---
title: "Free Funded Account Challenge: What's Real - Get Funded Now"
description: "Is there a free funded account challenge? Not at GFN: the lowest fee is $22, and the 2 Step includes a free retake. What \"free\" offers usually mean."
url: "https://getfundednow.com/guides/free-funded-account-challenge"
language: "en"
last_modified: "2026-09-22"
publisher: "Get Funded Now (getfundednow.com)"
translations:
  es: "https://getfundednow.com/es/guides/free-funded-account-challenge"
  pt-BR: "https://getfundednow.com/pt-br/guides/free-funded-account-challenge"
  fr: "https://getfundednow.com/fr/guides/free-funded-account-challenge"
  it: "https://getfundednow.com/it/guides/free-funded-account-challenge"
  de: "https://getfundednow.com/de/guides/free-funded-account-challenge"
disclosure: "All trading at Get Funded Now is simulated. 'Funded' means a simulated or virtual account; GFN is not a broker and does not hold client funds."
---

Prop trading, explained

# A free funded account challenge: what is real and what it costs.

GFN does not sell a free funded account challenge. The cheapest evaluation is the $5,000 2 Step at $22, paid once, and if you fail it by breaching a hard rule, one retake is free. Offers elsewhere called free are usually a contest, a demo trial or a giveaway, each with its own conditions.

By the Get Funded Now team Published September 23, 2026 Last reviewed September 23, 2026 3 min read

## Is there such a thing as a free funded account challenge?

A prop firm's evaluation fee is how the firm is paid. The fee covers the evaluation, and the simulated profit share paid to traders who pass comes out of that revenue - see [how prop firms make money](https://getfundednow.com/guides/how-prop-firms-make-money). A firm that charged nothing at all would need another way to pay for the traders who pass.

That is why offers described as free usually turn out to be one of a few things:

- **A trading contest.** Many entrants trade a demo account and a small number of winners receive a paid evaluation or funded account.
- **A free trial.** A demo of the dashboard and rules that is not an evaluation and cannot lead to a payout.
- **A giveaway.** A paid account awarded at random, usually for following or sharing.
- **A free retake.** Not free entry, but a second attempt after a paid one fails. This is what GFN offers.

Read the conditions before you count on it

A contest or giveaway prize normally carries the same rules as a paid account, and sometimes tighter ones. Ask what the prize account's drawdown, target and profit share are before treating it as equivalent.

## What is the cheapest way to a funded account at GFN?

**Lowest one-time fee by GFN program**

| Program | What you are buying | Retake if you fail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 2 Step | Two-phase evaluation, 8% then 5% targets | One free retake |
| 1 Step | One-phase evaluation, 10% target | None |
| Instant | A simulated funded account from day one, no evaluation | None |

The lowest fee on the site is $22, for the $5,000 2 Step. Every size and price: [prop firm challenges and pricing](https://getfundednow.com/challenges).

A published code, FIRST40, currently gives 40% off your first purchase. Check the total at checkout - see [the current discount code](https://getfundednow.com/discount-code).

## How does the free retake work?

If you fail the [2 Step](https://getfundednow.com/challenges/2-step) by breaching a hard rule, you get one retake at no cost. The retake is not an identical copy of the first attempt: it runs tighter.

**First attempt vs free retake on the 2 Step**

| Rule | First attempt | Free retake |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Daily loss limit | 5% | 3% |
| Max drawdown (non-trailing) | 8% | 4% |
| Profit share once funded | 80%, or 90% with the add-on | 60% |

On a $5,000 account, the retake's max drawdown is $200. Full terms: [free retake rules](https://getfundednow.com/rules/free-retake).

## What should you check before paying for any challenge?

- **The drawdown in dollars, not percent.** It is the only number that ends an account. [The drawdown calculator](https://getfundednow.com/tools/drawdown-calculator) converts it.
- **Whether the drawdown trails.** A trailing limit follows your highest balance up. See [trailing vs non-trailing drawdown](https://getfundednow.com/rules/trailing-drawdown).
- **What stops a payout.** Caps, buffers and consistency rules all apply after you pass. See [payouts](https://getfundednow.com/payouts).
- **That the account is simulated.** Funded accounts at GFN are simulated; payouts are a share of simulated profit, paid in real money to eligible traders.

## Questions

No. Every GFN account has a one-time fee, from $22. The 2 Step includes one free retake if you fail by breaching a hard rule.

No. The retake runs on a 3% daily loss limit, a 4% non-trailing max drawdown and a 60% profit share once funded.

It depends on the firm's terms for the prize account. Ask whether it is a full evaluation or funded account, and what rules and profit share it carries, before relying on it.

## Sources

This guide relies on no external sources. Every GFN figure in it is generated from the same published pricing and rules data the checkout uses.

## Related reading

- [The 2 Step program →](https://getfundednow.com/challenges/2-step)
- [Free retake rules →](https://getfundednow.com/rules/free-retake)
- [Challenges and pricing →](https://getfundednow.com/challenges)
- [What is a funded account? →](https://getfundednow.com/guides/what-is-a-funded-account)

---

Source: https://getfundednow.com/guides/free-funded-account-challenge
Facts about Get Funded Now in one file: https://getfundednow.com/llms.txt