Maven Trading Review 2026

What Is Maven Trading?

Maven Trading Group is a proprietary trading firm registered in the United Kingdom (company number BC1363148), founded in 2022 and led by CEO Jon Alexander. The firm operates a simulated-trading model: traders pay a one-off challenge fee to access a demo account with defined performance targets, and upon passing receive a “funded” account whose profits are split with Maven.

Maven positions itself primarily on price. Entry-level challenges start at $13 — among the lowest in the funded-account market — making it accessible to traders who are unwilling or unable to pay the $155–$499 fees charged by larger firms for equivalent account sizes. As of June 2026, Maven holds a 4.6/5 rating on Trustpilot based on over 5,000 reviews, though Trustpilot noted the removal of a number of reviews for guideline breaches in May 2026.

Maven is not regulated by the FCA, CySEC, BaFin, or any comparable financial authority. It does not execute through a regulated broker. The funded account is a contractual arrangement between the trader and Maven Trading Group; there is no investor compensation scheme and no regulatory oversight of how client funds or challenge fees are held.

Challenge Types & Pricing

Maven offers five distinct programmes. All are evaluated on simulated accounts. Prices quoted are before any discount codes (Maven periodically publishes codes for 10–15% off).

Programme	Account sizes	Price range	Phases	Profit target
1-Step Challenge	$2K – $100K	$29 – $499	1	10%
2-Step Challenge	$2K – $100K	$19 – $379	2	8% / 5%
3-Step Challenge	$2K – $100K	$13 – $299	3	5% / 5% / 5%
Instant Funding	$2K – $100K	$15 – $399	0 (direct)	No target — immediate funded status
Mini Challenge	$2K – $10K	$13 – $49	1	10%

Maximum funded capital available: $1,000,000 (via scaling plan). Scaling requires 10% profit over four months and at least one payout per month; the account balance then increases by 25%.

Trading Rules & Restrictions

Maven applies uniform rules across both of its supported platforms. Breaking any rule during the challenge or funded phase terminates the account without refund.

Rule	Limit / Condition	Applies to
Max daily loss	4% (Standard); 3% (Instant & Mini)	All programmes
Max overall drawdown	1-Step: 5% trailing — 2-Step: 8% static — 3-Step: 3% static — Instant: 3% trailing	All programmes
Leverage	75:1 forex; 20:1 indices & commodities	All programmes
News trading	Prohibited 2 minutes before and after red-folder events (ForexFactory)	1-Step, 2-Step, 3-Step challenges only — Instant & Mini are exempt
Weekend holding	Permitted	All programmes
Expert Advisors (EAs)	Prohibited — all platforms, all programmes	All programmes
High-frequency trading / tick scalping	Prohibited	All programmes
Arbitrage / latency strategies	Prohibited	All programmes
Martingale & all-in positions	Prohibited (defined as 5+ positions in drawdown or 100% capital at risk)	All programmes
Minimum trade duration	50% or more of trades must not close within 60 seconds (excessive scalping restriction)	All programmes
Time limit	None	All programmes

Tradeable instruments: forex (majors and minors), indices (S&P 500, Nasdaq, FTSE 100, DAX), commodities (gold, oil), and selected cryptocurrencies (BTC, ETH).

Profit Split & Payouts

All Standard and Instant programme accounts pay an 80% profit split to the trader. The Predictions Programme carries 70%. Maven does not offer a path to a higher split through performance — the 80% is a flat rate regardless of account size or cumulative payouts.

Payouts are processed every 10 business days. To request a withdrawal, the account must reach a minimum 3% profit above the starting balance (e.g., $10,300 on a $10,000 account). First-payout withdrawals are capped at 6% of account balance; second-payout at 8%. After two successful payouts, no percentage cap applies.

A rolling $10,000 per 30-day cyclewithdrawal limit applies across all programmes. Traders who have received cumulative payouts exceeding $5,000 must complete a risk interview with Maven's analyst team before further withdrawals are processed. Payment methods are not publicly specified on Maven's main site; review sources indicate wire transfer and cryptocurrency options are available.

Payout considerations

— The $10,000/month rolling cap constrains income potential on larger accounts significantly.
— The mandatory risk interview at $5,000 lifetime payouts introduces an approval layer that is discretionary on Maven's part.
— There is no guaranteed SLA on payout processing time beyond the 10 business-day window.

Platforms Supported

Maven Trading supports three platforms:

MetaTrader 5 (MT5)— added in 2025/2026, giving access to Maven's most widely used industry standard. Supports automated scripts but EAs are prohibited by Maven's rules regardless of what the platform permits technically.
Match-Trader — proprietary web-based platform. Available across all programme types and account sizes.
cTrader— available on selected programmes. Preferred by algorithmic and scalping-oriented traders for its execution transparency, though Maven's scalping and EA restrictions apply regardless of platform choice.

MetaTrader 4 (MT4) is not supported. All platforms operate uniform 75:1 leverage on forex and 20:1 on indices and commodities.

Maven Trading vs Competitors

Note: MyFundedFX shut down in February 2026 with little warning to traders. It is included here for historical comparison purposes only and should not be considered an active option.

