When you buy a prop firm challenge, the firm decides which affiliate gets paid by reading one of two things: a tracking cookie left by the last referral link you clicked, or the discount code you type at checkout. On several firms' own terms the code wins. Neither one changes the price you pay. The cookie can be set without you meaning to, though, and you can check for that in about two minutes with the browser you already have.
This came to a head in late October 2026. A large prop firm comparison site admitted that, until 30 October, clicking a firm or a code on its pages opened that firm's website through the site's own affiliate link. Archived copies of its code show the page you asked for opening in a new tab while the tab you had been reading was quietly sent to the firm, once per firm per browser per day. The site said it "should not have happened" and that it takes full responsibility, and at least three firms ended their affiliate partnerships with it that week. The rest of this guide is about the mechanics, and how to spot the same pattern anywhere.
- Typical commission
- 5–20% of the fee
- Cookie window
- 60 days where published
- Who gets credit
- Usually the last click
- Typed code
- Often beats a cookie
- Effect on your price
- None from the cookie
- Time to check a site
- About 2 minutes
How do prop firm affiliate links track you?
An affiliate link is the firm's normal web address with a partner ID attached. When you open it, the firm's site stores that ID in your browser, usually as a cookie, and keeps it for a set number of days. If you buy a challenge inside that window, the partner whose ID is stored is credited with a share of what you paid.
Tradeify puts it in one line on its partner page:
This link stores a cookie on the user's device for 60 days.
Tradeify, Become an Affiliate
Here is what five firms say on their own affiliate pages.
| Prop firm | Stated commission | Cookie window | Link or code |
|---|---|---|---|
| FTMO | 8–20% one-time on challenges, by tier; futures 10–18% recurring for up to 12 months | Not stated | Link covers all products; a code only works at FTMO Futures checkout. Credit is fixed at purchase |
| FundedNext | 10%, 12% or 15% on a CFD first purchase; futures 8%, 10% or 12% for life | 60 days from first click | Links plus personal codes; if two partner links are clicked, the last one wins |
| Tradeify | 15% on Growth and Advanced, 10% on Straight to Sim Funded, 5% on resets | 60 days | Another affiliate's code takes priority over your link cookie |
| Goat Funded Trader | Up to 20% on a first sale, then tiered | Not stated | Link based; codes shown are customer discounts |
| Topstep | Not published; approval only | Not applicable (code only) | Code only; the buyer gets 20% off |
Each firm's own affiliate or partner page, read on 1 November 2026. Rates are what an affiliate earns, not a discount to you, except where stated.
Commission is a share of the fee, so a pricier account pays the referrer more. Attribution also varies: FTMO locks it at purchase, FundedNext gives it to the last link, Tradeify lets a code override a cookie, and Topstep uses codes alone.
Affiliate link vs discount code: which gets credit?
On most programmes, a discount code typed at checkout is the stronger signal, and the most recent link click comes second. A cookie can be replaced by any later referral link that passes through your browser, whether you noticed it or not.
Link cookie
Set when a referral link loads the firm's site. It sits in your browser for the window the firm sets (60 days at FundedNext and Tradeify). A later partner link can replace it on last-click programmes. You cannot see it without opening developer tools.
Discount code
Typed or pasted at checkout, so it is visible and deliberate. At Tradeify another affiliate's code beats an existing cookie. At Topstep the code is the only thing that counts. It is also the thing that gives you a lower price.
The worked case below uses FundedNext's stated rates, because its page spells out both the window and the last-click rule.
Who earns what on a $500 FundedNext challenge
- You watch a trading creator's video on 1 October and click their FundedNext link. A cookie with their partner ID is stored for 60 days from that first click.
- On 12 October you browse another site, and its link to FundedNext loads through a second partner ID. Under "last click wins", that second partner now holds the credit.
- On 15 October you buy a $500 CFD challenge. At the Silver rate of 10%, the second partner is credited $50 and FundedNext keeps $450. The creator from step 1 gets $0.
- If the second partner is on the Gold tier, the figure is 12%, or $60. On Platinum it is 15%, or $75.
- You pay $500 in every version of this story. If you ask for a refund inside FundedNext's 14-day window, the commission is clawed back from that partner's next settlement.
Rates and window from FundedNext's partner page, read 1 November 2026. The dates and the $500 price are illustrative.
Run the same purchase at Tradeify and the outcome turns on the code. Suppose a cookie is sitting in your browser and you then type a different affiliate's code at checkout. Tradeify's page says the code takes priority, so on a Growth plan that affiliate earns 15% of the fee, or $75 on a $500 account. The affiliate behind the cookie earns nothing. FTMO is the strict case: whatever is attached when you buy is final, because its terms say attribution "does not change afterwards".
Does an affiliate link change the price you pay?
No. On every programme in the table, the commission is paid by the firm out of the fee you were already going to pay. A cookie in your browser carries no discount and adds no cost. If the second partner in the example above had never existed, you would still have paid $500.
