FundedNext vs Alpha Capital: The $50 Price Difference That Changes Everything
September 4, 2026
Best Prop Firms with Weekend Holding Allowed in 2026
September 11, 2026
TLDR: The5ers leads our 2026 rankings for prop firm weekend holding — unrestricted overnight and weekend positions across all programs, no swap-free upsell required, and scaling up to $4,000,000. FundedNext is the runner-up with weekend holding on most account types, while Maven Trading earns top marks for budget swing traders. Full rankings, evaluation vs. funded policies, gap risk strategies, and plan-by-plan breakdowns below.
Closing every position before the Friday session ends is the default assumption at most prop firms. The logic is straightforward: weekends introduce gap risk. Markets reopen on Sunday evening with prices that may have shifted dramatically from Friday's close, and a single gap through your stop loss can breach a drawdown limit before you have any chance to react.
But not every strategy fits inside a Monday-to-Friday window. Swing traders holding positions for days or weeks cannot close and re-enter around every weekend without destroying their edge. Macro traders positioning around central bank decisions, geopolitical developments, or commodity supply reports often need to carry exposure through the weekend because the catalyst they are trading has not yet played out. Even some intraday traders occasionally find themselves in a position late Friday that has not yet reached its target or stop — and forcing a close at an arbitrary time is not sound risk management.
The problem is that prop firm weekend holding policies vary enormously. Some firms allow it across all phases with no restrictions. Others permit it during the evaluation but ban it on funded accounts. A few allow it on specific plan types while restricting it on others. And the consequences of getting it wrong range from soft breaches that strip your profits to hard breaches that terminate your account.
We reviewed weekend holding policies across 12 prop firms, comparing evaluation-phase rules, funded-account rules, plan-specific restrictions, swap fees, and gap risk protections. The seven firms below represent the strongest options for traders who need to hold through the weekend in 2026. For a broader overview of risk rules that affect position management, see our guide on prop firm risk management rules.
Quick-Pick Comparison Table
| Rank | Firm | Best For | Weekend Holding (Eval) | Weekend Holding (Funded) | Swap-Free Option | Profit Split |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The5ers | Unrestricted swing trading | Allowed | Allowed — all plans | No [UNVERIFIED] | 80% → 100% |
| 2 | FundedNext | Flexible plan options | Allowed (Challenge) | Allowed — Stellar Instant only | Yes (add-on) [UNVERIFIED] | 80% → 95% |
| 3 | Maven Trading | Budget swing traders | Allowed | Allowed — all plans | Yes (swap-free by default) | 80% → 85% |
| 4 | FTMO | Trust & Swing accounts | Allowed | Swing accounts only | No | Up to 90% |
| 5 | Alpha Capital Group | Plan variety | Allowed | Swing & One plans; Pro soft breach | No [UNVERIFIED] | 80% |
| 6 | Blue Guardian | Wide drawdown buffer | Allowed | Allowed [UNVERIFIED] | No [UNVERIFIED] | Up to 90% |
| 7 | Funding Pips | Non-Zero accounts | Allowed (non-Zero) | Allowed — except Zero plans | Yes (add-on) | Up to 100% |
#1: The5ers — Best Overall for Weekend Holding
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The5ers earns the top spot because weekend holding is permitted across every program and every phase — evaluation, funded, and scaled. There are no plan-specific carve-outs, no soft breach penalties, and no requirement to close positions before Friday's session ends. If your strategy calls for holding through the weekend, The5ers does not force you to modify it.
Weekend-specific rules: Overnight and weekend holding are allowed without restriction. News trading is also permitted, which matters for swing traders whose positions may span scheduled economic releases. The only cost consideration is swap fees — holding indices over the weekend carries particularly high swaps, which can erode profits on longer holds. Forex pairs incur standard triple-swap charges on Wednesdays, plus the usual overnight financing costs through the weekend.
Drawdown structure: The5ers uses a balance-based drawdown model with no time limits on completing evaluations. This combination is critical for weekend holders because a gap against your position on Sunday evening will not trigger a trailing drawdown recalculation based on your high-water mark — it is measured against your starting balance. This gives you more room to absorb temporary adverse moves.
Scaling potential: Accounts can scale up to $4,000,000 in managed capital, with profit splits starting at 80% and reaching 100% at advanced tiers [UNVERIFIED — confirm current scaling terms directly with The5ers].
Best for: Swing and position traders who hold for days to weeks and need a firm that treats weekend holding as a standard feature rather than a special exception. The unrestricted policy across all plans eliminates the risk of accidentally triggering a weekend-specific violation.
#2: FundedNext — Best for Flexible Plan Options
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FundedNext allows weekend holding, but the policy depends on which account type you select. Understanding the plan-level differences before purchasing is essential — choosing the wrong plan can leave you unable to hold through the weekend on your funded account.