Criteria	Maven Trading	FTMO	The5ers	MyFundedFX
Founded	2022	2015	2016	2021 (shut down Feb 2026)
Min. challenge fee ($10K account)	~$79	~$155	~$95	N/A
Max profit split	80% (flat)	Up to 90%	Up to 100%	N/A
Max funded capital	$1,000,000	$2,000,000	$4,000,000	N/A
Payout frequency	Every 10 business days	Monthly	Every 14 days (bi-monthly)	N/A
Withdrawal monthly cap	$10,000	None disclosed	None disclosed	N/A
Regulated broker execution	No	Yes (OANDA, now acquired by FTMO)	Yes (live-account model)	N/A
EA trading	Prohibited	Permitted (FTMO-approved EAs)	Permitted	N/A
Trustpilot score (Jun 2026)	4.6/5 (~5K reviews)	4.8/5 (50K+ reviews)	4.9/5 (17K+ reviews)	N/A (defunct)
News trading restriction	Yes (2 min window, standard challenges)	No restriction	No restriction	N/A

Pros & Cons

Pros

Lowest entry pricing in the market — $13 for a $2,000 account is genuinely accessible
Five distinct programme types cover a wide range of trading styles and risk tolerances
No time limit on any programme — traders are not forced into rushed decisions
Weekend holding permitted across all programmes
Payout frequency of every 10 business days is faster than FTMO's monthly cycle
MT5 now supported alongside Match-Trader and cTrader
4,000+ verified Trustpilot reviews indicate real-trader payout history

Cons

Not regulated; no investor protection; challenge fees are non-refundable
Profit split is flat at 80% — no scaling path to 90%+ unlike FTMO and The5ers
$10,000/month rolling withdrawal cap significantly limits income on larger funded accounts
Mandatory risk interview after $5,000 cumulative payouts introduces a discretionary approval gate
EAs prohibited entirely — rules out a large segment of systematic traders
News trading restrictions on standard challenges limit fundamental traders around major releases
Trustpilot review removal notice (May 2026) raises questions about review integrity
Wider spreads compared to the larger, more established prop firms

Verdict

Maven Trading fills a specific gap in the funded-account market: genuinely low entry costs with no time pressure on the challenge. If your primary objective is to access evaluation accounts at the lowest possible cost whilst you develop consistency, Maven is a rational choice. The absence of a time limit removes the common failure mode of over-trading to hit a target before a deadline.

However, Maven is not suitable for everyone. The $10,000/month withdrawal cap makes it commercially unviable as a primary income source for any trader operating at scale — a trader on a $100,000 funded account hitting 5% monthly profit ($4,000 at 80%) remains well within the cap, but a skilled trader extracting higher returns will be constrained materially. The flat 80% split, with no performance-based escalation, also means Maven becomes less competitive as a trader's skill compounds.

The complete EA prohibition eliminates Maven as an option for systematic and algorithmic traders. FTMO and The5ers both permit automated strategies (within their own rule sets), making them the default choices for that audience.

On regulatory grounds, Maven is no worse than the majority of the prop firm market — most funded-account providers operate outside the regulated perimeter. FTMO is the notable exception, having acquired OANDA in December 2025, which routes funded-account execution through a multi-jurisdictionally regulated broker. For traders for whom regulatory exposure is a deciding factor, FTMO is the only mainstream option in 2026.

Summary

Best for: Discretionary traders on a tight budget; traders who want to practise consistency with no time pressure; swing traders who hold positions over weekends.
Not suited to: Algorithmic / EA traders; high-volume systematic traders; traders targeting above $10K monthly withdrawals; traders who prioritise regulatory positioning.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Maven Trading a regulated financial firm?

No. Maven Trading Group (registered number BC1363148) operates a simulated trading environment and is not authorised or regulated by the FCA, CySEC, BaFin, or any other financial regulator. Challenge fees are non-refundable service fees, and funded accounts are contractual arrangements rather than regulated financial products. You have no recourse to a compensation scheme if Maven Trading ceases to operate.

What is the profit split at Maven Trading?

Funded traders on Standard (1-Step, 2-Step, 3-Step) and Instant programmes receive 80% of profits. The Predictions Programme carries a lower 70% split. Maven does not currently offer a scaling path to 90% or higher — the split is flat across all account sizes.

How often does Maven Trading pay out?

Payouts are processed every 10 business days. The first payout is capped at 6% of account balance; the second at 8%. After that, no percentage cap applies, though a rolling 30-day withdrawal limit of $10,000 is enforced. Cumulative payouts exceeding $5,000 require a risk interview before further withdrawals are approved.

Does Maven Trading allow Expert Advisors (EAs)?

No. EAs are prohibited across all Maven platforms and all programme types. Use of an EA will prevent challenge completion, and repeated use can result in account termination. Automated execution strategies — including grid bots and copy-trading software that routes through your account — fall under this prohibition.

How does Maven Trading compare to FTMO for European traders?

Maven's main advantage is price: a $10,000 2-Step Challenge costs roughly $79 versus FTMO's approximately €155 for the equivalent size. FTMO counters with a higher achievable profit split (up to 90%), a longer operating history (since 2015), a 4.8/5 Trustpilot score from tens of thousands of reviews, and execution through OANDA's regulated infrastructure. Maven suits traders who want the lowest possible entry cost; FTMO suits those who prioritise trust, regulatory positioning, and the path to a higher split.