Loading...
Loading...Loading...
Loading...Compare the best prop firms for news trading, including futures and forex firms with flexible rules, fast execution, and minimal trading restrictions.
Get exclusive discounts and new firm alerts delivered to your inbox
Not every prop firm lets you trade around major economic announcements. Some ban it entirely during news events. Others allow it but with restrictions you need to understand before you sign up. Finding the best prop firms for news trading means looking past the marketing and reading the actual rules. This guide compares the top futures prop firms for trading volatility, explains exactly what each one allows around events like NFP, CPI, and FOMC, and helps you avoid a firm whose rules would kill your strategy.
Note: news-trading rules change often and several firms updated theirs in early 2026. The rules below were accurate at the time of writing. Always confirm the current policy on the firm's own website before trading any news event.
News trading means taking positions around scheduled economic announcements to take advantage of the volatility they create. When a major data release hits, markets often move fast, and news traders aim to capture that movement.
The strategy relies on the sharp price swings that follow big releases. Some traders position before the announcement. Others wait for the initial spike and trade the continuation. Either way, the goal is to profit from the momentum that news events produce.
The events that matter most for futures traders include Non-Farm Payrolls (NFP), the monthly jobs report that moves markets sharply. CPI, the inflation data that affects expectations around interest rates. Federal Reserve announcements and FOMC meetings, which set and signal interest rate policy. Interest rate decisions themselves, and GDP releases that show how the economy is performing.
These releases can move the NQ 50 to 100 points or more within seconds. That movement is the opportunity news traders are after, and also the risk.
Many prop firms limit or ban news trading, and the reasons come down to risk.
Increased volatility is the main problem. News events cause fast, large price swings that are hard to control. A position that looks fine one second can be deep in loss the next.
Execution risk rises during news. Orders may not fill at the expected price. Stops can be skipped entirely if price gaps through them.
Slippage is the gap between the price you wanted and the price you got. During news, slippage can be 5 to 10 points on the ES on a single market order, far more than in normal conditions.
Spread expansion happens as liquidity dries up around releases. The gap between the bid and ask widens, which makes entering and exiting more expensive.
Firm risk exposure is the wider issue. When hundreds of funded traders all pile into the same two-minute window, the firm's total risk spikes. Restrictions protect the firm from a lot of correlated losses happening at once.
This is also why some firms cancel profits earned during restricted news periods. If a trader breaks the rule and profits from a banned window, the firm may void those gains to discourage the behavior.
We ranked firms based on the factors that actually matter for a news trader, not just whether they claim to allow it.
News trading permissions come first. Firms with no blackout windows rank above firms that restrict trading around events.
Futures versus forex support matters because this guide focuses on futures prop firms, where the rules and instruments differ from forex.
Execution quality affects whether you can actually trade news profitably. Fast fills and reliable platforms matter most when price is moving quickly.
Drawdown rules are important for news trading specifically. End-of-day drawdown is far safer for news traders than intraday trailing drawdown, which can lock in a higher floor during a spike and end your account on the reversal.
Profit split, payout reliability, and platform support complete the ranking. A firm that allows news trading but pays slowly or has poor platform support is still a worse choice than one that gets everything right.
We ranked firms higher when they combine flexible rules with clear, transparent policies you can actually rely on.
Markets supported: Futures (CME products)
News trading allowed? Yes, fully unrestricted on all accounts
Profit split: 90/10
Funding sizes: $25,000 to $150,000
Platforms supported: Rithmic, Tradovate, NinjaTrader, Quantower
Lucid Trading has one of the most news-friendly rule sets in the industry. News trading is allowed on all accounts, including during major events like NFP, FOMC, and CPI. There are no blackout windows before or after any release.
You can open positions before an announcement, trade during the spike, and hold existing positions through the entire event on every account type. There are no minimum hold requirements and scalping is fully allowed.
The drawdown is calculated end-of-day rather than intraday on all current programs, which is a major advantage for news traders. Your max loss only updates at the close, so a news spike does not permanently move your drawdown floor against you during the session.
LucidFlex is the most flexible for news trading, with no daily loss limit and no consistency rule on funded accounts. LucidPro funded accounts limit any single day to 40% of total profits, and LucidDirect limits it to 20%, so factor the consistency rule into your strategy.
