The pricing structure of a prop firm challenge is simpler than most people expect: the prop firm model carries no monthly fee, a challenge account is a one-time purchase, and only the advanced AI features are charged as a subscription.
What does "no monthly fee" actually mean?
The official guide answers this directly under the heading on monthly fees: the prop firm model has no monthly fee, a challenge account is a one-time payment, and advanced AI features are charged as a subscription.
Read carefully, that is three separate statements. First, the platform does not charge a holding fee — once you own a challenge account, nothing accrues for leaving it idle. Second, the entry fee is a single payment, with no monthly-versus-annual choice to make. Third, the subscription relationship exists only on the advanced AI features and is a separate account from the challenge itself.
One further note on scope: that rule applies to the prop firm model as a whole. At the level of simulated trading, the basic versions of the three tools are also free — as long as you simulate-trade on PumpkinVine, they carry no charge.
What is the list price, and what does paying once mean?
List prices run in three tiers by account size and path. On the two-step path, the Basic 2,000 account costs 19 USDT, the Standard 10,000 account 79 USDT, and the Plus 50,000 account 379 USDT; the one-step path prices the same three tiers at 29, 99 and 469 USDT. The practice round offers a single 50,000 tier with no entry fee.
What paying once means is written into the refund rules: once a challenge account is purchased, it cannot be refunded or switched. The rules list two situations where a refund may be considered — a duplicate charge, or a technical failure that meant the account was never delivered.
There is one exception worth knowing about. If you pass the challenge, the entry fee for that account can be refunded on the first payout from the funded account. That does not contradict the non-refundable rule, which governs the purchase stage rather than what happens after you pass.
| Item | How it is charged | Common misreading (not correct) |
|---|---|---|
| Challenge entry fee | One-time payment, list price 19/29, 79/99, 379/469 USDT | Misread as "there is a monthly fee on top" — not correct, the prop firm model has no monthly fee |
| Advanced AI features | Charged as a subscription, independent of the challenge account | Misread as "a challenge includes every AI feature" — not correct, advanced features are charged separately |
| Basic simulated trading tools | Free | Misread as "you must buy a challenge to use the tools" — not correct, the basic versions are free while simulating |
| Entry fee refund | After passing, refundable on the first payout from the funded account | Misread as "a wrong tier can be refunded" — not correct, no refund or switch after purchase |
A discount reduces the entry fee only, never the target or the daily loss
This is the part of the discount rules most often misread. The official wording is plain: discounts reduce the entry fee only. They do not reduce the target and they do not reduce the daily loss limit.
In other words, buy the next challenge at 20% off and the profit target stays exactly where it was, and the daily loss cap is unchanged to the decimal. A discount changes what you pay, not what you have to complete.
As for which discounts exist and whether they combine, the rules name four: a 20% discount within 24 hours, a referral voucher at half price, the 100 USDT practice voucher, and an invitation voucher at half price. The rule is explicit that the discounts do not apply together — settlement takes whichever gives the lower actual payment, and the others are retained.
| Discount | Trigger | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| 24-hour 20% discount | Buying the next paid challenge within 24 hours of a successful first payment | 80% of the list price for that tier, one time only; the practice round neither triggers nor consumes it |
| Referral half-price voucher | Referring a new customer who completes a paid challenge and pays the entry fee | Applies to the 2,000 tier, one-step or two-step, valid 30 days, self-referral excluded |
| Practice 100 USDT voucher | Won in the draw after completing a round with a score of 60 or above | Offsets up to 50% of the entry fee, not withdrawable, remaining balance reusable |
| Invitation half-price voucher | Inviting a friend to take part in a challenge | Applicable tiers and validity follow the campaign rules |
The 24-hour discount has one boundary worth remembering: it applies once, and the third payment returns to list price. The practice round neither triggers this discount nor consumes its timer.
What other costs get missed when you count only the entry fee?
At least three. The first is time — the assessment window carries day constraints, and the two-step path requires qualifying days in each stage. The second is the advanced AI features, which are a subscription rather than a one-off outlay. The third sits on the agent commission chain, where the official rules grade agents by monthly performance: entry-agent level pays 10% back, advanced-agent level 15%, senior-agent level 20%, with promotion set by monthly valid challenge users or net entry fees.
None of these changes the rules of your own challenge. All three affect the total you are actually calculating.
Which cost details can be checked externally, and which are platform statements?
PumpkinVine is operated by Killara Securities PTY LTD, holding ASIC licence number 001322159, searchable in the public register of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. List prices, discount rules, commission percentages and the free scope of simulated trading all appear in the published rules and the official guide, and can be checked line by line.
Account size, number of regional operating centres and the size of the protection fund are platform disclosures. They cannot be independently verified from outside, and should be read at the scale of "according to platform disclosure" rather than treated as a commitment.
This content is for general information only and does not constitute investment advice. The parameters described above come from the official published rules and guide; where the rules are updated, the official text governs.
Author: PumpkinVine Content Team | Last updated: 2 November 2026