Weekend-specific rules: During the Challenge evaluation phase, weekend holding is permitted. On the Stellar Instant Account — FundedNext's instant-funding product — traders can hold positions overnight and over the weekend at both the evaluation and funded stages with no restrictions. Swap charges apply to positions held through these periods. However, on standard FundedNext funded accounts, weekend holding is restricted. FundedNext Futures accounts are the most restrictive: all positions must be closed by 3:10 PM Central Time each trading day, with no overnight or weekend holds permitted at any stage.
Swap-free option: FundedNext offers a swap-free add-on at purchase [UNVERIFIED — confirm availability and pricing directly with FundedNext]. For swing traders holding through multiple weekends, eliminating swap fees can meaningfully improve net profitability, especially on pairs with wide interest rate differentials.
Profit split: Starts at 80% and scales to 95% through FundedNext's tiered payout structure. Challenge fees are refundable with the first profit split on most plans.
Best for: Traders who want weekend holding flexibility and are willing to select the right account type to get it. The Stellar Instant Account is the clear choice for funded-phase weekend holding. Avoid the Futures division entirely if weekend holds are part of your strategy.
#3: Maven Trading — Best Budget Option for Swing Traders
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Maven Trading permits weekend holding across all account types at every stage — evaluation and funded. Combined with starting prices as low as $15 for a $2,000 account, Maven offers the cheapest path to a funded account that supports holding through the weekend.
Weekend-specific rules: Weekend holds are explicitly permitted with no plan-level restrictions. Maven also operates with a swap-free model by default, meaning traders do not incur overnight financing charges for holding positions through the weekend. This is a material advantage for swing strategies: at other firms, triple-swap Wednesdays and weekend financing can cost several dollars per lot on popular pairs, which compounds over multiple weekends.
Funded-phase constraints: Here is the trade-off. Maven's funded accounts enforce tighter drawdown limits than most competitors — daily drawdown drops to 2%, trailing maximum drawdown tightens to 3%, and a 1% maximum open risk rule applies [UNVERIFIED — confirm current funded-phase limits directly with Maven Trading]. These are among the strictest funded-phase limits in the industry. For weekend holders, this means you must size positions conservatively enough to survive a weekend gap without breaching the tighter funded rules.
News trading restriction: Maven prohibits opening or closing trades within 2 minutes before or after high-impact news events. However, positions opened more than 2 minutes before a news event can be held through the release. This is relevant for weekend holders because Monday-morning gaps often coincide with weekend news developments that may overlap with scheduled releases.
Best for: Budget-conscious swing traders who want unrestricted weekend holding and swap-free financing. The low entry price means you can test your weekend-holding strategy at minimal cost, but the tight funded-phase drawdowns demand disciplined position sizing.
#4: FTMO — Best for Trust and Swing Accounts
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FTMO is the most established name in funded trading, and they offer weekend holding — but only on their Swing Account variant. Their Standard funded accounts do not permit positions to be held over the weekend. Choosing the right account type at the evaluation stage is critical because the distinction carries through to the funded phase.
Weekend-specific rules: On FTMO's Swing Account, weekend holding is allowed at both the Challenge and funded stages. News trading is also permitted on Swing Accounts. On Standard Accounts, overnight positions are restricted on the funded account — if a rollover exceeds 2 hours, positions must be closed. Weekend holds are not permitted on Standard funded accounts at all. During the Challenge phase for Standard Accounts, weekend holding is allowed, which can create a dangerous mismatch: a strategy that works during the evaluation may violate rules once funded.
Leverage trade-off: The Swing Account comes with lower leverage than the Standard Account. This is FTMO's built-in gap risk buffer — lower leverage means a weekend gap has less impact in absolute dollar terms relative to your account size. For swing traders, this is an acceptable trade-off. For traders who rely on higher leverage for their edge, the Standard Account's weekend restriction may be a dealbreaker.
Trust factor: FTMO has one of the longest verified payout histories in the industry. For traders who prioritize firm reliability and want confidence that weekend-held profits will actually be paid out, FTMO's track record is difficult to match.
Best for: Experienced swing traders who value firm reliability above all else and are comfortable with the lower leverage on Swing Accounts. If you are choosing between FTMO's Standard and Swing variants specifically for weekend holding, the Swing Account is the only viable option.
#5: Alpha Capital Group — Best for Plan Variety
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Alpha Capital Group takes a plan-specific approach to weekend holding. Some of their programs permit it at every stage, while others impose soft breach penalties on funded accounts. Understanding the distinctions across their Alpha Swing, One, Three, and Pro plans is essential before committing.
