Best Options Prop Firms in 2026: Who Actually Lets You Trade Options

Options prop firms are a small but real niche in 2026. A few firms now run evaluations built around calls and puts, and a few older desks put real capital behind options traders. Most of the big names in the prop challenge industry, though, are futures, forex or crypto firms that do not allow options at all, even when comparison lists say otherwise.

This guide separates the firms that genuinely allow options from the ones that do not, and shows which strategies each allows. Rules were checked on the firms' own pages in October 2026. This is educational content, not investment advice.

Quick answer: Only a handful of prop firms genuinely allow options in 2026. Vanquish Trader, Options Funding and TradeFundrr run simulated options evaluations, Maverick Trading puts real firm capital behind a fee plus performance bond, and T3 and SMB run licensed broker-dealer desks. Topstep and Elite Trader Funding do not allow options at all.

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What is an options prop firm?

An options prop firm is a proprietary trading firm that lets you trade listed options contracts, such as calls and puts on stocks, ETFs or indices, with the firm's capital or in a firm-run evaluation. As the SEC's Investor.gov glossary explains, an option gives the buyer the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell an underlying asset at a set price on or before a set date. That non-linear payoff is why options need different risk rules from the futures and forex accounts most prop firms run.

Options prop firms key facts

What types of options prop firm exist?

There are four groups to understand before you compare prices, and only the first three actually let you trade options.

1. Simulated options evaluations. Vanquish Trader, Options Funding and TradeFundrr's Pre-Prop tier charge a fee, usually monthly, for a simulated account. You trade options against a profit target and a drawdown limit, and payouts are based on simulated performance under the firm's terms.

2. Fee-plus-bond real capital. Maverick Trading charges a membership fee plus a performance bond and allocates real firm capital from day one. It is closer to a paid apprenticeship than a challenge.

3. Licensed broker-dealer desks. T3 Trading Group is an SEC-registered broker-dealer, and traders on its desks, including the SMB Capital desk, trade real listed options, multi-leg structures included. You need SIE and Series 57 licensing and a capital contribution.

4. Futures-only firms that do not allow options. Topstep's help centre lists CME, NYMEX, COMEX and CBOT futures only, and requires traders to be flat by 3:10pm CT. Elite Trader Funding's help page says it "does not permit the trading of equities or options, including options on futures contracts". If a list ranks either of them as an options firm, it is wrong.

Best options prop firms compared

Vanquish Trader

Options allowed: SPX, XSP and VIX single-leg long calls and puts. Its homepage says "no spreads, no selling to open". Its blog says the Advanced plan adds multi-leg trades, but which underlyings that covers is not confirmed. No futures; options only.

Model: simulated ("virtual capital"), paid by monthly subscription that continues after funding.

Price from: $99 per month for a $10,000 account, with sizes of $10,000, $50,000, $75,000, $100,000 and $150,000, and a $49 reset.

Split: marketed as a "100% profit share". Its Terms reportedly make payouts discretionary, so read them before relying on that figure.

Rules: 5% maximum drawdown (intraday trailing on Basic, end-of-day trailing on Advanced), a 10% profit target, a 30% consistency rule and 4 minimum trading days, according to its support centre. All trades must be closed by 3:59pm ET, so there is no swing trading.

Watch out for: Trustpilot shows 3.9 from 116 reviews, with about 22% 1-star reviews citing payout delays, account closures and app bugs. An independent review found conflicts between the homepage, help centre and Terms. It is reportedly open to US residents only.

Options Funding

Options allowed: "SPY, QQQ, or any stock options" on the RixTrade platform. The Growth plan allows Level 5 strategies, including spreads, condors and calendars. The Express plan allows long calls and puts only. At the live stage, spreads and naked short puts are allowed, but naked calls are not.

Model: simulated evaluation, then a simulated funded stage, then a live account at Interactive Brokers.

Price from: list prices of $239, $279 and $389 per month for $25,000, $50,000 and $100,000 accounts. Discount codes are common.

Split: 80%.

Rules: Growth has a 6% end-of-day trailing drawdown and a 12% target; Express has a 5% intraday trailing drawdown and a 10% target. There are no minimum days and overnight holding is allowed. A $129 activation fee is refunded on the first payout, each payout cycle needs 8 qualifying winning days, payouts are capped, and resets are limited to 3 from October 6, 2026.

Watch out for: the company uses a registered-agent address in Sheridan, Wyoming, and the track record is very thin. Trustpilot shows 3.0 from 11 reviews, with complaints about multi-leg fills, being blocked after payouts and charges after cancellation.

Maverick Trading

Options allowed: equity and index options are the core product.

Model: real firm capital, not simulated. You pay a membership fee plus a performance bond in a fee-based apprenticeship, and trades go through Interactive Brokers. Maverick is not a broker-dealer.