Your price changes only through the code you enter, and the codes themselves are often the same size whoever supplies them. FundedNext says a partner's personal code matches every official FundedNext discount. Topstep's affiliate codes give the buyer 20% off. So switching from one creator's code to another's usually changes who gets paid and leaves your price where it was. You can see which firms have live codes on our offers page, and compare the challenges themselves on the comparison tool.
How to check a site for affiliate redirects
The pattern to look for is simple: you click a link that does not say it goes to a firm, and a firm's site loads anyway, with a partner ID in the address. The steps use Chrome; Firefox and Edge have the same panels.
- Start in a private window. The code described above remembered, in local storage, which firms it had already redirected you to that day. A normal window that has visited the site before can look clean on a second visit. A fresh private window starts with no history.
- Open DevTools before you click. Press F12, choose the Network panel and tick "Preserve log", so the record survives the page changing. Right-click the column headers and turn on "Set cookies" to see which responses wrote one.
- Click an internal link and watch the tabs. Use a control such as "profile", "details", "read review" or "copy code". If a new tab opens, go back to the tab you started in. If it now shows the firm's website instead of the page you were reading, that is the swapped-tab pattern.
- Read the address you landed on. Look at the firm's URL in the address bar and in the Network log for a partner parameter:
ref,aff,affiliate,sub1tosub7,utm_tags or a long partner ID. A redirect through a separate tracking domain before the firm's site loads is the same thing in a different shape. - Look in Application. In DevTools open Application, then Cookies, and pick the firm's domain to see what was stored. Names vary by tracking platform, so look for anything with ref, aff or partner in it. On the site you clicked from, check Local Storage too. The archived code kept a key called
affiliate_redirectswith a date and a list of firms. - Check where the firm thinks you came from. On the firm's tab, open Console and type
document.referrer. It shows the page that sent you. - Repeat the click to test the daily limit. Click the same control again in the same window. If nothing unusual happens the second time, close every private window, open a new one and try once more. Behaviour that appears only on the first click per firm per day, and returns in a fresh session, is the pattern from the archived code.
A clean link says it goes to the firm and opens one tab. Chrome documents the Network panel features used here in its DevTools network reference.
What should you do if a site redirects you?
You do not need to do anything to protect your own money, because the redirect does not change your price. What you can do is make sure the right person is credited and tell the firm what you saw.
- Clear the firm's cookies before you buy. In Application, right-click the firm's domain under Cookies and choose Clear, or buy from a fresh private window.
- Credit the partner you mean to. Type their code at checkout on firms that rank a code first, such as Tradeify. On a last-click firm such as FundedNext, click their link last, just before you buy.
- Save what you saw. Export the Network log (the download icon in the Network panel saves a HAR file), take a screenshot of both tabs and note the time.
- Send it to the firm's affiliate or support team. Firms enforce their own terms. Topstep's say it may withhold compensation for codes it deems "fraudulent, abusive, self-referred". Tradeify ended a partnership in October after finding that referrals "broke our affiliate terms".
- Look for the disclosure. The FTC says an affiliate relationship should be disclosed clearly and close to the link.
How do Prop Firm Pal's outbound links work?
We earn commission from some of the firms we list, so this applies to us as much as anyone. This is how the site's code handles links to firms today.
- The Buy button on a firm profile appears only for verified firms with an affiliate link on record. It is a standard
<a>element pointing at that link, withtarget="_blank"andrel="noopener noreferrer". It opens the firm in a new tab when you click it, and the tab you were reading stays on our page. - The Buy buttons in firm tables are built the same way.
- Copying a code puts it on your clipboard and records that a code was copied. It does not open or redirect any tab.
- Links from blog articles to other sites, including this one, are rewritten to open in a new tab with
rel="sponsored nofollow noopener". - Our analytics script counts an outbound click when you click a link whose address is on another domain. It reads the address of the link you actually clicked.
- The shared site code calls
window.openin one place: the share buttons on blog articles.
You can run the steps above on our pages, such as the FundedNext profile or the Topstep profile, and check this for yourself.
Frequently asked questions
Does using an affiliate link cost me more?
No. The firm pays the affiliate a share of the fee it already charges you. The cookie carries no discount and no surcharge.
Which wins, an affiliate link or a discount code?
It depends on the firm. At Tradeify another affiliate's code beats a link cookie. At FundedNext the last partner link clicked wins. Topstep runs on codes only, and FTMO fixes credit at the moment you buy.
How long does a prop firm affiliate cookie last?
FundedNext and Tradeify both publish 60 days. FTMO and Goat Funded Trader do not state a window on their affiliate pages, and Topstep runs a code-only programme.
How much does an affiliate earn from my challenge?
Usually 5–20% of the fee. On a $500 challenge that is $50 at FundedNext's 10% Silver rate, or $75 at Tradeify's 15% Growth rate.