Weekend-specific rules: The Alpha Swing and Alpha One programs allow weekend holding at both the evaluation and funded stages. Swap fees apply, but no breach penalties are triggered. The Alpha Three plan also permits weekend holding during evaluation, with funded-stage rules matching the Swing and One plans. On Pro plans, weekend holding is allowed during the evaluation phase but triggers a soft breach on the funded (Qualified) account — meaning profits from the offending trades are removed, but the account remains active. Qualified Analyst Accounts have the strictest rules: no overnight or weekend holding is permitted.
What a soft breach means in practice: On Alpha Capital's Pro funded accounts, holding through the weekend will not terminate your account. Instead, any profits earned on those trades are deducted. This is a critical distinction: you will not lose your funded account, but the weekend hold effectively becomes a zero-profit trade regardless of the outcome. For swing traders, this makes the Pro plan impractical for weekend holding even though it is technically "allowed."
Best for: Traders who want granular plan selection. If weekend holding is central to your strategy, the Alpha Swing or Alpha One plan is the correct choice. Avoid Pro and Qualified Analyst plans if you intend to carry positions through the weekend.
#6: Blue Guardian — Best Drawdown Cushion for Weekend Gaps
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Blue Guardian permits weekend holding on their forex prop trading accounts [UNVERIFIED — confirm current weekend holding policy directly with Blue Guardian before purchasing]. The feature that makes Blue Guardian particularly interesting for weekend holders is their 8% maximum drawdown — the widest on this list — which provides a meaningful buffer against weekend gap risk.
Why drawdown width matters for weekend holding: A 2% gap against your position on Sunday evening is survivable within an 8% maximum drawdown. At firms with 4% or 5% maximum drawdowns, that same gap could bring you dangerously close to a hard breach, especially if you entered the weekend with any existing floating loss. Blue Guardian's wider drawdown gives weekend holders more room to absorb adverse gaps without facing account termination.
Additional rules: Blue Guardian enforces a 2-minute minimum holding time on all trades. This does not affect typical swing or position trades held over the weekend, but it does prevent closing and re-entering positions in rapid succession on Sunday evening if the market opens unfavorably. Bi-weekly payouts begin 14 days after your first funded trade, with profit splits up to 90%.
Best for: Weekend holders who want the widest drawdown buffer available. If your strategy is prone to temporary drawdowns from weekend gaps, Blue Guardian's 8% limit provides more breathing room than any other firm on this list.
#7: Funding Pips — Best for Non-Zero Account Holders
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Funding Pips allows weekend holding on most account types, but their Zero plans are the exception. If weekend holding is part of your strategy, you must avoid the Zero and Zero Master accounts entirely.
Weekend-specific rules: Weekend holding is permitted during the evaluation phase and on Master (funded) accounts for all non-Zero plans. The Zero Account and Zero Master Account prohibit weekend and news-event holding outright — violations result in account termination, not a soft breach. This hard-breach consequence makes the Zero plans unsuitable for any strategy that might occasionally carry a position into the weekend, even unintentionally.
Swap-free add-on: Funding Pips offers an optional swap-free add-on at account purchase. For traders planning to hold through multiple weekends, this eliminates overnight financing costs and simplifies P&L calculations. The add-on is available across non-Zero plans.
Profit split: Funding Pips offers profit splits scaling up to 100%, which is the highest ceiling on this list alongside The5ers. Combined with weekend holding permission, the non-Zero plans are a strong option for swing traders focused on maximizing payout percentages.
Best for: Swing traders who want weekend holding combined with the highest possible profit split. Select any non-Zero plan and add the swap-free option for the cleanest weekend-holding experience. Avoid Zero plans entirely.
Gap Risk: What Weekend Holders Need to Understand
Weekend holding permission does not eliminate weekend risk. Every firm on this list allows you to carry positions through the weekend, but none of them will protect you from the consequences of a gap that breaches your drawdown.
How weekend gaps work: Forex markets close Friday evening and reopen Sunday evening (Eastern Time). During the roughly 48-hour closure, geopolitical events, economic data releases, natural disasters, or central bank announcements can shift market sentiment. When markets reopen, prices can jump significantly from Friday's closing levels. Your stop loss does not protect you during this period — it only executes at the first available price on Sunday, which may be far beyond your intended exit point. For a deeper primer on how gap risk affects leveraged accounts, Investopedia's gap risk overview is a useful starting point.
Position sizing for weekend holds: The standard approach is to reduce position size before the weekend close. If your normal risk per trade is 1% of account equity, consider reducing to 0.5% or less for positions you intend to hold through the weekend. This gives you room to absorb a gap without approaching drawdown limits. Some traders close a portion of their position on Friday — taking partial profits or reducing exposure — while keeping the core thesis alive at a smaller size.