This firm suits traders whose entire edge is news and volatility and who want the fewest possible restrictions.
Markets supported: Futures (CME products)
News trading allowed? Yes, fully unrestricted
Profit split: Up to 90%
Funding sizes: Multiple sizes across Growth, Select, and Lightning plans
Platforms supported: Tradovate, Rithmic via TradeSea, WealthCharts
Tradeify has no rules against trading news events. Its policy gives traders free rein around economic releases, with the firm simply warning that volatility is your own risk to manage. There are no blackout windows before or after any release.
This makes Tradeify one of the most news-friendly firms available. You can trade before, during, and after any economic event on your normal strategy. Combined with end-of-day drawdown that gives intraday recovery room, this is a strong setup for news traders.
There is one rule to keep in mind that affects how you trade news. The microscalping rule requires that over 50% of your trades are held longer than 10 seconds, and over 50% of your profit comes from trades held longer than 10 seconds. If you do not meet this, you cannot activate the evaluation or request a payout. This means pure sub-10-second news scalping will not work, but normal news trades held longer than 10 seconds are fine.
Tradeify also warns never to use the daily loss limit as a stop loss during news, since system protection may not work during extreme volatility. Use a real stop.
This firm suits news traders who want maximum freedom around events and hold positions for more than a few seconds.
Markets supported: Futures (CME products)
News trading allowed? Yes, with a focus on strategy intent rather than fixed windows
Profit split: Up to 90%
Funding sizes: Multiple sizes, up to 20 active accounts
Platforms supported: NinjaTrader, Tradovate, Rithmic, and others
Apex allows news trading on its accounts, and as of 2026 its policy focuses on strategy intent rather than a fixed time window. The older 8-minute window rule that was widely cited has been replaced by an approach that looks at whether a strategy is specifically built to exploit news spikes.
In practice, you can continue trading your normal setups if a release happens during your session. What is prohibited is pre-positioning with max size specifically to bet on the number. Apex publishes a restricted events calendar, so check it before any news day.
Apex offers an end-of-day drawdown option, which is the safer choice for news traders. It also allows up to 20 active accounts and offers high payout potential, which appeals to traders running volatility strategies across multiple accounts.
Apex's rules have changed several times, so confirming the current policy on its help center before a news day is worth doing.
This firm suits traders who want broad account access and the ability to scale a news strategy across many accounts.
Markets supported: Futures (CME products)
News trading allowed? Yes on evaluations and 25k/50k Flex, restricted on Rapid and Pro funded
Profit split: 90/10 on Rapid, 80/20 on Flex
Funding sizes: $25,000 to $150,000
Platforms supported: NinjaTrader, Tradovate, Rithmic
My Funded Futures has a strong reputation with a 4.9 Trustpilot rating, but its news rules depend on the account, so this matters before you choose a plan. Tier 1 news trading is permitted on all evaluations and on the 25k and 50k Flex Plans. It is prohibited on Rapid Sim Funded and Pro Sim Funded accounts.
On the restricted accounts, you cannot have any positions or orders open in the two minutes before and after a Tier 1 release. For an 8:30 release, you must be flat by 8:28:00 and can only reopen after 8:32:00. Tier 1 events include FOMC meetings, FOMC minutes, the Employment Report, and CPI, plus EIA for energy traders and Agricultural Reports for ag traders.
Across all accounts, MFFU bans strategies that exploit immediate news bursts, such as straddles or strangles, and bans masking news trades as standard strategies. You can trade through non-Tier 1 releases if it fits your normal strategy.
If news trading is part of your edge at MFFU, the 25k or 50k Flex Plan is the funded account that allows it. This firm suits traders who want MFFU's reputation and can work within the Flex plan for news access.
Markets supported: Futures (CME products)
News trading allowed? Yes, with a 1-minute window around prohibited events
Profit split: 80% on Pro, 90% on Pro+
Funding sizes: $25,000 to $150,000
Platforms supported: NinjaTrader, Tradovate, and others
Take Profit Trader allows news trading but requires PRO accounts to be flat around certain prohibited events. You must be out of all open positions and have no open orders one minute before, during, and one minute after any prohibited news event.
