In short. An activation fee is the amount a prop firm charges to open the funded account after a passed evaluation, as a one-time payment or a monthly subscription. It ranges from zero to several hundred dollars and is rarely shown next to the evaluation price, which is why the real cost of an account is evaluation plus resets plus activation.
Two accounts at the same evaluation price can differ by $200 or more once activation is counted. The board shows activation when the firm publishes it and says 'not stated' otherwise; the cost calculator flags accounts whose activation is unknown rather than assuming zero.
Monthly activation ('PA subscription') keeps charging while the account is open, so a slow first payout costs more than it looks. Firms with no activation fee usually price it into the evaluation.
Questions traders ask
What is Activation fee?
An activation fee is the amount a prop firm charges to open the funded account after a passed evaluation, as a one-time payment or a monthly subscription. It ranges from zero to several hundred dollars and is rarely shown next to the evaluation price, which is why the real cost of an account is evaluation plus resets plus activation.