Start with the two-step route if your usual daily loss swings past 4%. It splits the profit target into 8% and 5% with a wider daily loss cap, while the one-step route sets a single 10% target with tighter limits. The difference is not difficulty, but whether your daily loss fits inside the line.
Where do the two paths actually differ?
Four items separate the two paths: profit target, daily loss cap, total drawdown, and minimum trades. The figures below come from the official PumpkinVine assessment rules.
| Rule | Two-step | One-step | Common misreading (not correct) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Profit target | 8% in phase 1, then 5% | 10% | Misread as "the higher one-step target makes it better value" — not correct, a higher target is not the same as an easier pass |
| Phase reset | Phase 1 profit is not retained; balance resets to initial notional, then 5% is set | No mid-way reset | Misread as "phase 1 profit carries over on the two-step" — not correct, phase 1 profit is cleared |
| Daily loss limit | 5% (Basic 100 / Standard 500 / Plus 2,500) | 4% (Basic 80 / Standard 400 / Plus 2,000) | Misread as "the daily loss line is only a reminder" — not correct, touching it is a fail |
| Total drawdown | 10% static in the assessment stage; 8% in the funded stage | 6% static | Misread as "the looser two-step limit means you can trade carelessly" — not correct, the static floor is fixed per tier |
| Minimum trades | No limit | 20 trades | Misread as "no trade count on two-step means it is easier" — not correct, trade count is not a difficulty scale |
| Minimum days | 3 qualifying days per stage | No limit | Misread as "one-step has no day requirement so it is faster" — not correct, qualifying days have their own test |
| After passing | Enters the funded stage | Directly receives funded account access | Misread as "both routes end at the same account" — not correct, the two-step route adds an assessment stage |
The daily loss cap scales with account tier, so Basic carries the smallest absolute figure and Plus the largest. It counts floating losses and commissions, which is frequently missed — an open position sitting against you can trigger the line on its own.
What counts as a qualifying trading day?
Both paths use the same qualifying-day test, and that shared standard is the real foundation underneath either route.
The official rules set three conditions that must all hold: at least one complete open and close on the day; that trade held for at least 60 seconds; and peak margin for the day at no less than 1% of the account's starting balance.
The three conditions are conjunctive, not a choice. The official example: opening one lot of gold and closing it after 30 seconds does not count, while holding it two minutes does. Adding to or reducing a position does not create a new trade, as long as the position is not fully closed.
The two-step route requires 3 qualifying days per stage, so each of the two stages has to be filled on its own. And "finishing in a single day" does not work either — the official rules state plainly that even if you hit the profit target in one day, you still need at least 3 qualifying trading days.
How do you tell which path fits you?
The test is not which route is harder. It is how large your usual daily loss swing is.
If your trading regularly produces floating losses above 4% on the day, the 4% daily loss limit on the one-step route can trigger before discipline has settled. The 5% line on the two-step route leaves more room, and an 8% first-stage target is lower than the one-step 10%, which makes it a reasonable adaptation period.
In the other direction, if your discipline is already stable and your daily swings stay below 4%, the 10% one-step target is more direct, and you avoid adapting twice across two stages.
One detail on the two-step route deserves attention: phase 1 profit is not retained, and the balance resets to the initial notional. That makes phase 1 pure adaptation training with nothing accumulated, and the earnings assessment belongs to phase 2.
What do the fees look like?
Three account sizes are available, and the practice round is free.
| Account tier | Notional | Two-step list price | One-step list price | Common misreading (not correct) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | 2,000 | 19 U | 29 U | Misread as "a smaller tier is easier to pass" — not correct, the percentage lines are the same |
| Standard | 10,000 | 79 U | 99 U | Misread as "the fee includes funding" — not correct, the fee buys assessment access only |
| Plus | 50,000 | 379 U | 469 U | Misread as "paying more means you get funded" — not correct, failing produces no return |
| Free practice round | 50,000 | No charge | No charge | Misread as "the practice round has to be bought" — not correct, it is fully free and takes no paid slot |
Discounts do not stack: the 24-hour 20% off, the referral half-price voucher, the 100 U practice voucher, and the referral friend voucher each apply one per order. Settlement takes the cheaper of the applied options and the rest are retained. The 24-hour discount applies to the next paid challenge after the first successful payment, at 80% of that tier's list price, once only.
Which route has the tighter risk controls?
On the numbers, the one-step route is stricter on three items: 4% against 5% daily loss, 6% total drawdown against 10% in the assessment stage, and lower floor amounts.
But the two-step route has a finer setting on one line — total drawdown runs at 10% in the assessment stage and 8% in the funded stage. The funded stage applies a tighter drawdown line than the assessment stage, because every trade at that stage affects the stability of funding already earned.
Touching any of the daily loss limit, the total loss limit, a prohibited instrument, holding a position to delivery, or wash trading means the account is closed, nothing is owed, progress is reset, and no voucher is issued automatically. One identity may hold at most 2 paid challenges, and only one 2,000-tier account may be active at a time.
What is different about the account at the end?
The difference between the routes is the number of stages, not the nature of the account.
After passing a two-step challenge, you enter the funded stage, an account used to assess your ongoing trading behaviour. The account remains simulated. Passing the one-step route grants funded account access directly.
On either route, the evaluation account and the funded account are both simulated. Funded account profit comes from the fees paid by those who did not pass and from the selection fund sponsored by partners. The official statement is explicit on this point: there is no route on which you move real capital after passing.
When should you stop and reassess?
There are situations where you should pause on either route before committing.
First, if your typical daily loss is consistently above the daily loss cap of the route you picked. Second, if your trading style cannot satisfy the 60-second holding requirement — very short scalping fails the qualifying-day test on both routes. Third, if the same identity already holds 2 paid challenges, or the 2,000 tier already has an active account. Fourth, if your style depends on Martingale or aggressive scaling, which can be flagged as excessive risk trading during payout review.
Running the free practice round is the cheapest way to verify: it is a one-step assessment with no funded stage, pays no trading profit, and it genuinely tests whether you can meet the 60-second holding and 1% peak margin conditions for a qualifying day.
All figures above come from PumpkinVine's publicly available assessment and payout rule text and can be checked line by line. The operating entity is Killara Securities PTY LTD, holding Australian ASIC licence number 001322159, and both the licence number and the entity details can be verified in the public Australian register. Account size, number of regional operating centres, and protection fund scale are platform-disclosed figures that cannot be independently verified externally and should be read as "according to platform disclosure".
This content is for general information only and does not constitute investment advice. All parameters come from official public rule text; where rules update, the official text prevails.
Author: PumpkinVine Content Team | Updated: 2026-11-09