The prohibited events for all products are FOMC statements and announcements on Wednesdays at 2:00 PM ET, Non-Farm Payrolls on the monthly Friday at 8:30 AM ET, and CPI. Note that FED speakers and FOMC meeting minutes are allowed, only the main FOMC statement is restricted. Some events are prohibited only for specific instruments. Crude Oil Inventories are prohibited for Crude Oil, and Bond Auctions are prohibited for the 10-Year Note and 30-Year Bond.
This is a relatively light restriction compared to firms with longer blackout windows. You can trade normally outside that 1-minute window and re-enter on the continuation after a release. Track prohibited news through the red folder USD events on forexfactory.com or the trader calendar inside your account.
The Pro+ accounts use end-of-day trailing drawdown, which is safer for trading around volatility. Combined with on-demand daily payouts, this makes Take Profit Trader a solid option for traders who can work around the short window.
This firm suits traders who do not need to be in the market during the exact moment of a release and are comfortable trading the continuation.
Markets supported: Futures (CME products)
News trading allowed? Yes, with no flatten requirement
Profit split: 90/10, with 100% on the first $5,000 on some structures
Funding sizes: Up to $750,000 simulated buying power
Platforms supported: TopstepX, NinjaTrader, Tradovate, and others
Topstep allows news trading and does not require you to flatten positions during economic releases on either Sim or Funded accounts. There is no blackout window. You can hold through any release if you choose to.
The firm does recommend caution around releases that affect your product. Slippage is common during these events and orders can fill at a worse price than expected. Topstep is clear that this is the market working as normal, not a system error.
Two things to know before trading news at Topstep. Trades impacted by economic releases are not eligible for exceptions or reset credits. And the results are your responsibility, full stop. To reduce slippage risk, Topstep suggests cutting position size, using limit orders, or stepping aside from the event entirely.
Topstep uses end-of-day trailing drawdown, which gives news traders intraday recovery room. As the longest-operating US futures prop firm, it also offers track record and stability that newer firms cannot match.
This firm suits traders who want full freedom to trade or hold through news and value an established name with a long payout history.
Here is a side-by-side view of how the firms compare on news trading. Verify all rules against the firm's current terms before trading any event.
Firm | Futures | News Trading Allowed | Major Restrictions | Profit Split |
Lucid Trading | Yes | Yes, all accounts | Consistency rule on Pro/Direct | 90% |
Tradeify | Yes | Yes, unrestricted | Microscalping rule | Up to 90% |
Apex | Yes | Yes | No max-size news bets | Up to 90% |
MFFU | Yes | Yes on eval and Flex | Rapid/Pro funded restricted | 80% to 90% |
Take Profit Trader | Yes | Yes | 1-min window on prohibited events | 80% to 90% |
Topstep | Yes | Yes, no flatten required | No exceptions on news trades | 90% |
Non-Farm Payrolls is one of the biggest monthly movers. Lucid Trading, Tradeify, and Topstep allow NFP trading with no blackout window. Apex allows it but restricts max-size bets built specifically around the release. Take Profit Trader requires you to be flat one minute before and after. MFFU allows it on evaluations and the 25k and 50k Flex plans, but not on Rapid or Pro funded accounts.
CPI inflation data moves markets sharply, especially in the current rate environment. Lucid, Tradeify, and Topstep are unrestricted. Apex allows it within its max-size limit. Take Profit Trader applies its 1-minute window. MFFU allows it on evaluations and Flex, with a 2-minute flat window on the restricted Rapid and Pro funded accounts.
FOMC announcements and Fed rate decisions create some of the sharpest moves in the market. Lucid, Tradeify, and Topstep allow holding positions straight through with no flatten requirement. Apex allows it at reasonable size. Take Profit Trader requires flat one minute either side of the main FOMC statement, though FED speakers and meeting minutes are allowed. MFFU restricts it on Rapid and Pro funded with a 2-minute flat window, while evaluations and Flex are unrestricted.
Policies differ because each firm balances trader flexibility against its own risk exposure during these high-volatility windows. Firms confident in their end-of-day drawdown models tend to allow more.
Even at firms that allow news trading, the risks are real and worth understanding before you build a strategy around it.
