Verdict. PipFarm suits cTrader traders who want a genuinely static drawdown, unrestricted news trading and a rulebook that is published in full rather than hinted at. It does not suit anyone planning to withdraw meaningful sums quickly: no single payout can exceed $5,000 regardless of account size, the default payout interval is 30 days, and the default profit share is 70%. The biggest caveat is that most of the terms a trader would call “the rules” — loss limits, payout speed, profit share — are priced add-ons bought at checkout.
Key terms at a glance
- Account sizes and fees: $5,000 to $150,000. A $5,000 account costs $25–$35 and a $100,000 account $280–$490, depending on mode, per PipFarm’s challenge mode comparison.
- Profit share: 70% by default, rising to 99% at Rank 6 of the Experience Program, per the firm’s payouts guide.
- Profit targets: one-stage 12%, 10% or 9% by mode; two-stage 9%/6%, 8%/5% or 6%/6%.
- Maximum loss: static 6% of starting balance on the one-stage challenge and 8–9% on two-stage — fixed, never trails. A balance-trailing variant is sold at 8%. Source: PipFarm’s static max loss rule.
- Daily loss limit: 3% of the end-of-day reference, defined as the higher of the previous day’s closing balance or equity, per the max daily loss rule. A new day starts at 22:00 GMT.
- Payout cadence: 30 calendar days by default; 14 days costs an extra 15% of the challenge price, seven days an extra 30%, on demand an extra 50%.
- Payout ceiling: a percentage cap starting at 6% of balance, plus a $5,000 hard cap on every payout, per PipFarm’s payout caps page.
- Minimum trading activity: three trading days per stage in Classic mode; four profitable days of at least 0.5% each in Endurance; a 40% daily consistency score in Consistency mode.
Who runs PipFarm
PipFarm is the trading brand of ECI Ventures Pte. Ltd., a Singapore exempt private company incorporated on 28 July 2023 under unique entity number 202329954C, with a registered office at 68 Circular Road. The firm launched publicly in March 2024, and The Industry Spread covered the launch at the time in Ex-cTrader CCO James Glyde launches prop firm PipFarm, followed by its experience-based progression program that June.
The founder background matters here. James Glyde spent years as chief commercial officer at Spotware, the developer of cTrader, and PipFarm runs exclusively on that platform. Market data, the firm says, comes from “a leading institutional broker” — which it does not name. Every account is described in PipFarm’s own documentation as a Simulated Funded Account, and the firm does not claim otherwise anywhere in its help centre.
Payouts: two ceilings, and the one that binds
This is where the firm’s design is least generous. Payouts are request-based: once the interval has elapsed and the mode’s requirements are met, a trader submits a request, trading stops, and the request is manually reviewed within two to three business days. Approved payouts are paid within a further two to three business days by Skrill, USDT or USDC, or bank transfer on request. Rise, listed as a method, is marked temporarily unavailable. KYC is required before the first payout.
Two caps then apply, and the payout is limited by whichever is lower. The first is a percentage of account balance that ratchets up with each withdrawal: 6%, then 8%, 10% and 12% thereafter on Classic, Endurance and Consistency accounts. Instant Accounts and One Step Light start at half those rates, rising to a 6% maximum. The cap applies to gross profit before the split, and anything above it stays in the account rather than being forfeited.
The second is blunt: no payout may exceed $5,000, in any currency, on any account, at any payout number. Once the percentage cap matures at 12%, that hard cap binds on every balance above roughly $41,700 — so a $150,000 account and a $50,000 account share the same single-payout ceiling. On the default 30-day interval and the default 70% share, that is $3,500 net per month at most. Weekly access costs an extra 30% of the challenge price up front, and even then a separate personal interval permits only one payout every seven calendar days across all of a trader’s accounts combined.
What could not be verified. PipFarm publishes no cumulative payout total, no audited payout ledger and no evaluation pass rate. Trustpilot blocks automated access, and third-party aggregators disagree materially — one reports 4.0 from 379 reviews, another 4.6 from roughly 1,500 — so this desk cannot confirm either figure. The institutional broker supplying the price feed is unnamed, so the execution environment behind the simulation cannot be independently identified.
The rules you can pay to loosen
PipFarm’s distinguishing feature is not a rule. It is that the rules are a price list. Thirteen add-ons are sold at checkout, and several of them modify the risk parameters themselves.
| Add-on | What it changes | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Extra Max Loss | +1% to the maximum loss limit | 20% of base price |
| Extra Max Risk | +1% to the max risk limit on Instant accounts | 20% of base price |
| Extra Daily Loss | +1% to the daily loss limit | 10% of base price |
| Skip Minimum Trading Days | Removes the trading-day requirement | 10% of base price |
| Extra Profit Share | +10 points on the profit split | 20% of base price |
| Challenge Fee Refund | Credits the fee as profit once funded | 10% of base price |
| Weekly Payouts | 30-day interval cut to seven | 30% of base price |
| Extended Time Limit | 180 days, 360 days or unlimited | 5–15% of base price |
Three details in the firm’s add-on documentation deserve attention before a trader budgets. Prices are calculated from the original base price, so a discount code reduces the challenge fee and nothing else. Buying an add-on after passing costs ten times the checkout price, PipFarm’s stated reasoning being that the risk of failure has been removed. And merging two funded accounts with mismatched add-ons triggers a fee of 2.5 times the current price for anything only one account holds.
