Aqua Futures Review
Some links on this page are affiliate links. How we earn money.
Aqua Futures rules, prices and payouts, checked on September 14, 2026 against aquafunded.com.
- Market
- Futures
- Programs
- One Step Beginner, One Step Standard, One Step Flex, Instant Funded
- Accounts up to
- $150K
- Platforms
- Tradovate, DeepCharts
Aqua Futures is now the futures section of AquaFunded. The old aquafutures.io address redirects to aquafunded.com/futures, while the trading app, the help center and the support email still use the AquaFutures name. AquaFunded's Terms name Aqua Funded FZCO in Dubai as the site operator and AquaFunded LTD, a Saint Lucia company, as the provider of the simulated trading services.
The futures lineup has three one-step challenges, One Step Beginner, One Step Standard and One Step Flex, plus Instant Funded (Standard), which skips the challenge. Profit splits vary widely across the lineup, from 80% on Flex to 100% on Beginner and Instant Funded. The other defining feature is a detailed conduct rulebook: fully automated trading is banned on every account type, and a Risk Team keeps reviewing accounts after they're funded.
Pros and cons
Pros
- One Step Beginner and Instant Funded (Standard) pay a 100% profit split, with weekly payouts.
- One Step Standard and One Step Flex have no daily loss limit.
- Every program uses a drawdown labeled End of Day (EOD), not an intraday one.
- One Step Beginner states no activation fee and a $250 minimum reward request, and allows micro contracts.
- Instant Funded (Standard) gives you a funded account at $50K or $100K with no challenge.
- All programs are sold as one-time fees, not monthly subscriptions.
Cons
- Trustpilot currently shows a banner on the aquafunded.com page that reads 'This company's rating is unavailable due to a breach of our guidelines.', along with the notice 'We've removed a number of fake reviews for this company.'
- The Terms let the firm deny a withdrawal after a risk review at any stage, although the homepage advertises 'Payout Guarantee No Denials'. The help center also says funded accounts stay under ongoing review, with payout denial and profit removal among the possible actions.
- Each price is shown next to a struck-through list price during a promotion, and it isn't clear which one is the regular price.
- The help center marks Standard, Flex and Instant as '{Old}' while the website still sells them, and minimum trading days aren't listed for any program.
- Fully automated trading is prohibited, 100 or more trades in a day aren't allowed, and at least half your closed trades must stay open longer than 1 minute.
Aqua Futures programs and prices
| Program | Accounts and prices | Profit target | Daily loss limit | Max drawdown |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| One Step Beginner | Sizes $25K · $50K · $100K · $150K. Prices not clearly published. | $1,500 / $3,000 / $6,000 / $9,000 (25K / 50K / 100K / 150K) | $600 / $1,250 / $2,500 / $3,750 (challenge and funded) | $1,000 / $2,500 / $3,500 / $5,000 |
| One Step Standard | Sizes $25K · $50K · $100K · $150K. Prices not clearly published. | $1,250 / $3,000 / $6,000 / $9,000 (25K / 50K / 100K / 150K) | None | $1,000 / $2,000 / $3,500 / $5,000 |
| One Step Flex | Sizes $50K · $100K · $150K. Prices not clearly published. | $2,500 / $5,000 / $7,000 (50K / 100K / 150K) | None | $1,500 / $2,500 / $3,500 |
| Instant Funded (Standard) | Sizes $50K · $100K. Prices not clearly published. | None — no challenge ('Skip the Challenge & Get Instantly Funded') | $1,250 / $2,500 (50K / 100K) | $2,500 / $3,500 |
One Step Beginner rules
| Rule | One Step Beginner |
|---|---|
| Drawdown type | End of Day (EOD) |
| Consistency rule | 40% (challenge and funded) |
| Contracts / leverage | 1 / 3 / 6 / 9 contracts; micro contracts allowed |
| Activation fee | None |
| Profit split | 100% |
| Payout frequency | Weekly; minimum reward request $250; reward cap per request $750 / $1,500 / $3,000 / $4,500 |
Not clearly published by the firm: minimum trading days.
One Step Standard rules
| Rule | One Step Standard |
|---|---|
| Drawdown type | EOD |
| Consistency rule | None in challenge; 40% on funded account |
| Contracts / leverage | 2 / 4 / 6 / 10 contracts |
| Profit split | 90% |
| Payout frequency | On Demand |
Not clearly published by the firm: minimum trading days, activation fee.
One Step Flex rules
| Rule | One Step Flex |
|---|---|
| Drawdown type | EOD |
| Consistency rule | 40% in challenge; none on funded account |
| Contracts / leverage | 2 / 4 / 6 contracts |
| Profit split | 80% |
| Payout frequency | On Demand |
Not clearly published by the firm: minimum trading days, activation fee.
