Introduction
This Upcomers review finds a firm with detailed public rules and fast advertised payouts. It also finds a sharp rise in recent payout-denial complaints. Royal Flow – FZCO, licensed in Dubai’s IFZA free zone, provides the simulated accounts. Upcomers Ltd. is registered in Saint Lucia. Both say they are not brokers, and traders deposit no capital. Under TraderVerified’s five-factor prop intelligence methodology, Upcomers scores 43 out of 100. That is a Bronze Standard.
Will Upcomers pay you when you profit? Possibly, but its rules can delay or shrink the withdrawal. Payouts are capped in steps, and the first cap on a $100,000 account is $1,000. A denied payout over a rule violation can limit future payouts on that account to 50%. We found no independent audit of payouts, so the answer carries real uncertainty. Research date: November 7, 2026.
Capital Architecture & Legal Framework
Is Upcomers Legit?
Upcomers is an openly disclosed business, but it is not a regulated financial firm. Its help center lists Royal Flow – FZCO (license 35886, Dubai Silicon Oasis) as the provider of simulated accounts and the operator of TradeLocker, Match-Trader and cTrader. It lists Upcomers Ltd. (Saint Lucia, registration 2025-00579) as the entity for additional platforms still being integrated. A third-party review also names a Cyprus payment entity and calls the Saint Lucia company the parent. We could not confirm those two claims in an official record. We also did not retrieve registry filings, so the corporate findings are desk-based and unverified against registries.
The founding date is unclear. One third-party review says the firm launched on August 26, 2024. A platform directory lists the United Arab Emirates and 2023. Upcomers does not state a date on the pages we reviewed.
Every account is simulated. Upcomers says it trades for its own account using data from clients’ funded accounts. It decides which trades to copy, a process it calls A-booking, and says this does not affect payouts. That is a self-reported claim. How payouts are financed is undisclosed. The same firm reviews payouts and chooses which trades to mirror, which is a structural conflict of interest. That is our interpretation, not proof of wrongdoing.
Traders can use MT5, TradeLocker, Match-Trader and cTrader, plus Hyperliquid perpetuals. Futures trade on Upcomers X against live CME prices. A third-party review reports 21 blocked countries, including Russia, Iran and Venezuela.
Account Tiers & Challenge Ecosystem
Account Tiers and Prop Firm Challenge Cost
Upcomers offers eleven programs, from half-step challenges to timed instant funding. Five are step-based challenges, three are instant funding, and three are time-limited formats.
| Program | Format | Profit target | Daily loss | Max loss |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ash | Half-step | 2% | 3% | 6% dynamic |
| Thunderbolt | 1-step | 5% | 3% | 6% dynamic |
| Phoenix | 2-step | 4% → 4% | 4% | 6% static |
| Horizon | 1-step | 9% | 3% | 6% dynamic |
| Odyssey | 2-step | 6% → 6% | 4% | 6% dynamic |
| Vanguard, Oracle, Ember | Instant funding | None | 4%, 4%, none | 8%, 5%, 4% trailing |
Source: Upcomers help center, CFD programs. Rules vary by purchase date.
What does it cost?
The current checkout price of the $100,000 Thunderbolt account is Not Verified. A third-party listing shows a 75% discount code taking a $100,000 one-step to $289.75. That implies a $1,159 list price by our arithmetic. The same listing shows rules that differ from the help center, so treat it cautiously. Affiliate sites also advertise 90% codes, so promotional prices swing widely.
Hidden prop firm fees
Bank payouts cost $19.90 plus 2.49%. Crypto payouts cost $19.90 plus 30%, unless over half your orders were paid in crypto. Some futures plans charge an activation fee after funding. Failed fees are not refunded. After a third approved payout on challenge programs, you can request a bonus of 200% of the fee. Changing the profit split from the 90% standard also changes the price.
Instant funding and scaling
Instant funding skips the evaluation but tightens limits and adds minimum profitable days. The prop firm scaling plan adds 35% to the initial balance every four months on Thunderbolt, Astral and Vanguard. Upcomers advertises funding scalable to $4 million. The full eligibility terms are Not Verified.
Peer benchmark
Our sample has only two peers, so it is not an industry median.
| $100,000 account | Upcomers Thunderbolt | E8 Markets 1-step | FTMO 2-step |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fee | Not Verified | $488 | €540 |
| Target | 5% | 9% | 10% then 5% |
| Daily loss | 3% | 4% | 5% |
| Max loss | 6% trailing | 6% | 10% static |
| Profit split | Up to 100% | 80% | 80–90% |
Sources: TradeLocker Hub, third-party FTMO summaries. Prices are undated.
Evaluation Rules & Fine Print
Upcomers Rules: Evaluation and Fine Print
The loss rules are clear and public. The strategy rules are broader and are judged after profits appear. On Thunderbolt, you need 5% profit with no minimum trading days. The 3% daily limit runs from 00:00 to 23:59 UTC. The 6% Dynamic Risk Shield trails your highest equity and stops rising once it reaches your starting balance. On a $100,000 account, reaching $105,000 lifts the floor to $98,700.
Funded accounts add conditions. A realized loss above 3% on one trade is a hard breach. You need 1% of new profit between payouts. No single day may exceed 20% of profit since your last payout, but that Best Day Rule only delays a payout.
Prohibited strategies include martingale, grid trading, hedging, tick scalping and one-sided bets. Even one trade closed in under two minutes counts as tick scalping. Upcomers reviews trading at payout time, and its HFT definition gives no numeric threshold. News trading and weekend holding are allowed.
Rules also change by purchase date. Vanguard’s shield is 8% on accounts bought from November 2, 2026, and 7% before. Futures Best Day Rules also changed on October 29, 2026. Read the page for your exact product and date.
