ThinkCapital
VerifiedBacked by a regulated broker, with four evaluation paths
Trust score
Fair
MetaTrader 5
- Challenges from
- $39
- Max funding
- $100K
- Profit split
- 80%
- Max drawdown
- 7%
- Max leverage
- 1:100
- Payout cycle
- Every 2 weeks
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Pros & cons
What we like
- Owned by ThinkMarkets, an FCA-regulated brokerage
- Four clearly differentiated programmes, including a cheap 3-step
- Static drawdown on Dual Step and Nexus
- US traders accepted
- Fee refunded automatically after the third payout
What to watch
- 80% base split is below the market
- Launched in 2024 — the firm is new even if the parent is not
- Minimum of three trading days on every evaluation
- Fewer platform choices than the Dubai firms
Targets & limits by challenge
| Challenge | Profit target | Daily drawdown | Max drawdown |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lightning Challenge 1-Step | 10% | 3% | 6% |
| Dual Step Challenge 2-Step | 9% / 9% | 4% | 7% |
| Nexus Challenge 3-Step | 7% / 6% | 4% | 8% |
| Instant Funding Instant | — | 3% | 6% |
Challenges & pricing
Lightning Challenge Most popular
1-Step Evaluation · 80% split · 6% max drawdown
| Account size | Price | Cost per $1K | Phase 1 target | Phase 2 target | Daily drawdown | Max drawdown |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $5K | $59 | $11.80 | 10% | — | 3% | 6% |
| $10K | $99 | $9.90 | 10% | — | 3% | 6% |
| $25K | $199 | $7.96 | 10% | — | 3% | 6% |
| $50K | $299 | $5.98 | 10% | — | 3% | 6% |
| $100K | $499 | $4.99 | 10% | — | 3% | 6% |
Dual Step Challenge
2-Step Evaluation · 80% split · 7% max drawdown
| Account size | Price | Cost per $1K | Phase 1 target | Phase 2 target | Daily drawdown | Max drawdown |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $5K | $59 | $11.80 | 9% | 9% | 4% | 7% |
| $10K | $99 | $9.90 | 9% | 9% | 4% | 7% |
| $25K | $199 | $7.96 | 9% | 9% | 4% | 7% |
| $50K | $299 | $5.98 | 9% | 9% | 4% | 7% |
| $100K | $499 | $4.99 | 9% | 9% | 4% | 7% |
Nexus Challenge
3-Step Evaluation · 80% split · 8% max drawdown
| Account size | Price | Cost per $1K | Phase 1 target | Phase 2 target | Daily drawdown | Max drawdown |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $5K | $39 | $7.80 | 7% | 6% | 4% | 8% |
| $10K | $79 | $7.90 | 7% | 6% | 4% | 8% |
| $25K | $139 | $5.56 | 7% | 6% | 4% | 8% |
| $50K | $199 | $3.98 | 7% | 6% | 4% | 8% |
| $100K | $349 | $3.49 | 7% | 6% | 4% | 8% |
Instant Funding
Instant Funding · 80% split · 6% max drawdown
| Account size | Price | Cost per $1K | Phase 1 target | Phase 2 target | Daily drawdown | Max drawdown |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $3K | $49 | $19.60 | — | — | 3% | 6% |
| $5K | $89 | $17.80 | — | — | 3% | 6% |
| $10K | $159 | $15.90 | — | — | 3% | 6% |
| $25K | $349 | $13.96 | — | — | 3% | 6% |
| $50K | $599 | $11.98 | — | — | 3% | 6% |
“Cost per $1K” is the evaluation fee divided by buying power — the only fair way to compare challenge prices across different account sizes.
What's allowed
Expert advisors (EAs)
Automated strategies and bots
High-frequency trading
Scalping and latency-sensitive strategies
Copy trading
Mirroring trades across accounts
News trading
Holding through high-impact releases
Weekend holding
Carrying positions over the weekend
Martingale
Adding to a losing position to recover it
Crypto instruments
Trading crypto pairs
What the account comes with
Consistency rule
Caps how much of your profit may come from a single day
Refundable fee
Evaluation fee returned on first payout
Free retry
A second attempt at no cost if you breach
Scaling plan
Account grows as you stay profitable
Free trial
Try the platform before paying for an evaluation
Instruments and assets
Assets
The rules in full
The clauses that decide whether you keep the account. Quoted from ThinkCapital's own terms — check the current version before you trade.
7 rules here break the account
Breaking one of these fails the evaluation or voids a payout outright.
General
-
Minimum of 3 trading days
Watch outA day counts only if at least one position is opened and closed. Hitting the profit target sooner does not shorten the requirement.