Extreme volatility means price can move against you as fast as it moves for you. A profitable position can flip to a large loss in seconds.
Slippage during news can be severe. Market orders can fill 5 to 10 points away from the expected price on the ES, and worse on the NQ.
Spread widening makes entries and exits more expensive exactly when you are trying to act quickly. The cost of getting in and out rises sharply during releases.
Drawdown breaches are a major risk on intraday trailing drawdown accounts. When a news spike moves your unrealized profit, the drawdown floor can move up with it. If price then reverses, you can blow the account even with realized profits left. This is why end-of-day drawdown accounts are strongly preferred for news trading.
Profit cancellation can happen if you breach a firm's news rule. Profits earned during a restricted window may be voided, so knowing the exact rule matters.
News trading has real advantages and real drawbacks in a challenge, and the answer depends on your skill and the firm's rules.
On the advantage side, news events offer fast, large moves that can build a profit buffer quickly. A well-timed news trade can put you a good distance above the drawdown floor in a single session.
On the disadvantage side, the same volatility that creates the opportunity creates the risk. Execution is harder, slippage is worse, and the chance of a fast loss that breaches a drawdown limit is much higher than in normal conditions.
For most traders in a challenge, news trading is best used selectively rather than as the entire strategy. Building a buffer with steady, normal trading and then trading news carefully with reduced size is safer than relying on news spikes to pass.
The balanced view is that news trading can work in a challenge for experienced traders who size down and use firms with end-of-day drawdown. For beginners, it is one of the fastest ways to blow an account.
The best prop firms for news trading combine flexible rules with clear, transparent policies and reliable execution. Lucid Trading, Tradeify, and Topstep lead for fully unrestricted news trading with no flatten requirement. Apex allows it at reasonable size. Take Profit Trader allows it with a narrow window, and MFFU offers it on evaluations and the Flex plan.
When choosing a firm for news trading, focus on three things. Rule clarity, so you know exactly what is allowed before you trade. Risk management, including choosing end-of-day drawdown over intraday trailing. And payout reliability, so the profits you make from volatility actually reach your account.
For more, see our Best Futures Prop Firms guide for a full comparison across all factors. Our Fastest Payout Futures Prop Firms page covers which firms pay quickest. And our Best Instant Funding Futures Prop Firms guide covers firms that skip the evaluation entirely.
Lucid Trading, Tradeify, and Topstep allow news trading with no flatten requirement. Apex allows it at reasonable position sizes. Take Profit Trader allows it outside a 1-minute window around prohibited events. My Funded Futures allows it on evaluations and the 25k and 50k Flex plans. Always verify current rules before trading any event.
Yes, at several firms. Lucid Trading, Tradeify, and Topstep allow NFP trading with no blackout window. Apex allows it but restricts max-size bets built specifically around the release. Take Profit Trader requires you to be flat one minute before and after. MFFU allows it on evaluations and Flex but not on Rapid or Pro funded accounts.
Futures prop firms often have clearer news rules than forex firms and do not involve the swap and overnight financing concerns that affect forex. Many futures firms also offer end-of-day drawdown, which is much safer for news trading than intraday trailing drawdown. For news-focused futures traders, the better firms are the ones with no blackout windows and EOD drawdown.
Yes. If you breach a firm's news trading rule, the profits earned during the restricted window may be voided. Some firms also terminate the account for repeated violations. This is why knowing the exact news rule for your specific firm and account type matters before you trade.
The most commonly restricted events are the Tier 1 releases: Non-Farm Payrolls, CPI, and FOMC rate decisions. Some firms also restrict crude oil inventories for oil products, bond auctions for treasury products, EIA reports, and agricultural reports. Each firm defines its own list, so check the firm's restricted events calendar before trading.
Yes. News trading is one of the fastest ways to blow an account if you do not size down. Spreads widen, slippage increases, and price can move 50 to 100 points on the NQ within seconds. Even at firms that allow it, reducing position size to 25 to 50% of normal and accounting for wider spreads is essential.
Some do. Lucid Trading's LucidDirect is an instant-style funded account that allows fully unrestricted news trading. Other instant funding firms vary, so check the specific rules before signing up. As with all news trading, end-of-day drawdown accounts are far safer than intraday trailing for trading volatility.