Price from: the Associate tier is a $1,000 fee plus a $1,000 bond and starts with $4,000 of capital. Professional is $4,000 plus $2,000 for $10,000 of capital, and Partner is $8,000 plus $2,000 for $20,000. All tiers add $199 per month.

Split: 60%, 80% or 90% depending on tier, paid monthly on the 1st.

Watch out for: the upfront cost is far higher than a simulated evaluation, and the starting capital is small relative to the fee and bond. Add up the fee, bond and 12 months of the monthly charge, and read the bond refund terms before joining.

TradeFundrr

Options allowed: "Options on hundreds of liquid U.S. symbols", including SPX, weeklies and 0DTE.

Model: mixed. Its own page labels the Pre-Prop tier simulated, with $25,000 of buying power for $599 plus $99 per month. The "Prop" tier is labelled real, with $25,000 of buying power, a $1,499 fee refunded on the first payout, and $99 per month. The Pro tier requires a capital contribution of $100,000 to $1 million. It cites T3 Trading Group, an SEC-registered broker-dealer, as a partner.

Split: 80%.

Watch out for: a third-party review says the accounts are simulated, which conflicts with the firm's "real" label, so ask for written confirmation of which tier trades live capital. Lifetime payout caps of $15,000 to $25,000 and a 15-second minimum hold are reported but not confirmed. Trustpilot is reportedly about 4.2 from 80 reviews.

Imperial Trader Funding

Options allowed: reportedly equity and index options with open interest of at least 500, plus stocks, and futures through a Rithmic add-on.

Model: third-party reviews describe Elite (1-step), Foundation (2-step) and Instant programs, with a simulated funded stage. Pricing information conflicts between sources.

Split: reportedly 90% on Elite and 80% on the others.

Watch out for: none of these rules could be verified on a primary page. One review noted a 7% lifetime withdrawal cap in the simulated funded stage, and Trustpilot reportedly shows 3.3 from 48 reviews. Confirm everything in writing before paying.

Funder Trading

Options allowed: unclear for the challenge. The firm markets stocks and options, but its TrueEdge Challenge page lists NASDAQ and NYSE stocks only.

Model: a challenge, then a live account where the firm covers losses. The fee is reimbursed once funded.

Split: 80%.

Rules: a $5,000 profit target, $500 daily loss limit, $3,000 maximum drawdown, at least 80 round-turn trades over 12 or more days, and every trade closed the same day.

Watch out for: options may not be available on the challenge at all. Trustpilot shows 4.0 from only 18 reviews, and just 3 in the last year.

T3 Trading and SMB Capital

Options allowed: real listed options, including multi-leg structures, on professional desks.

Model: real capital through T3, an SEC-registered broker-dealer. You need SIE and Series 57 licensing and a capital contribution.

Watch out for: this is not a challenge product. The licensing and capital requirements make it a career decision rather than a trial.

Options prop firm comparison table

Which strategies can you actually run?

Single-leg long options. Buying calls and puts is the strategy every options prop firm allows. Vanquish allows only this on its homepage terms, and Options Funding's Express plan allows only this.

Spreads, condors and calendars. Defined-risk multi-leg trades are available on Options Funding's Growth plan and on licensed desks. Vanquish says it offers no spreads on its main plans.

Short premium. Selling to open is the hardest strategy to find. Vanquish does not allow it. Options Funding allows naked short puts at the live stage but not naked calls, which makes sense: a naked short call has theoretically unlimited loss if the underlying keeps rising. Short premium also collides with daily loss and trailing drawdown rules more than any other style.

0DTE and SPX. TradeFundrr lists SPX, weeklies and 0DTE. Vanquish lists SPX and XSP and closes every trade by 3:59pm ET, so all its trades are intraday by design. Check the exact expiries allowed before you rely on same-day contracts.

Overnight and swing holds. Options Funding allows overnight holding. Vanquish and Funder Trading require trades closed the same day. If your strategy holds through earnings or holds calendars for weeks, rule out same-day firms first.

Option selling is where many derivatives traders start, and where the risk is easiest to underestimate. Velotrade co-founder Vittorio De Angelis, a former equity derivatives trader at JP Morgan and Dresdner Kleinwort, walks through selling a call on the S&P 500 and, if the call is assigned, selling puts at the same strike to reduce the loss if the market comes back. The full breakdown is in our guide to selling puts and covered calls.

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Read the transcript

Today I would like to discuss trading direction on indices and single stocks by selling options. It's a strategy that can be profitable, but it can also be very, very dangerous. So you've been warned.

When you sell options, your upside is capped at the amount of premium in your pocket, but your downside is unlimited. So beware of what you do.

Let me give an example. The S&P is trading at 7500. I can sell a September 7600 call and pocket, let's say, 50 to 60 points. That money I make upfront, and if at expiry the S&P is below 7600, I pocket the entire premium.

This is great because it actually covers two out of three scenarios. What does that mean? It means that if the S&P doesn't move, I pocket the money, because the call finishes out of the money.