Instant Funded (Standard) rules
| Rule | Instant Funded (Standard) |
|---|---|
| Drawdown type | EOD |
| Consistency rule | 20% |
| Contracts / leverage | 3 / 6 contracts |
| Profit split | 100% |
| Payout frequency | Weekly |
Not clearly published by the firm: minimum trading days, activation fee.
Trading restrictions and platforms
- News trading: Restricted at the firm's discretion — 'Trading during major Tier-1 economic releases may also be restricted depending on market conditions, volatility levels, and platform stability requirements'; strategies exploiting 'news-related execution anomalies' are prohibited
- Weekend holding: Not stated by the firm
- EAs and bots: Prohibited — 'fully automated systems, unattended algorithms, trading bots, AI-driven execution software, latency arbitrage systems' are 'strictly prohibited across all AquaFutures account types'; semi-automated tools only while the trader is fully present; traders 'may not execute 100 or more trades within a single trading day'; copy trading between unrelated traders and hedging across accounts prohibited
- Platforms: Tradovate, DeepCharts
- Instruments: Futures (Mini and Micro contracts; CME Group products, e.g. NQ / MNQ)
Who Aqua Futures suits
Aqua Futures suits discretionary futures traders who want a one-time fee and a high profit split. One Step Beginner is the obvious entry point: the $25K account allows 1 contract, micros are allowed, and it pays 100% with weekly payouts.
It suits automated traders poorly. The help center says 'fully automated systems, unattended algorithms, trading bots, AI-driven execution software, latency arbitrage systems' are 'strictly prohibited across all AquaFutures account types'. Semi-automated tools are allowed only while you're fully present, and you may not execute 100 or more trades within a single trading day.
Scalpers face extra conditions. At least 50% of your closed trades must stay open longer than 1 minute, and at least 50% of profits must come from those trades. Your average risk-to-reward must stay above 0.3RR, and you can't hold opposing Mini and Micro positions on the same asset at the same time. Copy trading between unrelated traders and hedging across accounts are prohibited.
At checkout, Tradovate and DeepCharts are the platforms offered, and the help center also carries NinjaTrader how-to articles. Trading covers Mini and Micro CME Group futures such as NQ and MNQ.
How the EOD drawdown and daily loss limit work
Every Aqua Futures program lists its drawdown as End of Day (EOD). An EOD drawdown is judged on your balance at the close rather than on open profit during the session, which is what an intraday trailing drawdown tracks. The website table doesn't spell out whether Aqua's EOD level trails higher closing balances or stops at some point, so confirm that with support.
Here's why that detail matters on a $50K One Step Beginner, which has a $2,500 drawdown and a $1,250 daily loss limit. You start at $50,000, so the account can fall to $47,500. Say you close day one at $51,500: if the level trails your closing balance, it moves to $49,000 and you still have $2,500 of room. If it doesn't trail, your room is now $4,000.
The EOD label also protects you from intraday swings. With an intraday trailing drawdown, a trade that ran $1,000 into profit and then closed flat could leave you $1,000 closer to the limit. An end-of-day measure ignores that round trip.
Beginner's daily loss limit applies in the challenge and once funded: $600, $1,250, $2,500 or $3,750 by size. At $100K it's $2,500 against a $3,500 drawdown, so one bad day can use most of your room. Instant Funded (Standard) has limits of $1,250 and $2,500. Standard and Flex have none, which leaves the drawdown as the only loss limit the website table gives them.
What Aqua Futures costs
All four programs are one-time purchases, not monthly subscriptions. The exact price is harder to pin down. The pricing table shows each account at a promotional price next to a struck-through list price, and the list prices look calculated backwards from the promotional ones, so it isn't clear which is the regular price. That's why the programs table above shows account sizes without prices.
One Step Beginner states no activation fee. The website table doesn't say either way for Standard, Flex or Instant Funded (Standard). Check the total at checkout rather than relying on either figure on the pricing table.
Payouts and profit split
One Step Beginner pays 100% with weekly payouts. The minimum reward request is $250, and each request is capped at $750, $1,500, $3,000 or $4,500 by account size. On a $50K Beginner, even a strong week pays out at most $1,500 per request.
The Beginner help article adds a balance target before you're eligible for rewards: $26,500, $53,500 and $107,000 for the $25K, $50K and $100K accounts. It lists $110,500 for the $150K account, which doesn't fit the pattern of the other sizes, so confirm that figure with support. Beginner's 40% consistency rule also stays in force once funded.
Instant Funded (Standard) also pays 100% weekly, with a 20% consistency rule. One Step Standard pays 90% and One Step Flex 80%, both on demand. The website table doesn't give a minimum request or a payout cap for those three programs.