Risk & drawdown
-
On Lightning, the trailing floor stops at breakeven
Once the account is 6% up, the maximum loss floor locks to your starting balance and no longer follows equity. Past that point a breach means you are actually down, not merely off your highs.
-
Static drawdown of 7%
Breaks the accountLoss limit is fixed against the starting balance for the whole evaluation. Breaching it ends the account immediately, whether or not the position later recovers.
-
Daily loss limit of 4%
Breaks the accountMeasured from the balance at the daily reset. Floating losses on open positions count toward it the moment they occur, not when the trade is closed.
Trading style
-
News trading is permitted
You may hold through high-impact releases. Spreads widen and slippage counts toward your loss limits, so the risk is yours rather than the rule's.
-
Expert advisors are allowed
Automated strategies may be used, provided they do not exploit latency, pricing errors or the demo feed.
-
Positions may be held over the weekend
Weekend gaps count toward your drawdown in full. Swap charges apply from Wednesday.
Instruments
-
Crypto trades at reduced leverage of 1:2
Crypto is available outside market hours, but at a fraction of the leverage offered on FX and it is excluded from any news-trading exemption.
-
Maximum leverage of 1:100
This is the headline figure and applies to FX. Indices, commodities and crypto are each capped lower — see the instruments table for the class you trade.
Payouts
-
Payouts every 14 days
The cycle runs from your last approved request, not from the calendar month. A request made early resets the clock rather than bringing the next one forward.
-
First payout after 14 days
Watch outCounted from the day the funded account is issued. Completed KYC is required before the first request is released.
-
A rule breach voids the payout attached to it
Breaks the accountRequests are reviewed against the trading rules before release. A confirmed breach voids that payout, and repeat breaches close the account.
-
The fee is refunded after your third payout
Not the first, as at several rivals — the evaluation fee comes back automatically once three payouts have been approved. A full refund is also available within 14 days if you never placed a trade.
Account management
-
One funded account per trader
Breaks the accountAccounts linked by identity documents, payment method, IP address or trading pattern are treated as one. Undisclosed duplicates are closed and their profit forfeited.
-
The account may not be shared or managed by anyone else
Breaks the accountYou must trade the account yourself. Handing credentials to a third party, including an account manager, ends the arrangement.
Prohibited practices
-
High-frequency and latency arbitrage are prohibited
Breaks the accountStrategies that depend on execution speed, price-feed delay or tick scalping are treated as exploiting the platform rather than trading it.
-
Copy trading between accounts is not allowed
Breaks the accountMirroring trades across accounts, your own included, is grounds for closure of every linked account.
-
Martingale and grid strategies are prohibited
Watch outDoubling into a losing position, or layering a grid without a defined stop, counts as a prohibited risk strategy.
Instruments & conditions
Leverage and commission differ by asset class — the headline figure rarely applies to everything.
| Instrument | Max leverage | Typical spread | Commission |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forex | 1:100 | 0.2 pips | $7.00 / lot |
| Indices | 1:20 | 0.4 pips | Commission free |
| Crypto Trades around the clock, including weekends | 1:2 | 25 pips | 0.1% |
| Gold & metals | 1:50 | 0.25 pips | $5.00 / lot |
| Stocks | 1:5 | 0.1 pips | 0.02% |
| Commodities | 1:20 | 0.3 pips | $3.50 / lot |
Not offered: Futures
Restricted countries
ThinkCapital does not accept traders resident in these 9 countries. Check before you pay — a challenge fee is rarely refunded for this.
- Afghanistan
- Belarus
- Cuba
- Iran
- Myanmar
- North Korea
- Russia
- Syria
- Venezuela
Restrictions change without much notice and often depend on where you are resident rather than your nationality. Confirm with ThinkCapital directly if you are close to the line.
About ThinkCapital
ThinkCapital launched in 2024 as the prop arm of ThinkMarkets, a multi-regulated brokerage. That parentage is the point of the firm: the liquidity, the platform and the balance sheet come from a regulated broker rather than from a startup that has to build all three.The programme range is unusually well laid out. Lightning is a one-step at 10% with a 6% trailing floor; Dual Step is a traditional two-phase at 9% and 9% against a 7% static floor; Nexus spreads three smaller targets across three phases and starts at $39; and instant funding skips evaluation entirely. The static floor on Dual Step and Nexus is the pick of them.Payouts are bi-weekly at 80–90%, US traders are accepted, and the evaluation fee is refunded automatically after your third successful payout.
Leadership
Faizan Anees
Chief Executive Officer
Leads ThinkCapital, launched in 2024 as the proprietary trading arm of the multi-regulated brokerage ThinkMarkets. The firm runs from London with an operations office in Ajman, UAE.
A named, findable person is one of the few cheap signals that a firm is a real company.
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