Payout Reliability & Reputation
Upcomers Payout Reliability and Trader Reputation
Evidence on payouts is mixed, with material unresolved disputes. Upcomers publishes its process. A Risk Team review takes 24 to 48 hours, and trading is frozen meanwhile. Caps on a $100,000 account rise from $1,000 to $7,500 over seven payouts. The cap is unlimited from the eighth payout, under an individual agreement. Partial approvals or declines do not advance the cap.
Independent confirmation is thin. We found no independent payout tracker. Trustpilot shows no rating for Upcomers because of a guideline breach, and says it removed fake reviews. Of 557 reviews, 51% are five-star and 34% are one-star.
Recent complaints cluster around post-profit compliance reviews. Reviewers describe denied payouts citing martingale, tick scalping and late stop-losses, followed by account resets. Upcomers’ own policy confirms that a declined payout over a violation permanently limits later payouts on that account to 50%. Other reviewers say accounts were suspended for an A-Book migration and payouts stayed unpaid for months. These are unverified allegations. Complaints dated November 2026 include identity-verification bans and an unpaid $200 request.
There are positive reports too. One reviewer received a first $500 payout and was warned about tick scalping rather than denied. Company replies to critics are largely templated. Complaints alone do not show fraud. The pattern does show material uncertainty.
Strengths & Weaknesses
Strengths
- Detailed, public help center with worked examples
- Low entry prices and a 200% fee bonus after three payouts
- News trading and weekend holding allowed
- Up to 100% profit split, with a 90% standard
- Several platforms, including MT5 and cTrader
- Disclosed entities and license number
Weaknesses
- Many programs with different, date-dependent rules
- Step-based payout caps limit early withdrawals
- Two-minute tick-scalping rule and broad one-sided-bet rule
- Crypto payout fee of 30% in many cases
- Permanent 50% payout limit after a declined payout
- No independent payout audit; Trustpilot rating suppressed
Verdict
Overall Verdict
Upcomers earns a Bronze Standard with a composite score of 43 out of 100. The score reflects disclosed rules and cheap entry, offset by capped payouts, discretionary enforcement and disputed payout outcomes.
Disciplined traders who hold positions over two minutes, trade both directions and read their program’s page may do well. Scalpers, high-frequency styles, grid users and one-directional traders are poorly suited. The biggest unresolved risks are payout denials after profits, the A-Book suspensions and the lack of independent payout proof. Against FTMO and E8 in our small sample, Upcomers wins on flexibility and loses on proven reputation. Score reliability is limited by affiliate-heavy sources, no registry checks and no verified checkout pricing.
FAQ
It is a disclosed business with a Dubai license and a Saint Lucia registration. It is not a regulated financial firm, and its payout record is disputed. We found no proof of fraud, but we also found no independent payout verification.
Some traders report receiving payouts, including first payouts of several hundred dollars. Others report denials after compliance reviews. Payouts are capped, and a declined payout can cut later payouts on that account to 50%.
Prices vary by program, size and promotion. The $100,000 Thunderbolt price is Not Verified. Third-party listings show entry sizes from about $39 after discounts.
Yes, Upcomers allows both on its programs. Futures-specific limits include a 14-day inactivity closure reported by a third party.
Failed challenge fees are not refunded. After three approved payouts on challenge programs, you can request a bonus of 200% of the fee. It does not apply to instant funding.
No. Accounts are simulated, and Upcomers says payouts are paid in real money when the conditions are met.
Staff Insight
Staff Insight
This is an independent desk-based editorial assessment. We did no firsthand testing, staff interviews or platform measurements.
Corporate transparency is above average for the sector, since the firm names entities and a license. Claims of “guaranteed” payouts sit awkwardly beside caps, discretionary reviews and a 50% penalty. The company page itself says testimonials and payout certificates should be treated as hypothetical. Contract clarity suffers from many variants and changing terms. We found no disclosed execution metrics or outage data. Dispute handling shows a repeated pattern of public replies inviting private follow-up. Some traders say they were offered money to remove reviews. Those are single, unverified claims. Several high-ranking reviews also carry affiliate links, so treat them as marketing.
Composite Score & Matrix
| Methodology Dimension | Weight | Raw Score / 100 | Weighted Points | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Payout Reliability & Proof | 30% | 35 | 10.5 | |
| Rule Transparency & Capital Safeguards | 25% | 40 | 10.0 | |
| Pricing & Fee Structure Efficiency | 20% | 55 | 11.0 | |
| Technical Infrastructure & Liquidity Flow | 15% | 50 | 7.5 | |
| Staff Insight & Professional Judgment | 10% | 40 | 4.0 | |
| Composite Total | 100% | — | 43.0 / 100 |
Evaluation Summary Matrix
| Evaluation Metric | Verified Terms |
|---|---|
| Cost of Flagship $100,000 Account | Not Verified (third-party implied list $1,159; promos vary) |
| Stage 1 Profit Target | 5% (Thunderbolt 1-step, CFD) |
| Stage 2 Profit Target | Not Offered (1-step); Phoenix 2-step is 4% then 4% |
| Maximum Daily Loss | 3% ($3,000) |
| Maximum Overall Loss | 6% ($6,000) |
| Drawdown Type | Trailing Dynamic Risk Shield; stops rising at starting balance |
| Profit Split | Up to 100%; 90% standard; 80% or 100% selectable at checkout |
| Payout Frequency | On demand after 1% new profit; step-based caps |
| Maximum Scaling Allocation | $4M advertised; funded sizes up to $1.5M; scaling terms Not Verified |
