If you are new to this, the single most useful thing to understand is what is being sold. A retail proprietary trading firm sells a paid evaluation on a simulated account and funds a simulated account for those who pass, paying a published share of gains. It is not employment, it is not capital, and it borrowed its name from a different business.
The name comes from somewhere else
Institutional proprietary trading means a firm risking its own capital, employing traders, charging nothing to be considered and negotiating the share privately. The retail product charges a fee, simulates the account, publishes the share and hires nobody. Both are called prop trading. Almost every association the phrase carries, including its prestige, belongs to the first one, and a beginner reading marketing that leans on that association should know the two are different businesses.
The economics explain the rules
Evaluation and reset fees are a revenue line at these firms, which is why the rules are the product rather than the packaging: they determine how long an account survives and therefore how often the fee is paid again. That is not an accusation, and the firms in this index publish their pricing and rules openly. It is simply the reason a beginner should read the loss limit before the profit split, which is the opposite of how the pages are laid out.
What to read first, concretely
The drawdown rule on the specific plan, because it ends more attempts than any target. Then the minimum trading days, the consistency rule if the firm has one, and what a reset costs. Eight of the ten firms here publish a 90% profit split, so that column has no spread and no information in it: it is the one number a beginner is drawn to and the one that cannot distinguish between these firms.
Questions people ask about proprietary trading firms for beginners
Is prop trading good for beginners?
This site publishes no view on whether to buy one, and no pass rates or earnings claims. It records what each firm charges and requires so the decision is informed.
How much should a beginner expect to spend?
Entry prices verified here start at $45 at TradeDay and $130 at Uprofit. The figure that matters more is the reset price times a realistic number of attempts.
Do I need to know futures already?
The firms publish no experience requirement. Contract sizing matters a great deal to how much room a drawdown gives you, so understanding what one point is worth is worth learning before paying.