If the S&P goes down, which was my original view, I make all my money from the premium, because obviously the call will expire out of the money. And I'm even covered in the scenario in which the S&P rises a little, up to 7599. Of course, on any move above 7600 the call is in the money and I start losing money.

Again, the point I want to convey is that if the market doesn't move, you're still making money. If I had sold futures and the market didn't move, I wouldn't make money. I would make money only if the market went down.

Why is the call-selling strategy dangerous? Because of course you're pocketing 50 to 60 points, but if the S&P were to rally between now and expiry to, I don't know, 8000, well, you're down 400 points. So you've got a net loss of 350 points, which obviously is a massive multiple of the premium you pocketed.

So beware. Still, the fact that you're covered in two out of three scenarios makes it, per se, an interesting strategy.

Then there are some other little things you can do if you were wrong. Let's say we reach September and the S&P is above 7600, so my calls get exercised and I'm given futures. I end up being short futures at 7600, and realistically, if I've been exercised, it means the S&P is higher than that, so I'm actually losing money.

But I can try to reduce that loss by selling puts. I sell puts on the original strike, that's what I mainly do, 7600. If the S&P were then to come back down to the 7600 level or below, of course I'd be losing money on the short put, but I have the short futures, which make up for that.

So not only do I make up my original loss, I'm also making the extra profit of the premium on the put.

I know this sounds really confusing, so you might have to work it through with a piece of paper. If you're interested, I'm very happy to do it with some graphs and some little numbers, because it might help.

It's food for thought. These strategies can be employed on most underlyings where there is an active options market, and these days option markets, especially the short-dated ones, are extremely liquid. So there are many strategies you can work on with the same frame of mind.

Again, they can be very complex strategies, and they can be very dangerous. Please reach out if you want to discuss them in further detail.

Whatever the firm, size every short-premium position for the move you cannot predict, not the average day. A clear stop-loss plan and the basics of risk management in trading matter more with options than with any linear instrument.

Do Topstep or other futures firms allow options?

No. Some comparison lists claim that Topstep or Elite Trader Funding allow options trading, but both firms' own help pages say otherwise.

• Topstep lists CME, NYMEX, COMEX and CBOT futures as its tradable products and requires positions to be flat by 3:10pm CT. Options are not on the list, and that includes options on futures.
• Elite Trader Funding states that it "does not permit the trading of equities or options, including options on futures contracts".

We found no current retail prop firm with verified options on futures. If you trade ES or crude oil options, the realistic futures route is the outright contract, compared in our best futures prop firms ranking and our Topstep review.

Red flags to check before paying

• Total cost of a monthly subscription. $239 per month is $717 over 3 months if you do not pass quickly. Compare the 3-month cost, not the first month, and check whether the subscription continues after funding, as it does at Vanquish.
• Payout caps and conditions. Look for lifetime caps, per-cycle caps, minimum winning days (Options Funding requires 8 per cycle) and activation fees.
• Document conflicts. If the homepage, help centre and Terms disagree on the split, drawdown or strategies allowed, the Terms usually win. An independent review flagged exactly this at Vanquish.
• Thin or negative reviews. 11 or 18 Trustpilot reviews is not a track record. Read the 1-star reviews for payout delays, account closures and charges after cancellation.
• Simulated versus live. Ask in writing whether your funded account trades real capital, and at which stage. TradeFundrr's own page and a third-party review disagree on this point.
• Strategy permissions. Confirm whether your exact structure, such as a credit spread or a short put, is allowed on the plan you are buying, not just on the firm's top tier.

If you trade direction, not volatility

Velotrade, a multi-asset prop trading firm, does not offer options and is not an options prop firm. If your options trading is mostly directional, such as buying calls on QQQ ahead of a move, you can express the same view through the underlying instead.

Velotrade's simulated evaluations include index ETFs such as SPY, QQQ and IWM, single stocks, forex, commodities and crypto, with a static maximum drawdown that is fixed from the initial balance. The trade-off is clear: you lose the defined-loss payoff of a long option, so you replace it with position sizing and a stop that caps the loss at what you would have paid in premium. You also gain the ability to go short, covered in our guide to short selling. For a wider comparison of stock-focused firms, see the best prop firm for stocks.

This route does not replace spreads, short premium or volatility trading.

Sources

• Investor.gov, "Options" glossary entry: definition of options contracts, calls and puts.
• Topstep Help Center, "When and what products can I trade?": permitted futures products and the 3:10pm CT close.
• Elite Trader Funding Help, "What instruments can I trade?": no equities or options, including options on futures.
• Options Funding, "Rules": strategy levels by plan, drawdown, payout and reset rules.
• Maverick Trading, "Capital sharing": tier fees, performance bonds, capital and splits.
• Vanquish Trader support centre: drawdown, profit target, consistency and minimum days.