the cost honestly. - August 19, 2026 - 2 min read - 4 sections - Payouts **In this article 4** 1. One-off, not recurring 2. When the fee comes back 3. Pricing an attempt honestly 4. Where the fee should not drive the decision Back to top August 19, 2026 2 min read Payouts ## Key takeaways 1. **One-off, not recurring.** A single payment buys a single attempt. 2. **When the fee comes back.** On Prime 1 Step and Prime 2 Step the fee is refunded in full once the account is funded and in profit after 30 days. 3. **Pricing an attempt honestly.** The number to reason about is not the fee. 4. **Where the fee should not drive the decision.** Every price on the board is published beside the list price, per size, before anything is bought. The entry fee is the most scrutinised number on any prop firm's site and the most frequently misread. It is not the price of a funded account and it is not a subscription. On the Prime plans it even comes back; on Edge it is the price of the attempt. ## One-off, not recurring A single payment buys a single attempt. There is no monthly charge for the account itself, no data fee on the CFD line, and no renewal when a calendar month turns — which follows from there being no time limit for a renewal to be measured against. On the futures line, market data is included for the first 30 days of each new account; after that it is $35 for 30 days, paid only while you keep trading. That structure is worth checking wherever you shop. A cheap headline fee attached to a monthly charge is a materially different product from a larger one-off, and the difference compounds for exactly the traders who take their time. ## When the fee comes back On Prime 1 Step and Prime 2 Step the fee is refunded in full once the account is funded and in profit after 30 days. On Edge it is not refunded: a successful evaluation costs you the fee and your time, and an unsuccessful one costs you the fee, which is the risk you are actually taking when you buy. Instant accounts have no refund either and say so on the plan: funded at purchase, no assessment. That is the trade, and it is priced accordingly. The [Refund Policy](https://whitepips.com/legal/refund-policy) sets out the fee refund in section 10. ## Pricing an attempt honestly The number to reason about is not the fee. It is the fee divided by your realistic probability of passing. If a $200 evaluation is one you would clear one time in three, the expected cost of getting funded through it is nearer $600. That is not an argument against buying it; it is an argument for knowing which number you are comparing when you look at two firms, or at two sizes on the same board. > The number to compare is not the fee. It is the fee divided by your honest chance of passing. ## Where the fee should not drive the decision - Account size. Buying a larger account because the fee-per-dollar-of-capital looks better is optimising the wrong variable — the size that suits your trading is the one to buy. - Step count. The cheaper multi-step plans are a different test, not a discount on the same one. - Timing. There is no deadline, so there is no advantage to buying before you are ready to trade the account properly. Every price on the board is published beside the list price, per size, before anything is bought. Compare the rules across the row first and let the fee break the tie, rather than the other way round. More in Payouts [The 90-day scaling cycle: from $100K to $680K](https://whitepips.com/blog/the-90-day-scaling-cycle) [Crypto payouts from a prop firm: USDT, USDC and how it works](https://whitepips.com/blog/crypto-payouts-from-a-prop-firm) [KYC at a prop firm: when it happens and what you need](https://whitepips.com/blog/kyc-at-a-prop-firm) [Read next How a profit split grows Payouts · 2 min read](https://whitepips.com/blog/profit-split-and-scaling) Educational content, not financial advice. Trading carries risk and most people who attempt an evaluation do not pass it. Accounts are simulated; the rules that bind yours are the ones printed on your plan and in the trading rules. [All articles](https://whitepips.com/blog) ## Related articles Payouts August 22, 2026 2 min read ### How a profit split grows What a split actually means, why it moves, and how the scaling ladder changes the account underneath it. [Read the article](https://whitepips.com/blog/profit-split-and-scaling) Payouts August 20, 2026 3 min read ### What happens at your first payout The step that turns an account into a record. What it depends on, what delays it, and why the first one is worth more than its cash value. [Read the article](https://whitepips.com/blog/your-first-payout) Getting funded September 8, 2026 3 min read ### What a proprietary trading firm actually is The business model in plain terms: who puts up the capital, where the money comes from, and what you are really buying when you pay for an evaluation. [Read the article](https://whitepips.com/blog/what-is-a-prop-firm) ## Ready to see the plans? Every plan, size and price, with the rules printed before you buy. [See the plans](https://whitepips.com/#plans) [Trading calculator](https://whitepips.com/calculator) --- WhitePips provides skill-based trading evaluations on simulated accounts; payouts are real money based on simulated performance. Nothing here is financial advice or a promise of profit, passing an evaluation does not guarantee funding, payouts or income, and trading leveraged products carries significant risk. Not offered in the restricted jurisdictions listed at https://whitepips.com/legal/restricted-jurisdictions.