City Traders Imperium Review 2026

City Traders Imperium was founded in 2018 in London by Daniel Martin, who brings over two decades of professional trading experience. Co-founded with Martin Najat, CTI was built to address what the founders saw as a broken relationship between retail traders and prop firms. The company now operates from Dubai Silicon Oasis as CTI FZCO and has grown into one of the more established names in the proprietary trading space, serving traders worldwide with a focus on transparency, community, and fair evaluation processes.

CTI offers three distinct funding programs designed to suit different trader profiles. The 2-Step Challenge is their most affordable option, starting at just $39 for a $2,500 account, requiring traders to hit a 10% profit target in Phase 1 and 5% in Phase 2 with a 10% static drawdown and 5% daily drawdown. The 1-Step Challenge simplifies the process with a single 8% profit target and a 5% trailing drawdown, ideal for confident traders who want faster funding. For those who prefer to skip evaluations entirely, the Instant Funding program provides immediate funded accounts with a 6% static drawdown, though at a premium price point.

CTI maintains one of the more permissive rule sets in the industry. All programs allow expert advisors, copy trading, news trading, and weekend position holding. The 2-Step Challenge uses a balance-based drawdown calculation — meaning only closed trade results count toward breach limits, not floating equity. This gives traders more breathing room during volatile periods. The daily drawdown of 5% resets each trading day based on your starting balance, while the overall 10% drawdown is a fixed floor from your initial balance. The 1-Step uses a trailing drawdown of 5%, which moves up with your highest balance but never moves down.

CTI boasts one of the fastest payout processes in the industry, with withdrawals processed within 5 hours. Funded traders can receive bi-weekly payouts, and the profit split starts at 70% and scales up to 100% through their performance-based scaling plan. The scaling system allows traders to grow their accounts up to $4 million in total allocation. KYC verification is required before the first payout, following standard industry practice.

CTI's pricing is competitive, especially at the entry level. The 2-Step Challenge starts at just $39 for a $2,500 account — one of the lowest entry points in the industry. The $100K 2-Step account at $519 represents good value compared to peers. The 1-Step program commands a premium ($149 for $10K vs $99 for 2-Step $10K), justified by the simpler one-phase evaluation. Instant Funding starts at $599 for $10K, which is standard for skip-evaluation programs. Challenge fees are refundable upon first payout.

CTI is ideally suited for forex and multi-asset traders who value flexible trading rules and fast payouts. The affordable 2-Step Challenge starting at $39 makes it accessible for beginners and traders on a budget, while the 1-Step and Instant Funding programs serve experienced traders who want quicker access to capital. The balance-based drawdown system particularly benefits swing traders and those who hold positions through volatile periods, as floating losses do not trigger breach conditions.

Traders considering CTI should compare with FXIFY for their multi-platform support (MT4/MT5/cTrader), FundedNext for their higher starting profit splits, and The5ers for their instant funding alternative. For the most affordable entry, CTI's $39 starting price is hard to beat. FTMO remains the industry benchmark for established track record, while Blue Guardian offers competitive pricing for experienced traders.