None of this is concealed. But it does mean the headline price of a PipFarm challenge describes the most restrictive version of the product.
The mechanics that end accounts
The static maximum loss is the firm’s strongest feature and is genuinely static: set as a fixed percentage of the starting balance, it never moves, so profit does not drag the floor upwards. Rank 2 adds a further percentage point.
The daily loss limit is where accounts more often die. It is measured not from the previous day’s closing balance but from the higher of that balance or that equity. A trader who carries an open winner into the close has that unrealised gain locked into the following day’s reference, so handing the profit back can breach the account even though the balance never fell.
Then there is the Pip Protector, a three-strike escalation on the max risk rule that applies to standard funded accounts. The first strike closes open positions and halves the risk allowance. The second halves it again and permanently reduces the profit share by 50% — an 80% split becomes 40% for the remaining life of the account. The third is a breach. On Pay with Profits accounts there are no strikes at all; reaching the limit is an immediate hard breach.
Trading style itself is treated liberally by sector standards. News trading is fully permitted with no restricted events. Automation is allowed, though bots bought from cTrader or MQL5 marketplaces are not — strategies must be the trader’s own logic. Copy trading between a trader’s own accounts, including from another prop firm or broker, is explicitly allowed; copying another person is immediate termination.
The rulebook also moves. The old 90% rule survives only for accounts bought before 16 October 2025, a separate legacy set governs accounts created before 9 March 2026, and from 9 April 2026 Classic and Endurance accounts — the two modes chosen precisely to avoid a consistency requirement — need a 50% consistency score to qualify for funded payouts.
That last change sits awkwardly beside what the firm’s founder told Finance Magnates in May 2024, citing PipFarm’s own trader survey: “85% said they look for firms with clear rules, and 75% avoid firms with consistency rules.”
How PipFarm compares
| PipFarm | Funding Pips | Alpha Capital Group | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Account range | $5,000–$150,000 | $5,000–$100,000 | $5,000–$200,000 |
| Default profit split | 70%, to 99% by rank | 60–95% by cadence | 80% flat |
| Max loss | 6% static (one-stage) | Static on all challenge plans | 10%, static on most plans |
| Daily loss | 3% of EOD reference | 3–5% by plan | 5% |
| Payout interval | 30 days by default | Bi-weekly at the 95% split | Every 14 days |
| Payout ceiling | $5,000 hard cap | None published | None published |
Competitor figures are as reported in this publication’s reviews of Funding Pips and Alpha Capital Group. On drawdown design PipFarm is competitive; on the amount a successful trader can actually move out per month, it is the most restrictive of the three.
Regulatory posture
ECI Ventures Pte. Ltd. is not a regulated financial services firm. It holds no licence from the Monetary Authority of Singapore, its registered business activity is software publishing rather than financial services, and its terms state that nothing it offers constitutes investment services under Singapore’s Securities and Futures Act 2001. Disputes are governed by Singapore law. Accounts are simulated throughout, including after funding — a point PipFarm states plainly rather than burying. That is the sector norm rather than a defect unique to this firm, but it does mean there is no regulator to appeal a rejected payout to.
FAQ
Is PipFarm’s drawdown trailing or static? The standard maximum loss is static — a fixed percentage of the starting balance that never moves, at 6% on the one-stage challenge and 8–9% on two-stage formats. A balance-trailing variant is offered separately at 8%. The daily loss limit, by contrast, resets each day against the higher of the previous day’s balance or equity.
What is the maximum PipFarm will pay out at once? $5,000 gross, on any account, at any stage. A percentage cap of 6% to 12% of account balance may reduce that further on early payouts. Profit above the cap remains in the account for later withdrawals rather than being forfeited.
What profit split does PipFarm actually pay? New traders start at 70%, rising through the Experience Program to 99% at Rank 6. A checkout add-on adds 10 points for 20% of the challenge price. Rank increases do not apply until after the next payout is approved.
Can I trade the news and use EAs? Yes to both. News trading carries no restricted events or timing windows. Automated strategies are permitted provided they are the trader’s own work; bots purchased from marketplaces are grounds for termination. PipFarm runs exclusively on cTrader.
This review is independent editorial analysis and is not financial, investment, or trading advice, and is not an endorsement or solicitation. The Industry Spread has no affiliate or referral relationship with the firms covered. Proprietary trading challenges carry a fee that is generally non-refundable, most participants do not reach a funded account, and funded capital is the firm’s capital, not the trader’s. Terms change frequently — always verify current rules directly with the firm before paying any fee.
Abdelaziz Fathi
Abdelaziz Fathi covers the intersection of forex/CFD brokerage, regulation, liquidity, fintech, and digital assets. With a B.A. in Finance and hands-on industry exposure, Aziz blends analytical rigor with clear storytelling to make complex market structure understandable for traders, brokers, and fintech professionals.
