# What is Activation fee?

> Also called: Funded account fee, PA fee, Account setup fee

**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.

**On today's board.** 49 of the 155 priced accounts that state an activation fee charge one; the board holds 172 priced accounts in total. Data checked October 15, 2026.

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.

- Guides on this term: [How to pass a futures prop firm evaluation](https://fillprint.io/en/journal/how-to-pass-a-futures-prop-firm-evaluation)
- Calculators: [Prop firm evaluation cost calculator](https://fillprint.io/en/tools/evaluation-cost)
- Shortlists: [Prop firms with no monthly fee](https://fillprint.io/en/prop-firms/best/no-monthly-fee)
- Read next: [Funded account](https://fillprint.io/en/glossary/funded-account)
- Read next: [Reset fee](https://fillprint.io/en/glossary/reset-fee)
- Read next: [Evaluation](https://fillprint.io/en/glossary/evaluation)

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Futures trading involves substantial risk of loss and is not suitable for every investor. fillprint is an independent publication, not a broker or a prop firm.

Some links are affiliate links: if you sign up through them, the firm or DeepCharts pays us a commission, at no extra cost to you, and often with a discount for you. Affiliate links are marked and carry rel="sponsored". Being an affiliate never moves a firm up the board. Firms without a program stay listed, marked “no affiliation”.

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