This report is built on anonymized data from across Arizet's B2B partner network. Prop firms, broker-dealers, and consumer platforms that run on Arizet infrastructure. Across these partners we observe roughly $40B in monthly trading volume from approximately 360,000 distinct active traders in any given month. We have no proprietary claim on broader industry truth; what we have is unusually clean data from a meaningful slice of the modern retail and prop trading market.

We share these numbers because the retail trading industry has matured to a point where structural questions deserve real data answers, not anecdote. Where we make claims about the broader industry, we cite our sources. Where we make claims based on our own observation, we say so.

Section 1. How big is retail trading in 2026?

The most commonly cited industry estimates for total retail trader population (active accounts trading at least monthly):

The prop firm category is the fastest-growing segment by a wide margin. From our partner data, we see the addressable funded trader population continuing to grow at roughly 35-45% year-over-year. Slowing from 60-80% in 2022-2023 but still well above any other retail trading category.

Section 2. Who is the modern retail trader?

Aggregated demographic data from across our partner network, normalized to remove obvious geographic skew:

Dimension2021 Baseline2026 Today
Median age3431
Female %11%18%
Holding 2+ trading-related subscriptions28%56%
Has paid for ≥1 prop firm challenge4%22%
Trades on mobile primarily34%68%
Self-identifies as "career trader"8%17%

The shifts that matter: the population is getting younger, more mobile-native, and significantly more willing to pay for tools and access. The "self-identifies as career trader" growth is particularly notable; we interpret this as evidence that the funded trader ecosystem has legitimized trading as a career path in a way it wasn't five years ago.

Section 3. How do retail traders actually behave?

From anonymized account-level data across our partner platforms, looking at active traders (≥10 trades in the prior 30 days):

The single most important number here is the profitable trader percentage. About 10-18% of active retail traders make money in any given year. This number has been remarkably stable across the industry for two decades.

Section 4. Prop firm economics in 2026

This section uses data exclusively from our B2B prop firm partners. Anonymized and aggregated. We've removed identifying details about specific operator economics.

The revenue side

Across our partner firms, the breakdown of total revenue by source in calendar 2025:

The shift away from challenge-fee dependence is real but slower than industry commentary suggests. The firms that have most diversified revenue (challenge fees under 50% of total) have materially better customer lifetime values and lower churn.

The cost side

Composite cost structure as a percentage of revenue across our partner firms:

Composite net margin across our partner firms in calendar 2025: 12-22%, with material variance based on tech stack modernity and marketing efficiency. The best operators are seeing 25-30% net margins; the worst are at break-even or losing money quarter-over-quarter.

Section 5. Where the industry is heading

Based on what we observe across partner data and what we hear in operator conversations, the structural trends we expect to define 2026 and 2027:

Trend 1: Consolidation accelerates

The retail prop firm space had an estimated 280+ operators in 2023. We expect that number to be 100-130 by end of 2026 and 50-70 by end of 2027. The drivers are economic (sub-scale operators can't absorb rising CAC), regulatory (compliance overhead favors larger firms), and competitive (top operators are widening their lead on customer experience).

Trend 2: Funded-only models gain share

The evaluation challenge model is plateauing. New entrants are launching with "no-challenge" or "instant funding" models that monetize through subscription fees or profit splits only. We expect these models to take 25-35% of net new trader acquisition in 2026.

Trend 3: Ranked tournament platforms expand

Platforms like Arizet | The Desk that apply persistent ranked competition mechanics to trading are growing fastest in net-new trader acquisition. We expect this category to reach 8-12% of total retail trader engagement by end of 2027, up from approximately 1% today.

Trend 4: Regulatory pressure increases

Multiple jurisdictions (US, UK, EU, Australia) are paying increasing attention to retail prop firm models. We expect at least one major jurisdiction to issue specific rules for the category by end of 2026. Operators without strong compliance infrastructure will face material risk.

Trend 5: Institutional infrastructure becomes table stakes

The technical infrastructure that previously distinguished institutional trading from retail (sub-millisecond execution, ML-driven risk monitoring, sophisticated analytics) is becoming table stakes for serious retail platforms. The gap between retail and institutional infrastructure is closing fast.

Section 6. Where we think the long-term puck is going

Our strategic view (which is biased by our position in the market, caveat that throughout):

The retail trading industry is mid-transition from a transaction-based business model (firms profit per trade or per failed challenge) to a relationship-based business model (firms profit when traders grow and stay engaged). This shift will define winners and losers for the next decade.

The structural reason: as the trader population becomes more sophisticated (which it has, dramatically), the firms whose business models depend on trader losses are increasingly losing the customer experience competition to firms whose business models depend on trader successes. We've seen this transition play out in other consumer industries (gaming, fitness, education); we expect it to play out similarly here.

The specific implications:

If you're a retail trader

The model you engage with today shapes your career trajectory. Pure challenge-fee models extract from trader failures; growth-aligned models reward trader skill development. Choose accordingly.

If you're an operator

The economics of legacy stacks are deteriorating measurably. The firms that re-platform in the next 18 months will have material unit economic advantages over those that don't. Migration is hard but the cost-of-not-migrating is increasing.

Methodology and limitations

This report is based on data from Arizet's B2B partner network. The partner sample is not necessarily representative of the broader retail trading market: it skews toward modern operators (firms that have chosen to invest in modern infrastructure), toward retail-facing prop firms, and toward operators based in North America and Europe. We have less visibility into Asian retail trading markets, into pure institutional trading, and into operators running fully self-built infrastructure.

Where we cite specific numbers (median holding periods, win rates, account sizes), these are computed from our partner data with anonymization and aggregation. Where we make industry-wide claims (total retail trader populations, growth rates), we cite the source.

This report will be updated annually. The next edition is planned for Q2 2027.