Instrument-specific gap risk: Not all instruments gap equally. Major forex pairs (EUR/USD, GBP/USD) tend to have smaller weekend gaps than exotic pairs, commodities, or indices. Gold (XAU/USD) is particularly gap-prone due to geopolitical sensitivity. If you are holding indices or commodities over the weekend, factor in the historically wider gaps these instruments experience.
Monitoring weekend developments: Even though you cannot close a position during the weekend, you can monitor news developments that might affect your holdings. Setting mobile alerts for breaking news in your instrument's sector allows you to mentally prepare for a potential gap and plan your Sunday-evening response before the market opens.
Evaluation vs. Funded: The Policy Split That Catches Traders
The most common mistake traders make with weekend holding is assuming that evaluation-phase rules carry through to the funded account. At several firms on this list — FTMO Standard, FundedNext Standard, and Alpha Capital Pro — weekend holding is allowed during the evaluation but restricted or penalized once funded.
This creates a dangerous pattern: you develop a strategy during the evaluation that relies on weekend holds, pass the challenge, and then discover that the same behavior is prohibited on your funded account. The result is either a forced strategy change — which may eliminate the edge that passed the evaluation — or an accidental breach that costs you the funded account.
The rule: Before purchasing any prop firm challenge, confirm whether weekend holding is permitted on the funded account, not just the evaluation. If the firm's documentation is unclear, contact support directly. A five-minute email can save you the cost of a failed funded account.
For deeper reading on the risk management rules that trip up funded traders, see our full breakdown on prop firm risk management rules.
Who Benefits Most from Weekend Holding?
Swing traders operating on daily or weekly timeframes are the primary beneficiaries. Their strategies assume multi-day holds by design, and forcing exits on Friday undermines the core logic of the system. If your average trade duration is three to ten days, weekend holding is not optional — it is a structural requirement of your approach.
Macro and news-event traders positioning around scheduled catalysts that span weekends — central bank meetings, elections, OPEC decisions, geopolitical summits — need the ability to hold through the weekend because exiting before the catalyst defeats the purpose of the trade.
Part-time traders who manage positions around full-time employment often prefer to reduce trading frequency and hold positions longer. Weekend holding allows them to enter a trade on Tuesday, monitor it periodically, and close it the following week without being forced into a Friday exit that does not align with their analysis.
Who should avoid weekend holding: Intraday scalpers, high-frequency traders, and anyone whose strategy does not require multi-day holds. If your average trade duration is under a few hours, weekend holding introduces risk without strategic benefit. Close your positions Friday afternoon and re-enter Monday when the market has established direction.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do all prop firms allow weekend holding?
No. Many prop firms restrict or prohibit weekend holding, especially on funded accounts. Even among firms that allow it, policies vary by plan type. Always verify the funded-account rules for your specific plan before purchasing a challenge.
Will my stop loss protect me over the weekend?
Not fully. Stop losses execute at the first available price when the market reopens on Sunday evening. If the market gaps past your stop level, your position will be closed at a worse price than intended. In extreme cases, a gap can blow through your stop and breach your drawdown limit in a single candle.
Do swap fees apply when holding over the weekend?
At most firms, yes. Swap fees (overnight financing charges) are applied for positions held through the weekend, typically as a triple-swap charge on Wednesday or at rollover. Some firms, like Maven Trading and Funding Pips, offer swap-free accounts that eliminate these charges. If you hold frequently through weekends, the cumulative swap cost is worth calculating before choosing a firm.
Can I be penalized for an accidental weekend hold?
At firms that prohibit weekend holding on funded accounts, yes. Most firms do not distinguish between intentional and accidental weekend holds. If a position is open when the Friday session ends and the firm's rules prohibit it, you face the same consequences as a deliberate violation — ranging from soft breaches (profit removal) to hard breaches (account termination).
Which instruments are safest to hold over the weekend?
Major forex pairs (EUR/USD, USD/JPY, GBP/USD) tend to experience smaller weekend gaps than exotic pairs, commodities, or indices. Gold and oil are particularly volatile over weekends due to geopolitical sensitivity. If you are new to weekend holding, starting with major pairs and smaller position sizes is the lower-risk approach.
Should I reduce my position size before the weekend?
In most cases, yes. Reducing position size before the weekend close is standard practice among funded swing traders. A common approach is to cut exposure by 50% on Friday, leaving the core trade thesis intact but reducing the impact of an adverse gap. The exact reduction depends on your account's remaining drawdown buffer and the instrument's historical gap behavior.
Related Articles
- Prop Firm Risk Management Rules Explained
- Best Prop Firms for Forex in 2026
- Best 1-Step Prop Firm Challenges in 2026
Disclosure: TraderNotion may earn a commission through affiliate links in this article. This does not influence our rankings — every placement is based on the criteria outlined above. Weekend holding policies and pricing were verified as of September 2026 and may change. Always confirm current terms directly with each firm before purchasing an account or holding positions over the weekend.
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