Risk signals and rules that catch traders out
Trustpilot currently shows a banner on the page for aquafunded.com, the domain aquafutures.io now redirects to, that reads: 'This company's rating is unavailable due to a breach of our guidelines.' The same page carries the notice 'We've removed a number of fake reviews for this company.' The separate Trustpilot page for aquafutures.io showed no such banner.
The payout promise and the payout terms don't line up. The homepage advertises 'Payout Guarantee No Denials', yet the Terms say Aqua Funded may perform a risk review on accounts at any stage and 'reserves the right to terminate an account or agreement or deny a withdrawal request if it is deemed a customer has abused margin availability on an account or not applied an appropriate risk management strategy.'
Review doesn't stop once you're funded. The help center states that 'Passing an evaluation or reaching funded status does not exempt any account from future compliance reviews', and lists 'profit removal, payout denial, account suspension, evaluation failure, funded account termination, or permanent platform bans' as possible outcomes.
Then there's the product status. The help center labels Standard Evaluation, Flex, Instant Standard and Instant Pro as '{Old}' and lists only Beginner as current, while the website still sells Standard, Flex and Instant Funded. The AquaFunded Terms, updated March 26, 2025, don't mention futures at all. Trading during major Tier-1 economic releases may be restricted depending on market conditions, and the weekend holding rule isn't clearly published.
Beginner, Standard, Flex or Instant: which program fits
One Step Beginner is the only model the help center lists as current, and the one with the most published detail. It suits traders who accept a daily loss limit and a 40% consistency rule in both stages in return for a 100% split and weekly payouts.
One Step Standard removes the daily loss limit and the challenge consistency rule, and allows more contracts than Beginner at every size except $100K. Its $50K drawdown is tighter, though, at $2,000 against Beginner's $2,500, and it pays 90%. One Step Flex reverses the consistency setup, 40% in the challenge and none once funded, but pays 80% and starts at $50K.
Instant Funded (Standard) is for traders who want to skip the challenge. It keeps a daily loss limit ($1,250 at $50K), a 20% consistency rule and a limit of 3 or 6 contracts, and pays 100% weekly. Given the '{Old}' label on everything except Beginner, ask support whether a program's rules are still current before buying Standard, Flex or Instant.
Verdict
Aqua Futures fits discretionary futures traders who want a one-time fee, an end-of-day drawdown and a high split, especially on One Step Beginner, which pays 100% weekly. It's a poor fit for bot users, fast scalpers and anyone who wants clearly stated regular prices. Weigh the risk signals before you buy: Trustpilot's page for aquafunded.com shows a guidelines-breach banner and a fake-review removal notice, the Terms allow withdrawal denials after a risk review despite the 'No Denials' homepage claim, and funded accounts remain under ongoing review with payout denial among the possible outcomes.
Frequently asked questions
Is Aqua Futures legit?
Aqua Futures operates under AquaFunded, whose Terms name Aqua Funded FZCO in Dubai and AquaFunded LTD in Saint Lucia. On September 14, 2026, neither the firm nor these entities appeared on the FCA or FINMA warning lists. Trustpilot currently shows a banner on the aquafunded.com page reading ‘This company’s rating is unavailable due to a breach of our guidelines.’, along with the notice ‘We’ve removed a number of fake reviews for this company.’
Can Aqua Futures deny a payout?
Its own documents say it can. The Terms allow Aqua Funded to deny a withdrawal request after a risk review if it deems a customer ‘has abused margin availability on an account or not applied an appropriate risk management strategy’, even though the homepage advertises ‘Payout Guarantee No Denials’. The help center adds that funded accounts stay under ongoing review, with profit removal and payout denial among the possible actions.
Is Aqua Futures the same as AquaFunded?
In practice, yes. aquafutures.io now redirects to aquafunded.com/futures, and checkout runs through AquaFunded. The app, help center and support email still use the AquaFutures name, and AquaFunded’s Terms, last updated March 26, 2025, don’t mention futures.
Does Aqua Futures allow trading bots?
No. Fully automated systems, trading bots and AI-driven execution software are prohibited on all AquaFutures account types. Semi-automated tools are allowed only while you’re fully present, and you can’t execute 100 or more trades in a single trading day.
Does Aqua Futures have a daily loss limit?
One Step Beginner does, in the challenge and once funded: $600, $1,250, $2,500 or $3,750 by size. Instant Funded (Standard) has $1,250 at $50K and $2,500 at $100K. One Step Standard and One Step Flex have no daily loss limit.
How much does Aqua Futures cost?
Every program is a one-time fee, but the regular price isn’t clear. The pricing table shows a promotional price beside a struck-through list price, and it’s not certain which one is regular, so check the total at checkout. One Step Beginner has no activation fee; the website table doesn’t state one for the other programs.
Sources
- pricing
- rules
- rules
- faq
- faq
- rules
- terms
- trustpilot
- trustpilot
- regulator check (FCA Warning List) – no match
- regulator check (FINMA warning list) – no match
